Bustin' out a rockin' icon for a rockin' weekend...
Here we go! Weekend roundup time! Trying to stay coherent after staying up too late for the Oscars last night!
Casting my mind back to Friday night, I didn't do much. I came home, I relaxed, I made dinner, and I watched that week's Life off the DVR. Then I went the heck to bed. Because I actually, contrary to my usual tendencies, had to be up at a certain time on Saturday. Crazy, right?
Saturday morning, 7 a.m. The bright sunrise actually woke me mere moments before my alarm. I was pretty rested, but believe me when I tell you that it would have been a big help to me that day to have had one of my massive catch-up sleeps! But anyway. The reason for early rising was, I was scheduled to be at the WTMD studio in Towson at 9 a.m. to help with the pledge drive. Sure enough, due to dragging my heels, not having a good sense of how long it takes me to do things like, say, shower, and my addiction to Twitter, I managed to get out of the house a little later than I wanted to. Overall, I got there a few minutes late, but it was okay. It was the first morning of the pledge drive, things were overall a bit chaotic, and so adding me to the mix a little late wasn't ultimately a big deal. In the hour before the drive started at 10, we figured out who would do what: answer phones, data entry, tallying new members. They moved the DJ out of the usual studio and into the common area where we were answering phones, meaning you had that excited-babble-in-the-background going on, though we tried to keep it to a dull roar when the pitches were actually happening. My first job was holding up a whiteboard with our goal number-of-members for the hour and the number-left-to-go. This takes precise skill, let me tell you! After an hour or so we swapped around and I actually got on the phones, which felt terribly Official and awesome.
They told us when we came in that morning that there were going to be in-studio guests that day, the Young Dubliners (warning: music plays on splash page). I knew some of their music from hearing it on the station but I didn't own any of their albums or anything. Three of us had our heads down busily answering the phones when the band arrived; they were remarkably unobtrusive. They loaded into the recording studio and we kept on answering phones, hearing the music coming a bit through the door. They had brought Starbucks coffee enough for all the volunteers as well, which was lovely. Eventually they came out from recording their bit and came into the common room with us, which was when things got much more...obtrusive? That's not right! They got kinda awesome, if also more chaotic. There was a brief on-air interview with the lead singer, and then we got the guys from the band to answer the phones. This of course caused a mini-flurry of calls from fans of the band, so the phones all lit up. I gave my phone over to Martin, who gamely fielded his call with a little help from me prompting him through the pledge form, and it was pretty raucous in the studio, I have to say. We were all having a great time! One of our volunteers helped them find a local store where they could get a replacement amp fuse, which was awesome of her, and everyone got was very friendly. Of course talk turned to their show that night at Fletcher's, which wound up - the way these things do? I guess? - with the band adding a bunch of our names to "the list." Yes, that fabled list where theoretically one would stroll up to a concert venue, say "I'm on the list," and get waved in.
Eventually they pulled out of the studio to go get rested up and ready for that night's show. Which, for those following along at home, was slated to start around 10 p.m. that night (after the opening act). I was of two minds: (1) WOO, I'm on "the list"! (2) Dear God, I've been up since 7 a.m., am I going to have any energy to drive into the city for a 10 p.m. show? I decided to play it by ear. The original volunteering gig was from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but with the band's afternoon arrival we decided to stretch the fundraising part of the day out to 3:30. Only a few of us volunteers stayed on, and though there was a definite downturn of energy for the last hour, it was still fun. I was a little surprised at how many more people called in the morning (during the hours I normally would still have been fast asleep!) than in the afternoon, and at the fact that a lot more people called than used the website to pledge. I always use the web for stuff like that, I think mainly because I get to avoid having to spell out my last name for people.
Headed out of the studio later than planned and still had to grocery shop. I had a helpful WTMD tote bag with me now, however, so I basically went straight to TJ's and then the Lion for the week's victuals. I picked up the few extra things I needed for a quick batch of jambalaya to take to snidegrrl's girls' night that night. While that was simmering on the stove I caught up on email, etc. from the day. Then I pulled up stakes and headed to girls' night, with my jambalaya and chocolate-covered pretzels. We had a fine old time talking and hanging out, with folks new and old! The food was all delicious. Eventually they fired up the DVD player with Mamma Mia! and I had to make a call. It was nearly 10 p.m., it was either go up to B'more now or toss in the towel and stay for the movie. Drawing on some reserve of energy I had no idea I possessed, I went ahead and took my leave and went up to the show.
And I'm so glad I did! Perhaps I was predisposed to like the band already, from the songs I'd heard and even more importantly from interacting with them that afternoon. They were kind and friendly and fun, clearly appreciative of the radio station and the support they got there. And the show kicked ass! Before I get too ahead of myself, I'll say I went ahead and parked in a garage just to make things easier, but managed to take the stairway that led into Creepy Back Alley World. Oops. I basically darted up to the nearest corner and then was back on an actual street with people on it, which was for the best. I resolved to go back to the garage a different way. I found my way to Fletcher's, which is just a bar on the first floor. A confusing sign said, "Concert entrance go to awning." Yet...there was no awning. What the? I wandered past the door and then noticed that the guy standing outside smoking was in fact the weekend DJ who had been working the pledge drive that day! Oh! So I introduced myself, and we chatted while he finished his cigarette and then he showed me how to get upstairs to the concert proper.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I did in fact get to walk up and say, "My name's on the list," after which my hand was stamped and I was waved on through! Believe me, this was a very thrilling thing in my rather vanilla life. It's 10:40 p.m., I'm in a bar to see a cool band, as their guest! The DJ bought me a beer, apparently because my ego wasn't already swelled enough, and we went right to the front of the stage where a few other folks from the station (employees and volunteers both) already were. And then, as aforementioned, the ass-kicking. And the rocking. I loved it! Great energy, great playing, it was crowded but not too crowded, which was good since I was so far in the front I was definitely in the danger zone for flailing elbows. They played for nearly two hours, came out for a high-energy encore, and had people hollering for more until they shut the lights down in a clear sign of "show's over." I hung around for a little bit with the TMD folks over on the side of the stage, and eventually the band came out. There were thank-yous and hugs and handshakes all 'round, and let me say again: really, really impressed with the guys in the band, not just as musicians but as totally decent people. I happily bought their latest CD on the way out, walked back to my car, popped the disk in, and drove home.
By the time I got home, though, I was seein' the contrails. Light sources start gaining flashy vapor trails when I get really, really tired, so it seemed my energy had finally run out. I wound up being online for a bit when I got to the apartment, though. I was both exhausted AND kinda wired. By about 2 a.m. I collapsed into bed, and just let myself sleep and sleep.
Woke up right before 11 a.m. to gray skies and light, wet snow. I finished up the book I was reading and finally emerged from my cocoon around noon-thirty. Ahh. Basically I stayed in my jammies until nearly 3 p.m., then showered in a big hurry, wrapped presents in a big hurry, packed laundry in a big hurry, and rushed out to my folks' for the triple birthday celebration. My nephew, my SIL and I all have birthdays in the next few weeks so we celebrated last night. There was chicken divan (a favorite of mine!) and my great-grandmother's chocolate cake. And it was all very good. I left by around 8 p.m. in an attempt to get home in time for the Oscars. My friend John called me just as I was getting into my apartment, though, and I got to talking to him for an hour, so by the time I actually sat down for the Oscars I was ready to do a lot of judicious fast-forwarding (<3 you, DVR!) - which, it turns out, is a great way to watch the Oscars. I hadn't seen a lot of the movies this year but it was fun to watch anyway. I liked Hugh Jackman as the host and I liked the spirit of the acting awards, with the very personal presentations, but realistically it really hurt the pacing. Ah well. I could fast forward! Didn't get to bed until like 12:30 a.m. so set the alarm for 6 not 5 this morning and skipped the workout. The horror. =)
And now I'm at work and wondering when I'm going to turn into a zombie. Safe bet's on after lunch.
More PSA! Check out WTMD's page with new streaming audio, and also possibly get a chance to see my promo video! I look totally dorky! Check it out!
Speaking of totally dorky, my mother has located the original VHS tape of my "It's Academic" appearances from, you know, 19 years ago. And I have access to VHS-to-DVD technology. Be very afraid.
Casting my mind back to Friday night, I didn't do much. I came home, I relaxed, I made dinner, and I watched that week's Life off the DVR. Then I went the heck to bed. Because I actually, contrary to my usual tendencies, had to be up at a certain time on Saturday. Crazy, right?
Saturday morning, 7 a.m. The bright sunrise actually woke me mere moments before my alarm. I was pretty rested, but believe me when I tell you that it would have been a big help to me that day to have had one of my massive catch-up sleeps! But anyway. The reason for early rising was, I was scheduled to be at the WTMD studio in Towson at 9 a.m. to help with the pledge drive. Sure enough, due to dragging my heels, not having a good sense of how long it takes me to do things like, say, shower, and my addiction to Twitter, I managed to get out of the house a little later than I wanted to. Overall, I got there a few minutes late, but it was okay. It was the first morning of the pledge drive, things were overall a bit chaotic, and so adding me to the mix a little late wasn't ultimately a big deal. In the hour before the drive started at 10, we figured out who would do what: answer phones, data entry, tallying new members. They moved the DJ out of the usual studio and into the common area where we were answering phones, meaning you had that excited-babble-in-the-background going on, though we tried to keep it to a dull roar when the pitches were actually happening. My first job was holding up a whiteboard with our goal number-of-members for the hour and the number-left-to-go. This takes precise skill, let me tell you! After an hour or so we swapped around and I actually got on the phones, which felt terribly Official and awesome.
They told us when we came in that morning that there were going to be in-studio guests that day, the Young Dubliners (warning: music plays on splash page). I knew some of their music from hearing it on the station but I didn't own any of their albums or anything. Three of us had our heads down busily answering the phones when the band arrived; they were remarkably unobtrusive. They loaded into the recording studio and we kept on answering phones, hearing the music coming a bit through the door. They had brought Starbucks coffee enough for all the volunteers as well, which was lovely. Eventually they came out from recording their bit and came into the common room with us, which was when things got much more...obtrusive? That's not right! They got kinda awesome, if also more chaotic. There was a brief on-air interview with the lead singer, and then we got the guys from the band to answer the phones. This of course caused a mini-flurry of calls from fans of the band, so the phones all lit up. I gave my phone over to Martin, who gamely fielded his call with a little help from me prompting him through the pledge form, and it was pretty raucous in the studio, I have to say. We were all having a great time! One of our volunteers helped them find a local store where they could get a replacement amp fuse, which was awesome of her, and everyone got was very friendly. Of course talk turned to their show that night at Fletcher's, which wound up - the way these things do? I guess? - with the band adding a bunch of our names to "the list." Yes, that fabled list where theoretically one would stroll up to a concert venue, say "I'm on the list," and get waved in.
Eventually they pulled out of the studio to go get rested up and ready for that night's show. Which, for those following along at home, was slated to start around 10 p.m. that night (after the opening act). I was of two minds: (1) WOO, I'm on "the list"! (2) Dear God, I've been up since 7 a.m., am I going to have any energy to drive into the city for a 10 p.m. show? I decided to play it by ear. The original volunteering gig was from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but with the band's afternoon arrival we decided to stretch the fundraising part of the day out to 3:30. Only a few of us volunteers stayed on, and though there was a definite downturn of energy for the last hour, it was still fun. I was a little surprised at how many more people called in the morning (during the hours I normally would still have been fast asleep!) than in the afternoon, and at the fact that a lot more people called than used the website to pledge. I always use the web for stuff like that, I think mainly because I get to avoid having to spell out my last name for people.
Headed out of the studio later than planned and still had to grocery shop. I had a helpful WTMD tote bag with me now, however, so I basically went straight to TJ's and then the Lion for the week's victuals. I picked up the few extra things I needed for a quick batch of jambalaya to take to snidegrrl's girls' night that night. While that was simmering on the stove I caught up on email, etc. from the day. Then I pulled up stakes and headed to girls' night, with my jambalaya and chocolate-covered pretzels. We had a fine old time talking and hanging out, with folks new and old! The food was all delicious. Eventually they fired up the DVD player with Mamma Mia! and I had to make a call. It was nearly 10 p.m., it was either go up to B'more now or toss in the towel and stay for the movie. Drawing on some reserve of energy I had no idea I possessed, I went ahead and took my leave and went up to the show.
And I'm so glad I did! Perhaps I was predisposed to like the band already, from the songs I'd heard and even more importantly from interacting with them that afternoon. They were kind and friendly and fun, clearly appreciative of the radio station and the support they got there. And the show kicked ass! Before I get too ahead of myself, I'll say I went ahead and parked in a garage just to make things easier, but managed to take the stairway that led into Creepy Back Alley World. Oops. I basically darted up to the nearest corner and then was back on an actual street with people on it, which was for the best. I resolved to go back to the garage a different way. I found my way to Fletcher's, which is just a bar on the first floor. A confusing sign said, "Concert entrance go to awning." Yet...there was no awning. What the? I wandered past the door and then noticed that the guy standing outside smoking was in fact the weekend DJ who had been working the pledge drive that day! Oh! So I introduced myself, and we chatted while he finished his cigarette and then he showed me how to get upstairs to the concert proper.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I did in fact get to walk up and say, "My name's on the list," after which my hand was stamped and I was waved on through! Believe me, this was a very thrilling thing in my rather vanilla life. It's 10:40 p.m., I'm in a bar to see a cool band, as their guest! The DJ bought me a beer, apparently because my ego wasn't already swelled enough, and we went right to the front of the stage where a few other folks from the station (employees and volunteers both) already were. And then, as aforementioned, the ass-kicking. And the rocking. I loved it! Great energy, great playing, it was crowded but not too crowded, which was good since I was so far in the front I was definitely in the danger zone for flailing elbows. They played for nearly two hours, came out for a high-energy encore, and had people hollering for more until they shut the lights down in a clear sign of "show's over." I hung around for a little bit with the TMD folks over on the side of the stage, and eventually the band came out. There were thank-yous and hugs and handshakes all 'round, and let me say again: really, really impressed with the guys in the band, not just as musicians but as totally decent people. I happily bought their latest CD on the way out, walked back to my car, popped the disk in, and drove home.
By the time I got home, though, I was seein' the contrails. Light sources start gaining flashy vapor trails when I get really, really tired, so it seemed my energy had finally run out. I wound up being online for a bit when I got to the apartment, though. I was both exhausted AND kinda wired. By about 2 a.m. I collapsed into bed, and just let myself sleep and sleep.
Woke up right before 11 a.m. to gray skies and light, wet snow. I finished up the book I was reading and finally emerged from my cocoon around noon-thirty. Ahh. Basically I stayed in my jammies until nearly 3 p.m., then showered in a big hurry, wrapped presents in a big hurry, packed laundry in a big hurry, and rushed out to my folks' for the triple birthday celebration. My nephew, my SIL and I all have birthdays in the next few weeks so we celebrated last night. There was chicken divan (a favorite of mine!) and my great-grandmother's chocolate cake. And it was all very good. I left by around 8 p.m. in an attempt to get home in time for the Oscars. My friend John called me just as I was getting into my apartment, though, and I got to talking to him for an hour, so by the time I actually sat down for the Oscars I was ready to do a lot of judicious fast-forwarding (<3 you, DVR!) - which, it turns out, is a great way to watch the Oscars. I hadn't seen a lot of the movies this year but it was fun to watch anyway. I liked Hugh Jackman as the host and I liked the spirit of the acting awards, with the very personal presentations, but realistically it really hurt the pacing. Ah well. I could fast forward! Didn't get to bed until like 12:30 a.m. so set the alarm for 6 not 5 this morning and skipped the workout. The horror. =)
And now I'm at work and wondering when I'm going to turn into a zombie. Safe bet's on after lunch.
More PSA! Check out WTMD's page with new streaming audio, and also possibly get a chance to see my promo video! I look totally dorky! Check it out!
Speaking of totally dorky, my mother has located the original VHS tape of my "It's Academic" appearances from, you know, 19 years ago. And I have access to VHS-to-DVD technology. Be very afraid.