Paul McCartney

I still can't believe that we saw Sir Paul McCartney in concert!!!  It was really amazing.  I'm ashamed to say that I have not been a die hard Beatles fan.  But I think I could be!  Actually, I went through a phase where I acted like they really weren't all that great.  My parents only listened to oldies music my entire life, so I got sick of it and was bitter I was missing out on all the current music of the 80s and 90s.  Now, I have come back around and I have learned to appreciate all those classic songs and groups I grew up listening too.  Too bad I'm still trying to catch up on what I missed in the later decades.  So back to Paul.  I just love the Beatles and their music and it's amazing how many hits they put out during the time they were together. 

A lot had been going on leading up to the concert, so it was kind of surreal even when we were on our way up to Detroit.  My dad found a station that was playing only his music and talking about the concert, getting us pumped up.  Here's how dumb I am, I didn't even realize that Paul McCartney had another group called Wings...I just knew it sounded like him, so I figured it was the Beatles.  We had seats in three different areas, so my sister and I sat by ourselves and Mom and Dad sat together.  I didn't mind sitting by myself b/c there was plenty to enjoy!  He came out and sang Hello Goodbye first.  Soooo good!  OK, so I'm going to say that most of the songs were so good, so here's the ones I remember him playing:
Hello Goodbye
Lady Madonna
Eleanor Rigby
Jet
Heltor Sketor
Yesterday
Hey Jude
Band on the Run
Live or Let Die
Get Back
Blackbird
Paperback Writer
Day Tripper
Imagine
Let it Be

Obviously, there were a lot more, it was a long concert and I'm sure Rachel can remember them all :).  The highlights were Band on the Run - love the tempo changes; Hey Jude - went on for a long time, whole crowd was singing the na na na's and swaying hands in the air (totally gave me goose bumps); Live or Let Die - fire bursts off the stage and fireworks behind during the big parts of it (SO EXCITING)!  It was just so neat to see him and hear him talk about different things.  He's a left handed guitarist and changed guitars about 1,000 times.  He used a ukulele that George Harrison gave him!  Oh it was just so good!  I loved it!!!  Rachel, I can't thank you enough for making this happen for our family!  It was something I won't forget and definitely in my top two concerts ever (other is Elton John).

*I'm still trying to upload pics from my phone.  Just so you know, they'll be poor quality if I can get them up here.

Rear End

I started a post a long time ago and never finished.  I'll work on that later.  I feel like I've had a lot of ideas for blog posts come up, but haven't acted on any of those ideas.  Fail! 

On July 31st, I was with some friends and we were enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon and evening.  Drank flavored mimosas (not as great as it sounds) and went to a small park with water slides.  Unfortunately, it closed too soon after we got there.  On our way back, we got rear ended.  I had a few drinks in me and wasn't driving, so it didn't really seem that bad to me.  The back end of the car looked pretty bad though and we were hit by a big pickup truck and lost the entire bumper.  I didn't feel any pain or stiffness or anything, but my friends pressured me into going to the chiropractor...he is also a friend (of a friend, really...acquaintence).  I resisted for as long as I could and finally gave into the nagging.  Most people probably know that I have anxiety, but maybe not.  I do and I hate going to doctors and get panic attacks.  I don't like people that I don't know touching me and would never pay money to get a massage. I just don't feel comfortable.  It's weird, but that's how I am. 

*People that I am comfortable with and are close to, I don't mind if they touch me. One of my love languages is physical touch, I enjoy hugs and that kind of stuff.  What I don't want is some stranger putting their hands all over me. 

But, alas, I gave in and went to the chiropractor.  Just thinking about it brought on the symptoms of anxiety, but somehow when I went it was under control.  I wish I knew how that happened!  My neck was pretty straight and apparently it's supposed to curve a little, so I had a little therapy to do.  Last Tuesday, I was rear ended on my way to work in bumper to bumper traffic and I hit the guy in front of me.  The jerk drove off and the hit felt pretty hard.  It even caused a cd to come flying forward that I thought I'd lost two years ago.  My car doesn't look bad, but man was my neck a mess.  I could barely move it for a few days and just the last two days has it felt considerably better, but not great.  It was such a stressful situation b/c I totally can't afford an accident right now and I don't have uninsured motorist for property damage.  Luckily, I can still drive my car even though it does need to be repaired at some point.  I realize that no one can really ever afford to get in an accident, but right now I have a lot of stress on how I'm going to get through each month b/c my jobs are crap.  Anyway, it turned out the guy in front of me that I hit can't claim anything on my insurance b/c it wasn't my fault (Thank God).  This is getting way too long...

So, naturally, I'm still going to the chiropractor.  Hopefully it's helping with this newer accident, but I will definitely be glad when it's over (cross your fingers for only 2-3 weeks).  I don't know much about the science behinid it, just that I hope to be pain-free and have 100% mobility soon!  Not sure that I would go to a chiropractor again.  No more accidents for a long time, please!!!

Back in Texas Y'all

I made it back after logging 3,000 miles.  There's a lot that I could share about my trip, so I might have more than one post on it.  Some events justify their own post!  I did end up having fun and it was good visiting people.  It was hard b/c I didn't have much time to visit as many people and places as I would have liked.  Of course I came to Ohio during their hottest week so far and it even hit 100 degrees.  My hope was that I could get a bit of relief from the 100 degree temperatures we've been experiencing in Austin since June 1st.  But no!  It wasn't too bad most of the time, but in Toledo, it was extremely humid and my parents don't have AC.  Luckily they have a pool, so I was in it quite a bit.  They have a window unit in their bedroom so one night I even slept on the floor in there.  Thank goodness for AC at most places!  Temperatures in Texas won't be going down anytime soon and we're still in extreme drought.

It was great to finally meet Rufus and hang out with my family.  Domino (Rachel's cat) seemed to like me; or at least like the fact that he had another person to hang out with.  He's a really sweet kitty.  Also, I got to meet her new chickens.  Unfortunately, I must be allergic to long haired cats maybe or something...b/c I was miserable part of the time.  Other highlights were seeing Rachel's band concert, my cousin's wedding, the Cincinnati Zoo, and....................WE GOT TO SEE PAUL MCCARTNEY IN DETROIT!!!  I still kind of don't believe that we saw him.  It was really really good.  It was a lot of driving, but it's so nice to have my car so that I can tour the state and see more people.  I'll put some pictures on here and more on Facebook probably.

e.l.f. 100 shadow palette

I'm quickly headed toward being obsessed with makeup.  I bought this eye shadow palette today.  It was definitely a splurge for me even at just $10 because I don't have extra money right now.  It's from the e.l.f. professional cosmetic line.  You can get it at Target or on their website, http://www.eyeslipsface.com and I even found a very small selection at the HEB grocery store here in Texas.  I've been watching TONS of makeup tutorials lately and people are always doing these beautiful looks with dramatic eyes and pretty colors (I haven't yet mastered how to apply the makeup).  I don't have a large selection of eyeshadows, I tend to wear the same stuff, usually purple, grey, gold or Stila's kitten.  This palette will give me the option to try out all kinds of stuff as you can see it has every color you'd ever need (or close to it).  Today I was already wearing green on my eyes, so I tried one of these shadows out real quick and put a bright green in my crease and it was definitely really pigmented so I think I'll be happy with the quality of this product.  Each square of color is pretty small, but I imagine it's still going to last a long time if you mix up your look often enough rather than using the same colors over and over.  I'm excited to try other new products in the near future, but like I said, I just have to be careful about what I spend.  I also picked up a pair of their false lashes for $0.99, so I'm excited to try those out as well.  Haven't ever worn lashes and they might be fun for the wedding!

Blah

Blah is how I feel about my upcoming trip to Ohio.  Usually before a trip I'm anxious to plan out my itinerary down to every detail.  This time, I can barely get myself to make any plans.  I guess I just feel like because I haven't made any positive progress in my life in the last year, I should be embarrassed to visit people.  Last year at this time, I had just been laid off and needed to find a job...and I was completely humiliated by that.  This year, I have a job that doesn't really pay me and has made me stressed, miserable and despressed.  In my mind, I've taken several steps back rather than forward.  I've needed to get away from home for a long time and now that I am, I feel indifferent about it.  Don't get me wrong, it will be great to get away from Austin.  But this isn't like a typical vacation.  I will have to watch my budget really closely and don't really have the freedom to do whatever I want while I'm away.

It's been a struggle to even attempt to make any arrangements.  I'm in the mindset where I just want to alienate myself from everyone that I don't feel comfortable around (which ends up being most people).  I can't help but compare myself to others and feel like a failure.  So many thoughts are going through my head that I don't know how to express.  My idea was that maybe writing down my thoughts would help me process it and put myself out there.  I understand that life is difficult for everyone and people are going through harder times than me and that I should have perspective.  But depression is hard and I have a harder time than what's normal in dealing with it, especially when I don't have the tools I'd like to have.  At least I'll have a lot of time alone in the car to think about things.  Well, that could be a good thing or a bad thing!  Be glad you aren't inside my head.

Things I am looking forward to though are seeing my family and meeting Rachel's newest family member, Rufus.  And on another positive note, I've been looking forward to my cousin's wedding since Christmas.  I always enjoy weddings...for the most part I can escape that dark place in my mind in reference to weddings.  I love everything about weddings!  I probably won't want to return to Austin and real life after being around my family since I really miss Ohio and having a support system.

Sorry for being such a downer all the time, but I have to be honest.  Things aren't good and I don't feel like I should have to be fake.

The Middle and The End

I meant to write something after The Two Towers, but the week went by and I didn't get to it.  And now the whole thing is over.  :-(  There were a lot of parts of The Two Towers that I didn't remember.  I think with it being my least favorite, I haven't watched it as many times, so therefore I'm bound to forget some stuff.  It was really good.  I thoroughly enjoyed the introductions by Peter Jackson.  It felt like we were really getting a personal insight into a few of his thoughts on making these films.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but we got a different intro for each movie, talking about specifics of each. 

Three favorite parts of The Two Towers:
1. The introduction of Gandalf the White
2. Shadowfax - I remember loving him in the book too...can't help it, I'm an animal lover
3. Faramir going against what his father wanted when he let Frodo and Sam continue on their journey...doing what he believed was the right thing.

In regards to The Return of the King, my feelings are bittersweet.  Great things happen to end this story, but it's so sad that everything is over and the great characters who became close friends are no longer together.  Also, it's really long.  Four hours is a long time for any movie, not to mention, the third part of one.  Peter Jackson said it's 12 hours if you watch everything back to back.  Whoa!  Unfortunately, this time we were in a much smaller theater and it was practically full by the time I got there, so I couldn't sit in my 'usual' spot, I had to sit in the second row.  There are so many things to mention, I'd need to pick three favorite parts for each character. 

Three parts I loved in The Return of the King:
1. Pippen saving Faramir.  First of all, he has to put up with that jackass Denethor (Faramir's & Boromir's father) being useless, gluttonous and degrading.  Then no one listens to him so he moves with haste to find Gandalf.  And Faramir lives!
2. Sam's courage to make it to the end.  He does so many brave and smart things to eventually help destroy the ring and defeat Sauron.  He takes the ring off Frodo before capture, he dresses up as an orc to fit in, he knew not to trust Gollum and carries Frodo right up to the fires of Mordor (don't want to think too much about the spider-eek).  Go Sam!
3. The general bond those of the Fellowship have with each other.  Such a small group goes up to the gates of Mordor and they fight courageously for Frodo knowing they could never beat thousands of orcs. Aragorn, newly crowned king of Gondor, bows to the hobbits for their bravery.  The reuniting of everyone in Rivendell and then the tearful goodbye are both so touching.

Obviously, there is so much more, but I will end there.  What a wonderful story by J.R.R. Tolkien and a spectacular production by Peter Jackson and the thousands who made it possible for us all to enjoy. 


End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.
White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.