So before I dive into this history essay in which I must decide whether or not the Holocaust was planned [I'm leaning towards not, but we'll see what my final decision is once I actually take the time to contemplate this] I think it's time to consider the fact that last week was relatively exciting. First of all, I applied to study abroad on Tuesday. YAY! Hopefully on January 14, 2010, I will be boarding a plane to London. I'll spend a couple of days there, then head to Cannes for a 2-week orientation, then up to Paris for a semester at the Sorbonne. It all seems so surreal and intangible at this point, but I have all the necessary documents that I need to complete and it really looks like this is all coming together. On Wednesday I found out that I will have a job this summer...THANK GOODNESS. So most of the money I make in the snack bar will go towards studying abroad. Mmmm, yeah, this is exciting enough to blog about: Thursday I chopped all of my hair off and I couldn't be happier. Seriously can't even remember what I looked like with long annoying hair. On Friday Danielle and I presented our French oral final thingy and it went pretty well I think. Glad that's over. This summer my plan is to watch French movies and listen to French music so I don't forget everything by the time fall quarter rolls around. Friday afternoon my family and I drove up to Hanford to see the Mannixes and hear Kevin's stories from Qatar which are too top-secret I guess to be conveyed over the phone. While I was there I finalized plans for Laura and me to stay with them one night during our road trip =D. Everything is really coming together as far as that's concerned too! Without even planning this AT ALL it's looking like we're going to see 2 Bidwell shows, The Bigger Lights, AND The Scenic while we're traversing central/northern California. Pretty awesome. The plan so far, so it's well-documented:
Friday, June 12
Bidwell in Fresno, Hanford overnight
Saturday, June 13
The Bigger Lights in Orangevale, Sacramento area overnight
Sunday, June 14
Bidwell in Orangevale...video shoot, masquerade thing, Sacramento area overnight
Monday and Tuesday, June 15th and 16th
Staying with Cody at the Delta...wheee watersports!
Wednesday, June 17
The Scenic in Oakland, Delta overnight [?]
Thursday, June 18
Caravaning back down to Anaheim with The Scenic for their show at Chain...going to be a looonng day for sure. Van + trailer = 55 mph = SLOW.
Oh man I am wayyy excited. Just have to get through 4 days of classes this week, a paper due Monday, 5 days of classes next week, then 3 finals and I'm freeeee! [like the weight's gone off my shoulders]
25 May 2009
10 May 2009
Bahahaha my 17 year old brother wrote this for my mom for Mothers' Day
A Condensed History of Mother’s Day, but like super super condensed, and slightly fabricated, ok so a lot fabricated
Mother’s day apparently was not always to be centered on the mother, so consider yourself lucky that I am still willing to bend to rules and for one day of the year treat you as the most important person out there (God can share his thrown for one day).
In the early history similarities to mother’s day came in the form of the Egyptian prayer to a female Goddess, Isis. I think I see a resemblance between the Goddess (to the left) and yourself, in holding the belief that the staff in her hand is actually a tennis racket turned sideways.
Later on there was some more worshipping of female gods by the Romans and Asians, mostly boring. However, the celebrations of Rhea, supposedly the mother of Gods such as Zeus, became so rowdy and wild that they were eventually banned or discouraged.
The human aspect of celebrating mother’s is a more recent thing that came about with more boring events that probably aren’t significant at all, at least I assume that because I wasn’t willing to read all of it. This is why I decided to come up with a real reason for mother’s day.
At the beginning of the first century (just before birth of Jesus which started us off on our counting of the years to see how much longer our crazy civilization will last) Mary and Joseph had a terrible feud. One day Mary was suffering from terrible nausea due to her pregnancy, which she had not yet told Joseph about. She was probably too stunned by the fact that she had met an angel which told her that she would be giving birth to the son of God, and even though the dad would never be around and she’d be doing all the work, he would still be the most important person in the child’s life (as you can see, Mary was the very first housewife). In order to get Joseph out of the house (yes they were living together even though they weren’t married, it was economically ideal for during this time the stock market wasn’t doing so well and the economy was down the toilet) she convinced him that he must go out and pick her flowers, a giant bouquet, to prove his love to her, or else she would not be sure if she could marry him. Of course Mary knew that she would marry him anyway because she wasn’t about to take care of the most important baby ever by herself. But Joseph believed her anyway, and went out to pick her the most potent smelling flowers in their region. When he finally came back, Mary had built up the courage to tell her about her pregnancy. Obviously Joseph found it hard to believe that Mary could be carrying the son of God and instead believed in the much more reasonable, unfaithful, explanation. He was furious, and Mary was scared that he might leave her. As a final wish before he left, Mary asked him to smell the flowers that he had picked for her. Joseph did, but unaware that Mary had put a charm (I would have said curse, but that has too much of a negative feeling) on the flowers. With the charm inhaled by Joseph, Mary was assured that he would never leave her, for now Joseph was compelled for at least one day a year, no matter where he was, Joseph had to come back to visit Mary, the mother of Jesus, bringing her flowers and praise. This insurance was very useful to Mary, who then realized that she should use it on Jesus as well, her son, so that he, too, would have to come back at least once a year to bring her flowers and praise. If this was not done by either, the husband or son, then each would feel an enormous, unmatchable guilt, which is why, after forgetting to bring his mother flowers one year, Jesus forced himself into exile and wandered the desert for 40 days, being constantly haunted by the devil who constantly reminded him of all the things he had done besides bring his mother flowers. All of this use of the charmed flowers however had caused Mary, herself, to inhale some of the flower’s powerful odor, locking her to the same fate as her husband and son, which is why daughters also have an obligation (although joyous obligation) to bring her mother flowers as well.
There you have it, the completely factual history of mother’s days in the eyes of your son (who better is there to trust with facts such as these?). And after reading this hopefully you can take comfort in the fact that no matter how far away me or your daughter get from home, we will always return for at least (keyword: at least) one day of the year to bring you flowers and treat you like a Goddess. Oh, and happy mother’s day!
Love, Andrew
P.S. Admittedly I have no flowers for you, which left me with immense guilt forcing me to take time out of my day to research the history of mother’s day in order to achieve a higher understanding of this glorious day.
Mother’s day apparently was not always to be centered on the mother, so consider yourself lucky that I am still willing to bend to rules and for one day of the year treat you as the most important person out there (God can share his thrown for one day).
In the early history similarities to mother’s day came in the form of the Egyptian prayer to a female Goddess, Isis. I think I see a resemblance between the Goddess (to the left) and yourself, in holding the belief that the staff in her hand is actually a tennis racket turned sideways.
Later on there was some more worshipping of female gods by the Romans and Asians, mostly boring. However, the celebrations of Rhea, supposedly the mother of Gods such as Zeus, became so rowdy and wild that they were eventually banned or discouraged.
The human aspect of celebrating mother’s is a more recent thing that came about with more boring events that probably aren’t significant at all, at least I assume that because I wasn’t willing to read all of it. This is why I decided to come up with a real reason for mother’s day.
At the beginning of the first century (just before birth of Jesus which started us off on our counting of the years to see how much longer our crazy civilization will last) Mary and Joseph had a terrible feud. One day Mary was suffering from terrible nausea due to her pregnancy, which she had not yet told Joseph about. She was probably too stunned by the fact that she had met an angel which told her that she would be giving birth to the son of God, and even though the dad would never be around and she’d be doing all the work, he would still be the most important person in the child’s life (as you can see, Mary was the very first housewife). In order to get Joseph out of the house (yes they were living together even though they weren’t married, it was economically ideal for during this time the stock market wasn’t doing so well and the economy was down the toilet) she convinced him that he must go out and pick her flowers, a giant bouquet, to prove his love to her, or else she would not be sure if she could marry him. Of course Mary knew that she would marry him anyway because she wasn’t about to take care of the most important baby ever by herself. But Joseph believed her anyway, and went out to pick her the most potent smelling flowers in their region. When he finally came back, Mary had built up the courage to tell her about her pregnancy. Obviously Joseph found it hard to believe that Mary could be carrying the son of God and instead believed in the much more reasonable, unfaithful, explanation. He was furious, and Mary was scared that he might leave her. As a final wish before he left, Mary asked him to smell the flowers that he had picked for her. Joseph did, but unaware that Mary had put a charm (I would have said curse, but that has too much of a negative feeling) on the flowers. With the charm inhaled by Joseph, Mary was assured that he would never leave her, for now Joseph was compelled for at least one day a year, no matter where he was, Joseph had to come back to visit Mary, the mother of Jesus, bringing her flowers and praise. This insurance was very useful to Mary, who then realized that she should use it on Jesus as well, her son, so that he, too, would have to come back at least once a year to bring her flowers and praise. If this was not done by either, the husband or son, then each would feel an enormous, unmatchable guilt, which is why, after forgetting to bring his mother flowers one year, Jesus forced himself into exile and wandered the desert for 40 days, being constantly haunted by the devil who constantly reminded him of all the things he had done besides bring his mother flowers. All of this use of the charmed flowers however had caused Mary, herself, to inhale some of the flower’s powerful odor, locking her to the same fate as her husband and son, which is why daughters also have an obligation (although joyous obligation) to bring her mother flowers as well.
There you have it, the completely factual history of mother’s days in the eyes of your son (who better is there to trust with facts such as these?). And after reading this hopefully you can take comfort in the fact that no matter how far away me or your daughter get from home, we will always return for at least (keyword: at least) one day of the year to bring you flowers and treat you like a Goddess. Oh, and happy mother’s day!
Love, Andrew
P.S. Admittedly I have no flowers for you, which left me with immense guilt forcing me to take time out of my day to research the history of mother’s day in order to achieve a higher understanding of this glorious day.
08 May 2009
Wow I'm really on a roll with the blogging lately... So I'm pretty sure I had a dream that Out Together's Myspace got a severe face-lift and was transformed into a shrine of sorts to Kevin. Cody and Nathan were suspiciously absent from all photos/about me and the background was a huge picture of Kevin's face. I should double check to make sure this didn't really happen...
I have a midterm tomorrow. Er...today. Yeah, I've studied. Met with Hallie twice this week and we reviewed and brainstormed and such. I should probably be studying more right now, but I really don't feel like it. So I'm listening to a song that doesn't even really exist, and have been for probably the last 45 minutes or so. It's just so addicting. Found some awesome time-lapse videos via Brendan from Valencia's blog. That successfully wasted about 10 minutes. Earlier today I wasted a lot of time organizing my flickr account so that was quite an accomplishment and a superb way to avoid studying. I tried to declare my major again today, but they were about to close for an hour over lunch. So then I thought I'd be proactive and schedule an appointment for tomorrow, but they are closed right after my last class and don't open again for an hour. Sooooo I'll walk in for advising on Monday. I swear they really don't want me to declare and the e-mails they've sent indicating it is imperative that I declare before the end of the quarter are all part of some elaborate hoax.
This is so cool!!!! Especially since Paris is at the end =]
Pixel's Revenge timelapse showreel from David Coiffier on Vimeo.
26 April 2009
So I was going through old pictures on Friday and came across allll of our pictures from 2006-2008 with the Blue Angels. What an amazing experience. I'm so glad that was a part of my life. Basically, our family friend [my babysitter's husband from when I was 14 months old or so] is in the Navy, and in November of 2006 he became the commander of the Blue Angels. Thus began a pretty crazy 2 years during which my family and I traveled all over the country to watch him fly that little blue jet. I probably traveled more in that year than I have in my entire life. Let's see how much I can remember from each show...[these dates are rough estimates haha but the weekends are right...just not sure exactly when we got there and when we left]
Pensacola FL - November 9-13, 2006
This was the change of command and the first time we'd seen the Mannixes in I don't even know how long. It was the last show of the 2006 season, so Kevin was just observing and it was interesting to watch him and the other new team members carefully analyze the show, knowing that at the end of the weekend this would be in their hands. On Sunday morning we had brunch at the hotel where the Mannixes had been living until they could move into their house on base when the current commander moved out. Kevin was trying to write his speech for the change of command while surrounded by people and and the craziness of brunch. First time we saw Kevin in his flight suit haha
The change of command was really really cool. It was in the museum on base so before the ceremony we walked around and grabbed some lunch. The ceremony itself was pretty amazing. Midshipmen [is that even the right term??] lined the balcony above the area where we were sitting and some really important admiral gave a speech. Wish I remembered who he was...he's probably really influential to our country.
After the change of command we went to the Officers' Club for the end-of-season party which was a combination of the 2006 team and the 2007 team. The O Club was a really cool old building rich with history and character.
Oh I can't leave out the hotel we stayed in while we were there. It was GORGEOUS. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen and a living room/dining room. And an AMAZING view...
El Centro, CA - March 9-11, 2007
I have to say that if it weren't for the Blue Angels, I probably would have NEVER been to beautiful El Centro, CA. There's not much to say about El Centro other than it is freaking hot and a desert. What a classy, classy place. Haha. This was Kevin's very first show as commander after spending the winter training at the air "field" [not even station or base or anything, just "field" it's that small and secluded]. It was really strange to see Kevin, our friend, marching down the runway like I'd seen so many times before when we used to watch the airshow at MCAS El Toro when I was young. Even stranger to see him get in the plane and fly away.
Seattle, WA - August 2-7 [roughly], 2007
I LOVE SEATTLE. What a beautiful city. Granted, I've really only been there during the summer when it is sunny and gorgeous, so let's just say it made a very good first impression. This was the first time we could do some sightseeing in addition to the airshow, so we walked around the city, went to Pike Place Market, went to the Space Needle, and even drove up to Anacortes to go whale watching.
We saw the airshow from 3 vantage points in Seattle: First from Genessee Park along the water's edge, then from the Blues Cruise on Lake Washington [THAT'S the way to do it], and also from the stadium seating at centerpoint [I THINK? I'm pretty sure we did]. We also took the ferry to Bainbridge Island with Kevin and Tammy and got ice cream =]
San Francisco, CA - October 5-7, 2007
I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO! We went to Alcatraz, went shopping in the huge mall they have where the Nordstroms is like 25 stories tall with circular escalators, I wished we stayed at the Argonaut with everybody else because that hotel is really awesome, but we were within moderate walking distance so it wasn't too bad. Saw the show first from Alcatraz and then from a seating area near Hook Pier. Party at the aquarium on Pier 39 on Saturday night. We ALMOST could have seen the show from the pier if we had been able to stay for Sunday's show. Turns out this was the last time they ever let non-team members and crew out there =\
Pensacola Round 2 - November 9-12, 2007
This trip to Pensacola was much more low-key now that Kevin was the commander and we didn't have a change-of-command and related festivities to go to. We took a red-eye on Thursday night and got to Pensacola at like 7:45 AM, after which we drove straight to the on-base hotel, cleaned ourselves up a bit, and went to the base commander's house for breakfast with the Blue Angels and other Navy people. Then Friday afternoon we watched the practice show. Saturday and Sunday - real shows. This trip is a little hazy. OH! No show on Sunday, Sunday we had brunch at the Mannix's aaaand I got a migrane. great. Really good baked french toast. It was amazing.
El Centro Round 2 - March 7-9, 2008
El Centro. Again. Twice in 2 years. Haha. This time we stayed on base which was really convenient because we could walk from our condo to the Mannixes and didn't have to worry about driving to the airshow and dealing with all the common-folk. =P Michele and Dominic came this time. This was actually a really nice weekend. Good food. Good people. Relaxing.
Sacramento, CA - March 14-16, 2008
First time to the state capital. YES! We got to Sac-town on Thursday night. Stayed in El..something... Ellll... Just kidding, El nothing. Rancho Cordova. We rode in the caravan to the show on Saturday. It was freaking awesome. They shut down the freeway and we had a police escort and everything. The Blue Angels drive themselves to the show-site, and they drive so close together and have their flashers on so they have to use hand signals to let each other know when they are breaking. I figure they can handle it, seeing as how they fly jet airplanes like 16 inches apart from each other. It was FREEZING!! This is me, huddling next to my dad for warmth after the show on Friday, or Saturday... either way it was cold:
Haha I remember there was some kind of paper emergency, like they had run out of the paper they use to print the 8-man photos or something and one of the guys [Nate maybe?] didn't know what to do. Pretty much their hotel was across the street from an Office Depot. Kevin was like...hellooo?? Haha. Yeah I'm not sure why I remember that. On Saturday night we met my Aunt and Uncle in Old Town Sacramento [er is that what it's called??] for dinner because they drove up from Modesto to see the show with us.
Seattle Round 2 - August 1-4, 2008
I LOVE SEATTLE AGAIN! This time we didn't have as much sightseeing and exploring time because we weren't there for as long. We saw the show from the Space Needle, from the Blues Cruise, and from centerpoint. On Saturday night we went to the Sea Fair party and had to spend the day shopping for clothes to wear because we didn't plan on going when we were packing. Sunday we were able to go to the Mariners' game and sit in the owner's box. No big deal.
My dad and brother left earlier than my mom and I did, so on Sunday night my mom and I had dinner with Kevin, Tammy, and Nate and Mark because Tammy made them tag along when she found out they didn't have anything to do. Then on Monday we went to the Seahawks' practice.
Yeah. Would never have done that if it weren't for Kevin and his rockstar job.
Chicago, IL - August 14-17, 2008
First time to chi-town! It was awesome. Such a great city. My mom and I flew out ahead of my dad and brother, so on Thursday we watched them plan out their show, and on Friday we rented beach cruisers and went for a bike ride along the lake so we could watch the practice show. This may have actually been the same day, I'm not sure anymore. Actually this was definitely Thursday. Friday we watched the show from the John Hancock tower, Saturday from a boat on Lake Michigan, and Sunday from centerpoint. Oh on Friday night was our epic tour of Chicago with Kevin driving and my brother attempting to lead him to various filming locations for The Dark Night. Same night Eye Alaska played in Chicago...I was determined to see them, but that definitely didn't happen haha. On Saturday night we went to a party for the airshow, which is when I met Sean D. Tucker. I guess he liked me because one of the first things he said to me was that he was going to get me flying. Just a little background...this is Sean:
Uhmmm. OKAY! Not going to argue with that!! Then on Sunday night we went to dinner at a famous pizza place in downtown Chicago with the rest of the Blue Angels. Then we went to the BEAN! I was really excited about that.
MCAS Miramar, CA - October 3-5, 2008
My parents went out to this show ahead of me, and my brother didn't even go, so I drove out after class on Friday. Used my feminine charms to get myself and my car onto the base and find the VIP seating section. The marines respond well to me. Or to my VIP pass. Could be either one, I didn't bother asking. I had e-mailed Sean's son, Eric beforehand to see if we could set up a little ride-along, but they ended up being too busy this weekend, so we were shooting for the next weekend in San Francisco. One of the nights we went to a sushi restaurant in San Diego with Kevin, Tammy, their friend Alicia from Visalia, and some other friends of theirs. This trip is really hazy, which doesn't make sense because it was one of the more recent ones. Hm.
San Francisco Round 2 - October 10-12, 2008
Another great trip to San Francisco. We definitely didn't pack right because we ended up going to Gap and buying a bunch of warm clothing haha. Oh! Rick and Nancy Nelson came with us for this trip! And their nephew Brett met up with us because he's going to school in San Francisco. We went to Alcatraz with the Nelsons, Brett, and Tammy, Laura, Zahn, Bethany I think, and ahhh I'm blanking on her name but she was really nice and had a son and a daughter and her son looks JUST like his dad. This is sad. When did my memory get so bad? LARISSA! I remembered the morning after writing this. Go me. Anyways, the show was great again from Alcatraz and the planes were closer than they were the last year I think. I love airplanes. On Friday I flew with Eric Tucker. I don't even know how to describe this. It was incredible.
Just remembered randomly that it was on the flight home from San Fran that I met Blake and we realized that he knows my cousin because they both go to SLO AND after I got home I found out he knows a lot of my friends from cru. Smallll world.
This was my last show. Kind of bittersweet. We hope to go to maybe one or two shows this year with the Mannixes, and it will be interesting to have Kevin on the ground with us while the jets fly overhead. Kevin is boring again and doesn't wear a blue flightsuit anymore.
PHEW! That's it! I'm sure I've forgotten TONS but this is all I can remember at the moment. I'm exhausted from writing way too many essays this weekend...hm why I chose to write a long blog like this I may never know. Maybe I'll remember more later and add on...
Basically, this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We used the Blue Angels as an excuse to to have mini-reunions with the Mannixes, and in the process we were able to see parts of the country we may otherwise have never visited. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity, and I think a part of me will always miss being a Blue Angels 'groupie' ...errr... devotee =P
Rewind please?
Pensacola FL - November 9-13, 2006
This was the change of command and the first time we'd seen the Mannixes in I don't even know how long. It was the last show of the 2006 season, so Kevin was just observing and it was interesting to watch him and the other new team members carefully analyze the show, knowing that at the end of the weekend this would be in their hands. On Sunday morning we had brunch at the hotel where the Mannixes had been living until they could move into their house on base when the current commander moved out. Kevin was trying to write his speech for the change of command while surrounded by people and and the craziness of brunch. First time we saw Kevin in his flight suit haha
The change of command was really really cool. It was in the museum on base so before the ceremony we walked around and grabbed some lunch. The ceremony itself was pretty amazing. Midshipmen [is that even the right term??] lined the balcony above the area where we were sitting and some really important admiral gave a speech. Wish I remembered who he was...he's probably really influential to our country.
After the change of command we went to the Officers' Club for the end-of-season party which was a combination of the 2006 team and the 2007 team. The O Club was a really cool old building rich with history and character.
Oh I can't leave out the hotel we stayed in while we were there. It was GORGEOUS. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen and a living room/dining room. And an AMAZING view...
El Centro, CA - March 9-11, 2007
I have to say that if it weren't for the Blue Angels, I probably would have NEVER been to beautiful El Centro, CA. There's not much to say about El Centro other than it is freaking hot and a desert. What a classy, classy place. Haha. This was Kevin's very first show as commander after spending the winter training at the air "field" [not even station or base or anything, just "field" it's that small and secluded]. It was really strange to see Kevin, our friend, marching down the runway like I'd seen so many times before when we used to watch the airshow at MCAS El Toro when I was young. Even stranger to see him get in the plane and fly away.
Seattle, WA - August 2-7 [roughly], 2007
I LOVE SEATTLE. What a beautiful city. Granted, I've really only been there during the summer when it is sunny and gorgeous, so let's just say it made a very good first impression. This was the first time we could do some sightseeing in addition to the airshow, so we walked around the city, went to Pike Place Market, went to the Space Needle, and even drove up to Anacortes to go whale watching.
We saw the airshow from 3 vantage points in Seattle: First from Genessee Park along the water's edge, then from the Blues Cruise on Lake Washington [THAT'S the way to do it], and also from the stadium seating at centerpoint [I THINK? I'm pretty sure we did]. We also took the ferry to Bainbridge Island with Kevin and Tammy and got ice cream =]
San Francisco, CA - October 5-7, 2007
I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO! We went to Alcatraz, went shopping in the huge mall they have where the Nordstroms is like 25 stories tall with circular escalators, I wished we stayed at the Argonaut with everybody else because that hotel is really awesome, but we were within moderate walking distance so it wasn't too bad. Saw the show first from Alcatraz and then from a seating area near Hook Pier. Party at the aquarium on Pier 39 on Saturday night. We ALMOST could have seen the show from the pier if we had been able to stay for Sunday's show. Turns out this was the last time they ever let non-team members and crew out there =\
Pensacola Round 2 - November 9-12, 2007
This trip to Pensacola was much more low-key now that Kevin was the commander and we didn't have a change-of-command and related festivities to go to. We took a red-eye on Thursday night and got to Pensacola at like 7:45 AM, after which we drove straight to the on-base hotel, cleaned ourselves up a bit, and went to the base commander's house for breakfast with the Blue Angels and other Navy people. Then Friday afternoon we watched the practice show. Saturday and Sunday - real shows. This trip is a little hazy. OH! No show on Sunday, Sunday we had brunch at the Mannix's aaaand I got a migrane. great. Really good baked french toast. It was amazing.
El Centro Round 2 - March 7-9, 2008
El Centro. Again. Twice in 2 years. Haha. This time we stayed on base which was really convenient because we could walk from our condo to the Mannixes and didn't have to worry about driving to the airshow and dealing with all the common-folk. =P Michele and Dominic came this time. This was actually a really nice weekend. Good food. Good people. Relaxing.
Sacramento, CA - March 14-16, 2008
First time to the state capital. YES! We got to Sac-town on Thursday night. Stayed in El..something... Ellll... Just kidding, El nothing. Rancho Cordova. We rode in the caravan to the show on Saturday. It was freaking awesome. They shut down the freeway and we had a police escort and everything. The Blue Angels drive themselves to the show-site, and they drive so close together and have their flashers on so they have to use hand signals to let each other know when they are breaking. I figure they can handle it, seeing as how they fly jet airplanes like 16 inches apart from each other. It was FREEZING!! This is me, huddling next to my dad for warmth after the show on Friday, or Saturday... either way it was cold:
Haha I remember there was some kind of paper emergency, like they had run out of the paper they use to print the 8-man photos or something and one of the guys [Nate maybe?] didn't know what to do. Pretty much their hotel was across the street from an Office Depot. Kevin was like...hellooo?? Haha. Yeah I'm not sure why I remember that. On Saturday night we met my Aunt and Uncle in Old Town Sacramento [er is that what it's called??] for dinner because they drove up from Modesto to see the show with us.
Seattle Round 2 - August 1-4, 2008
I LOVE SEATTLE AGAIN! This time we didn't have as much sightseeing and exploring time because we weren't there for as long. We saw the show from the Space Needle, from the Blues Cruise, and from centerpoint. On Saturday night we went to the Sea Fair party and had to spend the day shopping for clothes to wear because we didn't plan on going when we were packing. Sunday we were able to go to the Mariners' game and sit in the owner's box. No big deal.
My dad and brother left earlier than my mom and I did, so on Sunday night my mom and I had dinner with Kevin, Tammy, and Nate and Mark because Tammy made them tag along when she found out they didn't have anything to do. Then on Monday we went to the Seahawks' practice.
Yeah. Would never have done that if it weren't for Kevin and his rockstar job.
Chicago, IL - August 14-17, 2008
First time to chi-town! It was awesome. Such a great city. My mom and I flew out ahead of my dad and brother, so on Thursday we watched them plan out their show, and on Friday we rented beach cruisers and went for a bike ride along the lake so we could watch the practice show. This may have actually been the same day, I'm not sure anymore. Actually this was definitely Thursday. Friday we watched the show from the John Hancock tower, Saturday from a boat on Lake Michigan, and Sunday from centerpoint. Oh on Friday night was our epic tour of Chicago with Kevin driving and my brother attempting to lead him to various filming locations for The Dark Night. Same night Eye Alaska played in Chicago...I was determined to see them, but that definitely didn't happen haha. On Saturday night we went to a party for the airshow, which is when I met Sean D. Tucker. I guess he liked me because one of the first things he said to me was that he was going to get me flying. Just a little background...this is Sean:
Uhmmm. OKAY! Not going to argue with that!! Then on Sunday night we went to dinner at a famous pizza place in downtown Chicago with the rest of the Blue Angels. Then we went to the BEAN! I was really excited about that.
MCAS Miramar, CA - October 3-5, 2008
My parents went out to this show ahead of me, and my brother didn't even go, so I drove out after class on Friday. Used my feminine charms to get myself and my car onto the base and find the VIP seating section. The marines respond well to me. Or to my VIP pass. Could be either one, I didn't bother asking. I had e-mailed Sean's son, Eric beforehand to see if we could set up a little ride-along, but they ended up being too busy this weekend, so we were shooting for the next weekend in San Francisco. One of the nights we went to a sushi restaurant in San Diego with Kevin, Tammy, their friend Alicia from Visalia, and some other friends of theirs. This trip is really hazy, which doesn't make sense because it was one of the more recent ones. Hm.
San Francisco Round 2 - October 10-12, 2008
Another great trip to San Francisco. We definitely didn't pack right because we ended up going to Gap and buying a bunch of warm clothing haha. Oh! Rick and Nancy Nelson came with us for this trip! And their nephew Brett met up with us because he's going to school in San Francisco. We went to Alcatraz with the Nelsons, Brett, and Tammy, Laura, Zahn, Bethany I think, and ahhh I'm blanking on her name but she was really nice and had a son and a daughter and her son looks JUST like his dad. This is sad. When did my memory get so bad? LARISSA! I remembered the morning after writing this. Go me. Anyways, the show was great again from Alcatraz and the planes were closer than they were the last year I think. I love airplanes. On Friday I flew with Eric Tucker. I don't even know how to describe this. It was incredible.
Just remembered randomly that it was on the flight home from San Fran that I met Blake and we realized that he knows my cousin because they both go to SLO AND after I got home I found out he knows a lot of my friends from cru. Smallll world.
This was my last show. Kind of bittersweet. We hope to go to maybe one or two shows this year with the Mannixes, and it will be interesting to have Kevin on the ground with us while the jets fly overhead. Kevin is boring again and doesn't wear a blue flightsuit anymore.
PHEW! That's it! I'm sure I've forgotten TONS but this is all I can remember at the moment. I'm exhausted from writing way too many essays this weekend...hm why I chose to write a long blog like this I may never know. Maybe I'll remember more later and add on...
Basically, this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We used the Blue Angels as an excuse to to have mini-reunions with the Mannixes, and in the process we were able to see parts of the country we may otherwise have never visited. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity, and I think a part of me will always miss being a Blue Angels 'groupie' ...errr... devotee =P
Rewind please?
21 April 2009
So it would be really cool if I could figure out what I'm interested in school-wise. This whole no-idea-what-I'm-studying-for thing is getting old. I need to declare a major soon. Really soon. Like within the next couple of weeks. I'll go with European Studies, but at this point it seems like that's just a way to buy myself more time. I have 100 units so I am technically a junior...should be ahead of the curve. But who knows if the classes I've taken are going to ultimately contribute to my degree. Hmph. I'm going to be in school forever. Guess it's better than trying to find a job though in this sucky economy.
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