i leave for my adventures out west a week from tomorrow.

heehee...i can't wait.

i'm really looking forward to the coming weeks. two weeks out west, including five days and four nights in vegas. i come back just in time to travel to quincy for michelle's graduation party. then a couple weeks spent working followed by averi in boston, then followed by the o'neill. then dmb at spac (i hope--who's with me???? let me know...it's the only dave show i can go to this summer). then, maybe, hopefully a job???

it should all be fine holiday fun. unfortunately it means i have little time to do that whole money-making thing, but hey, it's the summer after graduation from college. it's supposed to be fun.

my mother is officially a horrible influence on me. i've been incredibly good for the past couple weeks, conserving money and whatnot. today i blew more money than i have since i've been back. granted, it went towards great causes--a gorgeous dress for the vssa luncheon on sunday and a much-needed pair of sunglasses--but there i was, trying to be smart and rational while my mother was practically dragging me to the atm to take out my money to buy the items. it was hilarious...i figure that i got overtime last week and this week's check will be huge (relatively speaking, obviously), so i might as well treat myself to something nice that 1) i need (for the luncheon) and 2) could be considered an investment (i'll be able to wear this forever--very classic).

but i still hold her responsible if i don't save a lot of money this summer!

alright, in the most random of all incidents, i walked over to this computer just now and noticed a cd case in the little cabinet. so i looked in, and lo and behold, i find my copy of jewel's "pieces of you". which i've been looking for since the end of high school. four years and i find it in a little cabinet i've looked in countless times over the years?

so much for more regular updates. i suck. and i'm over it.

i promised this, and i know i'm going to have fun with this: begun, this clone war has...: a review

star wars episode II: attack of the clones isn't supposed to be a comedy. at least, i don't think it is. yet, for whatever reason, beth and i were laughing hysterically throughout the film when we went to see it thursday night.

the "geniuses" over at lucasfilm are obviously patting themselves on the back for a job well done on ep II. there are splashy special effects, completely digitalized characters (hello, master yoda) and battle sequences and cinematography that are incredible. it looks like a great film, and lucas has succeeded in again pushing the envelope in creating gorgeous images.

if you look at actual content, as i and hopefully many others tend to do, the film is appalling. laughable. a joke.

this is incredibly difficult for me to say, as i've been awaiting its release for months now. i've visited starwars.com religiously to get the latest updates. i downloaded trailers and the entire mockumentary "R2D2: beneath the dome," which i highly recommend. for a few brief weeks, i was as close to a true star wars fan as i think i will ever be.

but if george and his pals can promote the film this much, discuss its splendor this much, they can deal with a healthy dose of reality: it's not all flash and sparkle in the movie business. a film can be as pretty as can be (and trust me, with hayden and ewan in it, it's a VERY attractive film), but if there's no substance, there's no point.

how can anyone possibly buy the anakin/amidala love story? he hasn't seen her since he was eight. all of a sudden, he's there. she's there. i want you, i need you oh baby oh baby. yet there's a conflict: amidala says they can't. so she prances about in skimpy outfits, saying, "no anakin, we'd be living a lie," while batting her eyelashes and swooning. ???? and hayden doesn't have much to work with. he broods. he shows rage. he shows...oh can it be? ah yes, the dark side. but with the flat delivery of lines and rigid body language, he suffers the same fate as everyone else in the cast: completely wooden performances.

the hilarious points were unintentional, i fear. the confession of amidala's love (just as funny as anakin's confession earlier in the film),the kiss on the cheek during the lets-give-props-to-gladiator stadium battle (what the hell was THAT?!?!), C3P0's series of "i'm beside myself"-one-liners during the scene, shimi's death (the single WORST hollywood death i think i've ever seen), and, for the most part, any time the film seemed to try to be serious. harsh words? certainly. but it made for incredibly funny film.

ewan escaped the film with most of his integrity intact, although i was really pulling for him the whole time because he's ewan. his previous track record made it clear that he's better than this. i know hayden is, so he's still right at the top of my rankings. and yoda truly did kick ass. that was SUCH a cool scene, and i would have no problem being two feet tall, green with really big weird ears, spouting off random yoda-speak and possessing such fantastic skills.

i feel horrible writing this because it makes it sound like i had a bad time. far from it. i had a wonderful evening. i just don't think my reaction was at all what george wanted.

sorry buddy, had fun, but ep III had better be better!!!!

since i was trapped in a hellish closing shift last night, i had "the west wing" taped for me--it's the only show i watch religiously, and it was the season finale. so, a few thoughts:

- much as i acknowledge the need to give c.j. a love interest and whatnot, i was appalled by the way of introducing donovan's character. when c.j. got those threats, i thought it would be an opportunity to address something seriously--the perils of being press secretary (in many respects, one of the most seen faces of the white house). there was so much there that could be used--the fact that she was getting the threats (and how she felt about them), the fact that she spoke out about something that went against bartlett's stance (what reaction did he have? any repercussion?), and others. yet the show focuses on the fact that this major event (a death threat, for crying out loud) is an opportunity to introduce a love interest. i was hoping, hoping, HOPING it wouldn't go there, and yet it did. i find it rather insulting as a journalist that the only reason the show feels a need to address such an important part of the field is so c.j. can kiss someone.

but the rest of the show was brilliant as always. and, in fine tradition, there was yet another example of how someone on the show is sending me hints that i need to be on it. the latest example was the use of jeff buckley's "hallelujia"--one of my favorite songs--duirng c.j.'s emotional scene.

so a quick review of some of the more obvious hints this season:

- references to burlington and rutland.
- reference to "the lion in winter"--one of my favorite films
- reference to the kennedy center (ok, so that one is a stretch, but it was right after i got back from the kennedy center and even my mother was expecting a phone call from me saying, "SEE?!??!")

i know there are others that i just can't think of now. but i just find it hilarious to see what kind of a connection i can make each week. not to mention that my brother is currently meeting former president bush, sam donaldson and marlin fitzwater (former press secretary for two presidents and a consultant on THE WEST WING) at the dedication of the fitzwater center at franklin pierce.

i'm a bitter, bitter girl.

climbing out of the sky a man who could fly and a painting anyone could play. it’s a comic book crush that taught you to trust. staring out of the stands at a rock n roll band and a hero no one else could save, it was never much but it’s all that you gave. and i wonder if you wonder, or did your stars finally explode? did the thunder pull you underneath the haze? i’m amazed, then i let go. little minds let little games burn big old dreams with little flames, and you don’t think i understand. little holes in parachutes won’t leave you falling, if they do, it’s because you want to land. climbing out of his chair to fix the t.v. glare is a man but no one knows he’s there. it’s a dramamine dream that kept them alive but lost. she’s got her plastic friends and a brand new benz and she laughs, “hell, sometimes life ain’t fair” it’s a comic book crush that got them nowhere. these elevator doors are closing again you leave before i planned. i taste you walking down the hall. you left your perfume on the nightstand. -- something corporate, "little"

july 14-27 will be a very long, very frustrating, very wonderful two weeks.

i heard from dan.

second session.

dan realized that there's no way he could have all of the DC people in one session.

so, if dan gets his way, rhiannon and mark in session one.

and daniel and myself in session two.

and with session two, i will be able to go to boston to see averi at the paradise.

i am very happy about this.

revel.

except for the fact that i'm going to miss rhiannon...but i'm going to look at the session dates and see if there's a way we can meet up...maybe if i get down there a day early or something...we've got to have a meeting of the minds. :)

a quick update before i run off to work (sorry for the lack of updates--i'm still getting settled into my schedule right now--more regular posting will be coming shortly): when i got home from becca's graduation party (with chuckie and beth stopping by!!!!!!!! revel...revelrevel), there was a note for me on the table. dan had called. he was supposed to call back between 6 and 7 last night, but i didn't hear from him...so i'm hoping that he'll call today and then, after my brother does as he is supposed to, call at work so i can find out which session of the o'neill i'm going to. once that happens, i'll be able to plan the rest of my summer and life will be somewhat less crazy (relatively speaking, obviously).

will write more about the last few days later, but i'll say this: bethy really is an amazing friend...she volunteered to go see episode II with me. the fact that she is willing to sit through that movie while i drool over hayden christensen absolutely astounds me. ;)

becca also gets a gold star--she gave me graduation pictures and a present--the anakin skywalker action figure. i was laughing hysterically when she gave it to me. it has force action AND a pull-out light saber--how much more phallic can george lucas really get? but i digress.

so my father and i went on our adventure--leaving work to drive directly to wonderland, where we hopped on the t and went to fenway. watched the game, then hopped back on the t to wonderland, sleeping at my grandmother's, waking up way too blasted early, and driving back to work.

it was fantastic. it was nice to be able to have some alone time with my dad--much of the time when i would call home, i'd wind up talking to my mother, so to be able to completely catch up with him was very nice (although, in my permanent-sap mode, i was almost in tears a couple of times). my relationship with my parents is evolving rather quickly--or at least it feels that way--and i have these random moments where i realize that we never would have had coversations like the ones we have now. my father even commented on it at one point and said that it was neat. i agree, it is--but in a bittersweet sort of way (cue ben folds: "everybody knows it hurts to grow up...and everybody does, it's so weird to be back here).

fenway. ah, beautiful, lovely fenway. the last time i'd been to a sox game was a couple years back, the game that pedro pitched and the sox had an absolutely tremendous first inning, batting around and whatnot. nomar finished the game with two homers, all that jazz. must have been two years ago? not sure. anyway...it was great to be back. our seats were sweet--about fifteen rows back from the visitor dugout, so great view of everything and we were on nomar's side of the field (for those completely victoria-inept, nomar is my favorite--but i liked him before everyone else did too!!!!).

a bad first inning put them behind, a lackluster rest of the game kept them behind. it was the first game i'd ever been to where the red sox lost (perhaps my not being a student anymore jinxed me and the team. hmm...). but there were still good points. it was a gorgeous night, some of the defensive plays were brilliant (in one inning, nomar made an amazing extending leap to catch a line drive, then finished the inning shortly after with a tight doubleplay that resulted in a standing ovation), i have a new vice-favorite player (shea i-really-can't-spell-his-last-name-but-it-begins-with-an-h, who plays third base--he's someone i'm going to be rooting for in the years to come), and how can a person not have a good time at fenway???

it doesn't matter how old i am, i feel giddy when i go to a game there. walking in and seeing the hordes of people in their jerseys and hats, little kids holding mitts that are way too bid and black sharpies for autographs. making those first steps out of the concession area and into the seats, seeing the lights and the green everywhere gets me every time. yelling to the players fully aware of the fact that they can't hear a damn word i'm saying, but i just need to say it anyway.

more a little later, have to look at photos i just got back!

my father won tickets to the red sox/oakland a's game at fenway tomorrow night, so we're going on an adventure tomorrow. i'm psyched--i haven't been to fenway in a couple of years and i really wanted to get to a game this summer.

why is everything making me cry lately?

and now we have my first entry as an "over-educated freeloader."

graduation was incredibly difficult. so much harder than i thought it would be. i was blubbering like a baby for most of the day. but i primarily place my blame on the student life office at st. michael's college. because i was perfectly fine until i got to alliot and saw an envelope on my chair with my name on it.

i'd forgotten all about it--during orientation weekend freshman year, we wrote ourselves letters that would be delivered to us on graduation day. in mine, i wrote about being terrified at st. michael's and how i wasn't sure i'd be able to make it through the first part of the year--let alone to graduation day. but i knew that i would have a good time overall and i just needed to bite my lip and get through the hard times.

freshman self told senior self to stop crying (i didn't listen to my younger self, i'm sorry to say) and to enjoy the day because it was important and an accomplishment. and i told myself to say goodbye to the friends that, at the time of the letter's composition, i still needed to make. and a few other things, but that was the biggest part of it. and i told myself that i was proud of myself.

i would have had a tough time anyway, but that damn letter pushed me over the edge!

the ceremony was nice--our commencement speakers were rick and dick hoyt--father and son team that run in marathons. rick has cerebal palsy and communicates through an electronic voice device that he has to operate. he delivered the entire commencement address--13 minutes--with the device. he spent five and a half hours programming it for us. it was absolutely amazing. so many people were crying at the end--including my mom and provost sheeran. beautiful moment.

my friends all looked incredibly calm and graceful while accepting their degrees--i'm proud to report that none of us stumbled, fell, looked silly...go us!--and i teared up as each of them shook vanderheyden's hand and took their diplomas. the whole event was surreal...how on earth had we all gotten to that point? when had we grown up?

it didn't feel real when my name was called. i walked up, got my degree, smiled at the pres, then walked back to my seat. i saw baz and slapped five, saw laura-beth, but the rest was kind of a blur.

and then it was all over. it was raining when we walked out of ross (grrrr), so a lot of the crowd ran off quickly and i didn't get to see a lot of people i wanted to see, but i got to say a few goodbyes and take some pictures. caleb found me and had a card for me (made out to "fry girl"--crackhead), which was sweet. after awhile, i headed back to the house, where we all posed for millions upon millions of pictures and ate the lunch we'd prepared. mr. and mrs. lepore came, which made me incredibly happy...

partway through lunch, i don't know exactly what happened. i'd spent so much time feeling calm about graduation, and then it was all over and i just got overwhelmingly quiet and upset. i knew that if i said anything or did anything, i was going to burst into tears, and i didn't want to in front of all the people there. so i just sat in my corner and watched everything. i was perfectly content and peaceful if i just stayed like that.

finally, i knew i had to leave. had to pack up and head out because being there while everything was ending was too much for me. so i packed, cleaned, loaded up the cars, and had to say goodbye.

i cried as i said goodbye to each of the girls and when i said goodbye to drew. but i was relatively ok until i got into the car with my mom and she started to drive away. then i just burst into tears and didn't stop crying until about 20 minutes later. i can't even think about it without crying. it's amazing how wonderful something seems once it's all over. i mean, i loved college. truly truly loved it. but i didn't fully realize it until i was leaving for the last time.

the first couple of days have been alright--kind of rough just because i feel like i should still be there. it doesn't really feel over yet. but i've got the pictures coming back tomorrow, the degree, and graduation presents--it's all over. my family has been great--i've been prattling on about school constantly, occasionally crying a bit--and my parents gave me two of the most beautiful graduation presents. they got me a frame for my diploma--it's big and has black matting with "saint michael's college" in gold at the bottom and the seal at the top and a photo of founders hall--that made me cry (obviously) when i saw it, and they got me a 2002 st. michael's college beer stein that is lovely. it's amazing how sappy i am right now--if something has "st. michael's" on it, i love it. it's like a security blanket...although i haven't been able to put the "st. michael's alumni" sticker on my car yet.

i start work tomorrow and i'm already compiling all of my stuff for resumes. i just want to get everything out there so i can get a job. so i've been pouring through clips, trying to find the best ones, figuring out the best way to present all of my work and figuring out where i'm going to send things. as well as talking to my mother about budgeting and insurance and all that jazz.

reality is starting to hit me hard. and, while i know i'll be fine with it eventually, all i want right now is to be back at school with my friends.

so this is my final entry as an undergraduate at st. michael's.

we had a bunch of Important Graduation Weekend Events today--baccalaureate (i know i must have butchered the spelling on that one) and then the senior banquet. i've managed to maintain my wits throughout the past couple of days--actually, to a shocking degree...i thought i'd be a basket case--but i started to crack a bit today. as if donning the caps and gowns wasn't terrifying enough, we walked the procession route with the bagpipes and everything. fortunately, i was able to focus on keeping my tassel from blowing into my face whenever i started to feel emotional.

baccalaureate was decent enough. it was long, but i know graduation will be just as long, so whatever. i'll have drew in my row tomorrow, i think, and billy was behind me today, which was cool. i don't know--i guess it's just the realization that i'm supposedly "grown up" now--whatever the hell that means.

the senior banquet was alright--mike came closertothis to making me cry. i got an award for my work with defender--the john d. donoghue award--and mike presented it to me and talked about me and was incredibly sweet. i was determined to not cry in front of everyone, thought, and i was good.

michelle was presented with a community leader award from the class, yay!!! becca got the mlk award--i would have started a riot if she hadn't, chuckie received a huge award (much deserved)--i was very proud of everyone. hell, i'm proud of all the graduates--we made it through four years!

a family social at the sheraton followed--my parents had to head home, though, because they have to wake up early to get here and my grandmother, uncle and brother were waiting at home--which was fun. it felt quite a bit like my first alumni social--a lot of people i didn't know with the faces of friends and classmates--which was a bit disarming, but nice.

so yeah. tonight i finish cleaning up my room and the house, write out somethings, relax a bit, and then sleep in my bed for the last time. wake up early, get ready and be at the class photo at 9, then prepare for commencement.

i'm going to cry like a baby.

so, i guess i can offer my final thoughts of good ol' smc before the alumni association starts hitting me up for money:

good times. good people. the four years were a blur, but a good blur. thank yous go out to those who have shaped me along the way--you all know who you are. friends, professors, random people who popped into my life, everyone has had an effect on me, and i can honestly say that i'm happy with the way things have turned out.

alright, so i'm not even going to go into that anymore right now, because i can feel myself starting to cry...i'm going to get back to my chores for the night.

oh...chuckie gave me a card with hayden christensen on it!!! I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!!!!!!!

so, here i am, about 36 hours away from graduation.

how am i feeling, you ask? i'm not sure, actually. i'm a mix of dozens of emotions--nostalgia, sadness, but at the same time excitement and joy. and everything in between. it's not as if i never thought sunday would arrive--despite popular belief, i do have a healthy dose of realism running through me--but at the same point, i honestly didn't. it comes with the territory, i suppose--with every new step comes the shock that i've actually reached that point and the difficulty in imagining life beyond that point. i never thought i'd graduate high school, never thought i'd go to college, and now here i am, never thinking i'd graduate college.

the past week has been pretty decent--the highly anticipated, much-hyped "senior week" at smc. really, senior week is comprised of three days--tuesday, wednesday and thursday--where the class spends lots of time together looking back at the past four years and reconnecting with close friends and those we haven't seen since freshman year. it was pretty nice. tuesday consisted of the bbq at the president's house (where we had to wear name tags--come on, it's not like we're a huge school. does uncle marc honestly not know who we are?), followed by the senior slide show at higher ground. the slide show was great--a good mixup of people, and i was shocked by the number of times this silly mug made it into shots. very sentimental. and we all know how i do with that. at the end of the show, i cried (be prepared, this becomes a theme).

wednesday. hypnotist in the afternoon--ian, billy and tim were all under the hypnotist's "spell" and uproarious antics followed. then the booze cruise. classy sounding, isn't it? we're all sorts of sophisticated here. it was actually pretty nice--took the spirit of ethan allen III out onto the lake for a few hours, all were dressed up and the bar was pulling in lots of money for their over-priced drinks. it would have been nicer to have the cruise leave earlier--a sunset cruise would have been gorgeous. at nightfall, however, we couldn't see far and the top deck didn't have any lighting. um...yeah. but grippo played in the first floor dining room--yeah yeah!

and yesterday, orange crush (an eighties cover band) performed on the 300s field. i had been drinking all afternoon (i was in rare form), and being able to rock out to the band was incredible. we were all screaming along more than we were actually singing. good times, but also emotional. got my first official goodbye. naturally, i cried.

and then the bonfire. the bonfire is an anual tradition on the thursday night of senior week, as it gives everyone a chance to get ridiculously drunk and, if they feel so inclined, streak around the fire. my class didn't disappoint. there were some surprising streakers and others that i thought would who instead stood by the fire and laughed at everyone else.

i stood there, looking at the fire, and realized how symbolic it was...the community that has grown among the 400-odd class of 2002 members was destroyed--or at least, its current form. the members of the class are blowing away to their various jobs, activities, homes, and, except for sunday, will never be together again. but it's ok. i know i'll keep in touch with those who are important to me, and the others? who knows? maybe we'll meet up on a sidewalk somewhere one day or we'll be at a wedding where we meet up...i know these people are out there, and i know that one way or another, we'll connect again. it'll just be different.

i don't know what the hell i'm saying. i'm just looking too deeply into a process every college graduate goes through. i'll be fine, i'll be strong, i'll have the degree, i'll have my future. simple as that. the college has prepared me, now i have to go show everyone a thing or two.

i just can't believe it all starts in just over a day...

Which Royalty Are You? Find out! By Nishi.

for all intensive purposes, i finished the last work i'll ever do in college tonight.

ACK!

i've seen some large groups in the two hundreds during my days here, but i've never seen the place as packed as it was tonight. absolutely insane. bottles were flying (i'm not just talking beer bottles, i'm talking handles), everyone there was shitfaced, so naturally, a fight breaks out. which turns into cries of racism.

like anywhere else, the race issue is a huge hotspot on campus. i mean, think about it--a small, catholic college in vermont? you do the math. and i don't usually talk about it at all because anything i say could be interpreted in a thousand different ways. anything that is said by anyone can be taken ridiculously out of context one way or the other.

but i will say this: the fight was over a girl. yet it wound up being a whole issue about oppression, nurturing, international student policy...and i'm sorry, but having someone yelling at a security officer for upwards of an hour and then hearing the security officer say that if any repercussions seem to be approaching, to call the officer so he can come in and defend the person who has just been screaming about how said officer can never understand and how the college fuels the apparently predominant attitude...it just never ceases to amaze me.

and, as i wrote that, security had left and yet more fighting broke out. this is insane.

it's scary to say, but i think i reached the realization that i'm graduating and that while i'm scared to death about whatever i'll be doing after smc, i'm ready to take that step.

patterson and kiernan were playing guitar on the mound tonight--fun times. and yes, i love to sing. i will never again feel foolish about singing because i enjoy it and if i'm ever annoying with my singing, someone can just tell me and i'll sing quieter.

in a testy mood this evening, i think going to bed is the best option. i don't know exactly what prompted it, probably a number of factors--including the damn blank walls.

so i've decided to do something a little different this year.

that's right, the famous packing procrastinator got stuff done early this year. it was due to a number of factors--the desire to put off actually finishing my practicum work, thus giving myself the impression that i'm not finished with college quite yet, the fact that my room looked like a bomb hit it and the realization that i won't really want to spend senior week being a basket case because i have to pack my room for the final time. i have a tendancy to get emotional when i pull photos off of my wall o' pictures.

so i did it all last night. and i'm talking all. my walls are bare. boxes are packed. the only things i have left in my room is a closet full of clothes (primarily because i ran out of boxes and i'd already filled my trunk), my computer, my stereo, and a few odds and ends such as my guitar and some fun pillows. everything else is in the storage room, awaiting my parents' arrival tomorrow to take it all home.

this presents things both good and bad. good: i don't have to do it later, thus enabling me to fully enjoy senior week. i now have a clean room. i was able to pride myself on being productive. bad: i still freaked as i pulled everything off walls. since i have packrat-like tendancies, i couldn't bear to get rid of many things that i know i really don't need (i justified it by thinking that when i'm famous, all of these items can go into a collection of sorts and be worth millions of dollars. my reporter's notebook from junior and senior year? oh, it'll be priceless.), so i tried to keep them all organized, but i know i'll have to spend eons sorting through everything this summer. and i now have four blank walls staring at me whenever i sit in my room. and i HATE blank walls. i'm from the "there's no need for blank space, they can be creatively filled by something" school of thought. my room was a collection of photographs, posters, programs and other various and sundry items, all organized and asthetically designed to give my room a lived-in, kind of funky style. and now there are just these fucking blank walls and i swear they will drive me mad.

beth and i played the cruelest game last night as we prepared to pack--we sat in our respective rooms and played each other songs. not just random songs, oh no. songs with "meaning." eve 6 "here's to the night," boys II men "so hard to say goodbye"--songs along those lines. it was ugly. we were both laughing and screaming at the same time. she ultimately won, however, when she hit me with vitamin c's "graduation day" or whatever the hell it's called. not just the song, which i loathe with a passion because it forces me to think about graduation, but also with beth's first official donning of the cap and gown. how cruel is that? i was laughing AND crying while i called her a heinous bitch. advice for future graduates: DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME.

i've had a couple of readers critically examining this site, so let me offer a retraction:

- when i went to the post-concert party tuesday night, i traveled there with michelle AND beth. there was no malicious intent with the omission of beth's name, i was simply hungover. i deeply and sincerely apologize to beth for the shocking omission and thank her from the bottom of my heart for a fun time at the festivities. ;)

alright, my nat & carey paper is finished. am i overly astounded by my brilliance? hell no. do i care? hell no. am i a senior writing a paper for a meaningless elective course? that's a big yes.

so all i have left to do in my collegiate career is go to my practice interview tomorrow and write up my practicum stuff.

that's it.

and that whole graduation thing.

on another note, my favorite new averi song is "flutter." listen to it. fun times.

so, the benefit concert was last night at metronome.

the show was fantastic. patterson has apparently decided that his calling in life is to be a rock star. it was neat to see him on stage, rocking out and doing little guitar-player dances while cast in stage lights. he did a great job and it was wonderful of him to help us out with the show.

and then there's averi. those little punkass creeps...alright, i can't even type that without laughing. averi was wonderful. averi is wonderful.

i was incredibly nervous all day because i'd finally be meeting the band and they'd be performing and i just wanted everything to be perfect because they did so much to help out with the show. and because i love musicians, and being able to talk to them is still a thrill for me. probably always will be.

but the guys made it incredibly easy for us. they were fun and easy-going when we met, professional and talented as can be when they performed. i knew they were good from what michelle had told me and from the mp3s i already had, but i was blown away. jon came to give senior sem support, lounging in the back at the bar, and when we talked, he mentioned that if the band gets radio play, they're going to be huge. everyone who was there left incredibly impressed. meanwhile, i stood around in amazement. the band was rocking out on stage at a club and i helped make it happen. ?!?!?!??!

they mostly played originals, but busted out with a couple of covers--phil collins "in the air tonight" and u2 "with or without you." with the latter, they asked people to sing along, so michelle, beth, becca, baz and i all stood together and sang along at the top of our lungs (hey, we got compliments on it from mike after the song). their original material was great--they were having fun with it, jamming a bit and creating absolutely phenominal music.

chad thanked me and baz for putting everything together in between two songs, we got a big ol' round of applause and it felt great. but the best moment? i'd be lying if i said it was anything besides "daffodils." after the last song, michelle ran up to the stage and asked the band to play "daffodils" because it's my favorite averi song. while most of the band got a bit of a deer-in-headlights expression on their faces, chad said he could give it a shot. so the final song of the set was an acoustic solo performance of "daffodils" that chad said was for me. michelle and i stood there and sang along, laughing as chad tried to remember the second lyric (i blanked out on it myself and felt like a tool) and made up lyrics to keep playing. he rocked out to it, and i felt special.

after the show, michelle and i headed over to meg's house for the LEAP/hey-invite-the-band-over party, and drunken revelry ensued. i learned a valuable lesson (well, ok, i already knew it, but i was reminded): do NOT play flipcup--let alone three games of flipcup--when your drink of choice that evening is raspberry schmirnoff and sprite (the quote from chad: "it's going to get ugly..."). oh goodness gracious... ;) it was good to see people and hear good things about the concert, not to mention that it was great to hang out with the averi guys a bit longer. i definitely plan on seeing them sometime soon when my schedule permits--they're talented, generous, and really cool guys.

so i've talked about the performances and the band...how about the people who came to the show, you ask? i am incredibly disappointed with people after last night. in many respects, it showed me who i can count on and who i can't. my really good friends (well, the really good legal friends) were there. a lot of people i expected to be there to support baz and me just didn't find the time or whatnot to show up. i'd like to think that if the roles were reversed, i would be at the show in a heartbeat. apparently a lot of people don't feel the same way. i felt badly for averi more than anything else--they'd come all the way up from boston and i'd been talking up the burlington crowd to chad for weeks now--but, after talking with chad and matt at the postparty, i felt better. they were happy to be playing and happy to help out a good cause.

baz told me today that she had been talking about the lack of turnout with chris at the party, and he said something along the lines that while a lot of people would obviously have been great, it wasn't a big deal because they played this show for her and me. how sweet is that?!?!?!

they had fun, so i was happy. i mean, why wouldn't i be? it was like we were able to throw a private party for good friends at a bar with really inexpensive (yet exceptionally potent) drinks with a kickass band that we didn't have to pay for out of our own pockets. and we managed to raise money for make-a-wish. reads like success in my book...and as for those who didn't go to the show, they missed out. big time. they would have had an amazing time.

i'll be mature about it--i'm not going to be a bitch or anything--but i did make one phone call, explaining that i was disappointed and hurt that the person didn't go to the show and didn't even offer a "hey, good luck" or anything. but that'll probably be it. i've got people i'm pissed off at, but what good will it do for me to bother saying anything?

they just missed out. and when averi's big and famous, who will be the sorry ones?