Taylor Tix for the Win
Local radio station Z102.9 ran a contest last week for a pair of Taylor Swift tickets. They would play a sounder at about 20 minutes after the hour, every hour, with an announcement to fill out a form on their website. At about 18 minutes past every hour that she was awake, Rachel would shush the room, turn on the radio, and enter.
Then, last Thursday, they did a drawing--and Rachel won. She had 10 minutes and 29 seconds to call in, (because--102.9). She called in less than a minute--she had been sitting in her chair in the living room, listening for the announcement.
I heard the announcement on my car radio, as I drove to Kirkwood on the back road (because there was construction on Kirkwood Blvd). As I enterered the parking lot at Kirkwood, I saw Matt walking in and honked at him. He didn't know what was going on--was I in trouble? Having a heart attack? He ran over, I rolled down the passenger window, and said, "She WON!"
We both got to hear Rachel on the radio next, accepting the tickets. She sounded like she was crying, although she claims she wasn't. She was just SO EXCITED.
They replayed that call quite a bit over the weekend.
She had already promised Piper that, on the off chance that she won, Piper would get the 2nd ticket. Piper has long wanted to go to a concert of someone whose songs she knows, and she knows a lot of Taylor from the radio. Samantha has already seen Taylor, on the Reputatation tour, when Camila Cabello opened for her. (On the radio, Rachel said she was taking her little sister; she said off air they said to her, "but don't you have two sisters? which she's glad they didn't play, since it sounded like they knew her. Which they do, because I'm facebook friends with both "Morning Scramble" hosts.)
Rachel spent all the rest of Thursday, the winning day, in a daze. Or dare I say, a Lavendar Haze? "What am I supposed to do? I can't think of anything but Taylor!"
Piper was there to gently instruct her. Did you eat breakfast yet? Do that. Now put your plate in the dishwasher.
On Friday, Piper and Rachel went thrift shopping to get proper 'fits for the Eras tour. Rachel ended up with a green gingham skirt; Debut album era. Piper bought a red plaid skirt that she paired with a "vintage" Taylor tee passed down from Rachel years ago--Red era.
They drove up to Minneapolis on Saturday for the concert. Or "Switftyappolis," as the mayor deemed it for the weekend. They ended up riding the train with a bunch of other Swifties to the show.
Reports are that the concert was amazing. Piper liked the opening act, Owenn; Rachel was standing in the merch line during his bit. They both said the other opening act, Girl in Red, was just okay.
Taylor's part--a 3 and a half hour long show--was amazing. Costume changes, pyrotechnics--adn they were close enough to feel the heat from the fire--and banter. Taylor cried at this concert, from happiness, which she doesn't always do. Her "surprise song" was "Dear John" from her "Speak Now" album, and she asked the crowd to not take this as a reason to pile on John Mayer again--it's been a long time since she wrote that song.
When the concert ended, late at night, it was pouring rain. Piper and Rachel got soaked on their way back to the train. But, they reported, hair dryers in hotel rooms do a fairly decent job of drying out shoes. Life hack.
They slept some, then drove home on Sunday. They came home in Taylor t-shirts; Piper's black and Rachel's white, photo negatives of each other.
And don't worry that Samantha, Matt, and I didn't get to do anything fun. Because we went on with our already scheduled plans--dinner with friends at the Kalona Brewhouse, followed by a very nice production of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Washington Community Theater.
Then, last Thursday, they did a drawing--and Rachel won. She had 10 minutes and 29 seconds to call in, (because--102.9). She called in less than a minute--she had been sitting in her chair in the living room, listening for the announcement.
I heard the announcement on my car radio, as I drove to Kirkwood on the back road (because there was construction on Kirkwood Blvd). As I enterered the parking lot at Kirkwood, I saw Matt walking in and honked at him. He didn't know what was going on--was I in trouble? Having a heart attack? He ran over, I rolled down the passenger window, and said, "She WON!"
We both got to hear Rachel on the radio next, accepting the tickets. She sounded like she was crying, although she claims she wasn't. She was just SO EXCITED.
They replayed that call quite a bit over the weekend.
She had already promised Piper that, on the off chance that she won, Piper would get the 2nd ticket. Piper has long wanted to go to a concert of someone whose songs she knows, and she knows a lot of Taylor from the radio. Samantha has already seen Taylor, on the Reputatation tour, when Camila Cabello opened for her. (On the radio, Rachel said she was taking her little sister; she said off air they said to her, "but don't you have two sisters? which she's glad they didn't play, since it sounded like they knew her. Which they do, because I'm facebook friends with both "Morning Scramble" hosts.)
Rachel spent all the rest of Thursday, the winning day, in a daze. Or dare I say, a Lavendar Haze? "What am I supposed to do? I can't think of anything but Taylor!"
Piper was there to gently instruct her. Did you eat breakfast yet? Do that. Now put your plate in the dishwasher.
On Friday, Piper and Rachel went thrift shopping to get proper 'fits for the Eras tour. Rachel ended up with a green gingham skirt; Debut album era. Piper bought a red plaid skirt that she paired with a "vintage" Taylor tee passed down from Rachel years ago--Red era.
They drove up to Minneapolis on Saturday for the concert. Or "Switftyappolis," as the mayor deemed it for the weekend. They ended up riding the train with a bunch of other Swifties to the show.
Reports are that the concert was amazing. Piper liked the opening act, Owenn; Rachel was standing in the merch line during his bit. They both said the other opening act, Girl in Red, was just okay.
Taylor's part--a 3 and a half hour long show--was amazing. Costume changes, pyrotechnics--adn they were close enough to feel the heat from the fire--and banter. Taylor cried at this concert, from happiness, which she doesn't always do. Her "surprise song" was "Dear John" from her "Speak Now" album, and she asked the crowd to not take this as a reason to pile on John Mayer again--it's been a long time since she wrote that song.
When the concert ended, late at night, it was pouring rain. Piper and Rachel got soaked on their way back to the train. But, they reported, hair dryers in hotel rooms do a fairly decent job of drying out shoes. Life hack.
They slept some, then drove home on Sunday. They came home in Taylor t-shirts; Piper's black and Rachel's white, photo negatives of each other.
And don't worry that Samantha, Matt, and I didn't get to do anything fun. Because we went on with our already scheduled plans--dinner with friends at the Kalona Brewhouse, followed by a very nice production of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Washington Community Theater.