Labor Day in the Bay

Last weekend was my first visit back home to the Bay!

Friday morning and afternoon I mostly spent packing. I flew in at 5:00p and Julian picked me up from the airport. He drove me back to SF to drop off my luggage and pick up our concert tickets, and then we headed south to HP! We got to the Taylor Swift concert pretty early, seeing as how we didn't care for the opening acts. We ended up catching one and it was meh. Then Taylor came out and it was magical, enchanting, and enthralling - everything I knew it would be. Watching Taylor perform gives me chills, and I can't decide which tour I liked better - this year's and last year's both had amazing moments.

As expected, Taylor came to the small rotating stage on the other side of the arena about halfway through the concert. I didn't even realize it until we got there, but Julian and I were sitting in the section directly behind! It was pretty awesome, to be so close to Taylor! I had a great time, and it was extra exciting for Julian because it was his first concert. What a great first concert to experience!

Saturday I went to ID at Shoreline with Brian and Loan. We met up with Andy, Gary, Joanna, Kyle, and some new friends! In the beginning I wasn't very excited but as I started getting into the music I found myself having a fantastic time. The weather was gorgeous and the frozen margaritas were too tempting. About five hours in I started to feel sick, probably from dehydration and inebriation all at once. I guzzled Rockstar Hydration because it was free all day at the booths, and then I ate a kbbq burrito. I felt better in about a half hour, THANK GOODNESS! I spent the next four hours completely sober and happy as a clam! We met up with Chad, Ryan, Tiana, Steph, and I forget who else. The Aoki and Kaskade sets were absolutely overwhelming. Loved the energy and the song selections. Most fun sober ever, and that means more fun than Tiesto in Vegas! I found myself dancing my ass off, not even caring who was around me, with the biggest smile on my face.

On Sunday I went to the Reno rib cook off with Brian and Loan. We met Kevin, Bui, and Alex there. It was hot as hell! The ribs were delicious. I especially loved the beef rib from Porky and Beans. THOSE WERE MY FAVE! We got Willingham's again, which was my top 3 pick from last year's ribs. I didn't get any Bone Daddy this year, but I remember that being my abso fave last year! This year we went into the Marlboro Experience and took pictures in the free photo booth, got free t-shirts, and bought $1 packs of cigs. I brought mine back to Seattle and gave them to Matt, such a nice roommate I am, LOL. We also played Bingo in Reno, and I couldn't have ever been prepared for how fucking intense it is. Like seriously, my brain was hurting only three rounds in!!!! Reno took up most of the day, I was exhausted by the time I got home.

Monday was family day. Woke up and had breakfast with my mom and brother, and Wendy and her family joined us. Rey cooked a wonderful Filipino breakfast that was UBER SALTY but soo tasty! After breakfast we talked a bunch and I went to check out my bro's new apartment. The roof was amazing. Very Vegassy, I loved it! Actually, I loved it so much, that when I finished packing my luggage and had an hour to hang out with Andy, we decided to go to my brother's place and hang out up on the roof. We picked up sweets and milk along the way so we could havea tea party! Super relaxing, and it was pretty cool hanging out with my bro and Andy at the same time.

Overall the weekend was a great handful of events, and I was glad to see everyone again. I still don't miss SF yet, but I'm sure I will in the next few months when my life starts slowing down with the colder weather. October should be fun because everyone's coming to visit me in Seattle!! SO MANY ACTIVITIES!!! For now, I'm enjoying the gorgeous Seattle summer and having absolutely no complaints.

Day 4 of Teardrops

I decided to slow my roll, and take things one step at a time. Today I broke the chords down to one strum per measure (assuming that this is in 4/4) so I could work through my transitions and get used to the finger positions.



I also just finished the third and final book from the Larsson series. What an amazing and intricate storyline. I feel that EVERYTHING came full circle, even things I had forgotten about through the course of the three texts. It's unfortunate that there won't be any continuuation. I think I'll reread these again in two years or so. :)

New Hobby, New Toy

I got my new laptop!! Dell Studio XPS, and I love it - so snazzy. It came with an integrated webcam, so I decided to put it to good use and document progress with my new hobby. GUITAR!

My first song is Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift (what did you expect?). I invite my blogdience to witness my tribulations LOL. And while my interests tend to be short-lived, I think I'm really starting to enjoy this one. I don't plan to learn the names of the chords or anything, I'm probably just goin to slack and continue to learn off of Youtube. We'll see how this pans out..

Day 3 of Teardrops:


I promise to sing with more gusto if, or when, I get better. And I'll try to sound less confused, maybe even get the lyrics right? I'm sort of a clumsy person, so this whole coordination of thought process thing is a pretty huge feat for me.

Taylor Swift: Fearless Tour 2010

So like, I'm in love. Taylor Swift is amazing!!!

She's such a phenomenal performer that pictures and words don't do her justice. I will definitely see her again in concert - she's a really lively entertainer and she's always moving, dancing, making jokes and saying cute things. It was surprising how many adults were in the audience though. The deafening high-pitched screams, however, were not surprising. The crowd was absolutely wild with excitement, and at one point there was 5-7 minutes of unbroken screaming and applause. She just stood there, taking it all in, the stars in her eyes. You could tell that she really loves the fans. And well, you can't not love her.

Fantastic show! And of course, the pictures, in reverse:

The grand finale, and last song, featured a thin waterfall which SPELLED OUT WORDS!! And drenched Taylor as she ended the show with a triumphant kneel, using her hands to shape a heart.


Bizarre drum solo, Taylor is on the right.


She knows what us 14 year old girls like. HEART-SHAPED CONFETTIS FOR EVERYONE!!!


She wore a Sharks jersey - my kind of girl.



Her "white dress", I was loving the hair.


LOVE STORY!!! My all-time fave of her songs!


They had old-time dancers do the intro for Love Story.


She came to the BACK of the arena for a few songs, smaller rotating stage.


She also walked around in the audience, free hugs!


YOU


BELONG


WITH ME!


Kelly Pickler opened for TS, with a broken ankle LOL


Alex & I


Taylor Swift & I =)


Such a great show. I was thoroughly impressed. Team Taylor!

T. Swift

"I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night -
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar,
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star."