'Tis the season

Sometimes I really wonder about myself. I've been running around like a lunatic for the last four and a half months with MSU, teaching, writing, covering shows and trying to have some sort of a social life and now I've got over two weeks of glorious nothing and you'd think I'd be thrilled to bits. Well, the sad truth is, I'm bored. I'm getting stir-crazy and tired of doing nothing. Problem is, not too many people around to do stuff with b/c everyone is home for the holidays and whatnot. I keep finding dumb excuses to get out-MUST go to the bank, Whole Foods, Target...etc. Lame, eh?

However, one of the highlights of this post-Christmas boredom was hitting the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the DIA yesterday. It was SO awesome and it killed me how nonchalant she was in her descriptions of getting some of these amazing photos. "It was just a snap" or "just shot a few frames but didn't think they'd turn out well" and then you'd see the photo and they'd just blow you away. I think one of my favorites was this one of Johnny Cash and June Carter:



Beautiful, eh? I love it beyond belief.

Christmas was good though quite quiet. The older I get the more I realize that most people don't have Christmases like ours. Most people (or maybe it's just a lot of people I've come into contact with lately) have big, crazy Christmases with relatives from all over coming into town. It sounds like total chaos but it also sounds really fun in a way. My Christmas evening was just me & my parents watching Pirates of the Caribbean. Husband and Wife had been over earlier in the day but, obviously, had to play both sides of the fence and went to her parents' for dinner. It was quiet. Really quiet. Oh well, I guess that's just how my family is, not much I can do about that one.

I did, however, manage to get a cold. Figures that the first time I stop running in 4 1/2 months I get sick, and there's really so many things I could blame: those damned kids ;), the stupid weather in Michigan for being cold, then warm, then cold, then warm..., Jon, my brother, my psychotic schedule... Meh, whatever. I'm still sick so I guess blame doesn't really matter.

Well, this post is horrifically boring, so I'll stop here before I bore you to death.

Listening to: New Found Glory, Coming Home

Cool!

Just found out that Drive By posted my review of their live show (with Senses Fail) on their official website! Go to www.drivebyworld.com and under news it's "New show review: check it out here." (Dec 6). Kinda cool! Guess they liked it:)

Also, I forgot to mention that My Chem is coming back to Detroit in February and I immediately got tix for the show for me, Husband and Wife. It's gonna be awesome:) I really hope Muse is on the tour with them at that point! I'd love to see them live too...

Bad news: I think I'm getting sick. You'd think it would have happened ages ago with all the craziness that has been going on in my life. Nope, instead, the minute I finally slow down a bit, that's when my immune system says, "Fuck this, we're leaving" and I get sick. Figures I'd get sick right before Christmas. Boo hiss. Oh well. Guess I'll finish up a few things and crawl into bed with a book.
Peace out starving nachos
~S
Listening to: The Strays, Le Futur Noir

Finally, a break

Wow, it's been so ridiculously busy, I don't even know where to start. Guess we'll just go in order:
Last Wednesday : 89x Nutcracker with Fall Out Boy. Harry was supposed to do an interview with Cobra Starship but that fell through so he decided to go to a different show. I, however, decided to go to see FOB anyways. I made friends with a security guard and he let me up as close as he could without me actually being in the photo pit. I handed out business cards. I got amazing photos of the bands. I had a blast and (still) heart Pete Wentz:)

Thursday: The Night 89x Stole Xmas. Amazing fucking show. Well, let me rephrase that, most of the bands were amazing, I wasn't all that impressed with Angels and Airwaves. The photo pass didn't come through but I got some good pics despite shooting totally blind (holding the camera over the crowd and just shooting. I got a lot of pics of the crowd, or cut off the performers heads, but I still managed to get some good ones.) My Chem was fucking unbelievable...totally amazing, words can't really describe their show. I lurrrved it:) I *was* pretty comatose the next day, but it was totally worth it.

Friday: ended up at Tower Inn for drinks with Jon and Brandon. My dad has taken to calling us the Three Musketeers. It's kinda funny...yet another late night. I think I've been averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night. Must work on that.

Saturday: Went with Jon to see a few of my students' bands who were playing for another girl's 16th birthday. I was *really* nervous beforehand-I mean, I had no idea what to expect, and here are two teachers invading their space. In the end, it went really well. The kids (the ones in the bands at least) were actually very excited that we showed up. Jon and Brandon insist that I'm the "cool" teacher, but I still don't see it. I've never been cool in my life, why on earth would people think I'm cool now?? The kids were really excited about the photos I took and have already posted them liberally on their band's myspace page. They did make very sure to find out what I wanted my photo credit to say, which was kinda cute. Speaking of myspace, a bunch of students found my facebook page. Luckily there isn't anything particularly interesting or inappropriate there, but it still weirded me out a bit.

Monday: All American Rejects show at EMU. Harry had an interview with Boys Like Girls that I got to tag along for, so that was fun. We also got photo passes from GLB, so we were able to shoot the whole show from the pit. I got a ton of pics, but AAR kinda sucked. I'm not a big fan to begin with, but they just played into every concert gimmick in the book and spent WAY too much time talking. Hardly the greatest show I've been to, especially since the 89x shows (and even my students' show!) were better.

I made it through the rest of the week, barely. It has been nuts with getting my work for school done, writing my weekly album reviews, adding in concert reviews, trying to have a social life, AND writing blurbs for Static's top albums and singles retrospective. I was honored that my editor asked me to do a few more than other people (I interpret that as he likes my writing, not that I'm a total pushover), but it was one more thing to fit in. Oh well.

Went to see the school Christmas play last night. It was a hoot-the kids were really good and it was quite funny. We (the three musketeers) almost didn't get in b/c the show was sold out, but luck was on our side and we got in. Hung out with my boys afterwards and had a great time. It was a good night:)

Did a little Xmas shopping today but I probably spent more time running around trying to track things down than I actually did legitimately shopping. There are still a couple of people I need to get things for, but at least I know what I want to get them:) good start, eh?

Ok, a few photos from the many, many shows. I think I need to just post a ton of them on my flickr account, but this will do for the moment.
Those of you that I don't talk to before Christmas-have a great holiday!
Listening to: "The Sharpest Lives" My Chemical Romance

Finito.

Wow. I never thought I'd be quite done at MSU, but I am! Woot! This is the first Monday night in what seems like ages where I haven't spent 5.5 hours of my day at MSU or driving back and forth from there. I liked almost all of my classes, but I am sure glad to be finished with that drive (and my car is glad too).

I think it's gonna be a fun but busy, busy week. Of course we have school all week but on top of that I've got four shows coming up as well. Wednesday night I'm catching the 89x Nutcracker with Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship and New Found Glory. I'm tagging along for an interview Harry is doing with Cobra Starship before the show and I'm really psyched about getting to shoot FOB (as much as I feel like one of my students admitting it, I do heart Pete Wentz:)

Thursday night is going to be off the map. The Night 89x Stole Christmas with My Chem, Angels and Airwaves, Taking Back Sunday and Ok Go (maybe I'll FINALLY get to see them!) I am totally, utterly, insanely psyched about seeing MCR again. I'm not sure if the photo pass is going to come through, but I'm still trying. I can't wait!! Any sleep-deprived coma I might be in on Friday is going to be well worth it.

Saturday night I've been invited to a show out in Howell-a few of my students are in bands and they're all playing and asked me to come along. They also asked me to take some photos of them, which I agreed to do. It's kinda cute how excited they are that I'm coming to their show. I wonder how weird it'll be though...oh well. Should be interesting to say the least:)

And then Monday there is the possibility of covering the All-American Rejects show at EMU. They're playing with Motion City Soundtrack, The Gym Class Heroes and The Format. I saw AAR back in April when they opened for Fall Out Boy and I rather like them, so I hope this works out!

You know, when I think about it, it's insane how many shows I've seen in the last year and how many bands I've seen (or will be seeing) multiple times (because I'm a nerd, I've bolded bands I've seen more than once in the last year):

Green Day with Jimmy Eat World (Sept 2005)
My Chemical Romance with Reggie & The Full Effect and Alkaline Trio (Sept 2005)
Action Action with Men Women and Children (Dec 2005)
Hard Fi (Jan 2006)
The Subways (March 2006)
Fall Out Boy with All American Rejects, From First to Last & Hawthorne Heights (April 2006)
Alkaline Trio with Against Me (April 2006)
Warped Tour (July 2006)
Big City Rock with Drive By, October Fall and Needtobreathe (Aug 2006)
The Raconteurs (Aug 2006)
The Editors (Aug 2006)
Hawthorne Heights with the Plain White T's, Relient K and Emery (Sept 2006)
Trey Anastasio (Oct 2006)
Good Charlotte with Young Love (Oct 2006)
30 Seconds to Mars with Men Women and Children, Street Drum Corps, Head Automatica and Cobra Starship (Oct 2006)
Lady Sovereign with Young Love (Nov 2006)
Heavens (Nov 2006)
Senses Fail with Drive By, Saosin and Bleeding Through (Nov 2006)
Fall Out Boy with Cobra Starship, New Found Glory (Dec 2006)
My Chemical Romance with Ok Go, Angels and Airwaves and Taking Back Sunday (Dec 2006)
All American Rejects with Motion City Soundtrack and the Gym Class Heroes (Dec 2006)(?)

Yep, that's a lot of shows:) I love it! Ooh yeah, and check this out. I emailed Chris Perrino from Drive By with links to some photos I shot of the show and he not only wants to see more of them, he asked if he can use this one I got of him as his default photo on his MySpace:) Ok, so, it isn't like MySpace is Rolling Stone or anything, but it's cool that he liked them enough to want to see more and use at least one of them:) Yay!

Right, I suppose I should go do some grading or something since I'm going to be playing rock writer a few nights this week:) Happy, happy!
Listening to: Fall Out Boy, From Under the Cork Tree

More photos from Senses Fail

Also, a few pieces of good news:
1. I didn't get put on a jury, so NO jury duty!
2. It is 100% positive now that Harry & I are going to the 89x Nutcracker to cover the show (Fall Out Boy, New Found Glory, Cobra Starship-woot!)
3. We may also get to go to the All-American Rejects show at EMU the following Monday-woo hoo!
4. Tomorrow should be the very last time I have to drive out to MSU for class!!!
5. My review of the show and FIVE (Count 'em, FIVE) photos are up. Read it here.
6. Almost 100% for certain going to Bamboozle in Jersey baby! Woot!
Ok, now for the photos:









Grr, Blogger is being a bitch right now and isn't letting me put any more photos up. More later.
Listening to: Thursday "A City By the Light Divided"

Senses Fail Show! Woot!

So, very simply, Friday night was amazing! What a fun but bizarrely surreal night. I met Harry at Clutch Cargo's at about 5pm because he was doing an interview with Drive By. It turned out that they were the last band to do their sound check, so we ended up killing some time while they were finishing that and I got the grand tour of CC's, including backstage and such, before we met the guys. Harry did the interview (and I got to play cameraman) and we hung out with the band for a little bit before the show started. I was really pretty shy but they were really nice guys and very cool. I was talking to the bassist, Chris Perrino, backstage before the band went on and it was kind of weird because here I am talking to this heavily tattooed guy with those earplug/stretcher kinda things backstage at a show and what are we talking about? Teaching! Apparently his sis-in-law and brother are teachers. Weird, eh?

Todd Price, Drive By's lead singer, had given us photo passes so we were able to shoot their set which was awesome. They sounded great and it was so cool to see them play to a decently sized audience since last time, at the Shelter, there were maybe 30 people there. Those guys rocked, I can't wait to see them at Bamboozle!

Things were going really well until Harry and I went up to get ready to shoot Bleeding Through's set. The security guards were being dicks and said that we needed a separate pass for each band which is really unusual. Typically, if you have a photo pass at a show its good for every band. Not in this case. So, we saw the members of Bleeding Through waiting backstage to go on and we just went up to them and asked if they'd mind if we took a few photos during their set. They said it was ok, signed our passes and gave the thumbs up to security who then, begrudgingly, let us up front for two (not the usual three) songs. Better than nothing though! And it was cool that Marta (hot keyboardist from BT) signed our passes:)

So, now it was obvious that the photo pass thing was going to be a problem for the rest of the night. I was supposed to have a pass at the front waiting for me but hadn't picked it up yet b/c I thought at the beginning of the night that the pass Drive By gave me would be good for all the bands. Since that wasn't the case and my extra pass should have been good to shoot Saosin, I went and got that pass. As Bleeding Through was finishing their set, Harry and I were chilling at the back and I see this person walking towards me with a shocked expression on his face. Then I realize, "oh my god! That's one of my students!" Yep, not only was he there but there were two others at the show also-a girl who isn't a studnet of mine but goes to my school, and a guy who is in my journalism class and amuses me to no end. So, the first student goes running off in search of the second, they come back and we end up shooting the breeze with them for a while which was weird, funny and surreal. They're cool kids though and I get a big kick out of them.

However, Harry and I need to go back up to the front for Saosin's set but before we did, my students begged me to come find them again after the next band was finished. I agreed and we headed up front. Security lets me in with my pass but they refuse to let Harry in since he doesn't have a pass for this band. I got some cool shots though and I lurrrrve using a digital SLR! It made SUCH a difference!

We couldn't even talk our way into the pit for Senses Fail's set. I tried talking to the tour manager but he was like, "We don't have anyone on the guestlist, NO ONE is getting up front." Dick. You'd think they'd want the publicity! It isn't like they're THAT big a band yet. Whatever. Harry and I got some shots from the balcony and, considering the fact I was shooting completely blind, they aren't half bad.

Ended up shooting the breeze with my students again for a bit during the second half of SF's set. Those kids crack me up, seriously. The two of mine are both in bands that are playing locally on the 16th and not only did they want me to come to the show, the asked if I'd take photos of them which was really kinda cute. I told them I would and Harry will probably come along too. Tomorrow should be quite interesting at school though...

In other news, Sherri, my editor at Revolt told me that I got a bit of a shout-out on Sarah Lewitinn's blog for my feature on Bright Light Fever. How cool is this?-->

BRIGHT LIGHT FEVER

Check out the Bright Light Fever interview on Revolt Media. It's fantastic and Revolt is fantastic.

Ok, so it's short, but who cares? Still pretty damn cool:) Righty o. I should go do some work, but first, here are a few pics from the show. I'll post more later.

Surviving

Well, I'm surviving this whole long-term subbing thing but it is seriously kicking my ass. I thought I was busy before, now it's even worse. Hard to believe that one more hour of scheduled stuff makes life THAT much more insane.

BUT, the good news is, there's some fun stuff coming up. I got my first legit photo pass (not riding on Harry's this time) for the Senses Fail/Saosin/Bleeding Through/Drive By show on Friday which is sweet. On top of that, Harry called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to join him interviewing Drive By before the show and, apparently, the guys from Drive By were all about hanging out and maybe all even getting dinner together before the show. SWEET. And, above and beyond all that, Ben is being an absolute doll/saint/guardian angel and is letting me use his digial SLR to shoot the show. Amazing. I will be terrified of anything happening to it and will guard it with my life, but that is just so freaking cool!!!

And, though it initially seemed like a hairbrained idea, it's looking more and more like we're going to head out to Jersey for The Bamboozle! Harry has enough frequent flier miles that we can probably go first class (hardly necessary, but pretty damn cool) AND his contact at Virgin Records wants to take us out to lunch in Soho if we do go. How cool is that?? Sure, I'll end up using my two personal days and be a trainwreck the following week at school, but shit, for a rock and roll weekend in Jersey and NYC, I'll handle being a wreck! (and, by that time, I should have yearbook off my hands too, so that's good!)

Ok, a few photos from the Heavens show and I'm out.

Stressssssssss

Aargh. You'd think having five days off from school would have done something to eliminate my stress. Wrong. I found out on Friday that one of the teachers at school had her baby a few weeks early. Why does this matter? Because I am taking over one of her classes. Now, I knew I'd be doing this, but I thought it would be in two weeks. After I had time to talk to her about the class and such. Nope, I dive in first hour tomorrow morning. I have no idea what I'm doing, who is in the class or anything. Also, au revoir to one of my prep periods. Guess I need to get my shit together for once in my life.

I also think I went out too much this "weekend." Tuesday night I hung out/was out drinking with Jon, Thursday and Friday nights I hung out/went out with Jim. Saturday night I was out with Jon & his friends (more drinking). Today I woke up and was like "oh shit, I have so much stuff to do and I have to go back to school tomorrow!" Ugh. I really don't want to go back. I like this whole no school thing. I'm ready for Christmas break.

However, I AM going to the Senses Fail show on Friday which should be fun. Harry has gotten this idea to try and set me up with the guitarist from Drive By (who are also playing that night). Funny, but kinda flattering in a way:) I am psyched about the show anyways, Drive By rocks (saw them back in July or August and they were the best band of the night) and I'm excited to see them again. However, I am VERY sure that some of my students are going to be at this show. Must be on my best behavior...AND, in just a few weeks it'll be the MCR show! Woot! Still working on photo passes for that one...

And, as for hairbrained schemes, Harry and I are considering making the trek out to Jersey in May for Bamboozle. That would be SO FUCKING COOL. Seriously. It's like two days of Warped and, guess who is playing as the headliners on Saturday?? MCR! Woo hoo! Sure, I might need to use one of those personal days since we have school that Friday and Monday, but isn't that what personal days are for? It isn't like I'll use them otherwise. Shit, I probably won't even use any of my sick days unless I'm on my deathbed. I'm just like that, I NEVER call in. So, maybe I'll take a little trip to Jersey:) That would rock.

However, the rocker needs to chill b/c I should definitely be working right now, NOT blogging. Jury duty next week. Thrilling. Bummer that I have to drive to Chelsea for it. Whatever.

Ooh, check out our new bios that are up at Revolt. Fun, eh? Oh yeah, I was googling Drive By and it was so weird to see one of my reviews show up in the search results...It kinda threw me, but it's neat at the same time:)

Listening to: I Hate Every Day Without You Kid, Drive By

Pink is the new Party!

Ok, this just might be the longest post ever...much has been going on and I have been severely lax in blogging. Ok, onto the news:

Jim and I went to see Heavens at The Shelter last Thursday and the show fucking rocked. I lurrve Matt Skiba :) Mmm, boys with tattoos...er, yeah. So, the show was awesome, I got some good pics and my review and two of my photos is up at Revolt. Read it here. After Heavens was finished, my friend Harry got us into the New York Dolls show that was going on upstairs at St. Andrews. Talk about night and day...if downstairs was kids in black, lotsa tattoos and piercings, upstairs was, well, sort of trailer-park trash bleached blonde middle-aged women. The Dolls were cool though and Harry got me up front to get a few photos as well:) Fun night even if getting up for school (eek!) the next morning was rough. I'll post some photos from the show next time around, there are other photos that have priority right now...

Friday night I met Wife and we did MEGA shopping for the Pink party. I was totally frazzled though because I was supposed to meet her at Ikea but managed to leave the directions there in my classroom. Needless to say, I got lost on the way there and the traffic was horrible, so I was in a rotten mood. Luckily, a little time to calm down, some dinner and such helped eliminate the bad mood. While I should have gone home at that point, I ended up meeting Jon and Brandon for a few drinks in Ypsi. Because I really needed another late night.

Saturday was all about getting ready for the party. Amazingly, things were under control for the most part. Harry came over early and, luckily, most everything was done that could be done around then. We sat around and watched the U of M/OSU game (sniff, sniff) and then Husband and Wife came over. Once that happened, things went into fast-forward and before I knew it, guests were arriving. Everyone's costumes were awesome-we had Cate Blanchett, Christina Aguliera, Hunter Thompson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman (sp?), Gillian Anderson's stunt double, Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, I was Amy Lee from Evanesence, we had Avril Lavigne and Bam Margera, and, perhaps the best costume duo of the night was Britney and K-Fed. Except our friend Aaron was Britney and Audrey was K-Fed. Awesome:) Ok, so a few photos from the night:







Can I just say I think this was the best party yet? Lots of food, drink and good people:) I think everyone had a good time, so, yay! Woot! However, I still think that it was a bit absurd that I had not one but TWO people who were AT the party text messaging me from across the room. Boys, you are ridiculous. You make my life very difficult.

Luckily for me it was only a two day week at school this week b/c I've been getting an average of four hours of sleep a night lately. Er, can we say burning the candle at both ends? Since Tuesday was Friday this week I ended up heading out to our usual place in Ypsi for drinks with Jon. Unfortunately, Brandon couldn't make it b/c the poor guy has to work three jobs...damn the teaching job situation here in Michigan!!

Some very good news yesterday...I PASSED MY COMPS! Woo hoo! If you recall, I was all stressed a few weeks ago about this horrible, awful 8 hour exam I had to fly down to DC to take. Well, I got my results yesterday and I passed and it is the BIGGEST relief ever. I wasn't at all sure if I passed that stupid test but now I can add yet another degree onto the pile:) Yay for that chapter being closed now.

Things still are complicated with a certain situation some of you know about. However, I had a lengthy conversation with Thomas last night and he offered me some pretty good advice as well as made me an offer I can't refuse. While on the one hand I think I'm an idiot for allowing him to make this situation a bit more complicated than it already is, I might also be stupid for not at least giving his idea a try. Yes, I'm being purposely vague. If you know what I'm talking about, good for you. If not, you probably aren't meant to know right now. Nonetheless, in typical Thomas fashion, he gave me an excellent quote that puts everything in perspective. We were talking about how sometimes it seems like situations can't get any worse, but actually they can, and here's how:

Life got you down? Seems like things can't get any worse? Just imagine your situation and something in it on FIRE. Pretty much anything on fire is worse:)

Words of wisdom to live by. Man, I love Thomas:) How profound!

Right, this has gone on long enough. Photos from Heavens to come. Until then, rock the fuck on and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Listening to: "Small Parts" The Oohlas!

Bloody alter ego...

She was out too damn late again last night and I feel like shit this morning...

Well, it's my own fault:) I went to The Shelter to see Heavens (Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio's new side project) and they were great! Really good show and, although it's quite ghetto, I love The Shelter. Then Jim and I met up with Harry and Mike (another photographer) and managed to get around the "system" a bit...

Much more to tell about the show, but I need to drag my tired, sorry ass to school and figure out what the hell I'm teaching today.

Party tomorrow! Woot!
~S

Eh

I am so tired I can't stand it. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed too...I have so much shit to get done and no time to do it because I'm either at work, driving to MSU, in class at MSU or doing other school-related things. I want to hang out with people but I don't even have time to do all the things that *need* to be done for work/school/writing much less hang out with anyone :( Jon posed this really interesting question to me this morning and I want to kick it around with him but I don't have any time, and that irritates me.

I'm having problems with the school newspaper and don't even have time to try and fix it.

I'm supposed to be hosting a party on Saturday and I don't have time to do anything for it until Friday, the day before.

Elana seems to be boycotting the party after our discussion on Sunday. I feel very weird about that whole situation.

My ex has been messaging me through mySpace and it weirds me out. I wish I could talk to someone about it who won't judge the whole situation.

I should be all excited about this show I'm seeing on Thursday night but I feel like I don't even have time to be excited about it. I'm just stressed about getting out of A2 on time to get to Detroit on time.

I can't wait for this MSU thing to be over.

I definitely shouldn't be blogging right now.

Usually I get stir-crazy if I don't have anything to do, but right now I wish I had an empty schedule.

I'm so glad next week is a two day week.

Meh :(

The weekend

Whew, what a weekend!

So, Shannon got into town on Friday afternoon. After I picked her up at the airport we just hung out and opened a bottle of wine while we caught up on things. Then we braved the cold and went downtown for dinner & drinks. We'd wanted to go to The Prickly Pear but couldn't get in, so we hit Palio's instead (SO good). Then we went to Bab's Underground where we had the weirdest people talking to us. From there we went to Alley Bar (as was to be expected), drank copious amounts and headed home.

Saturday I took her to Zingerman's for breakfast followed by a tour of downtown & campus and then a shopping expedition:) We did make it to Prickly Pear that night and then Husband, Wife, Thomas, Mindy and Jim met us at Conor's. From there we went over to Alley Bar again and Anthony & his girlfriend met us there as well. It was SO fun, all my friends made Shannon really welcome and I was happy that everyone got to meet her:) Shannon, Mindy and Wife all gave me lots of good advice on my guy "situation" and all approve of him. So that makes me happy, especially since Elana is acting very weird about it. Dunno about that... Anyways, after lots o' drinking at Alley, Jim, Thomas, Mindy, Anthony & his GF took off and Shannon, Husband, Wife and I all headed over to the Fleetwood. I think Shannon was a little horrified by the Fleetwood (she isn't really that "type") but we had fun nonetheless.

Today we kinda lazed around, had a laaaate breakfast and then wandered around downtown a bit more. We stopped by Elana's for a little bit and I was glad she & Shannon got to meet. Then, before I knew it, it was time to take Shannon back to the airport and actually figure out what the hell I'm doing this week :( It was a whirlwind but I had a blast and a lot of good things happened this weekend. So, I might be tired and crabby this week, but it was totally worth it. I think I'll probably end up going to visit Shannon in Boston in the Spring...I dunno if I could do a Boston winter again (did it once, it was WAY too cold for me).

Thursday I'm seeing Heavens and Darker My Love at The Shelter and then Harry, who is interviewing The New York Dolls upstairs that night at St. Andrews is going to meet up with me and I might get to meet the Dolls as well :) I think I'm also going to get to judge this big battle of the bands that's happening at the State in Detroit (this weekend I think?). Again, how much of a dichotomy can my life be? Alter-ego, here I come... Then the big Pink party is Saturday (woot!) and I still have to pull together the bits for my costume... Oh yeah, and of course I have work and MSU classes...I sometimes wonder if life could get any more busy.
Oh well, bedtime.

Listening to: The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses

So utterly tired...

You know, for a four day week, this week has felt never ending... Yay that tomorrow is Friday!

I had my first round of lunch duty yesterday and, honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected. Sure, I wouldn't voluntarily sign up for it or anything, but it wasn't too awful. At one point, one of the other lunch supervisors pulled me aside and said "you should keep an eye on that table," and pointed towards one corner of the lunchroom. Who was sitting at that table? My journalism triumverate (sp?) as I call them and one of my sophomore English students. Yes, they're rambunctious. Yes, they're loud. Yes, they are the "alterna" kids as I like to call them. However, I can handle these guys. I think we have an understanding of sorts and, on top of that, they crack me up. I like these kids (one of them is the kid I wrote about in the parent-teacher confernece post). It was funny too because when they saw me in the lunchroom they were like, "MS. M!!!! ARE YOU ON LUNCH DUTY?? COME EAT WITH US!" I politely declined their offer, though they kept me at their table chatting for a good ten minutes. Sure, sometimes they don't know when to tone it down, but they're teenagers. Isn't sheer excess part of simply being a teenager? I feel like a lot of the other teachers have kind of written them off as screw-ups and they are so not. High school is clearly not their niche, but they shouldn't be written off. I am not their friend, I am their teacher, but I want them to understand that I believe in them even if some other teachers don't. I hope they realize that...

In other news, Shannon comes to A2 tomorrow! Woot! I can't wait to see her...I haven't seen her since I went out to DC last December. I think this will be a weekend of excess...I'm sure we'll go shopping and encourage each other to buy clothes we really don't need, will drink more than we should and stay out way past our bedtimes;) Knowing Shannon, there will be ridiculous stories to tell after the weekend is over. She has a habit of making up the most fantastic lies when we get talking to guys at the bar...we'll see how Michigan deals with her:) Man, I can't wait!

Heavens at the Shelter next week...Harry is shooting a show upstairs at St. Andrews and invited me to hang with him and meet the band and whatnot. Sounds fun:) I think I might get to help out with this battle of the bands thing he's judging in Detroit and possibly the All-American Rejects show in December. I'm really hoping he can hook me up with some sort of pass for the My Chem show in December too...I'm pretty sure he's going and I'd just about give an arm to get to shoot that concert!!

The Pink Party is nigh! I think it's gonna be a hoot...sounds like quite a few people should be able to make it. I can't wait to see who people dress up as...god, I need to figure out who I'm gonna be...

Right, better get some shit done before going to bed. I will be getting nothing done this weekend with Shannon here, so I *should* try to get ahead...
Peace out, starving nachos:)

Listening to: Strike Anywhere, Dead FM

Weird, weird, weird

Just when I think my life can't get any more bizarre, it does. Some of you know what I'm talking about, others do not. Lets just say that for most of you, if you don't know what I'm talking about, let's leave it at that. It's been a fucking weird week. I'm glad it's over.

So, I know the blogging has been kinda sparse lately, things have been nuts and I'm pretty happy that they're getting calmer (calm for me is not, I know, quite the same as for everyone else, but oh well). I got 16 albums in the mail to review and two MAJOR shows coming up. One of my best friends, Shannon, is coming in from Boston this weekend and I am PSYCHED. I totally need Shannon right now...she is quite possibly one of the few people that will understand the situation I'm in at the moment. Thank god she'll be here in four days.

Then, the week after that will FINALLY be the Pink Party! Woot! Wife and I have been talking about this party for months now and we finally set a date, planned a menu and sent out the evite. Now I just need to figure out who I'm going as, though Wife gave me a pretty damn good idea...

Going to see "The Queen" with Jim tomorrow night which I'm quite psyched about. I've got a list o' other movies I want to see (which is unusual) so at least I'll be able to cross one off my list.

Oh yeah, we had parent-teacher conferences on Thursday. It went just fine so I'm not quite sure why I was so anxious about the whole thing. At least two really nice things that came out of the night:
One parent told me that her daughter and a friend of hers (also a student of mine) don't stop talking about how great they think Ms. M is. I liked these girls before, they're smart, good writers and kinda alterna/punk/emo girls. Of course hearing that they don't stop talking about how much they like my class doesn't hurt things at all. Yay:)

Another parent of a boy in my journalism class told me that he talks about how much he likes the class and Ms. M all the time as well. Now, this kid cracks me up...I mean, seriously. I let him and his two friends get away with murder (as long as they get the work done) and I'm well aware of it. But, I also feel like he's the sort of kid that a lot of teachers don't like because they don't understand him, he's a live-wire and he's one of those punkish/emoish kids. However, I think what they don't see is that he's a good writer, has a good eye for photography and has a damn good sense of humor. So, when his mom told me that I have apparently connected with him in some way, it made me really happy. I really want to help him see that a) life DOES get better after high school, esp. once you're out of private school (trust me, I went to private school and definitely felt like I didn't fit in with most of the kids), b) there are things you can do with a love of music, writing and photography (three things he is very good at but I don't think he's gotten positive feedback from a teacher about it until me) and c) not all teachers are evil creatures out to make your life totally miserable (maybe a little miserable, but not completely).

So, I went away from conferences feeling pretty good. Then I went drinking with a bunch of other teachers which is a WHOLE other story. For another time. I'm going to bed, 5:30 comes early.
~s
Listening to: Escape the Fate, Dying is Your Latest Fashion

Oh bloody hell...

What a weird, weird 24 hours it has been. So, we didn't have school today and yesterday, as I was leaving the school's Halloween assembly, I made plans with two other teachers to go hoist a few later in the evening. We meet up, drink a great deal, rant about students, religion etc. and generally have a good time. After we get kicked out of the restaurant we decide it is an excellent idea to go buy more alcohol. One of the guys and I take a run to Meijers. Mind you, it is well after midnight but it still seems like a good idea. We get to Meijers and run into a group of not one, not two, but four students. Now, I don't know any of them and probably couldn't pick them out of a crowd but the other teacher actually has at least some of these guys, if not all of them. The other piece of this is, there will naturally be the assumption that something is going on between the other teacher and myself since, we all know, two people of the opposite can't possibly be friends. We, of course, must be dating.

I wonder how fast this is going to get around school. I know for a fact that at least one cell phone was pulled out to share the news that teachers were run into at Meijers after midnight while we were actually still in the store. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I suppose the only consolation was that we didn't have the beer in our hands yet.

To top off that bizarre experience was the fact that on the way back to the other teacher's place my dad calls. He is not happy. He wants to know where I am, when I'm coming home, "we need to have a talk about this" sort of stuff. So now I'm weirded out by the students, have been drinking and I'm upset by this phone call. What a buzzkill. I dropped the other teacher off, went home to a "discussion" that made me feel like I was 16 all over again and then became even more upset (not a good combo with alcohol) and proceeded to drunken text Shannon who emailed me today TOTALLY confused over what the hell was going on. Her answer to the problem? Move out. Yes, I know. It WILL happen. However, when one hasn't had a *real* job for a year and a half, it takes a bit of time to get back on your feet once you actually have a salary again. But yes, she's right. I have GOT to move out. I can't take this.

Man, tomorrow is gonna suck. Potential weirdness with students, rumors and then hours of parent-teacher conferences. Gaaa. Can I call in sick??

Listening to: Thursday, A City by the Light Divided

30 Seconds to Mars

I actually started this post about a week ago but life has been nuts and I only just had time to finish it. So, some old news, some new news and some photos.

Buncha reviews up on Revolt. Read my review & see photos of 30STM here. Read my feature on The Plain White T's here.

I went to see 30 Seconds to Mars last Sunday and prior to the concert got an email from one of the photographers I met at the Hawthorne Heights show a few weeks ago. First of all, he gave me props for the photos I took at the HH concert that Revolt ran and said he liked my review of the show as well. To make a long story short, he was going to be at the 30STM show as well and got me into the photo pit again which was BEYOND awesome of him. Seriously, I don't know why he's being so nice to me I mean, he's a good photographer and a "real" photographer and I'm just there with my little point-and-shoot digi-cam but he's been a huge help, so I really appreciate it. Anywho, I got some pretty good shots of Head Automatica and 30 Seconds to Mars (and yes, Jared Leto is just as dreamy in person as in the magazines in that lotsa-black-eyeliner/emo guy way). I've included a few of my shots for your perusal:)

I'm seeing Lady Sovereign tonight at St. Andrews which should be sweet. My photographer friend has already contacted Sov's publicist and is trying to get me a photo pass for that show as well. I think I just found a guardian angel:)

One other thing that's been kicking around is this idea of a sort of "rock photography boot camp" for my journalism students. Harry (the uber-nice photographer) has already contacted a bunch of labels to see if they'd be down with letting a bunch of kids in for a journalism field trip of sorts. Apparently, the people at Victory Records have expressed a considerable amount of interest at the idea...now just how to pull it off and not get sued by some parent...how SWEET would that be though? Man, there just might be a run on my journalism class if we can figure out how to pull this off...

Looks like I survived comps. I haven't a clue if I passed and honestly, I don't fucking care at this point. I went, I tried, I wrote for 8 hours, and whatever ends up happening, so be it. It's over and that's all I care about!

Later,
S
Listening to (still): My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade.

The Black Parade!!

Oh. My. God. GREAT fucking day! So, MCR's third album dropped today and it is utterly amazing. So different from their first three but, my god, there is some fantastic stuff on there. Instant classic, I'm telling you. If you don't have it yet, for the love of god, go to iTunes and download it RIGHT NOW. You won't regret it.

Even better than a fabulous new MCR album coming out today was that my brother called me to tell me that MCR is playing the Night 89X Stole Christmas show in December! Needless to say, I immediately got online and bought tix. Main floor baby! Now I just need to see if I can talk my way into a press pass for the show...man, that would be un-fucking-believable!

So, so, so happy:)

Right, now I need to try and calm down and concentrate on the big, freaking, scary exam I have to take on Thursday and Friday. I leave for DC tomorrow right after school and I realllly don't want to go...ugh, ugh, ugh. I just want it over with!

I saw 30 Seconds to Mars on Sunday night-great show! Even better was that the photographer I met up with at the Hawthorne Heights show got me into the photo pit again. My damn camera's battery is all wonky so I didn't get as many pics as I'd have liked, but it was still pretty damn sweet. Hmm, maybe he'll have some suggestions on how to get a photo pass for the MCR show...

Lots more to tell music-wise but I need to pack and study. Go buy The Black Parade!!
Listening to: My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade (duh, what did you think I'd be listening to??)

Good Charlotte

Hey,
My review of the GC show is up at Revolt along with a few of the photos I took (yay for another photo credit!) My feature on the Plain White T's should be up by the end of the week, I'll let you know when it's up.

I'm utterly exhausted, I don't know how I'm going to make it through the next week and a half. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to go to DC for my comps. They are going to kick my ass...I will probably be the first person to fail them. Seriously. God, I just want it over with.

Unfortunately, I also have to go to Grand Rapids for a conference tomorrow and Friday. Ugh. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a one day thing and it wasn't all the way out in GR. Blech. I know I should be more positive, but I can think of lots of things I could be doing instead of hiking out to GR.

I'm also a bit depressed b/c, once again, I feel like I've been duped by a guy. Long story short, thought someone might have been interested in me, turns out he's not. Had been quite flirty, now, just sort of weird and stiff and awkward. Story of my life. What the hell is WRONG with me??? Seriously? Honest to god, if there is something seriously wrong with me and my friends/family aren't telling me and I find out, I'm going to go postal. I am so sick of fucking late-20s guys who don't know what the hell they want and string people along and then "vanish" without a word of explaination.

Sorry for the rant. It just gets to me (and you better tell me if there's something seriously wrong with me...)
Stressssssssssssssssssssss :(

Listening to: Hawthorne Heights, If Only You Were Lonely

Aargh

Ok, I think I have finally overscheduled myself. I make stupid choices too. I have a phemonemal amount of work to do-reviews to write, features to write, a stack of 100 All Quiet on the Western Front papers to grade, a school newspaper to get out...so a)I should not be blogging right now, b)I should not have gone and gotten phenomenally trashed on Friday night, c) I should not have been astoundingly hungover yesterday. Nonetheless, I did all those things and, consequently it is Sunday night and I'd love to either run away or call in sick tomorrow. Of course I'll do neither, but it is a temping thought...

It's all my own damn fault of course, I hardly blame anyone else. Well, maybe the beer fairies...damn them. I had a lot of fun on Friday, so I don't regret. At least too much, though yesterday morning I was making those "I promise I'll never drink again if I live through the next five minutes..." claims. It is nice however having some cool people from work to hang out with...what a change from some other jobs I've had. They even have good taste in music, so I guess I'll keep em around :)

Anyways, a few new reviews up for your perusal. I think I'll also have about 16 more cd's coming my way though I hope my editors hold off till the end of the month. The next few weeks are going to be god awful. To the point I'm thinking of running away or calling in dead. Aargh.

Read my review of A Heartwell Ending's album at Revolt.
Read my review of Near Miss' album at Static.

Shannon is coming to visit in a few weeks! Woo hoo! I'm so psyched. I haven't seen her since last December, so it'll be great.

My Chem's new album comes out in 9 days! Can't wait!!!
Back to work...
Ciao.

Listening to: KT Tunstall, Eye to the Telescope

Jilary in the house...

Ok, this post has to be fast, I should be in bed:)
Went to see Good Charlotte last night at Clutch Cargo's. The show rocked, very high energy and they played a lot of good songs. It was kinda fun to see Benji and Joel live in all their tattooed glory:) Weird crowd, older people, maybe in their twenties along with a lot of really LITTLE kids (like around 10 or so). The place was pretty packed but I, as usual, wormed my way to the front. I was going to try and talk my way into the photo area but they weren't even letting the legit photographers in at first. They claimed the road manager wasn't allowing anyone up there, yada yada yada. I thought that was pretty weird (I was right next to this photographer when he was having this conversation with the security guard which is how I know all this). Then, as soon as GC came on stage, I realized the reason why they weren't letting anyone up there. It wasn't so much because of Benji, Joel etc. It was because Miss Hilary Duff, teen queen, was there as well. She sat at the side of the stage for the whole show and was actually kinda cute to watch. She sang along with all the songs, clapped and smiled a lot...rarely took her eyes off of Joel which, honestly, was sweet. I dunno who the teen-y girls were more psyched to see, the Madden bros or Hilary Duff.

Anyways, I got a few photos, these are probably the best of the lot. Neither are as good as that one I got at the HH concert, but I'm pretty happy with them. Still not too bad for a digi-cam! I'm seeing We Are Scientists on Friday at the Magic Stick, Art Brut is opening. Should be a pretty fucking sweet show.

Trying to kick this stupid cold...
Off to beddy-bies. I'll tell you my car story later:)
Peace out, starving nachos,
~S

Hawthorne Heights

Read my review of the Nintendo Fusion Tour here. Yeah, it's a bit long, stick with me though:) The two photos on the review are all mine too! Here are those two and a few more for your viewing pleasure.
I've gotta figure out a way to get into the photo pit on other shows too...if anyone has any good ideas, lemme know!
~S
Listening to: The Silence in Black and White, Hawthorne Heights