This last year has felt different. It's as if there's a hole that has almost been filled by new experiences and new people, but there is a hole nonetheless. I think what's missing is travel. During 2007 and 2008 my family and I went to 13 Blue Angels airshows, meaning we were traveling, on average, every other month. I miss going places. I miss airplanes. I miss the excitement of stepping out of the airport or car into a place I'd never been before [even if it was as mundane as El Centro, CA]. I miss airshows and the thrill of feeling the power of the jet engines pulse through your chest. I miss the glimpses of Navy life on both the personal and official, governmental level. This time last year I would have been heading to Seattle in a couple of weeks, then Chicago a week or so after that.

I want to go back.



In August I'm going to Salinas with the Mannixes to see the Blue Angels for the first time since October. It will be strange to have Kevin on the ground with us now that he doesn't have the keys to the #1 jet. I have a feeling that, rather than appeasing my appetite, this airshow will only make me hungry for more. More planes [I like airplanes]... and more travel.


I want to go back

This looks goooood too...

This is completely mind-blowing. These people possess a level of musical/general genius that I can hardly fathom.

Sleep District needs to play a show again...like right now.



"The Lauras are here tonight!" haha. I feel special.

I woke up this morning not really expecting anything extraordinary of the day. Had plans to go to The District with Laura and Jen because The Bolts were playing some acoustic set and we try to make it to their local shows when we can. Amanda was going to try to come along too. Other than that, it was looking like a pretty ordinary, blah day. Well while we were parking Laura found something written somewhere I would never have expected it to be written. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and if I were an emotional person I probably would have shed a tear or two. Something to definitely add to the previous blog. Hold on a sec...lemme collect myself...okay, moving on...we made it to the District Promenade or whatever and were waiting for The Bolts, and although I had seen Shanna's car while we were walking in, I didn't see any of the guys anywhere. Turns out there were two stages set up and this was some kind of Surfrider Foundation hosted event. Yep. The Bolts played on the other end of the Promenade. Oh well, we were able to say hi to Austin and Heath at least. By a stroke of really random, good luck, turns out Iglu & Hartly were playing today also. Incredibly unexpected and really weird because we had just listened to them in the car [yep Megan, you're successfully infusing me with those musical tidbits you throw out here and there]. It was cool to see them live...not what I expected. Very beachy vibe. After their set we headed over to the Marketplace to see Harry Potter [finally!]. I had heard mixed reviews about it, but I truly enjoyed this installment. I was pretty unhappy with the earlier films, but I thought this one really did the book justice. [Admittedly this could be somewhat related to the fact that I VAGUELY remember anything about this book, therefore I probably didn't notice when certain things were omitted...whatever]. So today ended up being a pretty good one, and I just finished it off with some breadsticks from Pat&Oscars. Basically if today had been the crappiest of all crap days those breadsticks would have made it an awesome day anyways. The end.






In other news...I'm trying to make plans for something and I REALLY hope it works out. Especially after seeing that written there today.

So basically I've realized that my life has changed quite significantly in the last year. This might have seemed natural upon starting my first year of college, but living at home and commuting to a university that's less than 10 miles from my house really preempted any huge changes from happening. Instead this change started on July 12, 2008, when Amanda invited me to come along to Chain Reaction to see our childhood friends play a show with their band, The Bolts. I had never heard of this place, nor had I ever been to a concert before [not even one]. I had also never met this girl with the same name as me who happened to come with us. I'd definitely heard about her before and knew she did gymnastics with Natalie, but at that point she was just some random chick who stole my name. [Yeah, well, a year later we're Dolores/Laura#1 and #2, LauraBlonde and LauraBrown/The Lauras. Never would have seen that coming.] In the coming months we went to countless more concerts, thus contributing to my now fairly well-developed sense of direction [at least in SoCal...]. In October we decided to start a business of sorts [Listen&Love], and although we're not exactly making millions here, it does serve as a nice way to contribute to the music community while also fueling our mutual interest in video production/editing. Unexpectedly, through L&L we have made friends from all over the country, something I wouldn't trade for the world. [I have also met some really incredible people through CRU at school, and in the fall it will be interesting to see these relationships develop more.] Something I've been noticing more and more is the fact that the world really is shrinking and seems to implode a little every day. It is baffling to see how simultaneously expansive and interconnected the music industry is. But anyways, my life does not even remotely resemble what it looked like one year ago. If I had been asked back then what I thought the next year might hold I would NEVER have though I would be:

- a concert addict. let's just be honest here...however my show frequenting has significantly declined with the shrinking of my wallet. hey, I'm just more picky now ;)
[From absolutely zero concerts in my entire life to 86 in a year [over half of which were free. win!]]
- connected to some really awesome people across the country
- recognized as 1/2 of The Lauras anywhere from Sacramento to San Diego...not gonna lie, it's a little trippy sometimes
- willingly guest listed [no bribes necessary] to Warped Tour [and other shows which need not be mentioned so as to emphasize the excitingness of the fact that I was on the ataris' guest list]
- the survivor of a most excellent california adventure during which I...Slept on 2 couches / Stayed in a million + dollar house / Saw 17 friends / Met 15 people ...and 2 cats / Went to the Shine Drum Co / Ate Indian food for the first time / Threw plastic darts at a 7 year old / Watched 9 movies and 4 tv shows / Drove 1,500 miles, only filling up the tank 3 times
- On Twitter
- or Myspace for that matter... I had always regarded it as a cesspool of creepers and child abducters. I have yet to be creeped upon or abducted. Fingers crossed for another year of safety!
-



- Incredibly more open minded and willing to meet new people


In reality this list is much longer, but my brain is mush and incapable of recalling every detail of the last year which deserves to be mentioned. Maybe I'll add later. The long and the short of it is I've done some growing in the last year. A lot of growing. I'd like to say that for the most part I'm the same person, but in all honesty I know I've changed a lot as a result of all of the above. In a way I think I've become addicted to all this change.


I'll say right now that a year from today, if all goes as planned, my life is going to look even more different. I don't know, something about living in another country for 4 months just speaks change to me.

Last summer I joined a Facebook group called "The Tour de France Dominates My Month of July"...and it's true. The Tour started on Saturday, and I've watched it every day since then. I'm not really sure what I love so much about the Tour, whether it's the sheer intensity of a month long race through my favorite country in the world, the fact that I'm fortunate enough to have seen a few stages personally, or an inherent interest stemming from my parents' history with cycling. Whatever the reason, the Tour really does make me happy. This year is particularly interesting because Lance Armstrong is back after leaving the Tour for 4 years. [Side note: While there is much speculation and accusations of doping, I really can't believe that a man who came so close to death during his battle with cancer would ever willingly harm his body in such a way. And although I do not support the decisions he's made in his personal life, nobody's perfect.] I think I will always hold a certain amount of admiration for Lance based on the fact that his participation in the 2001 Tour was an inspiration for my dad, who was fighting his own cancer at the time [the same cancer Lance had], and ultimately led to my parents' decision to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which led us to Austin, Texas so my parents could ride with Lance in the Ride for the Roses. In the summer of 2002 we found ourselves in Europe, where we were able to watch 3 stages of the Tour de France [including the final stage on the Champs Elysees in Paris]. Hopefully one day I'll make it to another stage...it really is a pretty amazing experience to find a spot to park yourself, wait for hours [meanwhile befriending the people around you- somehow we actually came into contact with a lot of Americans], and finally see a blur of colors pass you by, maybe catching a glimpse of the yellow jersey in the middle of the bunch. I guess for me the Tour is a symbol of hope. The riders clench the fleeting hope that they might have a chance to continue from one stage to the next. For the people of France, this hope lies in the long-standing tradition of a hellacious bike race through the heart of their country. For my family [and for countless others I'm sure] this hope lies in the message of perseverance conveyed by those men crazy enough to partake on a 21 day, 2,100 mile bike race.

viva le tour <3

Laura just brought a certain video to my attention which, quite frankly, makes me sick to my stomach [not just because of the erratic panning and jerkyness]. And the sad thing is this video is not alone in the world. There are others, many others, which similarly affect me in such a negative way. It really frustrates me when people who have access to high-quality cameras and equipment simply don't know how to use them and end up producing crappy videos which really only result in detracting from the music and bands they are trying to capture. I'm not suggesting that I have been thoroughly and rigorously trained in film and cinematography. But if you're going to film something and post it on the internet with both your name and a band's name plastered across the front of it...at least make it presentable?

I want this. Buy me a present?

In other news, frozen grapes are AWESOME! They're like little balls of watered-down, grape-flavored ice cream.

So I think I may have just discovered my new favorite TV show. Yes, as hard as it is to believe, this show might actually surpass Lost.


"I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant"


This show on TLC is quite possibly the most dramatic, riveting, and awe-inspiring show I've seen in a long while. It's about all these women who literally have no idea they're pregnant until they are in labor. This may sound insensitive, but it's freaking hilarious. In the past 2 hours I've seen 2 cases of toilet births and have heard such memorable quotes as:

""I looked down and I said, 'ohhh mammma, we're having another baby!'"

and

"Ma'am, you have another baby in there!"

I've also heard the story of a man and his fiance who were on the way to the hospital after the woman started having intense abdominal pains [aka..labor] and were pursued by the police, who proceeded to detain the husband while the wife found out she was pregnant and about to have a baby.

This show is INTENSE!

oooh back to the show...the husband just arrived at the hospital and has no idea that his wife just had twins...