2008, You da Best!

wow. what a year.
last year this time, i was getting ready to brave the crowd and head out to the insanity of times square but this year i opted for the calmer approach (and warmer, since it's snowing outside!) and plan to spend it on the couch watching the ball drop with my family. hm, i wonder...do people in, let's say Nebraska, watch the "ball drop". but anyway, that's besides the point.

this truly has been an amazing year. come, let me show you some of the more memorable moments of this past year...

In january i went back to the motherland and began my discover of 'self'.

In February I spent Spring Break (yeah, Spring Break in February, lol) in Galevston, Texas with one of my best friends.

In March I smiled because of this.

In April I went to Washington D.C.

In May I joined the Honor Society.

In June I began my summer.

In July I sing in the rain with John Mayer and frolic all over New York.

In August I did all I could to make summer last.

In September I turned 19.

In October I avoided moshers at the Fall of the Albatross show , cut my hair, & sang along to The Veronicas. But lost my dog, Jake.

In November I celebrated with the nation the win of our first black President, worked a merch table, and interviewed Top $ Raz for PMS.

In December I met Daniel Radcliffe, went ice skating, and had tons of cupcakes.

This year has been beautiful. I've been so blessed by God to get to go to all these shows, meet new and spend time with friends, and get to travel. These pictures are only a few snapshots of my year and I have hundreds more I wish I could put up.

So cheers 2008! You were amazing and I cannot wait for 2009 and all the adventures it will bring me.

the world's most inoffensive graffiti?

more here.

maybe an actual post later.

remember when we talked about this?

if i had to tell you which two people i'd meet this week, i would have said a woman from the italian consulate and a new waiter at the diner. instead, paths led me to John Legend (sorry for the blurry picture) and Daniel Radcliffe.

good times.

also, i don't know about you, but holiday parties are always so awkward unless you really know people. so if things get really awkward, agree to do an interview with a new online tv show (www.imprint-tv.com). it won't be up and running until mid-february.

finals are over and done with and i'm happy to say that besides the stress, i did pretty well. i'm still waiting on my journalism grade (crosses fingers for an A) and thanking God that things went fairly smoothly at the italian consulate. [note to self: pick up visa and passport on january 8th between 2-3pm. ] i plan to write now with marie, so this'll be the end.

until next time.

finals...

suck. i need a remedy for something called 'stress'...

ernie was a womanizer.

wow, so i realized i never blogged on my first experience being merch girl. here's the story:

so on the night of the show at the canal room, everything was going as planned. harold and i had gotten on the train, we got off the train, we walked. the only problem was that we kept walking. and walking. and walking. how we got lost, i don't even know. but, the funny thing is that of all the places to get lost, the first people we bump into to ask for directions was a bownie! (or, rather, a person who went to John Bowne HS) it was hilarious because elizabeth (the girl we bumped into) looked at us and went, 'HEY!' and seriously..of all the places: a random block on Manhattan island in the middle of the night. so anyways, she and her friend pointed us in the right direction. by this time, i thought i was 10 minutes late. and if you don't know me personally, i'm a stickler to being on time.

when we finally arrived at the canal room, i told the girl my name, had her cross my name off the list, bought harold's ticket and walked in. thankfully, the tour's photographer girl (whose name I never got) was standing at the merch table digging for her camera. i told her I was Ernie's merch girl for the night and she was estactic. she ran off to get Ernie and I was sweating like a pig. it was disgusting. ernie came back and something i never noticed from pictures was that he's got this really huge, big eyes. anyways, so he was talking to me, thanking me for wanting to do this, gave me directions, and continued talking some more. he finally went away, and i was left to look over what i had to do.

it's pretty simple stuff. if they wanted a shirt, go over to the ridiculously huge suitcase and look for their size and design, ask 'em for $20, and then stick it into the money box. the only problem came when i realized i was the only merch girl there. someone came up to me and decided to buy 2 CD's from another performer, Curtis Peoples. Ernie told me not to worry too much about the other guys' because it was their responsibility to have someone merch for them in each different city, but i couldn't just let this poor shmuck wait around for curtis so i handled the money. into the right buttpocket the money went. then soon after that tony lucca, another performer that night, came up to me and asked if i could merch for him, too. of course i said yes, but ernie didn't look to pleased. and when ernie went on, he asked me to pass around the mailing list and said this was more important than selling merchandise, so i did. but 90% of the people there were there FOR ernie, so it was kinda pointless. then tony lucca came on (<3)>

after all three musicians were done and over with, the craziness at the merch table astounded me. i really couldn't walk away to find people shirt sizes cause then the line would get crazy but it ended up being a good night for all three guys. the mad rush at the end to sell before we got kicked out was fun & ernie was kinda enough to let me have whatever i wanted. (after tlaking up and macking with every girl at the bar) i didn't want any of his shirts that said 'fawesome' but i did take his latest CD which isn't too bad. i wish tony lucca let me have whatever i wanted. i woulda snagged all his merch (shhh).

anyways, so after the show, harold and i went to little italy and got some pizza after i found out i still had the money for curtis people's cds in my right butt pocket. so, thank you curtis, dinner was great. here's some photos in reverse order:

that's all for now folks.