Milestones, Music, Mae.
Thursday was more or less... perfect. And when I say Thursday.. I'm counting the complete 24 hours: from 12 am to 12am.
It started out with ending class on Wednesday around 3pm. It was sunny, the temperature was around the high 60's and I had gone out to make a couple purchases at the Champaign Target and Best Buy. I bought Good Will Hunting because 1) it was on sale and 2) I had really wanted to watch it and the library's copy was lost. So that night I watched my movie, concluded that it was indeed brilliant, and now one of my favorite movies. After watching the movie, I had an adventure with Kevin and Rachel.
And so it starts: At midnight, we had begun to watch an episode of Dead Like Me (a show that I am now crazy about) when suddenly Rachel suggested we go to iHop (playfully) and Kevin burst out with a craving for an omelet so we decided to walk over to ihop on Green Street in the light rain. We spent about two hours there, eating, talking, drinking bad coffee (that was more me). When it was time to leave, it was pouring! So we called safe-rides and ran an unnecessary two blocks to catch the saferide bus and got home around 3 am.
I got back to the dorm... slept until about 8:30. Mindy and I packed and took the bus to Illinois Terminal. We had a couple problems getting our will-call tickets to Chicago, but fixed it, leaving us in kind of a cranky mood. When we finally got on our Greyhound Bus to Chicago, I was expecting to pass out because of the lack of sleep but instead I spent 2 hours reading my book, "This is Your Brain on Music" and spent the last hour listening to Singularity / In Rainbows and scribbling lyrics. We got off at the 95th / Dan Ryan red line stop and took the train to Addison. That was probably the farthest south I have ever been on the "eL" and it was interesting how the demographic changed gradually after every stop until finally reaching Wrigleyville :P. Chicago is an amazing place.
We arrive on Addison. We eat at Cozy's, one of my favorite restaurants, its orange atmosphere will always lift my spirits as well as their crab rangoon.. haha. I ordered an enormous bowl of green curry, which is bizarre because I really can't take spicy food. It was just a craving, I guess. Charisse met us shortly after and we trekked our way over to Starbucks. I was glad she was there... she added the perfect amount of silliness. I also thought it was perfect because the only reason I even knew about Mae was because she showed me "Soundtrack for Our Movie" for the first time when we were around 7th grade.
Here comes a strenuous part of the day! I had read on the Mae website that if we were to want to see their acoustic show for Habitat for Humanity, we were to be at the Metro at 4:30. So I wanted to be there by 4. It just happened to start snowing the biggest, wettest flakes I've ever seen and it was extremely cold. We waited out there for a while, but it turned out that doors opened at 5:30 and the guards had absolutely no intention of opening the doors any earlier. I actually saw Dave and Zach walk up Clark and enter the Metro and they looked in no way apologetic so I assume that they just didn't know that their website said some crazy time. I was pretty disappointed... it was the first time Mae had ever let me down. People were saying that the acoustic show was probably moved to after the show... and I was let down because I didn't think I could stay after the show was over because we had to get picked up by Ate Naomi.
When the doors opened, we could barely feel our faces. Mindy was lighting her fingers on fire as we checked in our coats and our bags and it was pretty hilarious. We were soaked, cold and again, extremely disappointed. I didn't feel like fighting for a front row spot on the floor because I was bummed, so we trekked upstairs to the balcony and decided to chill there until the show started. We just stood around in silence and disappointment... until from the corner of my eye, I see Jacob and that awesome hollow water jug coming out from the side of the stage! I see Dave and Zach follow and I was like... "ITS THEM!" really obnoxiously loud. I ran downstairs and I swear I was like the only one who recognized them because everyone was really hesitant on coming to see them. The acoustic show wasn't after the real show after all :D
It was an amazing acoustic set. I requested "Home" and they actually played it. I was in seriously in temporary cardiac arrest when Jacob grinned and said "Sure". My heart completely melted when they played. They also played "The Ocean" which is an amazing acoustic song, they do such a different take on it acoustically. They also played "Sun", a classic, "Ready and Waiting to Fall" which is my theme song for all things hope and love, and "Giving it Away" which I had never heard acoustic before and I was completely in awe. I wish I got to talk to Jacob because I wanted to ask him a couple things about "This is Your Brain on Music" but the show started right after so I didn't get a chance to.
OH, and during the acoustic show, I got a crazy surprise. Mariben and Heleina came and brought Anthony with them! I pretty much tackled him to the ground. He was in town and I thought I just wasn't going to see him, but my amazing friends (they are pretty much my sisters) bought him a ticket and brought him along. It was great, seriously perfect. We went to the balcony to watch the rest of the show. The opening bands were pretty entertaining, I particularly liked Between the Trees. The singer reminded me of a younger Stephen Christian (lead singer of Anberlin) and they were really good.
The headlining show for Mae was amazing. It was the most moving, captivating experience I have ever undergone. There was a whole film series accompanying the whole show... every song, every transition had an images and video clips of the band and of other captivating images that connected with the music so well. They opened with "Futuro" which now I can't stop listening to... and played a bunch of songs from Destination: Beautiful, my faves from the Everglow and they played two songs from Singularity. I loved my view... seeing Jacob play Rocket was freakin' amazing. That song has the most amazing drum part ever. (I think I've overused the word "amazing" throughout this entry). The show ended with an amazing encore: "We're So Far Away" and "Someone Else's Arms"... which was the same encore from the first Mae show I had ever gone to with Vedera and New Amsterdams. After the show, we got picked up by my Ate Yomes... I got to chat with her a bit over a small glass of wine which was the perfect amount to help me get to sleep. I slept around 1, woke up around 4, and Mindy and I walked to the Blue Line, got off at UIC, took the Greyhound Bus (where I knocked out the whole way) back to Champaign and I went to all my classes.
I'm going to repeat the first line of this blog. Thursday was more or less...perfect. I doubt anyone is still reading right now, haha. But that concert left me so shaken. I had never felt so many emotions within one night. I got to see the songs I set my life to be played and portrayed right in front of me. At this life-changing concert... I was with 5 of the most important people in my life... my best friend, two of my amazing sisters that always look out for me, my whimsical cousin, and Anthony, who I'll always have a special place in my heart no matter how many miles are between us. I also got to be with my Ate Yome who makes me laugh and makes me happy and makes feel at home. I got a smile from Jacob! And MAE... dear god, I fell in love that night. I felt beauty. I was almost brought to tears. I felt so infinite.
Without Mae, I would not have life. I would not feel love. I realized that is just how strong music is. I'm glad to be a part of this harmonious life.
"Goodnight, I'm not getting up off of this ride,
I'm holding tight until I can feel alive."
It started out with ending class on Wednesday around 3pm. It was sunny, the temperature was around the high 60's and I had gone out to make a couple purchases at the Champaign Target and Best Buy. I bought Good Will Hunting because 1) it was on sale and 2) I had really wanted to watch it and the library's copy was lost. So that night I watched my movie, concluded that it was indeed brilliant, and now one of my favorite movies. After watching the movie, I had an adventure with Kevin and Rachel.
And so it starts: At midnight, we had begun to watch an episode of Dead Like Me (a show that I am now crazy about) when suddenly Rachel suggested we go to iHop (playfully) and Kevin burst out with a craving for an omelet so we decided to walk over to ihop on Green Street in the light rain. We spent about two hours there, eating, talking, drinking bad coffee (that was more me). When it was time to leave, it was pouring! So we called safe-rides and ran an unnecessary two blocks to catch the saferide bus and got home around 3 am.
I got back to the dorm... slept until about 8:30. Mindy and I packed and took the bus to Illinois Terminal. We had a couple problems getting our will-call tickets to Chicago, but fixed it, leaving us in kind of a cranky mood. When we finally got on our Greyhound Bus to Chicago, I was expecting to pass out because of the lack of sleep but instead I spent 2 hours reading my book, "This is Your Brain on Music" and spent the last hour listening to Singularity / In Rainbows and scribbling lyrics. We got off at the 95th / Dan Ryan red line stop and took the train to Addison. That was probably the farthest south I have ever been on the "eL" and it was interesting how the demographic changed gradually after every stop until finally reaching Wrigleyville :P. Chicago is an amazing place.
We arrive on Addison. We eat at Cozy's, one of my favorite restaurants, its orange atmosphere will always lift my spirits as well as their crab rangoon.. haha. I ordered an enormous bowl of green curry, which is bizarre because I really can't take spicy food. It was just a craving, I guess. Charisse met us shortly after and we trekked our way over to Starbucks. I was glad she was there... she added the perfect amount of silliness. I also thought it was perfect because the only reason I even knew about Mae was because she showed me "Soundtrack for Our Movie" for the first time when we were around 7th grade.
Here comes a strenuous part of the day! I had read on the Mae website that if we were to want to see their acoustic show for Habitat for Humanity, we were to be at the Metro at 4:30. So I wanted to be there by 4. It just happened to start snowing the biggest, wettest flakes I've ever seen and it was extremely cold. We waited out there for a while, but it turned out that doors opened at 5:30 and the guards had absolutely no intention of opening the doors any earlier. I actually saw Dave and Zach walk up Clark and enter the Metro and they looked in no way apologetic so I assume that they just didn't know that their website said some crazy time. I was pretty disappointed... it was the first time Mae had ever let me down. People were saying that the acoustic show was probably moved to after the show... and I was let down because I didn't think I could stay after the show was over because we had to get picked up by Ate Naomi.
When the doors opened, we could barely feel our faces. Mindy was lighting her fingers on fire as we checked in our coats and our bags and it was pretty hilarious. We were soaked, cold and again, extremely disappointed. I didn't feel like fighting for a front row spot on the floor because I was bummed, so we trekked upstairs to the balcony and decided to chill there until the show started. We just stood around in silence and disappointment... until from the corner of my eye, I see Jacob and that awesome hollow water jug coming out from the side of the stage! I see Dave and Zach follow and I was like... "ITS THEM!" really obnoxiously loud. I ran downstairs and I swear I was like the only one who recognized them because everyone was really hesitant on coming to see them. The acoustic show wasn't after the real show after all :D
It was an amazing acoustic set. I requested "Home" and they actually played it. I was in seriously in temporary cardiac arrest when Jacob grinned and said "Sure". My heart completely melted when they played. They also played "The Ocean" which is an amazing acoustic song, they do such a different take on it acoustically. They also played "Sun", a classic, "Ready and Waiting to Fall" which is my theme song for all things hope and love, and "Giving it Away" which I had never heard acoustic before and I was completely in awe. I wish I got to talk to Jacob because I wanted to ask him a couple things about "This is Your Brain on Music" but the show started right after so I didn't get a chance to.
OH, and during the acoustic show, I got a crazy surprise. Mariben and Heleina came and brought Anthony with them! I pretty much tackled him to the ground. He was in town and I thought I just wasn't going to see him, but my amazing friends (they are pretty much my sisters) bought him a ticket and brought him along. It was great, seriously perfect. We went to the balcony to watch the rest of the show. The opening bands were pretty entertaining, I particularly liked Between the Trees. The singer reminded me of a younger Stephen Christian (lead singer of Anberlin) and they were really good.
The headlining show for Mae was amazing. It was the most moving, captivating experience I have ever undergone. There was a whole film series accompanying the whole show... every song, every transition had an images and video clips of the band and of other captivating images that connected with the music so well. They opened with "Futuro" which now I can't stop listening to... and played a bunch of songs from Destination: Beautiful, my faves from the Everglow and they played two songs from Singularity. I loved my view... seeing Jacob play Rocket was freakin' amazing. That song has the most amazing drum part ever. (I think I've overused the word "amazing" throughout this entry). The show ended with an amazing encore: "We're So Far Away" and "Someone Else's Arms"... which was the same encore from the first Mae show I had ever gone to with Vedera and New Amsterdams. After the show, we got picked up by my Ate Yomes... I got to chat with her a bit over a small glass of wine which was the perfect amount to help me get to sleep. I slept around 1, woke up around 4, and Mindy and I walked to the Blue Line, got off at UIC, took the Greyhound Bus (where I knocked out the whole way) back to Champaign and I went to all my classes.
I'm going to repeat the first line of this blog. Thursday was more or less...perfect. I doubt anyone is still reading right now, haha. But that concert left me so shaken. I had never felt so many emotions within one night. I got to see the songs I set my life to be played and portrayed right in front of me. At this life-changing concert... I was with 5 of the most important people in my life... my best friend, two of my amazing sisters that always look out for me, my whimsical cousin, and Anthony, who I'll always have a special place in my heart no matter how many miles are between us. I also got to be with my Ate Yome who makes me laugh and makes me happy and makes feel at home. I got a smile from Jacob! And MAE... dear god, I fell in love that night. I felt beauty. I was almost brought to tears. I felt so infinite.
Without Mae, I would not have life. I would not feel love. I realized that is just how strong music is. I'm glad to be a part of this harmonious life.
"Goodnight, I'm not getting up off of this ride,
I'm holding tight until I can feel alive."