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Cassie Petrey
crazy fan

nashville, tn

crowdsurf.net

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What does Facebook poking mean to you?

January 06, 2009

I still have no idea.  Here were your responses...

 

Flirting?  Kind of?  It could mean what's up.

I have no idea.

You want to poke me in real life aka you want to touch me.

Literally poking with your finger in appropriate places like the shoulder.

It's when you e-flirt with someone that you're technically not "allowed" to flirt with.  The obvious sexual undertone is innocently naughty and stimulating.

Like u just wanna say hi kinda?  Dive them a little poke?  Or it could be sexual haha

HA who poked you?  It means whoever it is has a) a weird viral fetish or b) too much time or c) an inside joke...

I take it to mean the person wants me to write on their wall or something...I don't really get it myself

Like poking in real life.  playfully jabbing ones fore finder into anothers side.

Haha just gettings someone's attention, saying hello.

Poking on facebook means Jade is stalking british people.

Refer to "too close" by next.

I think it's creepy.

No idea.

It means, I want your balls!

You wanna do me.

 

So....what does Facebook poking mean to you?

i am a total wreck

December 27, 2008

This is why I haven't blogged.  Because I've been confused.  I still am.

During the time since I last blogged, I've done these things:

- Decided I wanted to move away from NYC and back to Nashville for a few months.

- Celebrated Thanksgiving on an airplane with a turkey sandwich.

- Went to LA for 2 weeks and fell in love with it.

- Went to Vegas and got stuck in 9 hours of traffic on the way back.  Screw the desert and Vegas.  I HATE Vegas.

- Saw Honor Society play at MGM Grand.

- Experienced El Compadre with Lauren - it was the perfect meal.

- Went to Compton and Laguna Beach on the same day.

- Watched the sunset in Malibu and saw a dog get hit by a car on the Pacific Coast Highway.

- Cried in the parking lot of a Bank of America because I got offered my dream gig.

- Realized our dream was going to come true while sitting outside of a Starbucks in Malibu.  2009 all the way.

- Freaked out over Cedar's Sinai hospital.

- Came back to NYC and fell in love with it again.  The only thing I'm sure about is that I do want to move back there.

- Lived in New Jersey for a week with Lauren's family because I couldn't part with the East Coast.

- Got my life financially in order - at least as much as I can right now.

- My car got broken into on the Upper West Side.  I say it was a fair trade for getting drunk and having a hilarious night.  I accept the trade.

- Drove to Philly to get Jade in the middle of the night with no window.  It was real cold.

- Went to the FOB CD release show and watched freak out and cry over everything.  It was awesome.

- Finally left the East Coast and stayed the night in Pittsburgh.  It's always fun sneaking a turtle tank into a hotel room.

- Got offered a job at Taco Bell.

- Fell down in a driveaway while trying to push my sister's dead car out of somebody else's driveaway.

- Ate El Nopal 4 times.

- Watched my grandmother cry over her crockpot I gave her for Christmas.

 

I guess that's it.  You always think your life is boring until you say everything you've done in a month, and you realize it's totally not.

After writing all this out, I thnk I actually am a little less confused about my life.  There's still a lot of unanswered questions, but I think I'm moving in the right direction.  I have hope that I'll figure it out!  Thanks TOL.

 

Why Do People Flush Weird Things Down The Toilet?

November 26, 2008

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf251786.tip.html

2009 is the new 2005

November 25, 2008

It was at this time 4 years ago when it all came crashing down on me. Now it's happening again. Life is kind of beating me up right now. Oh how I feel so used. Always. I can only go up now - correct?

Luckily, the year following the first crash was amazing. I'm ready.

Winter, drinks, and good times with friends in the South.

Work started making sense in the Spring.

The East Coast needs to prepare itself for our Summer.

Come Fall, I'll be on top of the world. In more ways than one.

Cheers to 2009 - it's about time you came around.

swim for the music that saves you

November 23, 2008

Oh my god.

Why did it take me so long to see Andrew McMahon play a show?

Yes, I know a lot of his music. Yes, I worked the project while I was at Warner. Yes, everyone told me how awesome he was. I wanted to see a show, but those didn't happen to often in the South.

Well, it finally happened on Friday night. It was a last minute. I feel like most good things happen last minute. Always keep your options open for as long as possible - it let's you take the best one.

Andrew McMahon and the concert attendees embodied the perfect fan/artist relationship. This is going to sound a little bit cheesy, but I truly felt loved as a fan and audience member at both shows I attended (yes, it was so good that I Craigslisted some tickets for the Saturday night show because I was that inspired). He would smile and look into the audience like he was in genuinely in love - and I that think he was. You can't fake that, no matter how hard you try.

When he played us "Caves" and needed somebody to listen, everyone stood silently and listened very intently. When we wanted to dance and sing, he played us a song from "Everything in Transit" that made everyone there smile and sing along. Nobody persistently harassed him to play Konstantine because we respected him and knew that he didn't want to play it. He threw in a few SoCo songs because he knew it would make the long time fans feel nostaglic and special. He showed us that we were important to him, and we showed him that he was important to us. It was truly the perfect, loving, fan/artist relationship.

I can't wait to see another show like this. It was absolutely phenomenal. Not to mention the fact that Andrew McMahon rocks out on the piano like a maniac. He was SO FUCKING GOOD. It's hard to be that entertaining while you're playing a giant instrument, but he pulled it off so well. He sounded AWESOME too. Amazing entertainer. Amazing musician. Amazing artist.

Not only that, but an amazing person too. Heather just sent this to me and I can't believe that's the person I saw on stage tonight. Wow.

Alright - I will stop being a crazy person who is WAY behind on the music curve. Good night everyone :)

Because You Live

November 14, 2008

There was the two week period in my life where I had no internet at my apartment, so I often worked in McDonald's. This song often played over the speakers and resulted in an obsession that I still carry with me today.

Lyrics

November 11, 2008

What are some of your favorite lyrics?
-----------------------------------------------------------

Don't loose the dreams inside your head, they'll only be there until you're dead.

Ashamed of the way the songs and the words own the beating of our hearts.

The future is no place to place your better days.

Loose lips sink ships.

I'm thinking about the hands you'll meet and the people that you'll shake along the way.

Love is never in the same place that you left it.

The space between the tears we cry is the laughter that keeps us coming back for more.

You can't fight the tears that ain't coming, or the moment of truth in your lies.

He knows that it's me they've been coming to see to forget about life for a while.

Well now everything dies baby that's a fact, but maybe everything that dies someday comes back.

Hotel stares/stairs.

Then it hits me and I can't even believe this is my life.

You can loose yourself in your courage.

I still recall every summer night, it seems like yesterday, but I'm still a world away.

Time has got a way of taking back everything you thought you had.

I was close to a fault line, heaven knows, you showed up in time.

You're not gold and there'll be centuries left when you're gone.

I find hope in your hate for me.

They say behind every man is a good woman, but I think that's a lie, cause when it comes to you I'd rather have you by my side.

I knew that the lights of the city were too heavy for me.

There's a picture and it's hanging in the back of my head, I see it over and over.

We all need a little more room to live.

I thought I loved you but it's just how you looked in the light.

I'm every cliche but I simply do it best.

Times like these remind me that I've got to keep my feet on the ground.

One love, one life, that's enough to get you through the night.

In every break up song seems like someone stays too long.

And the one poor child who save this world, and there's ten million more who probably could, if we all just stopped and and said a prayer for them.

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be.

I'm not afraid to live this life through my dreaming eyes.

It's not always easy, but I'm here forever.

You kill me, you build me up, but just to watch me break.

I gotta go find these dreams, was the last thing that I said, and then I did.

We're strange allies with warring hearts.

Celebrate we will, because life is short but sweet for certain.

You always talk of catching me but never open up your hands.

Our lives our short but the nights are long - the nights go on and on.

So I Met Zac Efron

October 23, 2008

That's something I never thought I would be able to say.

 

Yes, I am holding a sign. Yes, it was made by a 10 year old. They made me hold it but I don't care.

 

This is something that not too many people know - but I absolutely ADORE Zac Efron. I think he's one of the primary reasons that pop music is making a comeback, and I back anybody that makes that happen. High School Musical rocks - I don't care what anybody thinks. One time I had a High School Musical themed bathroom. I'm not lying. I have HSM blankets, dolls, hats, DVDs, games, CDs, etc. I know the dances and all the music. I jam to the soundtrack in my car. I also love Link Larkin and Hairspray. Yes, I am an crazy 10 year old. I belong with the children next to me in the video.

 

I think I'm more in love with the craze then the actual project. Sometimes the lines get blurry and it's hard for me to tell. I fall in love with hysteria just as much as I fall in love with music. It's never just one - usually a combination of both. People uniting and being excited about one common project makes me so excited. It's amazing that music can bring so many people to the same place on the same night for the same reason. I spend most of my life experiencing that and trying to make it happen.

 

It's been a long time since I've been excited about meeting a "celebrity." I've gotten to the point where I generally won't go up and talk to somebody unless I have a specific reason to. I don't get autographs and pictures. It just doesn't make me excited like it used to. And that's fine, it's part of growing up and working in the music business. However, yesterday, when I got to shake Zac Efron's hand, I was excited and nervous as I was when I met Brian Littrell when I was 13. That was awesome.

 

So thank you Zac Efron for making me star struck. I still need a little bit of that in my life.

 

For all of you DIY artists

October 20, 2008

You should really sign up for Sound Advice - it's a free newsletter with AMAZING online marketing tips.  Visit their MySpace page and sign up now:

 

www.myspace.com/cyberpronline

Why I Love Ruth Collins

October 17, 2008

From MySpace..

 

Sounds like: If Ryan Adams was married to Patty Griffin and they went out to dinner with Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas...for sushi...yup... can we make that happen?

She rocks.

 

Check out www.myspace.com/ruthcollins.  Her new song "Dissappear" is absolutely amazing.

songs and the words own the beating of our hearts

October 13, 2008

This site is definitely making a comeback of the year.

I'm excited that I'm a fan again.  I am walking after you.

Sorry that I haven't updated in a bit - all my spare time for The One Love has been spent setting up so many amazing new bloggers!

But yes, I absolutely adore Matt Nathanson and Howie Day, and had an amazing time in Boston and Hartford.  Even rocked the front row fence.  It's been decades since that has happened.  I'll write a proper blog this week about how amazing these shows were.

THANK YOU to everyone that is blogging on this site.  You all have increased our site traffic 6x.  We're at the point now where we can go sell advertising and really start raising some money for charity.  Keep it coming, and if you want a friend to blog just shoot me an e-mail and we'll get them rolling.  You all rock, and you're the reason I'm in the music industry.  I am you.  Keep loving your life.  Keep loving music.

I want something a little bit louder.

The British Are Coming!!!!

October 08, 2008

www.mirror.co.uk

Dougie, Danny, Tom and Harry will spend year in America
By 3am 16/07/2008


Now the band have set up their own record company, Super Records, they believe the sky's the limit.
With seven UK No 1s already under their belts, Dougie, Danny, Tom and Harry are about to spread their wings, including a year in America.


Tom told us: "We didn't get to travel much with our previous record company but now we really want to get out there.


"We never did much in America and that's one thing we'd like to do. To do it properly we'd need to spend a year over there and visit all the towns - not just New York and LA."


After dumping their record company, McFly had to tighten the purse strings and skip the superstar luxuries. Danny said: "We flew economy back from Australia instead of first class - everything is going back into the next album."

Paul Revere was a Gossip Gangsta

October 06, 2008

You may laugh, but it's true.

I has an amazing weekend in Boston with my good friend Leigh.  We decided to be tourists and try out The Freedom Trail.  This was something I really wasn't looking forward to for two reasons:

A. I've never been a history buff

B. The only shoes I bought with me were heels, and the walk is about 3 miles long

However, I was very enlightened and pleasantly surprised by this experience.  I wish that I could of gone to look at historical sites like this while I was in school.  It would of made me appreciate what I was learning about so much more.

My favorite site was the Granary Burying Ground.  I didn't even think that it would be possible to go see the headstones for revolutionary heroes like Paul Revere and Samuel Adams.  That's freakin' nuts.  I still can't wrap my head around it.

One thing that I kept on thinking about while I was walking this trail was that Paul Revere is like an old school version of Perez Hilton.  I know it sounds weird, but it's so true.  When I read "The Tipping Point" - I remember reading about how Paul Revere was a maven.  A maven is a trusted expert in a particular field who seeks to share what they know with others.  It always made sense to me, but really clicked while I was on this tour.  Perez is a gossip maven - and so was Paul Revere. 

I've always been fascinated by people who have the power to send out one single message and have it spread so quickly.  In this day in age, there are so many ways to do that.  It's really exciting.  Perez Hilton can post a rumor on his site and everyone will know about it within the hour.  You can go to a Bon Jovi show in Central Park and sing "Livin' On A Prayer" with 60,000 other people at the same time.  You can watch The Weather Channel and brace yourself for a giant hurricane no matter where you're at in the country (or if you're in Belize and watching the US Weather Channel there).  Communication is awesome.

Paul Revere accomplished spreading a message amongst the masses just as Perez, Bon Jovi, and The Weather Channel do today.  It's seems like it was so long ago - but it's still totally the same.  If I was hanging out about 300 years ago, would I have been obsessed with Paul Revere and Ben Franklin?  Probably.

I can't wait until Perez says "The British Are Coming!" - and he's referring to McFly coming to the US.  This needs to happen soon. 

 

Isn't it strange how things can change?

October 02, 2008

I never thought I'd be sitting in this city doing this.  Ever.

A Life Changing Kit

September 22, 2008

 

You have no idea.

Recovery

September 22, 2008

I miss that summer.  It was the first time in my life I was finally doing everything I've ever wanted to do.  The trips, work, friends, and fun.

Then for some reason, I was convinced that living that way was wrong.  It was irresponsible.  It was immature.  It was downright not unacceptable.

You're wrong.  I know you probably don't think so, and I understand why you don't because I'm still trying to convince myself.

This realization needs to come full circle soon.

I miss me.  So much.  I used to have so much fun - what happened?

Sometimes I catch a glimpse of myself, but then I push it back in and get embarrassed about it later.  I wish it wasn't such a crime.

Over the past couple of years, I've had a disease called being way too self conscious.  Thinking about everyone else before myself, but in a selfish way.

Today, I've decided that I'm getting over it.  I'm in recovery mode now.  You'll see me out and about rolling down hills and climbing through cement tubes soon.

The Soundtrack To My Stomach

September 20, 2008

Today after eating Chipotle in Manhattan with Lauren she turned on my radio and found the Spanish station I have programmed into it. She then proceed to say, 'This is what my stomach sounds like right now. If you put a stethoscope to my stomach it would sound like this. I can practically hear the guacamole dancing.' That got me thinking about what the playlist to my stomach would sound like and since I love Mexican food so much, Lauren made one for me.

This is the soundtrack to my stomach:

 

 

It's not longer than 10 minutes because that's all the time it takes for my stomach to digest Mexican food and be ready for the next spicy meal.

Flounder With Legs

September 18, 2008

Does anybody else find this photo hilarious?

Lamanai Guest Star

September 06, 2008

Entry by GUEST BLOGGER - Lauren Eberle...

 

Lamanai. Oh, Lamanai. Where to start? Let's start with the basics. First of all, the word 'Lamanai' is the Mayan word for submerged crocodile. If that didn't already peak your interest in this blog then you might want to check if you're brain dead. BECAUSE CROCODILES ARE THE MOST BALLER ANIMAL ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH, aside from monkeys and turtles which will also appear in the blog. So please, continue reading.

Cassie and I went to sleep on the 30th fully prepared for what was about to be the most baller day of our entire trip. We'd shelled out the 135$ to our boy, a Rastafarian named Leon who said 'ern' instead of 'or', and were prepared to either ask for our money back or get our heads blown off with excitement.

Luckily, it was the latter.

Cassie's alarm went off at 6 and surprisingly time seemed to fly as we got ready for the day and dropped my make up down the large, open drain that was our sink in the now 35$ a night room (we downgraded after we decided that if we could whether Brooklyn in the heat we could surely whether Belize……….. wrong.) So now it was time for the upgrade! We rushed about getting ready, sweating profusely and finally realizing it was 6:30 and we still had to check out of our hotel, check into the new hotel and get to the dock to meet the tour group all in 20 minutes! The Belizean minute had turned it's back on us and left us when we needed it most! While Cassie finished packing I rushed downstairs and harassed the people standing outside on the streets, wondering why the front desk wasn't open and where we could drop off the keys. They told me to leave them in the deli next door and only then did we realize: the deli wasn't open yet! We continued to batter and harass the girl who had locked herself in the front office, begging her to take our keys because we HAD TO GET OUT OF THERE. Finally we decided to take to the beach and just check into the new hotel, hoping by the time we returned our front desk would have its business in check. So there we are, running down the beach with our luggage trailing us. We get to the new hotel and, surprise, surprise: the front doors are locked! After banging frantically on them a little old man came to our service, clearly wondering what in the world was going on. We explained we'd changed rooms the night before and needed desperately to check in and leave our stuff with the front desk so we could go see some ruins GOSH DARNIT! The man shuffled around, looking for any documents that said we'd checked in and finally we spat it out, "JUST LET US LEAVE OUR STUFF." He begrudgingly opened the office door and showed us a spot to leave our things, practically scratching his head and wondering what these crazy foreigners were going on about. Finally, I said, 'Carla checked us in. She said everything was settled, when is she here?!' Only then did the man turn to us and say, 'Carla only gets in at 6…' I rushed out of the hotel, running while Cassie stood there and stared at the clock on the wall. We ran back to the old hotel, now drenched in sweat and never realizing that the sun hadn't even started rising yet. Finally Cassie stopped me, took out her cell phone and realized something horrible: the night before the young girls who had come into our room had been playing with her cell phone and, unbeknownst to us, set her clock back to EST time-zone… meaning… it was 4:50am.

We nearly fainted with laughter realizing that we had woke up at 4 in the morning, rushed around shouting at people and demanding them to open their front doors at 5am and all the while we looked like crazy time consumed New Yorkers. Where was there even a place to go at 4am? Why hadn't anyone taken the time to stop us and wonder why we were OUT OF OUR MINDS?!

While Cassie went to sleep I grabbed a breakfast burrito full of deliciousness (from the deli that had finally opened it's doors due to our incessant nagging) and walked down the beach only to realize that crabs enjoyed running over my feet most at 5 in the morning. I stifled my screams while I settled into a beach chair and watched the sun rise over the Caribbean Sea. Not only was I horribly lonely, but I was completely blown away at the fact that I was in Central America sitting next to the CARIBBEAN SEA. I took a few thousand pictures and then headed back to the hotel room to wait for Cassie to awake. We got up, checked out (for good and at a reasonable hour) and headed down to the dock where we met up with Leon and waited for an additional 20 Belizean minutes for the tour group to actually show up.

 

 

Upon getting – or, rather, CRAWLING - onto the boat (the tour guide kept saying, 'get in like it's your car…' finally we responded with grunts of, 'but my car isn't a BOAT.') we realized we'd made a large mistake: the tour (and whole ISLAND, for that matter) was chock full o' couples. 6 on our tour, to be exact, and then poor ol' Cassie and me. We didn't notice much (aside from me noticing the DROP DEAD SEXY man with his girlfriend next to us) because as we sped across the water towards the native town of Bomba (Leon's hometown) we were too overcome with excitement that we were going on a REAL LIVE SAFARI to notice the three strange men that had not only come alone, but dressed like weirdos. First there was 'The Birdman'. The Birdman was a man of about 65 years of age who was clad in a full safari get-up. We're talking Steve Irwin crocodile hunter hat, kaki pants and a kaki shirt. He would stop the boat at EXTREMELY inappropriate times and throw Cassie out of the way to get pictures of these birds that he ranted and raved about. The Putu was his ABSOLUTE FAV and it almost cost Cassie her life. We later learned The Birdman was extremely friendly with the natives, newly married (Married? What nutjob married him?) and on a first name basis with the entire tribe of Bomba (which consisted of about 10 people; one named Ernesto who is my soon-to-be husband.) Next came 'The Bald Man'. There's not much to say about the Bald Man's appearance… clearly he is just that: bald. He donned a blue bandana tied around his head and talked fondly to the native dogs of Bomba whilst wiping residue out of their eyes (no, that's not a joke). The bald man took fondly to Cassie, me and anyone else would listen to him talk about anything and everything under the sun. He was 'happy to get to the mainland' after a 'long six days on the islands'. Word, brotha. Word. He also told us about the plot of a wonderful book-turned-movie called "The Ruins" which basically entails a bunch of kids messing around at some Mayan ruins and dying because of it. We literally could not WAIT to get to the ruins after that. Last but DEFINITELY NOT LEAST came my personal favorite: The Russian Spaniard. He seemed fairly normal on the first boat ride over to Bomba but on our SECOND boat ride (to the actual ruins) we got to experience the true Russian Spaniard as he took off all his clothes and jumped into the lagoon full of wild life and most importantly crocodiles. No one was really sure if The Russia Spaniard was Russian or Spanish or just downright crazy but apparently the word 'Lamanai' and it's meaning meant nothing to him because he frolicked in that water like a newborn baby. The Birdman, The Baldman and the Russian Spaniard gave us hours of terrified fun as we made our tri-legged journey over to the ruins.

It started with a boat ride to Bomba where we experienced the natives, their food (a rodent called a gibnut who made the most horrible sound known to mankind and looked like offspring of Splinter from The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and their toilets - not so much fun, that one. Next we got on a bus driven by my Rastafarian fiancé, Ernesto, and rode through the rainforest. Literally. We learned about the natural trees and herbs of the rainforest and what they healed and how our tour guide used marijuana to cure his wife and 2 year olds son's asthma. He would just put some in the formula for his son and cook some into his wife's food. Couldn't. Be. Smarter. We also got to pick up the two CUTEST old people from their farm and drop them off down the road at their families house. The man was missing all his teeth and had one lazy eye and I still loved him to death. Our last leg of the tour was the safari. We got on another boat and saw crocodiles, turtles, tons of birds (to the Birdman's delight and Cassie's terror) and even BATS! But, I must say, the most disturbing encounter we had on our entire safari was the clan of Mennonites (Amish for you UN-EDUCATED). Some time ago they moved to Belize and took up their duties on the shore of the lagoon in which the ruins are on and as we passed by their settlement our tour guide, Edie, slowed down the boat and allowed the crazy Americans to lean out and snap a few pictures of the boys swimming in the water. Who, at one point, grabbed onto the front of the boat and enjoyed a free ride down the wild-life infested river. Safe. I was beyond surprised the Russian Spaniard didn't join him.

When we finally pulled up to the ruins (after 3 hours) our tour guide, Edie, pointed out a temple whose top was visible over the canopy of trees and said, 'We can climb that later.' We didn't really pay much attention as we got seated at a picnic table and began to feel the humidity of the mainland while we had fried bananas, stewed chicken, rice and beans and delicious FANTA (the beverage of choice in Belize, next to the Belikin Beer brewed in Belize) The first thing we did in the jungle was see some howler monkeys! Wish were pretty awesome. Awesome enough to warrant the first 10 minutes of our tour while birdman and co stood underneath and snapped picture after picture. We got to taste the allspice seeds that came off the tree the monkey's lived in and it NUMBED YOUR MOUTH! Crazy stuff. We made our way over to the first ruin which was awesome and encompassed a nutty stone sculpture of a Jaguar. We continued on our trip ooh-ing and aah-ing over the ruins and then we came to the mother of them all: the High Temple. The name says it all. Just like the Bald Man being bald the High Temple was RIDICULOUSLY high. And then we spotted it: the yellow rope trailing up the side of the stairs. I looked at Cassie and with all the courage I could muster said, 'Are we doing this?' She responded with, 'I'm never going to get another chance to climb a Mayan Temple… just give me a minute.' We eyed the temple with fear as the theme song to Rocky played in my head and then, just like that, we went for it. I was sweating bullets by the first step and definitely had an out of body moment when we got to the second tier. I looked down, feeling faint, and then climbed to the top, amazed at the view and how quickly I'd developed a fear of heights. Howler monkeys were going nuts in the distance while Cassie and I went into cardiac arrest for a minute and then it was time to descend. I sat down on the edge and contemplated my death and how okay I'd be with it at that moment, took a deep breath, and slid down the entire ruin on my butt. There was no way I was going to make it down any other way. After that ruin I don't really recall much since my organs were shutting down, but I do recall our tour guide trying to coax a tarantula out of its home.

 

 

At that point I had had enough. My scarf was wrapped around my head like I was a leukemia patient – but only according to Cassie… I was more prone to believe I looked like Lucielle Ball - and my stamina was dropping quickly. The three legs of the ride home were exciting but not that exciting (except for when we almost left the Russian Spaniard at the ruins. OH, and those delicious Coconut Brownies we had…) But if I continue to write I will really bore the pants off of everyone. So this is the end, but not before I include my favorite quote of the trip. On our final leg home I turned to Cassie and asked if she wanted to put her arm around me since all the other couples seemed to be doing the same as the sun set and we rode along the Caribbean Sea. Cassie turned to me in all honesty and said, 'You don't even want to smell my arm pit right now.' I think that's a fantastic depiction of how far we let ourselves go this trip and just how much we sweat making our way up to the High Temple. So thank you, one and all, for letting me share my favorite quote, embarrass Cassie and star on The One Love for just one night.

120 Seconds In A Belizean Minute

September 01, 2008

I swear that time moves slower in Belize. It's kind of an amazing thing though - nobody here is ever rushed and they just take things as they come. Nobody is ever in a hurry. I'm going to admit though, this lifestyle definitely stresses me out. I always like to be doing something "productive" - and just chilling out can be a little difficult. I'm trying though - I promise!

Friday's activities revolved around going snorkeling. Lauren is terrified of sharks, so we opted for the Tres Cocos and Mexico Rocks dive sites vs. Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. We were the only first time snorkelers on our trip, so we were a little bit terrified of just putting on some fins and jumping off of the side of the boat. However, after getting used to occasionally inhaling salt water and getting yelled at for kicking to closely to the coral, I must admit that it was a pretty baller experience. It's crazy to see what's going on underwater.

After this, we went out to Wild Mango's and experienced amazing smoothies and margaritas. The night eventually ended up with me unsuccessfully scaling a palm tree and beating a coconut with a lawn chair until it finally fell out. I attempted to drink it but that didn't work out. After this I briefly visited the Jaguar club by myself, but left because the mouth door wasn't open yet.

Saturday was a "hang out on the beach and tan" day. However, these festivities didn't last very long considering three factors:

a. Lauren and I are the whitest people on the island, and only turn red rather than tan
b. There is limited swimming area in the ocean due to moss
c. We have really small attention spans


So, our plans only last 1 hour rather than 6 left us with nothing to do. This is when we really started to experience the true meaning of the Belizean minute. We would look at the clock, thinking that an hour passed by, but it would really only be ten minutes late. It was absolutely nuts.

I decided to pool hop next. This kept me occupied for about 20 minutes until I got disturbed. I swear it seemed like an hour.

There were these three small local children who nicknamed Lauren "San Pedro Belize" due to her baller shirt she purchased the says "San Pedro Belize." She invited them up to drink smoothies at Wild Mangos. Unfortunately, this ended up only occupying 15 minutes of our time. We were back to the drawing board.

This eventually led us to exploring the "other" side of Ambergis Caye. We discovered that there was about one other restaurant on the other side of the island called "Sunset Grill." However, this restaurant had a special activity - you could feed TARPON. I didn't really know much about the fish prior to this event, but now I know that they are a prized by fishermen, not really eaten by humans, and can grow up to eight feet long. I'm telling you, these things were massive.

They sent Lauren and I over to the other side of the restaurant and put us on this low dock right next to the water. We waited in anticipation for 15 minutes (I didn't mind, I was excited to see time passing by) until we were given a bucket of raw fish scraps. Lauren asked what kind of fish it was, and they answered "Oh, you know, a lot of different types of fish that were lying around." Delicious.

So, now it was time to feed the fish. I must admit, this was one of the highlight of my trip. I would take a piece of raw fish (keep in mind that I hate fish) and stick half of it into the water. The tarpons would literally swim right up and take it out of my hands - it was nuts. It was kind of frightening, and Lauren would scream every time a fish would jump up and take the bait out of my hand. Lauren got in a few feeds as well, but I handled a majority of the scraps. Those giant fish got me soaked, but it was pretty awesome.

Next, we went over to Elvi's, which was amazing. I got Mayan chicken and red rice and beans...absolutely amazingly tasty. Mmmmmmmmm.

Then we decided to sit out on the beach after dinner. We were just hanging out and discussing the toilets at Ruby's. Good times. Then all the sudden, these four children approach us. Really cute kids, and one of them had a small animal in his arms. As Lauren reached out to pet the "puppy," she realized it was a baby raccoon. We freaked out and asked where they got the thing, and the children answered "around." They then proceeded to run up and down the beach while manhandling the raccoon. The animal didn't really seem to mind though.

Around 9pm, we decided to head to bed because we had to get up early the next day for our Mayan Ruins field trip. However, about 10 minutes later, two local girls were knocking at our door for two reasons:

a. We were playing Jesse McCartney
b. They were trying to sell us tamales

We let them in for a little while to discuss life and the kinds of music they liked. Both girls were avid Jonas Brothers fans, so Lauren ran them over to the internet cafe so that she could show them a few photos she had with the guys. It's so cool to be able to talk to people in different parts of the world about the same band. Truly magical - one of the reasons why I love my job. Music is universal - and I realize it the more and more I travel.

The girls eventually left our hotel room, and we decided that we were going to move hotels the next day due to a combination of:

a. Lack of air-conditioning
b. We didn't have a separate bathroom in our hotel room, but rather a stall.
c. Fear of small gypsies

We ran next store to the Sunbreeze Hotel, where we made plans to check in at 6:30am - right before our trip to Lamanai. Or so we thought....

The Lamanai trip will get a separate blog. It was that baller.

The Kenny Chesney, Corona Endorsed, War Zone

August 31, 2008

(Wrote this several days ago - there is much more to come!)

 

So, I have officially arrived in Belize.  All I have to say is that...

It's AMAZING.

When we arrived I thought we were going to land in a jungle.  Rivers, crazy trees, animals, and dirt roads.  It was awesome.

We took a taxi (1980's Chevy Malibu station wagon) into Belize City, which was pretty much amazing.  We were driving on a two lane highway with a jungle to our right and the Carribean Sea to our left - was really just completely unbelievable.

Our very nice taxi driver dropped us off at the water taxi station, and left us a man similar to Flava Flav.  We had an hour in the waiting room, which was spent watching The Weather Channel and brushing up on Gustav facts .  We accomplished a lot more during this hour as well.  Lauren got a new boyfriend, and I purchased warm chopped mango from a street vendor who had somehow wandered into the waiting room.  Probably wasn't the smartest thing I did that day, but it was definitely delicious.

Next was the water taxi, which was a pretty exciting experience.  Essentially, there were about 50 people loaded into a giant speedboat.  It took us about an hour and a half to arrive in San Pedro, but we finally did it!  We walked off of the dock and made our way through the sandy streets with suitcases in tow.  It wasn't an easy task, and it made us sweat a WHOLE lot (it's WAY hot here), but we made our way crosstown on foot despite the dozen offers from taxi cab and golf cart drivers.

We're staying at a smart budget hotel called Ruby's, which is absolutely adorable.  We opted for a slightly more expensive room so that we could have air conditioning and an ocean front you - and it's definitely work it.  I kid you not, when you step out onto our balcony, you feel like you're in a Kenny Chesney/Corona magazine ad.  This place is beautiful.

We immediately showered, and then Lauren took a brief nap while I located the nearest internet cafe and caught up on e-mails.  When I got back, we decided to go out for an early dinner at Blue Moon.  We made friends with our server, Juan, who told us great stories about people snorting salsa like cocaine and helping 14 year old girls drink underage.  In addition to these wonderful stories, I must say that this place had GREAT mexican food and absolutely superb salsa.  It made my eyes water, but it was too good to let that stop me.  I also purchased a margarita from Juan, which was definitely the best margarita I have ever tasted in my life.

Next we took a walk down the beach.  Lauren practiced her spanish on two eight year old little boys - they were discussing a dead blowfish. They we met a guy named Wicked who was carrying a fish that he had just caught out of the ocean.  He was rushing home to fry it up - sounds delicious.

That's all of my updates for today - going swimming with stingrays and sharks tomorrow.  I will keep you all posted!

Gas Station Accidents

August 20, 2008

So.

Today, I was at a gas station in Nashville, and I accidently drove off with the nozzle in the tanks.

I broke the hose and gas came pouring out everywhere.

It was hilarious, but I'm an idiot.

That's all :)

kentucky

August 17, 2008

Just got into Kentucky late this evening. Lots of good things have happened already.

 

I picked up my grandma in Lancaster, OH and she gets to the house and flashes everyone (including my little sister's friend). She felt the urge to show us her new black bra.

 

My uncle has a pet skunk. Evidently it's similiar to a cat.

 

I have a little cousin who looks like Lil' Chris, and he's decided to deck himself out in skulls.

 

There's a farting cat in my bed. He won't leave.

 

I'm going to attempt to cover my nose and sleep now.

22 year old teen

August 13, 2008

Ah, what a great past few weeks of music. Made me realize why I made the move to the big city.

So many fun/amazing/hilarious shows. The reason I got so excited about everything was because pop music is back! Like 1999/2000 pop music madness - and that rules.

I had two favorite shows during the past two weeks. The first one was Honor Society at The Knitting Factory. These guys just keep getting better and better, and their audience keeps getting bigger and bigger. I'm so excited to watch these guys rise to the top. Check it out below:



The other concert experience was kind of a last minute/unexpected experience, but it was completely amazing. I imed Lauren and said "Yo, wanna go see Jonas tonight?" She responds "Yes, let's do it." Goes on Ticketmaster and happens to pull up two AMAZING tickets to the sold out show at Madison Square Garden that night. We went, and absolutely went nuts. I love the J Bros, but wouldn't consider myself a huge fan by any means. It was the energy of the young crowd - it made me feel like I was 14 and at a BSB show again. So awesome.

The thing that sent me over the edge was when surprise guest Taylor Swift came out on stage and I completely flipped out.

Yes, I love Taylor Swift.
Yes, I love surprise guests.

However, I think the reason was so excited it that I saw one of the ultimate country pop crossover things that I could ever witness with my own eyes. That's what I want to happen to Wild Honey, and to see if happen 15 feet in front of me in Madison Square Garden was literally one of my favorite music moments of all times.

So yes, I'm excited that I'm excited about music again :) I was scared that it went away, but it's good to know that it's still there and always will be.

this is one of those weeks that i live for

August 05, 2008

One of those crazy music weeks where you have something awesome to do every night. Something that your excited about. Something that makes you excited about your career.

Recaps will be coming soon, but in the meantime, you can learn The Honor Roll. And if you're in the NYC area, you should come out to The Knitting Factory TONIGHT (August 5th) and rock it. Doors are at 7:30pm. This is going to be a show that you don't want to miss - I promise.

This Is What I've Been Waiting For...

August 04, 2008

3 1/2 years.  I've always wanted to see this. Thank you Asia for making it happen. I got so excited it made me cry a little.

Theo - It's Short For Theoretical

July 30, 2008

So.

I have a pet turtle.

Yes, many people find that quite strange.  I think I do as well.

His name is Theo - which is short for Theodore (His name was recently changed to Theoretical thought - just an FYI).  I purchased him at a Florida giftshop.  This was probably illegal, but the stores get away with it by using the "educational purposes" card.  I felt bad for the little turtles...probably about 100 of them in a tank that's way too small.  I had a turtle in the past, but let is go into a friend's fish pond when it got very large.  So I had the soft spot, and the little turtles totally made me cave in.

Now he's really hyper.

I'm glad I got him though.  He's an easy pet, adorable, and always listens.  And he jumps off his rock and swims over to me when I get home.  I promise I'm not crazy.

I think that Theo lives a pretty exciting life for a turtle.  He's only been my pet for four months, and he's already experienced all of these exciting things:

- Having a song re-written exclusively for him.  He my baby Theo.
- Video chatting with several different people, and attempted video chats with Aaron Carter and Perez Hilton.  I think that rocks.
- Lived in Florida, Nashville, and Brooklyn.  Made the road trips with me, and even took a crazy trip through Manhattan.  His water was splashing everywhere during this trip.
- Gotten the house to himself for several weeks in a row while I went on vacation.
- His own Facebook page dedicated to him, and a steady flow of incoming tribute photos.

Below are some pictures of my little baby - you know you love him!

That's Why I Love This Town

July 19, 2008

However, I don't like that song closing a set at a massive historical concert at Central Park.  Tisk tisk Bon Jovi, didn't know you would let me down like that.

I'm on a plane to Philadelphia right now, heading back from my fun week in Nashville.  I always seem to prolong my trips where ever I go.  Excuses are always easy to come up with, but I think excuses exist because people are trying to convince themselves that they aren't lame.  I changed my flight for several reasons (there's always several reasons, right?), but I think the main reason is because I wanted to sleep.  Lame, right?  I'm not even going to try to convince myself that I'm not lame.  I always came up with some reasonable business excuses which are all valid, but the sleep was totally the main reason.  Spending an extra day with all of the cool people I know in music city wasn't bad either :)

Remind me to start flying at night.  I'm so much more productive right now.  Early flights just make me take an uncomfortable nap.

I had a fun 22nd birthday celebration in Nashville - which included two shows and americanized mexican food.  I think that sums up my interests pretty well, so I was happy with the outcome.  Had a fun group of people come hang out.  However, the highlight of the night was actually seeing JOSIAH!  We met up for late night desserts/soup/sandwichs and sang/rapped/danced for a few hours.  Good times.

Josiah
He on Fiah
I'm not a Liah
He'll take ya highiah
(written and performed by Jade Driver)

Another exciting thing that happened (this was totally worth changing my flight) was a celebrity siting while Jade and I were out the other evening.  We were in Cool Springs (outside of Nashville) dining at the fabulous Calypso Cafe.  There were probably about a total of 10 people dining at this local place, and then all the sudden Jade looks at me and whispers "OMG is that Keith Urban?"  I looked at him and was like...hmmm could be.  Guy had the build, hair, etc.  He was alone, and hung around while he waited for his to-go order.  Jade and I stared because we weren't sure, and we thought we were imagining the Australian accent.  After 15 minutes of Jade trying to hold back her tears (yes, I am serious), he left and we decided to go pay for our meals at the counter.  As he was leaving, Jade asked what he was driving and I responded "Not sure, I can only see the top from here and it looks like a sedan."  Then we stood up and saw this beautiful black Bentley, and looked at each other and realize that it was definitely Keith Urban.  It was cool to see somebody so freakin' famous doing something alone and being completely normal.  He was super nice to everyone in the restaurant - and seemed like a very down to earth guy.  I sent our siting into Perez, but I guess someone being nice and normal isn't very buzzworthy.

Also, while in Nashville, I decided that I have a list of people that make me feel uncomfortable (not in a bad way, but a funny/hilarious way because I am really awkward).  I'm not going to write out this list, but it's pretty funny.  I guess it's fun to make me feel awkward.

I'm so excited about work right now.  I feel like everything is falling into place with the company right now, and that we're finally getting the right projects we need to take it to the next level.  All the projects I'm working on right now pretty much rule, and that makes me excited.  Almost there...almost there :)

Alright, they're making me my computer away now.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend - talk to you soon!




swimming in it

July 12, 2008

This is what I wanted.  And now I'm here.  You forget how hard moving is until you do it again.

Living here hasn't been easy, but then again I shouldn't of expected it to be.  I feel like I've been thrown so many financial, automotive, professional, and emotional speed bumps - but I'm making it through.  It's kind of like your first semester of college.  You deal with it and then everything gets better.

Don't get me wrong though - a lot of amazing things have been happening. 

Business is pretty good - I feel like the move really made things start happening on all different ends.  We're working on the Nashville Star project, which has been pretty cool - and just picked up a few more that I think we will love.

I got a last minute/amazing opportunity to make the road with Wild Honey to Minnesota, which was a completely surreal experience for everyone involved.  First big show, first big road trip.  I still don't believe it was real.

My little sister came up here to visit, and that was so much fun.  It was good to see her get out of Kentucky.  I'm glad I got to experience her first flight and her first view of the New York skyline with her.  She's such a good kid.  I think her trip might have inspired to try to do something a little different with life.

Last night I was Wicked, which was absolutely freaking amazing.  It was my first Broadway play, and I definitely wouldn't of had it any other way.  The story line, music, performers...everything was just absolutely fantastic.  I need to see more - and suggestions?

I finally got highly anticipated piece of mail, which put my life back on track again.  I hate that it controls me so much, but it does.  Life is better with it.

There's a lot of great new things in progress for The One Love right now - so be sure to keep checking back for updates.  I will let you know that we will be launching a merch store soon, and setting this site up so that anybody and everybody can blog.  Finally!

That's it for now - hope you all have a wonderful weekend :)

Has Anyone Ever Played Red Butt?

June 05, 2008

Alright, so I had realization the other day that I am a red neck.

 

Lauren and I were walking down 16th street in Manhattan, and I looked to my right and saw several children throwing a ball at a brick wall.  I turned to Lauren and exclaimed "Real live New Yorkers Playing Red Butt!"  She turns to me and says "What the hell is that?"  I then explained and realized that it wasn't a common game up here in the North, and that the real live New Yorkers were not playing my beloved childhood game.

 

Red Butt is a really simple game.  All you need is some sort of brick wall with a concrete surface in front of it and a tennis ball.  At least three people should play the game, but you could probably have about a dozen people playing it at once.  The goal of the game is to throw the ball at the wall as hard as possible, and then try to make people accidently drop/touch the ball when it bounces back.  When you drop/touch the ball on accident and don't catch it, you have to run and touch the wall.  If somebody else picks up the ball and throws it against the wall before you touch the wall, you get a "strike."  Three strikes and you're up for red butt time.

 

This is where the game gets fun.  One you've gotten three strikes, you have to stand up against the wall with your back to everyone.  Each person gets to throw the ball at you and they are supposed to aim for your butt.  This is the reason the game is called red butt.

 

I enjoyed this game very much as a child.  Did anybody else?  Or am I just a Kentucky red neck?

 

Last Night In Tennessee

May 04, 2008

It's the first place that ever felt like home to me, and I think that it will always be home.

It's the first place where I realized that dreams can come true.  And that they do.  And that you can help them along if you work hard enough.

It's the first place I found that had people like me.

It's the first place where I discovered that maybe I was okay at talking to people.

It's the first place that made me realize that there were more cities that I needed to see.  And that there are a lot more I still need to see.

It's the first place where I was an adult.

It's the first place where I got a real job.  A job that I liked.  It's the first place I quit a job, and the first place I got fired.

It's the first place where I met people from the internet.  Even convinced one of them to move here.  People from the internet aren't always creepy, but sometimes they are.  Like Shady Ed - he's creepy.

It's the first place that made me realize school was important, but for different reasons.

It's the first place where I watch a show and beamed like a proud parent.

It's the first place where I saw four different concerts in one night.

It's the first place that made me realize how blessed I am to have awesome siblings.  The rest of my family can be pretty cool too.

It's the first place where I felt like I was good at something.

It's the first place where people came to visit me.  And met half way in bowling green.

It's the first place where somebody threw me a surprise going away party.  It's one of my favorite things anybody has ever done for me.  The group of people that was there is perfect.

Nashville has been good to me.  Really good to me.  I will miss everyone here so freaking much.  I didn't realize how sad leaving was going to be until I sat down at that table at Noshville.  These four years here have been completely amazing, and I'm so glad that I've been surrounded by so many awesome people.  I left The Crescent tonight and cried.  I haven't stopped, but I'm going to try to sleep now.  I have to get up early to finish packing.

Adios.  I'll be back soon.

My Art Gallery

April 13, 2008

My good friend Leigh introduced the term "oil painting" into my vocabulary a long time ago.  It's something that people usually respond to awkwardly when I first use the term around them, but then they often warm up to it and sometimes weave the term into their own everyday life.  For those of you wondering, an "oil painting" is a situation or scenario that seems completely unimaginable or not very realistic.  Let me give you an example:

 

Cassie: Hey Leigh, one day I am going to be tan!

Leigh: Yeah....I have an oil painting of that.

 

You see, Leigh knows that I will probably never be tan.  However, sometimes if you work hard and just believe, oil paintings do come true.  Below are some of my favorites:

 

- Meeting the Backstreet Boys by using fake backstage passes that were created on paint and half shoplifted satin paper stickers sheets from Meijer.

- Speaking in front of 400 people on a microphone and not stuttering tremendously nor turning red.

- Actually appreciating my family, and my family appreciating me.

- Turning down a promotion at a record label and then quitting my job.

- Finding a band on MySpace and watching them get signed, blow up, and release a record.

- Flying to Europe by myself, and then meeting Jade at the train station in Watford Junction to continue our journey to the Cavern Club.

- Knowing amazing people all around the world.

- Co-owning a business.

- Attending a college party with my high school friends and an ex-convict on a bike that he bought for five dollars.

- Working in the music business.

- The One Love.

- Nate Campany playing at Red Hot Room.

- Escorting a Hall of Fame inductee at the CMA Awards.

- Seeing The Click Five and McFly share the same stage for five nights.

- Meeting Lou Pearlman in a catering line, and telling him how much I admired his work.  (This oil painting is now not worth as much as it once was...you can get it on eBay for about $3 now).

- Driving a bumperless car, and dealing with all of the shame that came with it.

- Buying an animal that lives for forty years.  I don't do the pet thing...much less the 40 year pet thing.  What was I thinking?  Is having a turtle when I'm 60 an oil painting?

- Graduating college in three years.  Or just graduating college period.

- Hiding out in a roller coaster cart repair room to meet Aaron Carter.  I was u nsuccessful.

- Puppy Surprise.  I said there were four, but there were really only two.  Sorry, I can't count.

- Being flashed by a transvestite in a porn shop parking lot on Valentine's day.  That was a weird night.

- Watching songs develop from start to finish.

- My friends and I successfully crashing celeb studded Kentucky Derby parties in the ninth grade while wearing prom dresses.

- My divorced parents uniting to attend a Limp Bizkit, DMX, and Godsmack concert.

- My little sister not letting me hang out with her now that she's 17, even though I always brought her along when I was 17.  You would think it wouldn't be as bad since I'm older, but obviously I'm not very cool.

- Breaking into Madison Square Garden to see a sold out Justin Timberlake show.

- My prom date jumping out of a tree when I went to pick him up.  He did not have a suit.  This was a disaster, but kind of funny now.  Sometimes oil paintings get better with age.

- Meeting Myspace Tom, and him actually coming to see The Click Five because we invited him too.  Unfortunately, nobody would put him on the guestlist so I had to give him my tickets and purchase more from scalpers.  He never knew.

- Vomiting on Rodeo Drive, and then not remembering it later.  However, I do remember waiting for the free chicken sandwiches at McDonald's at 10am.  I could do an entire exhibit on this night.

- Paying off a credit card.

- Moving to New York City.

 

I have a lot more that I'm hoping to add to my collection.  What oil paintings do you have?

 

Google It

April 09, 2008

So...you know how you think nobody can see what you type into Google?  We, we can!  Below are some of the things people have typed into Google that have brought them to our wonderful website:

the one love tesco james bourne

amazing tuxedos

chap stique wedding

whitney nemick

belmont university hot guys

4 cheese macaroni and cheese mike

ben and beka

ben romans arrest search

catherine synowiec

cinderella lollipops

cowboy kit

danny roselle family

gia farrell tattoos

evan farmer naked

i'd like to meet walt disney

is everyone in sweden blonde and blue eyed

jade driver, country music

mary kate petrey

nate campany true love

my house guese house in bangkok

petrey family ky

where did ben romans go to high school?

i like hangovers

i rollup to your crib in my sleigh

chap stique's phone

chris stahl cincinnati

nomadic fanny pack

old greg clothing

caroline bocko

lightning mtsu

click five papparazzi pic

winter beard

macho psycho sweden

poetry on motorcycles

 

After You

March 02, 2008

 

I had an absolutely wonderful trip to the Northeast.  I drove up there about two weeks ago, and stayed up there for as long as I possibly could.  Thank you to everyone that housed me on my trip - I REALLY appreciate it.  You all were amazing hosts.  Highlight list is below:

 

- Taking my little sister to see The Jonas Bros. in Evansville, driving back to Louisville, then leaving for the city five hours later...crazy but soon.  Lil' MK had a great time at the show.  Seeing a concert with glasses was really great too...I didn't realize that I was blind and that I was actually supposed to be able to see audience members!

- Experiencing S'MAC with Lauren for the very first time.  Please read Eric's blog for more information on this amazing establishment.  I promise, it's as amazing as it looks.

- TOKIO HOTEL.  I had an absolutely wonderful/hilarious time at this show.  I would of paid $20 just to look at Bill's hair for an hour...it's absolutely unreal.  It was so cool to see a German band sell out The Fillmore with virtually no marketing in this country.  More power to the internet!  This audience at this was absolutely insane and I loved it.  I can't wait to see this guys when I come back.  READY SET GO IT'S TIME TO RUNNNNN!

- Going back to college.  I did it all.  Stayed in a dorm room, showered in a stall, ate in the dining hall, and of course...rode on the campus shuttle!

- Howie Day in Philadelphia.  This show was absolutely amazing.  I was so nervous to this show for many different reasons...and basically made it in right as the show started, and left as soon as he went off stage.  He was freakin' phenomenal...it was nice to be able to step away from the marketing and just realize that he's good.  We also ate a meal at a sit down restaurant in less than 10 minutes...including the ordering and paying our check.  We rule.

- Got snowed in at York...is was crazy.  I hydroplaned into a hill!  I promise it was more funny that scary...but still kind of scary.  Lauren was kind enough to let me crash at her place again.

- Watching TV (I don't do this very often) and learning about Martha Moxley and Shaken Baby Syndrome.  It was a lot to digest in three hours.

- Finally experiencing Bay Ridge - it's so freaking cute!  I love driving in Brooklyn for some reason...it makes me feel like I can do anything (I know, I'm lame).

- Pizza party with Whitney and Ben Romans 

- Wonderful meetings in the city :)

- Howie Day at Joe's Pub....my favorite show of the trip.  Amazing...amazing.

- Discovering that there was a K-Mart at the Astor Place stop, and then learning that Devin purchased an $80 bike from there

- Experiencing the Jersey music scene...including The Stone Pony!  This was a pretty exciting trip to say to least.  It was so....Jersey.  Lauren got pulled over too...because she passed a cop at 80 in a 65.  "Cassie, do you think I'll get pulled over if I pass this cop."  "Yes, you will."  Lauren passes cop.  Why?  I still really don't know.  Fortunately, he thought she was a moron and let her off easy.  Pretty funny!

- Discovering Honor S ociety - check them out when you get a chance.  Great band and great people.

- Howie Day in Boston.  I was excited that I actually got to the venue without getting lost (I tend to do that in Boston).  Fun show...went out with Lauren and Tommy from The Crash Moderns (yes, that's what he would call himself too) after the show and discussed a company called The Oral Butler.

- Yonkers and the cat in the Bronx

- Lots of mexican food, but no Taco Bell :(

- Late night games that involve Europeans, music videos, large crowds of people, old women, blue plastic, and diet coke.

- Lauren's dog crapping on my towel.

- Driving home and learning the entire Hannah Montana CD (yes, I am a twelve year old pop music loving child at heart).

 

Alright...as you can tell I had WAYYY too much fun.  Can't wait to get back up there in May :)

 

Get Well Soon

February 15, 2008

Just when I thought things we're getting better, I realized that they were even worse than I imagined.

 

My whole family is lying to me and everyone else.  The lies need to stop so that he can get better.  The lies keep him from the consequences.  Somebody once told me that gossip was the great equalizer, and I think that quote is absolutely amazing.  Gossip keeps people from doing things things that they know they shouldn't do, but I think that the lack of gossip is keeping him going.

 

I thought he was being safe and sheltered.  I was told he was getting well.  Lies, once again.  Was out and about at Target, and then did a double take when I came across him.  I talked to him.  He lied to me.  I knew he was lying.  He knew I knew he was lying, but he just kept on going.  He was ill.   Some people and situations never change.  This has stayed the same for ten years, and I've pretty much become numb to it.  I think that's the part that makes me the most upset.  I hate that I don't care, but I just don't.  Well, I guess I do, but not for the same reasons I used too.  I think it's more about my siblings at this point.  I know EXACTLY how they feel, and that makes me feel even worse.

 

I just hope he doesn't hurt himself anymore...or anybody else.  I'm scared of what happens if it gets worse.  There's not much room for worse.  The consequences are fatal.

 

Sometimes I wish there was more I could do.  Maybe there is?  I'm trying and praying...I guess that's all I really can do.

 

Get well soon.

 

I'm An Outcast

February 10, 2008

My little sister imed this to me today.  This is why my family thinks I am strange.

emily: dude
emily: i take after you
emily: i dressed up in a sheep costume and yelled bahh out the window to everyone and went in kroger like that

 

 

 

Brace Yourself

February 04, 2008

So, I'm totally 17 again.

 

Last weekend, I went to go see Matt Nathanson in Alabama.  It was a last minute trip, and we decided to head down there when my plans to see Jimmy Eat World fell through once again (JEW is the band that I'm just not destined to see).  All I have to say is that everything worked out perfectly, and it was the best show I have seen in a long time.

 

Matt Nathanson is one of the most genuine artists out there right now.  He's content with playing 300 person venues, traveling in a van, and just playing good music.  He smiles at all the right times while he's performing, and I'd like to believe it's a combination of loving his job and thinking about the exact moments that the songs were written about.  On top of that, the man is absolutely hilarious.  He makes you feel like your in his home just hanging out, talking, and listening to him play.  In fact, he even unplugged his guitar and stepped away from the microphone during the encore, and had everyone quietly sing along to my favorite song.  It was completely perfect.

 

The whole night, Cathy and I talked about how much we missed Howie Day.  We were introduced to Matt through the Howie community, so it was a slightly nostalgic experience for us.  We had followed Howie around during high school, and basically ended up traveling the country at a young age because of it.  It was good times.

 

The next day, Howie announced five tour dates.  It was the first time in like two years...CRAZY!  I bought tickets for three of the dates.  It was the only time I've ever bought tickets to a show really far away without questioning it at all.  I was just thinking to myself, "I have to go...I will figure it out later."  Needless to say, I will be making a road trip to the Northeast later this month.  I'll be hitting up the three Howie shows along with some other good shows :)  I'm in the process of setting up some great meetings as well.

 

If the February Theory ever did exist, it is now gone from my life.  It seems to be vanishing from everyone else's as well.  For those of your who don't know, the February Theory is that February is a shitty month.

 

Now I must sleep - I have a GREAT week coming up and need to be well rested :)

I Love New York

January 24, 2008

The city always shows me a good time.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the show at The Bitter End...we all had a really great night :)  Saw a lot of wonderful people, and met a lot of new ones as well.  Ladyhattan filmed the whole thing, so everyone will be able to see the show!  Keep checking back for more details.

I think my favorite part of the evening when somebody who had never heard of the site before came up to me during the show and thanked me for creating the site and supporting Narcotics Anonymous.  We had a great conversation, and it felt good to be able to connect with somebody because of that organization.  It was truly a One Love moment...really captured everything that the site is about.

Lots of new things are getting ready to happen for the site.  We're getting comments soon (YESSSSSS!), and have lots of new bloggers coming on board.  You might have noticed STEVE DUCHARDT...one of my favorite people ever.  Please go read his wonderful blog when you get a chance.

More to come - keep checking back...we have lots of stuff going on!!!

A Marketing Complex

December 16, 2007

Last night I watched multiple videos of bands that I used to love as a young teenager.  It was a fun night.  Made me laugh, dance, sing, and think the occasional “Wow, that’s a really good song.”  Then I started thinking a little bit more.  Where are these people now?  Are they happy?  Did marketing ruin their careers?  Could it have been done differently?

 

Ultimately, I think it was the fact that there was only an occasional good song that ruined their careers.  A quality product can stand the test of time and marketing.  Unfortunately, not every quality product gets the proper chance to make it out there.  Sometimes the marketing team screws it up.  Sometimes it’s just not the right time.  It’s so tricky.  Sometimes you wonder why you start marketing at all.  But then again, people would never know about great things it there wasn’t some sort of push to get them out there.  It’s not all bad, but marketing often seems like such a dirty word.

 

When I was a teen, I was a part of the market that everyone wanted.  However, it was also the market that everyone hated at the same time.  I hope that being a fan of certain genres of music didn’t ruin people’s careers and futures.  The music made me happy, and that’s ultimately what is supposed to happen…right?  The teens needed that music…probably more so than the educated college students and adults.  I hope that means something.  I think that I was a good fan.  The Beatles were marketed to teen girls at one point, and now EVERYONE loves them.  That’s something that I think about a lot.  Not necessarily because it’s comforting, but because it’s interesting.  I’m still trying to wrap my hands around it.

 

Some of music that I liked when I was younger is still here.  Now I have the knowledge to see that it’s the people that are truly talented and passionate that stick around.  Kudos to you all.

Makeshift Tutus and Ultraviolet Light

December 10, 2007

Wow.  London was very eventful.  Some really amazing things happen, but we hit a lot of road blocks (literally) as well.  However, good things don’t just happen…you have to make them happen.  Sometimes you have to push really really hard.  I learned that lesson for sure!

 

I swear, we ran into every single travel problem possible.  We started off the trip by missing our flight to London out of Atlanta.  Ended up staying and extra day.   We finally got into Gatwick to rent a car, and attempted driving on the left side of the road.  Hit a few rearview mirrors…but nothing too awful.  Got to the hotel and they didn’t have our reservations.  Jade and I went to the show that first night, and we took the hotel’s “free shuttle” (aka a taxi cab). It never came back to get us.  Our hotel wouldn’t pick up and all the cabs in the city were booked.  The payphone wouldn’t work.  We were stranded and ended up paying a ton of money to get back to the hotel when we could of just driven our selves!  Crazy.  Took us two hours to find the flat once we got into London, and then it took us seven hours to return our car to the Gatwick airport.  We rented another car a few days later to take to Bournemouth, and of course the interstate we were supposed to take back to the flat was closed.  So we made our way right through central London and ended up getting a flat tire at 3am.

 

Luckily, Old Gregg was sleeping on the couch when we got back to the flat.  He was asleep with an empty bottle of Bailey’s at his side.  After 15 minutes of laughter, Old Gregg awoke from his deep sleep.  He was a little bit disoriented at first, but then realized who he was and where he needed to be.  Then he revealed his makeshift tutu and toilet paper dreads.  It’s things like 4am encounters with Old Gregg and a glowing mangina that makes you feel a little more at ease with all of your problems.

 

Other things that make you feel a little more at ease with your problems are seeing two of your favorite songwriter performing a Nashville-style round together in a small but sold-out venue, or being called out for having diarrhea in a foreign city in front of a few thousand people.  Ultraviolet light makes me feel better too.

 

The One Love show was amazing, and there will be many more to come.  New York, looks like you’re up to bat.

 

Dwell on happy things, not bad things.

 

We had an amazing meeting with Stop The Traffik while we were in London.  It was so inspiring, and made me realize how much we can do to help without even donating money.  You’ll be seeing a lot more about our organizations very soon.  Go ahead and get involved by visiting www.stopthetraffik.org.  Learn about the organization and sign the petition.  Get your friends to sign it.  You can help just by filling out a form that takes about a minute – so do it now!

 

Thanks to everyone who made London a success.  We’re looking forward to seeing more of you all really soon!

Special Guest Tonight - James Bourne

December 04, 2007

If you're in London come down to Monkey Chews now! James Bourne will be playing The One Love show with Ben tonight. They'll go on at 9:30 so you'll still be able to make it!

The Best Of Both Worlds

November 23, 2007

So.  Here I am, sitting in bed at home in Louisville, Kentucky.  I have my imac sitting right in front of me, but I am enjoying my bed so I've decided that the Blackberry will have to do for now.

I haven't blogged in a while.  Work has been getting the best of me.  I'm almost there.

My trip home has been pretty pleasant.  When I go home, I usually get mildly depressed.  Can never really pinpoint the reason, but I think it has something to do with feeling like I'm missing out on a life I should be living here.  Everyone in my giant family lives here expect for me, so it's always a bit strange coming back.  However, I've enjoyed this trip a lot.  I had to push myself a few times, but it worked.  I should come home more often.

I've also just realized how thankful I am for the amazing siblings that I have.  We grew up not living in the same house, but I think we grew up with the same problems.  They're such good kids.  I wish I could do more for them.  So different from each other, but that's what makes them all so great.

I'm taking Mary Kate to see Hannah Montana and the Jonas Bros. tomorrow.  I hope that she's as excited to see this show as I was when I saw BSB when I was her age.  I think she is, and that makes me happy.  She deserves something like that.

Thank you for Caroline for being the TICKETMASTER!

Thanksgiving is over now and I must sleep.

Happy Black Friday.

Nashville...or "The New York Lite"

October 29, 2007

I finally feel like I live in Nashville.  It's crazy.  The whole world is being pulled into this city right now.  We'll see who ends up here...only time can tell.

While I was in school, I always wanted to finish as fast as possible and move away.  Maybe New York...maybe London.  However, I decided to do the entrepreneur thing, and living here made the most sense for now.  Everyday I feel I like I'm making myself get stuck here a little bit more, but it feels a little bit more okay everyday.  Country music doesn't scare me anymore, and I've realized that there's so many other things and great people in this town.  Nashville is almost...cool.  Way cooler than Murfreesboro for sure.

I think it was all the shows that I saw this week that made me feel like I was in Nashville.  This week was INSANE - but pretty awesome.  Here's my weekly show recap:

Sunday, Oct. 21st
I saw Matt Nathanson...and he was absolutely incredible.  I always seem to miss this guy when he's in the Nashville area for some reason, which is unfortunate because he puts on a great live show.  He is hilarious.  Made me realize the importance of show banter.  "Beneath These Fireworks" is the only thing I listened to my first semester of college...and it got me through some rough times for sure.  Listening to him play that record along with his new one made me very nostalgic, but very happy as well.  It made my college experience seem worthwhile, and glad that I pulled through and didn't drop out.  This show made me happy with where I'm at right now.

Monday, Oct. 22nd
Lots of meetings today - what a CRAZY day!  Anyways, headed out to 12th and Porter for Sean McConnell's EP Release party.  Great show...great EP.  Always good to see somebody from MTSU doing well...or "anything" really haha.

Tuesday, Oct. 23rd
Saw Josiah at Mercy Lounge, and he was freakin awesome as usual!  We hadn't seen him in a while, so it was good to see a show.  This guy is a star.

Wednesday, Oct. 24th
No shows...just worked a lot.

Thursday, Oct. 25th

Four shows this evening...pretty intense.

First stop of the night was Ashley Tisdale at The Opry Mills Mall.  I thought this was going to be hysteria...but unfortunately it was not.  There were a lot of people there, but I was expecting THOUSANDS!  Always fun to see some straight up pop music though.  She did very well...danced her ass off and no lip-syncing was involved.

Second stop was the "Gone Country" finale at the Wild Horse.  Pretty hilarious, but pretty amazing as well.  Never thought I would see "My Prerogative" performed live by Bobby Brown.  Dee Snider and Sisqo were amazing as well.  Got to see Becky and a lot of old Warner people...which was nice.  Randy Owen was there too!!!!  It brought me back to my Nashville Star days...

Third stop was short and sweet.  Went to see Wild Honey play an acoustic set at The Crescent.  There was a frat party and paparazzi there.  Too strange.

Fourth stop was Code Blue (aka strip club with a recently removed pole) to see King Billy.  I have wanted to see this band play for a while, so I was excited that it was finally happening.  They were all dressed as women, which was kind of awkward to watch/listen to at first.  However, it was a pretty refreshing show.  Great audience and tons of fun.  I hope nobody kills me for this...but they were a awesome Country boyband.  I love that their MySpace page says they sound like "Rascal Flatts is about to be unemployed."  That made me like them twice as much.

However, my highlight of the night was discovering Ted's "girlfriend."  She's pretty damn talented and has great hair.

And...that concludes my week of being in Nashville.  I did nothing else interesting for the rest of the week.

Time to sleep.

Nothings wrong with dreaming.  Dream it all away.

Ace Of Base is BACK!!!!!

October 24, 2007

me: www.perezhilton.com
me: go you will freak out
jade: ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
jade: omg i was talking about that yesterday
jade: that is so hilarious
me: yeahhh
jade: i didn't recognize them
jade: i was watching them yesterday
jade: there's a message boardddddddddddddddddddddddd
jade: omg this is just funny b/c when i liked them there was no internet
jade: oh yes now i remember the hot guys name from ace of base
jade: ulf ekberg
jade: no wonder i forgot
me: lmao
jade: i used to scribble "I heart ulf"
me: lmao
jade: omg im laughing so hard at myself right now
jade: omg do you know what label they originally signed to
jade: MEGA RECORDS!!!!!!!!!

WHATTTT?!?!? Yeah...

October 21, 2007

After having a not so happy week, I'm please to announce that this one has been much more uplifting!  Did a lot more hanging out than usual, and I think it was good for me.

 It was a little rough, but I narrowed my week down to five highlights.  You're probably starting to notice that I like listing highlights/items, and this is due to my unhealthy obsession with making "to do" lists.  Anyways, please enjoy below :)

Hick Chick Contest

This had to be one of the funniest/most random Nashville experiences ever.  Caroline and I went to Graham Central Station to see Cowboy Troy and John Rich host the Hick Chick finals contest, which promised to be a pretty interesting night already.  However, there were special guests at this event...and it was a pretty amazing lineup.

Bobby Brown (New Edition)
Carnie Wilson
Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER - he sand "We're Not Gonna Take It" and it was amazing)
Diana DeGarmo
Maureen McCormick (Marsha from "The Brady Bunch")
Julio Iglesias
Sisqo

and...LIL JON!  He was judging with Sisqo and John Rich in a cage and sitting on hay.  See the picture of Lil Jon in a cage below.

The rest competed for the title of "Miss Hick Chick."  Please see the picture below of Dee Snider participating in the toilet seat ring toss.

 


Thurman (Thurm the Worm)
Brinn brought home her new dog this week, and it probably the cutest dog I've EVER seen.  I'm not much of a dog fan since I'm allergic, but Thurm is worth the watering eyes and stuffing nose.  He looks like he should be a stuffed animal puppy!  However, I must say that Thurman has bowel issues that he needs to work on.  I'll forgive him for now though.

Puppy love!!!!

Being Home Alone Tonight
I'm very excited that there is nobody at my house tonight.  Not because I don't want anybody to be here, but because I can play my guitar and SING really loud!  I won't do that when my roommates are around - it would be very inconsiderate of me.  I am an awful singer...probably worse than anybody you've ever heard.  Seriously.&nbs