Day 305/365 (May 18, 2015)

After work I headed home to change, then made it to the gym to warm up before training. Man oh man training kicked my butt... then i headed home and showered before heading out to meet up with Hope. I had been on the fence about to what to do for the night. The leading contender was go to The Spring Standards concert but i really don't like The Mercury Lounge and knew it would be a late night so I almost didn't go. I hadn't seen them perform on ages (almost a year I think) so i decided I had to go or I would regret it. So gad I did! The second the show began I was instantly happy. They played a great set, did a little acoustic group portion and just put all the smiles on my face, except for when I almost cried. At one Point Smith was talking about how we all go through crap and it is nice to come together and let it all out and all this other deep stuff and since I have been going through some bad times currently it was like he was speaking to me and there were almost tears. It was also nice to have a catch up session with Hope before and after the show. Then I wanted a TSS pin and I am not normally a merch girl and I was about to ask Smith how much they cost and he went crazy and just gave me a bunch, and everyone else in the area. It was pretty funny and also nice to have a little hello chat with Heather and Cleare... those 3 are just magic :)

Then Hope and I hopped a cab home which was mighty nice.

Day 276/365 (April 19, 2015)

I had this realization that I didn't think Sasha would be able to finish the playbill flower order in time so I stepped up my helping game. I spent the entire morning working diligently on them. I even skipped going to see The Spring Standards to devote more time to it. Lola was supposed to come over but we had to change that. Marty even came over to help but I only got to see him for a tiny bit before getting ready for Ravi's party.

I learned when I was already on the way the party wasn't actually beginning until 6:30.. it was bingo from 5-6:30. I had no interest so I puttered around the area and got dinner... then headed out. I was stupid and wallet was open and i lost $65 and an $8 metro card... needless to say I was pretty bummed and upset. I just hope whoever found it really needed the money. I put on a happy face and went to the party. I ended up having a really good time, and it helped pick up my spirits.. Neil and Heather told me about a new app called Shout so I am trying that out. Ravi loved my reece's pieces blondies and so did everyone else. It was nice to see Travis outside the walls of Studio 26 and he even got me a drink (as a friend not as a trainer) So many people that remember me that i didn't remember them, and I met a new friend that was very nice and we chatted for a long time. Diane finally arrived as I was getting ready to leave so I stayed for a touch longer then said my goodbyes and headed back home to help with the Playbill flowers.

Day 155/365 (December 19, 2014)

Had my Jenny appointment and then work... later that night I met up with Hope and her brother for The Spring Standards release of Delaware Live "DVD". The night was amazing! I won Prom Queen and got to cut everybody and also started with a bunch of TSS Bucks. We played games and earned more and I was the first person to get all of guess which James this is at trivia. It was a blast and then I "made it rain" with all my bucks for the two silent auctions i won which included a holiday card from them and "5 minutes in heaven" with them where Hope, her brother, and myself had a pow wow with them in the bathroom... so weird but so fun... At the end of the night there were not many people there so we were having a dance party where you could only hear music if you had on wireless headphones so it was funny to take them off and watch everyone dancing in what appeared to be silence. Rachel was also my prom king.

Picture of Fred because I had already deleted the TSS photos off my phone.

Day 303/365 (June 17, 2009)

once again in new rochelle... i was going to go home but paula asked if i could stay another night because she could use my help, so i said yes! today they released the new updates for my iphone and well it was like christmas! i cant explain how happy they made me... we are talking copy and paste, text forwarding, landscape keyboard in texting/email, better fast forwarding/rewinding in itunes, the SEARCH feature, the voice memo, and s may other awesome things! i sent matthew this text because well i love him and i screen capped the copy option because it is my favorite of the updates!

i would also like to point how how over the last several days i have been listening to next to normal whenever i get the chance (even play it while going to bed) and i just love the music so much! yea, wow, yea! i mean dennis can even sing parts of I'm Alive now!

also the cousins all love icanhascheezburger and get an insane kick out of them!

it should also be noted how upset i was at missing the spring standards in hobeken since the show sold out before i could buy a ticket... i ahvent seen them in ages and my heart is breaking more than a little because of it!

Day 269/365 (May 14. 2009)

blargh!

major "events/milestones" of the day:

woke up on the early side for softball... i got rained out, but at least this time i didnt go to the park first!

did laundry... first time i had to go to the laundromat in like 3 months, it was so horrible! i had to use the large machine that takes forever because of all the sheets and towels and stuff from our house guests, there was a smelly guy drinking some brown bagged alcohol next to me for a bit because there werent many other seating options, then after he left the same mother and child from the krysta, lizzie, and i laundry experience showed up. she once again did no active parenting with him and he took to me like glue and wouldnt leave me be and insisted on helping me with putting my clothes in the drier.... yea, so frustrating! i was able to read some more of Forever Princess (final princess diaries book) while there, and am back into reading so hopefully i will finish it on the sooner side!

packing... i have been packing for my roadtrip... i hate packing and always over pack, but now i am finished

i voted about 110 times for the vgl gay boys on logo's now next awards or whatever it was

i did quite a few dishes, though there are still more to be done

tucker was with josh today, and emma could tell i was getting ready for a trip so this is her protesting that

i am really bummed i cant go to The Mercury Lounge with everyone else to see The Spring Standards tonight. i havent seen them in quite some time and have no idea when i will be able to catch them again, so it pains me to not be there... but everyone so often i make a decision based on responsibility and maturity opposed to a selfish me me me choice and this has to be it. i have a very long (and early) roadtrip ahead of me and if i go see them tonight by the time they finish and all that jazz and i get home, then would have to get up for new jersey i wouldnt get any actual sleep and since i have to drive part of the 9 hour drive, and be awake when i am not driving... i just cant stay out like that, so instead i am going to swing by karaoke ever so briefly at TOL and then head to NJ tonight so we can leave bright and early in the morning (before the sun even rises!)

I also went to hang with sasha for a bit and marty was there and they were working on a figure out how they did that project and it was nice hanging and spending some time with them and fred and pip.

Day 229/365 (April 4, 2009)

A day of happiness!

So i woke up wicked early because a stupid alarm went off that i had to turn off... then i got a phone call and ended up with only 5 hours of sleep for the day ahead which did not please me, but there was nothing i could do. after i got ready i packed my bag since i was wearing "driving pants" and then i went to meet megan at 125th st. after a little stop in dunkin donuts and getting 6 donuts for $3 i met megan and we hoped the M60 towards laguardia to get to enterprise for our rental car. The people that helped us were the same ones that did last year when we went with kitten... glad they didnt remember us!

we had reserved a teeny tiny car but they gave us a bigger one and i really loved it and i was the first renter of it because they said they just put the plates on it today! Megan and i then went and picked emily up then circled around to get laura.... and the fun began!

there is nothing i enjoy better than a roadtrip with some of my most favorite people and it was funny because we all brought music playing options (yay for me having the double ended cable so we could use the aux jack i was hoping the car would and did have) then we were like directions... good thing laura printed them off since my phone was misbehaving!

i got a little road rage being stuck at a toll and found a creepy drunk guy that followed us in westport but we eventually found the place, got some food and went back. the other bands were very good and it was just happiness times alot seeing the spring standards play and whatnot. since it was heather's birthday we brought a card and megan made some yummy goodness... surprisingly i gave up baking responsibilities which shocked me greatly! after we got "puff paint" t-shirts that heather decorated and thankfully mine made it back unharmed! though the shirt started with some minor stain on it.

we dropped laura and megan off at the subway and emily and i begun our interesting journey returning the car... ps i cant lie and am not good at coming up with quick answers to cover stories.... yes please remember this for the future people!

eventually i got him and sleep was nice... oh earlier i had put away my laundry and made my bed so i was able to sleep in my bed since the night before i had to sleep on the couch because i never put laundry away or made my bed from my trip to new rochelle.

ps by the end of the trip i had consumed 4.5 of the donuts... i didnt feel so good in the end!

Day 201/365 (March 7, 2009)

Our dinner at The Westway Diner... Our Waiter Sucked so Sasha took it...

...So here is Sasha

The day was beyond totally brilliant and amazing! It began by going to the grocery store and getting the final ingredients for cooking baking, then i came home and made 60 oatmeal raisin cookies! I decided to take a shower even though i really dint ned to, but it ended up being a good thing i did later on! The weather was absolutely amazing out by the way.

To most people the thought of my plans for the day would be so wrong since this was the first "perfect" day since last spring but it was much need and more fun than anything else we could have done that day! The day was DISNEYPALOOZA!!!! Sasha, Krysta, Marty, Jenny, Nick, and me spent the entire day watching disney movies!

We watched The Lion King, Meet The Robinsons, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid... 101 Dalmations will have to happen at the next one! At one point i was on the phone with MArk when someone accidentally spilled gingerale on our movies and then we all started screaming for paper towels and someone to turn on the light and we scared poor mark off the phone... i called im back the next day. We also spent the entire time eating nothing but a mix of: oatmeal craisin cookies, red vines, jelly belly jelly beans, carrots, peanut butter M&M's (not me though), Hot Tamales (not me though), lollipops, gummy bears, and i feel like something else. basically we all ate a crazy intense amount of sugar! Krysta was speaking in code about dead guy festivals and coffin races, marty and nick pretended to be disney anime characters, we took turns sitting in different places, and laughed at the jokes in the movies that were meant for only big people to get... the we decided we needed to go get real food and not die of sugar coma.

We headed to the westway diner and on the way nick kept singing "hamster on a piano" and even sung it into chipotle and ran out on the way. Our waiter was a major loser for being so weird and telling us we weren't funny. we were dying of laughter the whole time over various things, and waiter guy kept sneaking up on sasha. Eventually we headed back to the apartment and we were making a riotous amount of laughter and dying from it on the street. At one point Nick accidentally stepped on my flip-flop causing it to come off my foot and i rocked in the hopping and not stepping barefoot on skanky new york street. sasha helped me by letting me lea on her for balance as nick played soccer with my flop and we all laughed... this lady though was all "you sure have great friends" and we were all "why cant you take a joke?" then we crossed paths with ryan and jesse... oops i really am one of those crazy loud street people! but hey lots of sugar and disneypalooza in full effect!

Then we got inside and started watching some youtube videos... some were funny others were not, but one of them was hamster on a piano. while doing this i got a phone call from Emily asking if the band was doing a secret show at Rockwood and i was like i don't know, hold on. So i texted and found out they were! So we rallied the troops (ok just megan since hope was home, and laura far away, and the others were already there) and went to rockwood. This was at like 11 at night and i so was not dressed to really be in public but oh well! 

They said their names were Sven, Sven, and Gretchen t one point and well it was just really awesome to see them since it had been like two months since the last gig we saw, and that is the longest i have gone between shows since i first saw them literally two years ago! It ended up being almost all the regulars at our one table despite the big old crowd when we got there. We chatted with them and each other before heading out... i got home and chatted with Krysta and finally went to bed (thanks daylight savings!) at like 5 and got no sleep since i had to get up so early the next morning... but the day was so much and the day was filled with moments and stories i am sure i will be talking about for years to come!

Day 143/365 (January 8, 2009)

The Spring Standards had a "secret" show in Brooklyn at a place called VoxPop they, and a bunch of other wicked awesome talented people/bands, performed as a rescue the place type thing. The place was super tiny and it was nice to see them play without there elaborate set-ups. The palce was on Cortelyou Rd in Brooklyn and Megan, Laura, and myself headed out.

After the show we had a photo shoot of sorts waiting for the Q train to wisk us away... fun times with fun people. This was our funny faces shot

Day 137/365 (January 2, 2009)

There is no better way to start the year than getting together with some great friends (megan, emily, hope, and laura) and seeing The Spring Standards play in NY! Seriously i am always happy whenever i see them play and am so thankful for all the wonderful people i have met at their shows. 2009 is off to such a great start!

Day 103/365 (November 29, 2008)

Megan, Emily, and I had been missing The Spring Standards and they were playing in Washington DC… Sasha very nicely lent us Squirt her little bug to go there. The actual show was great, and a good part of the trip was fun… especially rocking out to some new and older tunes… the killer traffic and terrible lostness in DC however was a nightmare… but I love squirt and them!

As a fun aside at one point we drove past Farragut St (or Ave or whatever it was) and it made me smile.

Day 64/365 (October 21, 2008)

There are a very limited number of things, people, or activities that can make me truly happy… as in not “temporary happiness” but actual lasting happiness for a period of time even under extreme unhappy situations. The list total might be 5 or even less.

I can say for certain that The Spring Standards are on that list. This is the reason I do things like take vacation days to go see them wherever I can or take a NJ Transit train for an hour and go to Grand Central to take a train that is almost 90 minutes to see them in Bridgeport, CT on a work night…. Then rush out and catch an 11:59 train and come home and barely get 4 hours of sleep. (Rock on Two Boots). I am so tired at work right now but really thinking about the show last night and the time with Megan just keeps a smile on my face!

I have always found music to be stress-relieving and enjoyable. It is something I could not live without. I am so happy I stumbled upon this band because their music is at the top of my list. Seeing them perform live is also an experience that can’t be duplicated, and I am so glad it has led me to some great people… including my partner in crime for this trip Megan.

They are also some of the nicest people ever and I am so happy for all the success that has come their way! So thanks S.S. Funship for making me happy! Keep on rockin’ on!

Day 26/365 (September 13, 2008)

This picture is a great representation of the whole crazy trip. This was taken after seeing them perform at Café 939 at Berklee. Here you have the three of us, and we were kind of in a crazy mood. We are doing our kind of theme of the weekend which was shhhh-s-word-shhhh It took a while for us to figure out the logistics to get the picture (my fault). Apartently Cleare is in the background (over Megan’s shoulder), and above us was a menu that had the title “The Hot Standards” and “The Swingin’ Trio”

It was a great end to our crazy fun weekend!

Day 24/365 (September 11, 2008)

Thursday began my “hat trick” of The Spring Standards. I convinced my mom to meet me in Bridgeport. CT so I could see them play at Two Boots. This worked out far better than bus, because it was a sure thing I would make it to MA on time, unlike unsteady bus. We found the restaurant and the only place to park involved driving by the van… I got all giddy with excitement and joy when I saw the decal they later told us makes people ask them if they are a landscaping company. I am posing here with my “stolen” poster from the restaurant… all kinds of amazing!

Day 12/365 (August 30, 2008)

The nigth before (although time wise technically this day) The Spring Standards made their national television debut on Conan O'Brien... what made that even better was knowing they were playing Rockwood that night at 10 pm. I wasnt able to watch them on TV, but i did almost as soon as NBC.com had posted it on their site. To watch that and then go see them at Rockwood, which is one of my favorite venues was just an incredibloe time.

A S.S. Funship show is something you shouldn't miss and everytime it is unique. At one point during their gig James Smith reached down and grabbed my camera off the table and took a shot of the room. The whole room obviously could not fit in the shot but still this is one of my favorites. Its a small palce but everyone in their is just filled with love and excitment and well know i have this photo as a reminder of that.