Of Living and Dyeing.

Ha! See what I did there? Yeah, that’s not a typo. That’s a poor pun. I suck at telling jokes.

I am enjoying my long Labor Day weekend with the house to myself. I spent the majority of my night cleaning the house the best I could. I don’t know the last time the kitchen floor was washed. That was disgusting. It makes me shudder just thinking about it. I rewarded myself by eating an Oreo Blizzard I spontaneously ran out and bought in the middle of my cleaning because I had a coupon and didn’t know when our local Dairy Queen closed.

Last night was good. Except for the part where I double-checked the locks on the doors, locked my bedroom door, and still freaking out whenever I heard a strange noise that was, of course, just the house. I guess this is why I don’t live alone. Luckily, Alex will be here later.

I slept in and now I’m doing laundry. I know I should probably work out, but it is past 11:00 and I should definitely take a shower. Whatever. This post isn’t about me. Well, it sort of is. But it is about my excursion into the territory where I dye my own yarn. Oh man. Next thing you know, I’ll be spinning my own yarn. I think my mom will hate me once I get to that point. I have enough crap as it is.

I used Knit Picks Bare Fingering Weight – the superwash kind, since I most definitely did not want to worry about felting. I looked at a bunch of tutorials for this, but I think I mainly used Eunny Jang’s self-striping tutorial. I like stripes, and I was feeling ambitious. So I figured out my colors, and I did some math, but then gave up on math and just pulled out a skein of Felici and measured its stripes. The circumference of my yarn then spanned two chairs I put out in the backyard on Tuesday. It was huge. I had to have my mom help me bring it in, where it looped around the entirety of our family room. I took a picture, but I don’t have it here.

Wednesday I bought the Kool-Aid. I went to my nearest grocery store and was dismayed that there were only two colors I needed there, so I went out of my way and drove to Meijer. I will now buy all my Kool-Aid from there, since they have an entire shelf of it. I also happened to run into some dear friends of the family while I was out, so that was fortuitous.

Thursday was when the magic happened. I cleared out a giant Tupperware tub that usually holds a large portion of my dishes from school and filled it with water and a cap of delicate soak. I put the yarn in and let it sit while I was preparing cookie dough. I put the Kool-Aid in mason jars with some water.

I used Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, Lemon-Lime, Orange, and Lemonade. I used two packets for the Lemon-Lime and the Lemonade, though I feel I should have added more of the Lemonade because it wasn’t as strong as the other three colors in the end.

Now remember how I had carefully planned out my stripes? Well, I had a little issue putting the wet yarn into the jars because it decided to tangle. I was trying to undo it and ended up with water dripping all over the floor and all over myself. Good god. There was water EVERYWHERE. I put one of the ends into the green jar like I had planned, and then realized that I had put too much in. Oops. I was mad at myself for botching the plan, but I continued to put the rest of the yarn into the other jars. I used the double-boiler method, and this is the view from above the pot:

 

White Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies + Yarn Dyeing =

Multitasking like a boss.

I let it sit until it was clear, then I rinsed it out and hung it up to dry. The next morning, I wound it into a hank. Since I don’t have a yarn swift (hopefully a Christmas gift this year?), I had to make do with what I had, which was an upside-down desk chair.

I wound it a little too tight, admittedly. It still did the job, though.

These are my bright pretty colors! I’ve christened the colorway “Weird Science” because 1) the bright, strange, acid-tripping neon colors, 2) I truly tried to plan things out and it became skewed, just like an experiment gone wrong, and 3) I’m a nerd. I’m quite proud, especially since before Thursday, I was a dyeing virgin. I feel an addiction coming on, unfortunately.

Finally, here’s my yarn all wound up! I can’t wait to see how it looks once I’ve knitted it into a pair of socks!

Of My Super-Crafty-Fun-Times.

The only bright side of being unemployed is the fact that I have a lot of time. Yes, I do job search. I job search every weekday morning, and sometimes I actually find something that I would be qualified to do that isn’t at McDonald’s. In even rarer cases, I actually get an interview. But usually, I get an e-mail saying that whoever was hiring has decided to choose someone more qualified.

I read. I workout. I write. I knit. I do a bunch of stuff. However, I feel that I am missing a lot out of my life. Namely, the fact that if I can’t move out of my mom’s house sooner, the longer I will feel that I am not, in fact, an adult – among other things.

But enough of that! The point of this post is not to wallow. It is to celebrate a bit of my work. While this is not everything I have done since graduation, these projects are perhaps my favorite work so far.

First up: Polly Jean Socks knitted with Knit Picks Palette (in Mulberry) gifted from my friend Krista.

Second: Jaywalker Socks knitted with Knit Picks Felici (in Abracadabra). I used opposite ends of the skeins so they are quite funky. I love them and can’t wait until it cools down enough so I can wear socks again. Because let’s face it. It’s summer. You don’t want to wear socks – but you sure as heck can knit them without sweating!

Third: A mohawk hat, taken from the pattern for Punk’s Not Dead from Pretty in Punk. I basically got the book just for this pattern. I also made one for my mom because we want to wear them to next year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Hers is solid, while mine is striped. It makes me feel awesome.

Four: My first embroidery project! The quote, “Sriracha is the Worcestershire Sauce of Thailand” is from My Drunk Kitchen – Episode 7, Tacos. I love watching this show. If you don’t watch it already, you totally should. Hannah Hart is so adorable. I introduced my boyfriend to the show as well, and he likes it. He also likes sriracha sauce, which I never tasted before I met him, so I decided to do an embroidery in tribute to this affinity for the angry rooster sauce. I think it will look great one day hanging in his (*cough* our) kitchen. I gave it to him for his birthday, and he really got a kick out of it.

Now I’m going to clean the house, because I really should do that. I’m going to have company over this weekend.

 

Of the Same Old, Same Old.

I know. It’s been a while, again.

My stay in Kentucky went without any big event. The boys started school. I left. I came back to P-town. And things have been more or less the same. My friends started a new semester. My boyfriend started his job. I stay at home, bored out of my skull most days, trying to find employment. I knit. I knit a lot. I have determined that since I graduated, I have finished knitting three blankets for charity, finished Mom’s Christmas gift for this year, two pairs of socks, two regular hats, two stuffed elephants for two baby boys, and two mohawk hats. I’m currently working on my brothers’ Christmas presents, since I couldn’t work on it while I was visiting them. Besides knitting, I have tried to continue sewing a dress I started two Thanksgivings ago, and am determined to finish it before this Thanksgiving. Does anyone know how to install an invisible zipper? I sure don’t. My mom’s no help, either. I’d consult my aunt Jo for help, but she’s 1) in Cincinnati and 2) busy as can be with her work and her beautiful Stella. I always say that I’m going to give up any attempts at sewing once I finally finish a project, but I always seem to completely ignore that vow. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I have also completed my first embroidery project (it’s on my 101 Goals list, which has been rather inactive – shame on me!). It was a spur of the moment sort of thing that I just picked up the materials (though Mom had a hoop and materials) and checked out a book from the library. I designed it myself and -poof- within a few days, I was done. I’d say it is more simple compared to some of the beautiful embroidery I see online, but I’m still proud of it. It’s on red fabric and stitched in white. The image is of the rooster on the Sriracha bottle (spicy angry rooster sauce), and below it, I stitched a quote from an episode of My Drunk Kitchen: “Sriracha is the Worcestershire sauce of Thailand.” I made it with Alex in mind. Why? Because he likes Sriracha, he likes  My Drunk Kitchen, and eventually, he’s going to have an apartment of his own and I think it would be a unique and appropriate piece to hang in the kitchen.

Speaking of Alex, my dear sweet boyfriend had his birthday last week. I gave him the Sriracha embroidery, some bags of his favorite candy (Sour Patch Kids and Pretzel M&Ms), and a Streetlight Manifesto CD. I also joined him, his parents, and his grandparents for a celebration. We went to Pizzeria Uno and stuffed ourselves.

Besides crafting, I cook dinner every night. Recently, since Borders is going out of business, Mom picked up two vegetarian cookbooks. I think it’s really exciting, and we’re now on our second week of vegetarian dinners. I’m going to try my month of vegetarianism (another thing on my goal list) now, I’d say, though it will be difficult depending on who I happen to eat with. For example, if I go visit Alex, I don’t want to snub the dinner if it includes meat, because that would be inconvenient. Also, I’ve been reading, though not in the past few days. I’m going to remedy that. If you want to check out my book list, I have it on Listography. There’s still plenty more books on my bookshelves that I haven’t tackled yet, and it could possibly be another year before I finish them all! I hope not, though…

Nothing much else is going on, I’d say. I don’t watch a lot of movies, but some days, I feel like a bump on a log. And then, for the past two weekends, Alex and I have gone up to Muncie for shenanigans. I love being able to see my friends and hang out with them. It makes me miss school – or at least being just a stone’s throw away from everyone. I also miss biking and walking everywhere. That’s why, after I finish writing this, I have decided that I’m going to bike to the library. Okay, maybe lunch first. Either way, I’m still going to bike to the library today and enjoy the beautiful weather outside. Thankfully, it isn’t too hot.

I will post again soon. I’ve decided that it is going to be a very picture-heavy post, since I want to share my crafty ventures. I am quite proud of them.

Until then…

Of a Restart.

Back in November of 2009, I started a challenge to myself. A list of 101 Goals to accomplish in 1001 Days. My list was a variety of goals, including ones that would bring me closer to my family, encourage thinking and creating, and tasks that helped me become a better person/adult.

I kept this up for a good 446 days.

In February, I was getting completely stomped on by my student teaching experience, so I put the list on hiatus. It remained as such even when I withdrew from my student teaching. And today, I’d like  to announce that I’m restarting my 101 Goals in 1001 Days from where I left off.

Sure, I have accomplished a few goals in the meantime (graduation and driving down to my dad’s by myself for the first time), but I don’t think that’s any harm. It’s been quite a task just trying to learn how to live like a human being again, let alone working at this list.

If you need a refresher of the list, look here. To this date, I have accomplished 36/101 tasks on my list. A little better than my last “Hey-this-is-how-many-I’ve done” update, but not incredibly spectacular.

I now have 65 goals to complete by November 22, 2012. *Cracking knuckles*  I think I can do this.

Of One More Day.

I’m currently sitting in my room in Muncie. Blank walls, crumpled sleeping bag, and a bunch of random stuff lying around on the floor. I’m listening to one of my roommates being yelled at by her father. I think he’s being quite unreasonable – she’s trying hard to have everything packed and in the car. She’s leaving today, and so is another one of my dear roommates. One’s gone, but will be back on Sunday to finish wrapping up our loose ends, I think.

I’ll be gone tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, I’ll wake up and take a bath, since we won’t have shower curtains. I’ll eat a protein shake, banana, and granola bar for breakfast, hoping it will tide me over. I’ll pack the car with everything I have left in this apartment, then I’ll walk to campus in my dress, cap, and gown.

Tomorrow’s the big day. By the end of the day, I’ll officially be an alumnus of Ball State University.

What happens after that, I don’t know. I have some ideas of what I’d like, but who knows where life will take me. I certainly didn’t expect to be where I am today, right now, with the feelings I have. Hopefully, something good is waiting out there for me to discover it.

Of the Spaces in Between. (Part I)

I’ve been long overdue for an update – a real update, not the “oh woe is me” blurb I posted a few days ago. However, the timeline has gotten quite hazy for me, so I will try my best to relate what has happened to me in the past month or so.

You know the beginning – March 18, I left Central for good. I went back to P-town. I formally withdrew from my student teaching courses, and then freaked the hell out. It took me about five days before I realized that my entire life, I’ve always thought I knew what I wanted to do. Turns out, I don’t. I would have been miserable as a public school teacher, unless I was in a district that reflected my small-town upbringing. Plus, I had the added pressure from my mother, who told me when I was in middle school and high school that I could not make a living as a poet/writer… I understand her intentions to encourage me to have a more profitable profession, but it was rather disappointing to hear.

Enough of that. Speed up to April 5th. To be completely honest, I don’t remember anything notable between March 18th and April 5th. A lot of recuperation, really. But then, on April 5th, Alex, Tanner, and I went to see Electric Six play at Birdy’s. It was so nice that they were performing only about an hour and a half away this time, rather than three and a half hours. I managed to drag Alex and Tanner into the crowd with me, and I finagled my way up to the front of the stage. We met some people who were also at the Covington show, including a couple. The woman asked me, “When did you first hear about Electric Six?” and I said, “Well, I was in eighth grade when Fire came out…”

She said I made her feel old. Haha.

It was even better than the last show. They played “Pink Flamingos” and “Clusterfuck!” and I went nuts. It would have been even better had people not decided to start moshing during “Gay Bar.” I know it is one of Electric Six’s best known songs (besides “Danger! High Voltage!” of course), but moshing? Really?

At least I didn’t almost die this time, and we got out a little after midnight, compared the Covington show. I swear, if their ticket prices are always this cheap, I will always go see Electric Six when they come to town.

I drove Tanner back up to school since it was a Tuesday night, and then I crashed at my house. Mom woke me up before she left so she could see me for a little bit. I smelled and felt like I had smoked an entire pack of cigarettes the night before, and my legs ached so much from all the dancing I did, I wanted to amputate them. I still had a smile on my face, though!

Later that day, I drove down to Lexington. Three and a half hours to my dad’s. It was my first solo road-trip, and my first time seeing the new house after Dad, Cindy, David and Alex moved during the summer before my sophomore year. My trip was long overdue. My brothers were on spring break, so I decided I should come down and hang out with them. I made it there by the early evening on Wednesday.

After dinner, we went to get dessert at a frozen yogurt place called Orange Leaf, which I had never heard of before but was immediately smitten with it. When we were leaving and I was singing the praises of delicious frozen yogurt that I pay for buy the ounce and mix flavors and toppings when my little brother, Alex, said, “If you like it so much, that means you’ll visit more often, right?” Cute kid. The story gets better.

Dad and I took a separate vehicle and went to Half-Price Books. Laugh at me all you want, but I had never been to a Half-Price Books before. I wanted EVERYTHING. Luckily, I kept myself in check. But I still wanted it all. I ended up getting a knitting book (Pretty in Punk), Ender’s Game, Something Wicked This Way Comes, a collection of Rudyard Kipling horror tales, and a live Depeche Mode CD I didn’t have (Songs of Faith and Devotion Live). Heaven.

We came home, and Cindy said that Alex had spent the car ride back creating a plan for me. He said that I could come live with them, since there is a spare bedroom, and I could either work in a school or a library or go to school at University of Kentucky, and then I could spend more time with them.

My eight-year-old brother came up with this. At first I laughed about how cute it was. But later that night, I looked up University of Kentucky; they have a library science program, and were accepting applications. My only problem was that, since my original plan did not include graduate school, I hadn’t taken the GRE, so I will need to take that sometime in the next few months and then apply for next year, as well as apply for a graduate assistantship.

But what matters here is that it is a viable plan, and I’m considering it. It sounds a lot better than anything else I’ve tried to figure out for myself. It will probably be a year or two before this plan comes to fruition, and it will be a greater distance for me and Alex to deal with in our relationship, but I think I’d be happier and stronger for it. I’ve missed a lot of my brothers’ lives, and of my dad’s life. It might be about time for me to change my scenery, anyhow.

Of Pushed-Aside Personal Goals.

No, I’m not stopping the blog. Not that I’ve been posting much recently.

It has occurred to me that I haven’t been taking my student teaching seriously enough. Or well, maybe I have, but I really need to work on improving myself and my classroom instruction.

So, among some other changes in my life, I need to put the 101 Goals on hiatus. Well, some are still going to apply – i.e., complete student teaching and graduate. However, things like painting or growing plants… well, I can’t do them right now. I can’t really focus on anything, in all honesty. I suck.

So, I officially want to put the list on a break. I’m going to pick it up again as soon as this student teaching thing is over, or at least when I’m not anxiety-ridden and confused like a rabbit who has been plucked out from his cage and is freaking out when a bunch of kindergartners want to pet him.

I will then do math (I don’t feel like doing it now) to figure out how much time I have left to my “1001” days.

Yeah, so it’s going to be like, 1000+ days, but I want to make this a fair effort. Let’s face it, I won’t be doing much of anything besides schoolwork for the next three months…

Of the List in Progress.

It’s been exactly one year since I posted my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list. Hardly seems that way. Rest assured, I do have some done, though probably not as many as I’d like. But hey, I’ve been busy. School keeps me on my toes quite a bit. Some of my goals, as you know, relate to school, so I will be happy when I graduate (#6!) and can mark a few more off my list.

What can I say? I’m a list nerd. If you asked my mom, she’d tell you she used to make lists, too. One of her sisters, at least, does too. I honestly think we have a list-making gene or something…

SO! Progress! Drumroll please…

I have accomplished 24 out of 101 goals. Roughly 23%. I have 77 more to go.

Yeah, that looks pretty gross. But in my defense, some relate to school. I have until May for that. Another point is that some are conditional, which means I can only accomplish them by participation with another. Most of those are Alex, some of them are my brothers, one of them is an aunt. An emphasis on my list, besides recreational activities (reading, knitting, writing, etc.), was strengthening relationships with family members, and it is still important to me. Everything on this list relates, in some way, to bettering myself.

I have a long way to go – although technically,  I only 636 days left. I believe I can accomplish this list, though it seemed a lot easier when I first made it, to be honest. But I’m going to stay true to myself. I know that I might not mark every goal off my list in the time I have left, but when this project is over, at least I can say I tried.

And then, I’m going to see what else I can do…

Of the Car.

I’ve been better than how I was in my last post. It was just a long day, and the days and weeks have just been dragging along and blending together. I’ve started to really only care about how long I have before I get off work, how many days I have until I have a day off, and the days when I can sleep in. I’ve still been keeping up with my classes and doing my best, but it is still rather difficult.

In my free time for the past week, I watched the entire series of Daria and worked on my newest knitting project, and when I feel like socializing, I come out of my room and watch the Venture Bros. with my roommates. But I spend a lot of time in my room.

But… Great news! If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I’ve had a rather unorthodox situation as a twenty-one-year-old. This summer, I finally got my driver’s license. Over the past few months, I’ve been lamenting my lack of vehicle and actively searching for one. Being car-less sucks because if you’re like me and have to bike or walk places, there are certain dangers. I don’t like biking at night, and I often have to do so. Last Saturday it rained when I got off work, and I was soaked by the time I arrived home. I was desperate for a car, but I couldn’t show that to the dealers, of course.

Well, this weekend, Alex came to visit. He just left about an hour ago for home, and I wished I could have had more time with him, since most of this weekend wasn’t really full of fun, to say. It was productive, though. He came up on Friday, and then we went to Indy for the Irish Festival. We got in for free, watched a sheep herding demonstration, some bands, some dancing, and I bought a ring (like I do every year I go). The food sounded good, but seeing as we were trying to save money, we had to forgo what the booths had to offer. We left after a while and ate somewhere else for dinner.

We stayed at my house for the night, played Alex’s new board game, Torres, and researched cars. Saturday morning, he, my mom, and I went car browsing. The first dealership was overwhelming, and I wasn’t a fan of the car we looked at. We had an appointment at another dealership, but there were so many in the area, we got lost. We ended up at a different dealership that was actually on my list, and we looked at the car I had seen online.

We turned the car on, looked it all over, and Alex and I each took a turn behind the wheel. Some negotiation took place, and, well, long story short, I drove my first car off the lot! It’s a 2001 Nissan Maxima in fantastic condition, and I’m almost certain that someone else would have taken it off the lot that day if I hadn’t. I’m also incredibly grateful that I have Alex. Without him, not only would I probably not have a driver’s license, but I wouldn’t have such a good car (or a car at all, probably). I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to show him how thankful I am, but I will try.

Currently, the car is in my mom’s driveway. We’re hoping to get it up to my apartment next weekend, but I need to take the registration to the BMV and apply for one of the parking permits in my apartment complex, among a few other things. I have my fingers crossed that I’ll have it up here next weekend. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to have authority and independence at long last.

Not much else has gone on this weekend, though. Alex and I returned to my apartment Saturday afternoon, and I made baked ziti for dinner. We hung out with our friends for a little bit, and we watched some Top Gear. I’m really sad that it is Sunday already, but I’m eager for the next twelve days to go by so I’ll be able to see Alex again. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to keep me busy, anyway, with my lesson/unit plans, reading assignments, exams, papers, and work…

Goals Completed:

#2: Buy a car.

Of My Great, Many Adventures: The Anniversary Party and the Awesome Devo Concert!

Whew. My life. Crazy.

Friday morning I tried to send my paper to my professor. You know how I said it was big? It was too big, and I had to abandon it to go to work. After work, I helped Mom pack her car full of my things, said bye to Jess, and went home. Alex met us there, and we unpacked the car and repacked it again. While we were working on our own things, Alex helped split my project into four parts so I could send it that way.

By 2:00 or 3:00, we were in the car again and on our way to Ohio. For some reason, we ended up taking a detour to my grandparents’ house and went to my old house – the house where my mom and dad brought me home on the day I was born. It was strange. The house was repainted. It’s white now instead of yellow. The shutters are green, not brown. There’s a green-striped awning on the porch. It looks cleaner, more modern. I felt odd, showing this house to Alex, and I told him I hoped he wasn’t freaked out by it.

We also passed the drive-thru liquor store my mom used to work at. Alex had never heard of those stores before. Ohio has a lot of them.

We got to my grandparents’ house, and it was great to see everyone again, especially my Aunt Beth and Uncle Brian. They live in Texas, and the last time I saw my aunt, it was in 2007 at my high school graduation. The last time I saw my uncle, it was 2004 and he and my grandfather were driving me in blizzard conditions to the airport – that was a great story, and one of many that Alex heard that weekend.

I’m really glad he could come this weekend. He got to meet my Aunt Beth and Uncle Brian and my grandparents for the first time, and so it meant a lot to me. Also, the anniversary party would have probably been a little more awkward for me. Before the party, we had to get dressed up and have our family pictures taken. It took two hours (!!) to get ready, and on request of my grandmother, we had to wear full makeup. So weird. In high school, I used to wear eyeliner and mascara every day (because I was a goth girl), and this weekend, it had been so long since I wore makeup, I forgot how to put it on! Over two years ago, Alex saw I was wearing makeup and asked me why I was wearing it, since he liked me better without it – so I stopped putting on makeup.

Anyway, the pictures went fine. I wasn’t a fan of it, just because the photographer treated me like a doll, trying to pose me in ways that are uncomfortable and unnatural. I became very annoyed, so I was glad we weren’t there long.

The anniversary party went well, despite awkwardness at the beginning, since we were the youngest people there. I know my grandparents appreciated our attendance and patience, though. The table settings were beautiful, Alex and I sat by my aunt Jo and uncle Dave, the toast was lovely, and the food was delicious.

Overall, the trip was fun. Lots of fun stories, and lots of food. Alex learned about where I get a lot of my weird quirks, how food is a constant topic on my mom’s side of the family and dessert is a near religious rite, my grandparents’ packrat habits, and how we all joke on each other openly. I gained some advice about teaching from my Uncle Brian, who also has an affinity for B-movies and should be sending me his Mystery Science Theater 3000 DVDs when they get back to Texas. Aunt Jo and Uncle Dave cleaned out their closets and found a copy of Fantasia on VHS, which they gave to me to replace the copy I lost a while ago, and they also gave me their second copy of Better Off Dead on DVD, which I’m super-stoked about since I’ve been wanting it for a while. Grandma also gave me some old popsicle molds since I’d like to make my own.

We left on Sunday afternoon and stopped by Young’s Jersey Dairy, another staple of my childhood. It’s expanded a lot, much to my findings! We walked around, looked at the goats, and got a couple of scoops of ice cream. Another satisfactory visit to Ohio.

Sunday night, we just unpacked and relaxed. It was a struggle to stay awake, but we made it to see the season opener for Mad Men. Yay!

Mom had to go to work on Monday, and Alex and I slept in the best we could, but were awake by 8:30 without an alarm. We hung out, watching Top Gear and cuddling. We left around 4:30 and went up to Muncie. We had dinner at Steak ‘N’ Shake and picked up Nick and Sarah. We turned around and went down to Broad Ripple. Alex dropped Sarah and I off in front of the Vogue, where a long line had formed on the sidewalk to get in. We talked with some of the other people in line, and at least one person made the comment, “Were you even born when DEVO formed?” or something like that. No sir, they formed in the 70s, but the love for good music can reach all ages!

It didn’t take long for us to get inside. Within a minute of going in and heading towards the stage, I nearly broke my ankle by missing a step. But everything was fine. The Vogue is a good venue for a band, but I don’t think I’d want to go back their for a regular night of partying.

Sarah and I ended up right by the stage, on the left by the speakers and drum kit. We could have reached out and touched the band, had it not been for the jerks in front of us. Most of the people around us were polite. Two tall men declined to stand in front of us because they knew we would have a hard time seeing the concert because of how small we were. However, the two men in front of us did not take notice of our stature or ignored it, and proceeded to have their arms raised, holding their cameras, throughout the entire show.

Let’s get this straight – one, you pay for the concert experience to see the band right there on the stage, not through a lens. Depending on the show, you go there to dance and sing along – not to just videotape the entire show and compare video with your buddy while the band is performing RIGHT THERE in front of you. Two – there are other people around you, not just you, at this concert (unless you are a really lucky bastard). Blocking the view for others, or using your arms to obstruct their view of the show, when you know they are there behind you and actually trying to enjoy the concert, is not a nice thing to do. Heed Wheaton’s Law, for crying out loud!

Okay, now that rant’s over, plain and simply, without that little downside to the concert, the show was so effin’ awesome. I am not as big a fan of DEVO as Sarah is, since they were a staple of her childhood, but I am a convert now. It was fantastic. The band is made up of older men, but you can’t tell. They have the energy, perhaps more energy, than some of today’s biggest pop stars. They had like four or five outfit changes, and the backdrop of lights forming scenes was dazzling. What a presence. Mark Mothersbaugh ripped off part of his jumpsuit (and a few of the others’, too) and threw pieces into the audience. The music was album-perfect and, had it not been for the fact I was actually at the concert with other screaming fans, I wouldn’t have known it was live. Here’s the setlist, too, you’re interested. It was a great one. (I was glad I knew most of the songs, too.)

It was funny because, like mentioned before, Sarah and I were the youngest members of the audience and definitely not in the target demographic. We had a lot of people staring at us or giving us weird looks because we’re young enough to be their kids and we’re dancing and yelling with a lot of enthusiasm. Probably the best part was when one of the band members on stage would look at us and have this funny expression on their face or they would smile, like, “Can you believe these girls?”

There’s probably a lot I’m leaving out, since it’s hard to explain just the amount of brilliance that was this concert – I mean, I’ve seen a few other shows, but nothing like this before – but it was a lot to take in. I walked out of the Vogue with a bouncy ball (they threw them into the audience), sore throat, aching, sweat-covered legs, and deaf ears. I think I actually felt sick because I was so excited and overstimulated. A wonderful night.