Allison's Wonderland

It's January...not that anything too exciting happens in January. It's actually my least favorite month out of the entire year. Although January can be dreary, one holiday of note that takes place within the cold, gray month is Martin Luther King Jr. day. This holiday occurs on every third Monday in January to honor the spokesman who made a huge impact on the Civil Rights movement. I never really thought much of this day. It was more of a "black person" holiday. Not to sound racist, but it was. Getting back to the main point . . . I came to realize just how important this day meant. One of King's most famous lines to any one of his speeches was "I have a dream." Four simple words that placed beside one another in a sentence invoke a sense of hope and freedom. Dreams are something that I can't seem to get away from. I just watched the new Disney movie "Tangled" the other night where Rapunzel sings about her dream to see the floating lights. I can't seem to get the Mamma Mia song, "I have a dream" out of my head either. I guess it got me thinking about what real dreams I have. Of course I have my dreams to travel and see the world. The only problem with that is it takes an extreme amount of money. Dr. Falwell would always say, "what would you try to accomplish if you knew you could not fail?" I have a hard time trying to answer that question. Start my own business maybe? For some reason I feel like I don't have the drive for that and after watching the government pretty much steal my father's self-owned businesses money I'm not sure I could handle the responsibility. What would I try if I knew I would succeed? Travel the world one country at a time.

Leg Warmers. What era do most Americans associate with leg warmers? If you guessed the 80's then you are like most Americans. This weekend I had the opportunity to head to Richmond and experience a band like none other. Let me give you a little background information . . . Jessica, a girl I a work with, was turning 25 this weekend. We have become pretty close at work, since we are in an office full of nerdy guys. The situation only lends itself for us to get to know each other well. She invited me to her birthday party where it would be 8 other girls including Jessica of which I didn't know any of them except for her and one other girl. I graciously accepted and asked if my best friend Jessica C. could also come along. I needed a wingman. We'll call Jessica C. J Carn because it might get confusing if I don't. I hadn't decided what concert I was going to go to in January, so this seemed to work out perfectly. We left work at 4:00pm on Friday and hopped in a car headed to Richmond with Kellie, Jessica, J. Carn, and Mandi. We got dressed up in some pretty awesome 80's gear that we found at Rugged Warehouse a couple days before which did include leg warmers. I spent over 40 bucks on stuff I will never wear again including bright pink Apple Bottom High top sneakers. Yipes! We got two rooms at the Double Tree which was pretty sweet. There were a total of ten girls. Kim, the planner and leader of this whole escapade, called The National (The venue where the concert was) two days before and tried to get tickets purchased in advance. The guy laughed at her and said, "This show will not sell out." So we thought we were in the clear. We take a shuttle from the hotel to the venue and come to find out Mr. Rude Phone Guy was wrong. It was sold out. Kellie and Kim had been on the street corner in 14 degree temperatures without a jacket scalping tickets to this band no one has ever heard of. We were fortunate to get 8 tickets before the second group got there. But we were short 2. J Carn and I hit the streets asking people for tickets like little beggars. It's funny how crappy people will treat you when you're asking them for something. It's like we were asking them to cut off one of their limbs and give it to us for 20 bucks. I asked a skeevy guy for tickets and he tells me to follow him to a parking garage so I did like an idiot. Then I see these nice women walking across the street before I get to the garage and accost them for tickets. She said she had one extra so I follow her and pay her 20 bucks for a complimentary ticket that she got for free. My job was done...and I scored my ticket. We just needed one more. We walk from corner to corner asking people with no luck. Finally we cross this little old lady whose as sweet as sweet can be and she sells us her ticket for twenty bucks. EUREKA! We've got them! We went from zero to 10 tickets in an hour and 1/2. We were on top of the world. Now for the band. Boy do I have stories to tell! The band was freakin awesome. They did every 80's song you could ask for in a span of 3 1/2 hours of which we danced our hearts out the entire time. We made new friends, danced in the aisles, head banged, made idiots of ourselves and had an amazing night. After the ridiculously awesome concert we went back to the hotel. I ordered two pizzas because I was starving and pizza is always amazing at 2 in the morning. We talked till three about life, love and happiness and poured out our souls. The next morning we went to Trader Joe's of which I've never been and Dave and Buster's for lunch where I won 696 tickets with the help of some guy who handed me about 400 just cause. It was a great weekend. I think I need to do this more often.

January 1st always marks the beginning of a new year. Resolutions are made that tend to be broken within the first week of the new year. I have always been one to make a new year's resolution come December 31st at 11:59 pm. This year I wanted to make it a little different. I made a list of 5 specific goals I want to keep. If I don't meet those goals, then I guess I can consider 2011 a failure. Here's my list:

5 Things to Accomplish in 2011

1. Move out of my Hometown – I’ve lived here for 23 years….it’s time to get out

2. Lose weight – 20 lbs. perhaps. What New Year’s resolution would be complete without having some kind of weight loss goal?

3. Finish my Master’s Degree – I got this far, I might as well finish it.

4. Make the trek to the Emerald Isle – Ireland. I wanna go. I’m gonna do it.

5. Land a job I actually enjoy – I’ve been stuck in a job I highly dislike
for almost two years, and I’d rather be doing something I actually like.

My Dad loves the song "Christmas Eve – Sarajevo” by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Every time it comes on the radio during the Christmas season he gets really excited and turns it up as high as it will go. I had to pick my concert for December since this year has been dubbed, “The Year of the Concert” but nothing of interest had crossed the pages of the internet as I researched. Then I looked at the Greensboro, Coliseum and to my surprise the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was to perform on December 8th. I called Dad right away and asked if he would be interested in going. Of course he was, so I bought his ticket for him as part of his Christmas gift and we were ready to go. We drove to Greensboro, NC and ate at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, “Carrabbas”. The restaurant is an amazing Italian joint that has everything a foodie could ask for. I have been to Italy and have tasted the Italian food there, but honestly nothing can compare to Carrabba’s. That made me blasphemy but that is a statement I am willing to make. We got to the Greensboro Coliseum and got in pretty smooth although our seats were non-existent. For some reason our seats had disappeared. We were in the very last row on the floor and someone had simply gotten rid of our chairs. We got reseated but then we changed to better seats anyway where we could actually see. The guys in the group looked like they stepped out of the 80’s and there was so much “Hairography” as the show Glee creatively labeled the movement where all you do is flip your hair around, but all in all it was a good show. “Christmas Eve –Sarajevo” was my favorite number. Throughout the entire concert they did some pretty sick guitar runs, awesome violin sounds, and used plenty of fire machines. I enjoyed it immensely! I almost fell asleep on the way home, but decided to call Grandma B who is a night owl. She kept me awake while Dad snored in the passenger seat. Nice. We made it home safe and it was all worth it.

Thanksgiving in New York City. I’ve always wanted to do it and this year we finally did. We just got back today from our trip and I must say, I’m a little warn out. We left Tuesdy night after work and stayed the night in Clinton, New Jersey. It was actually a really nice hotel and me and Keri got to bond by being bed buddies. Those involved in the trip included, me, Dad, Bubkins, Jeanne, Taylor, Keri, and Sista. We met sista in NYC because she was already there on a youth ministries trip. We stayed in the Westin in Times Square and when we first got there it was a tad bit chaotic. People were everywhere and Dad was driving. Dad hates the city with a passion and throughout the entire trip he was constantly reminding the group of that fact. I have been to quite a few major cities in my lifetime and no matter how many I go too, New York is a place that stands above the rest. It’s a city that has a distinct personality which cannot be duplicated. I have been to cities which include San Francisco, Honolulu, D.C., Rome, New Orleans, Barcelona, Atlanta and Madrid but New York. New York is a place of its own. The day we arrived we headed downtown to the Financial district so Taylor could see where the World Trade Center’s use to stand. We also visited St. Peter’s Catholic Church which was so moving it brought tears to my eyes. We of course had to visit Canal Street and grab some knock off handbags and designer scarves for cheap. After that we headed to SOHO and checked out some of the neat little boutiques with weird looking outfits and outrageous price tags. We came back to Times Square and ate at a little Irish place before our show. It was pretty good. I got their Rueben and it was like 15 bucks and not half as good as Moosie’s at Smith Mountain Lake, but oh well. What can you do? That night we went and saw “A Little Night Music” onBroadway starring Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. I really enjoyed it but Bubba and Sista were not impressed. It was a tad bit racy but I thought very well done. You just can’t please everybody I guess. Okay forget all the little details. Let me tell you our Thanksgiving story and then we’ll call it quits. This is long enough as is.
The seven of us were lucky enough to land reservations at the exclusive Boat House in Central Park. The Boat House is the venue featured in Katherine Hiegel’s “27 Dresses”. We left the Hotel at around 10:15 for our reservations at 11:00 in order to go uptown to 72nd Avenue. We were staying on 43rd. The subway system in New York can be a little confusing and frustrating if you’re unfamiliar with the layout. We were waiting to jump on the train that we knew would take us to the restaurant but Bubkins insisted that the train coming up would take us there as well, and when confirmed by a NYPD Officer we hopped on. We looked at the train map and sure enough it said it would take us to 72nd Street. After riding the train for about 15 minutes we notice less and less people on the train and the people getting on and off seem to get a lot shadier. After a thorough examination of the subway map we realize we’re headed to Queens and have made it halfway through the Hudson River. Instead of going to 72nd Avenue we were headed to 72nd STREET.Who knew? We all started panicking considering the fact that the reservation is at 11 o’clock and the Boat House is unforgiving when it comes to those who arrive late, slapping you with a $75 charge on your credit card for breaching your contract and loss of your reservation. Next stop we hop off and Dad is in a tizzy at this point fussing and cussing up a storm. By this time it’s 10:35 and we still have to ride the subway back and find the restaurant. We were unsure which stop to get off and asked Dad where to go. After debating whether or not to get off at Lafayette Street we decide that is where we needed to go. By this time we’d been stopped for at least minute and the doors started to close. Dad is prying the doors open with his arms as we all try to slide through. Keri is behind me pushing and screaming, “Go, go GO!” We all finally made it off and figured out where we are. Bubba has an iPhone that has been our saving grace on the trip. He types in the Boat House and it shows that we are 1.3 miles away. Meanwhile the females of the group are dressed up wearing heels and dresses for our nice Thanksgiving meal. By this time it’s 10:50. We have 10 minutes to run a mile so that we make it on time. Now, we’ve all been in P.E. class where the teacher has been torturous and every year, twice a year we poor little peons are made to run the mile. My best time in middle and high school was 12 minutes. So you see, we have a problem here. Ten minutes to run 1.3 miles. Twelve minutes best time in middle/high school. And remember, we’re in heels. So we book it. We’re running down the richest parts of New York City. We run through 5th Avenue, Madison Avenue, Park Avenue, all the really swanky, wealthy districts of New York. Also at this time the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is finishing. We have pedestrian traffic walking the opposite way we’re running. This doesn’t make for an easy run. It was kind of like the game Frogger. Jeanne and Keri are leading the way as Taylor, Kelsey, and I are in the middle, and Dad and Bubba bring up the rear. Also, we know the restaurant is in Central Park, but we don’t know where in Central Park. If you haven’t ever been, Central Park is huge. We’re all running following the iPhone and we see the Boat House in a clearing. We finally make it up to the hostess podium completely out of breath and looking like a bunch of sweating idiots. Keri’s huffing and puffing saying, “Upchurch…[deep breathing]…party of [deep breathing] seven.” Needless to say we made it.  Praise the Lord. And the meal only cost $742 bucks for seven people. YOWZERS! Will not be eating there anytime soon. I still owe Dad money. All in all it was a great trip. I got to see “Chicago” on Braodway with Keri Friday night, eat at Lombardi’s (New York’s first pizza joint), experience StarDust Café, visit the M & M store, go shopping on black Friday in Times Square and visit Hershey Park on the drive home. Totally successful trip. Gotta say, I just love living life. 

Last night was the big night. Jess and I drove down to Charlottesville, where Dave Matthews is originally from, and grabbed some dinner on the downtown mall at Eppie's. It was pretty good, but come to think of it we should have gone to Miller's since that's where Dave bartended. Oh well, should've thought about that a litte earlier. Anyway, we went to the chalk wall down there and took some pictures. There was this couple we met at Eppie's who had driven all the way from Detroit to see the band. Someone also wrote on the chalk wall saying they came from Russia to see them. Pretty crazy stuff. After eating we went to JPJ and got there pretty early. We walked around the first floor to see where all the VIP's were sitting. Our seats were pretty crappy so it was like we were the poor people just hanging around tryinig to see if anyone important would befriend us. Our master plan didn't work unfortunately. So we went to our crappy seats in Section 311 Row W. For some reason Jess was not willing to budge her butt because there were seats EVERYWHERE. During the Lady Gaga concert we were able to move to a better spot, but like I said Jess wouldn't have any of it. I was going to move somewhere by myself but I thought that might be a little rude. So we sat in the nose bleed section and enjoyed ourselves even if we were up a mile high. The band that opened was phenominal. They were called "Trombone Shorty" and when I got back that night I immediately downloaded their song, "Something Beautiful". It was a band that consisted mainly of horns, but they blew them things to high heaven. When Dave got onstage everyone went crazy. Charlottesville is his hometown so it makes sense that people would be ecstatic about him being back. I think Dave's Mom was even in the crowd He played all of the songs I wanted to hear like, "Satellite", "Proudest Monkey", and "Cornbread" but he didn't play "Crash" which was a huge disappointment. That is my absolute favorite song by him, but oh well. What's a gill to do? Jess and I were dancing and being stupid which is something that you always need to do anytime to you go to a concert. Overall it was amazing. The only thing that sucked was the drive home because we were so tired and the $20 bucks it cost us to park. Still trying to figure out my December concert so if you have any ideas...Let me know. :)

So I haven't written in awhile just because I have been a little busy with life. I am currently involved in our Church Christmas program which is eating up my life and I am in a Managerial Finance class for my Master's Program which is a bear. It's awful and I don't understand any of it. Like seriously. Anyway, back to stuff that is a little more interesting.
I’ve dubbed this year, “The Year of the Concert”, just because I want to see a new band every month. I listen to my music on my iPod or on the radio but there’s nothing like seeing a band live. My quest for concerts started in September with Lady Gaga at the John Paul Jones Arena. I already wrote about that in my previous post so I won’t waste time explaining the details of that one. October was the month I saw Rogue Wave at Cat’s Cradle which was awesome. I stood on the very front row. Close enough to see the googily eyes that one of the stage hands put everywhere. After the show they threw them out into the crowd. I had a great time. I dragged my brother and sister-in-law to see them too and paid for their tickets so they wouldn’t complain too much. The venue was a little different than I expected. Lorrie described it as "dirty sex." Haha…I wouldn’t have described it quite that way, but ya know. To each his own. So this weekend, get ready for the big drum roll I’m going to my November concert. See if you can guess who it is. This particular band, named after the main singer, owns a vineyard in Charlottesville that I went to this summer. The initials of the band can be found in the website for the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). Okay if you haven’t guessed it yet, this weekend I’m going to go see Dave Matthews Band with my best friend Jessica! I’m completely stoked! I want to bring my new camera but we don’t really have the best seats considering we waited till the very last minute to get them, and I’m not sure I can convince Shaun to let me borrow his telephoto lens. Ugh…can’t wait! This week has been crazy what with the tree and Ashley’s wedding, but I have been looking forward to DMB all week so this is the icing on the cake! I’ll post later with details about the concert!