Tools, Tunes and Total Awesomeness

Last Wednesday Matt and I went to see a Tool Concert at the Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo, NM.  It was really cool.  And many shenanigans occurred along the way.

I got off work early and we decided to take a short nap before heading to the concert, which was about half an hour drive away.  I’m a pretty light sleeper so I got up when the alarm went off and started getting ready but Matt is a pain in the butt to wake up (case in point: me spending Easter Sunday with his family while he slept in the other room).  Finally, when I was finished getting ready, I tried again.  This time, all I needed to do was tell him it was 7 pm and he was up in about 2 seconds.  Should have thought of that sooner.  Doors opened at 7:30 and we hadn’t eaten anything yet so we decided to grab something on the way.  The only 2 places on the way were Burger King and McDonald’s.  Since I have sworn off Burger King for life, we took the lesser of the two evils and went to McDonald’s.  They forgot to give me my fries (but still charged me for them) and gave us only one packet of barbecue sauce between the two of us.  Oh, and no napkins either.  I am never going back to that McDonald’s again.

We made it to the concert just in time and the line to get in was really short.  It would have taken me a lot shorter to get through the girl security line but some dumbass could not for the life of him figure out where the line to buy tickets was and he decided to ask the security lady, who had to show him about 3 times because he didn’t get it.  Finally he just gave up and left.  Thank goodness.  I was up next, so I walked up to the lady (who decided it was necessary to brush her hand across my, uh…cooter)  and then two guys started fighting so she stopped right in the middle of what she was doing and called security on her radio.  All because of some stupid boys fighting in the damn parking lot.  Man, boys are dumb.

I got in and the place was PACKED.  I could barely walk anywhere there were so many people, wandering around, buying $7 Bud Light (how silly).  We made a beeline for the stadium and found our seats, which were great.  (This is good because when we were buying our tickets the computer kept giving us crappy seats and we had to try for better ones a whole bunch of times.  Matt was getting really cranky)

The concert was really great.  They played a great mix of songs ranging from old to newer stuff.  In the past, people have said that Tool concerts are really boring because the band just stands there playing their instruments.  This is true.  They do just stand there and play their instruments, but that’s what they’re all about.  They don’t like to be showy and bounce around the stage like idiots.  They want their audience to experience their music, not them.  Plus there’s so much else going on that it doesn’t really matter what’s happening on stage.  They put up a display of video and artwork from their albums and music videos on huge monitor screens, and there was also a laser light show to go along with the pulse of the music and beat of the drum.  It was truly an audio-visual experience.

The one thing I thought was really cool was Maynard (lead singer and musical genius extraordinaire) took back stage to his guitar and bass player and stood in the back with the drummer.  He did do some funny little dances while he was back there but not too much.  Oh and at one point he left the stage and came back stripped down to his skivvies.  Definitely a little weird, but oh well, his music’s good.

Another thing that’s fun about concerts is people watching.  Since we were up in the bowl of the stadium, we could see what was going on down on the floor.  The mosh pit was hilarious.  It was just a circle of people randomly running around and skipping through it.  And someone else threw a whole bunch of sheets of paper into the air like confetti.

I wish I had pictures of all of this.  I didn’t bring my camera because I didn’t think it would be allowed in, but I saw a girl in front of me taking pictures and I was bummed.

But then I thought of the person standing next to me, smiling, having a good time, and so excited to be there with me.  And I thought, this person, holding my hand and giving me kisses, he really cares about me a lot.  And that made me happier than any concert ever could.

Getting Back to Basics

This week, I drew pictures at work.

Ok, I drew map lines on aerial photos.  It was actually a really good thing to do, though.  Sure I got frustrated and annoyed, and yeah, maybe I got distracted and stared out the window for a while, but it allowed me to take a step back, look at the bigger picture.

I spent some time doing the same with respect to my relationship this week as well.  Last week at this time, I was really really mad at Matt.  He was being a jerk, I was being a pissed off jerk, and when he left for work that evening we were still angry with each other.  After he left, I went to walk it off, and the peace and quiet did manage to calm me down a little bit.  When I got back I had 3 text messages on my phone, abounding with apologies and promises to do better.  Later he told me that he was worried when I didn’t respond right away, but he felt better when I explained that I was on a walk and didn’t take my phone with me.  Now, a week later, I’m not even sure I remember exactly what I was mad at him for in the first place.

It was really great to be able to spend more time with him this week, something I don’t normally get to do during field season.  But this week was special.  I made reservations to go to dinner on Tuesday at a nice Italian restaurant that I had bought some half price gift certificates for a while back (this was before Matt bought the ones to the French restaurant; Also, I was going to bring my camera but he wouldn’t let me).  That evening the monsoons kicked into high gear and it poured and poured.  Albuquerque has a fairly decent drainage system but the way the roads are set up is not very conducive to massive downpours, so it took Matt an hour just to get to my house.  When he got there, he was all wet, but I was happy because he was dressed nicely in a dark blue polo shirt and khaki pants.  I gave him a hug and his shirt was soft.  Wet, but soft.  I liked it.

He came in all excited because water was rushing down the arroyos (ABQ’s drainage system, as mentioned above) and he wanted to show me.  So we went outside (it had mostly stopped raining by this point; our monsoons are intense but short) and looked down at the water in the arroyos.  It was pretty full of sediment, and reminded me of the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  We stood there and watched the water moving for a while.  The air smelled fresh and clean.

We went to dinner after that and it was a-maz-ing.  We both got the ribeye steak, thinking it would be just a little amount.  No.  It was a huge piece of meat, cooked perfectly, and oh so delicious.  It came with risotto and some of the yummiest asparagus I’ve ever had.  After dinner, we stood outside in the cool rain (it started again) and listened to the jazz band playing in the bar.  It was a really great night.

We got to spend Wednesday together too, to go to the Tool concert, which was also loads of fun, but I’ll save that part for later.

At a Loss for Words

I’d make a post today but I’ve got to get ready to go see these guys.

I admit, the video is a bit trippy.  But the music… oh so good.

Back in the Real World

Normally, at this time, I would be sitting on the balcony of this hotel, drinking cheap, crappy beer with these people.

But not this week.  This week I opted to take a week in the office in order to take care of some personal business… namely, go to a Tool concert.  This is not something you pass up.

But it’s weird not being out in the field.  I’ve come to realize that office work is really not my thing.  As tired as I get, or as frustrated as I get, the field is still a million times better than sitting in the office.  And I’m already going crazy.  Luckily, I don’t have to enter data.  Blah.  I’m looking at my maps and planning field work for the rest of the summer, making appointments to get my new special ID pass, and getting the four-wheel drive on the Suburban fixed.  Etc. Etc.

So… work is ok.  But what I was really looking forward to was spending some more time with Matt.  And I think he wanted to see me too, but I often find myself competing with the other love in his life… airplanes.  If he’s not on flight simulator, he’s on Ebay looking for the best deals on model airplanes.  He already has a collection stacked up to the ceiling.  When we go to the bookstore, he will spend the entire time looking at airplane books.  I’m glad he has something he’s so interested in, but sometimes it just drives me crazy!

So today, he said he’d come over and go swimming with me before he went to work, but this afternoon he sent me a text saying, sorry, he was just getting to bed and wouldn’t be able to come over.  Why was he just getting to bed?  Because he wasn’t tired earlier and decided to play on his computer all morning instead of sleeping.  Nice.

All right.  Okay.  Whatever.  I just took an extra half hour at work, came home and made a fantastic (and healthy!) pasta dinner from my new cookbook, watched a movie, and then was planning to go swimming.  But New Mexico has a fun summer weather event called monsoon season, so it rained, with thunder and lightning, and I did not get to go swimming.  Boo.

Instead, I talked to my brother on the phone.  He called to inform me that my sister was going on a date with a guy from her art class and my parents were freaking out.  Things like that make me glad I have my adult freedoms.  I like doing what I want when I want.  And my apartment is messy but I don’t see any parents or roommates so who cares!

And I can watch silly reality shows like Dating in the Dark without anyone thinking I’m weird or making fun of me.  That’s what I’m off to do now.  Bye.

What’s been goin on

I left work early today and decided it would be a fantastic idea to eat an entire $5 footlong.  Yeah, not really so fantastic.  So, my tummy is not really in the mood for me to sit up and write an entire full-blown post right now.  Instead, I will just post some pictures.  Because who doesn’t like pictures?

These are a continuation of photos from my trip to Michigan.  My sister and I went downtown to eat gelato and take pictures for her art installation project.  Here’s some of what we came up with.

we liked this one because it says ERECTED in honor of the men... we are very mature

downtown ann arbor. this one wasn't for the project; it was just for me.

this is her finished product. can you see a theme?

I took my own picture of a circle as well.  Starring Jazmine.  I call it the ciiirrrrcle of miiiiiiiice!  (think of the tune to the circle of life from lion king)

We also went back to the cottage and took a kayaking trip down a really pretty creek.

On the flight home, I took some pictures out the window.  This one was for Matt.

This is flying out somewhere above Kansas City.

Shortly after this it started getting dark so I couldn’t get any more pictures, but we flew next to a thunderstorm, which was really cool to see.  Being above the clouds as they produced continuous bolts of lightning was crazy, scary and beautiful.  Just another little thing reminding me why I do what I do as an earth scientist.  Totally awesome.

A Year in the Life

One year ago today I officially started my new job in Albuquerque.  It seems so weird that it’s been a year already.  Time has gone by so fast.  So many things have changed this year.  I’m a real scientist, getting a paycheck for doing what I’ve wanted to do since college, and I’m starting to form an idea of what I want to do with my career in the future.  I really would like to get into geology research.  It will take some time and extra planning efforts on my part but I know that if it’s something I really want, I’ll make it happen.  I have so far, and it really has worked out incredibly well for me.  I met a wonderful person who cares about me very much, and I’ve met some nice new people at work as well.  (If only they lived a little closer, as in the same city/state as me, it would be better)

But right now I’m not at work.  I’m on vacation!  I am in an exotic place called Michigan, visiting my family.  We spent the weekend at our cottage on the lake, boating and kayaking, eating and watching fireworks.  In a way, it’s like I’ve come full circle doing exactly what I was doing a year ago.

I don’t have all that much more to say about it.  It’s just really good to be home for a little while, away from the week-to-week, day-to-day, packing, waking up at 6, hiking and digging for 10-11 hours, collapsing, unpacking, starting all over again.  Not that I hate it, or even dislike it.  It’s just really really good to have a vacation.  Everyone needs one of those.

Here’s some photographic highlights of what I’ve been doing so far.  If you have never been to Michigan, it’s actually a pretty nice place.

my sister and me, boating and blue moon

The best restaurant in Ann Arbor

dinner! (at aforementioned restaurant)

A Quick Hello and a Cool, Fun Award Game!

I’m leaving on an airplane early tomorrow morning and there is still much to do but I got this nifty award thingymadoodle from Chloe at My Happy Ending and want to play the award game.

I’m supposed to tell you 7 things you don’t know about me and then pass the award along to 7 other people.  So, here goes….

1.  My brother, sister and I look nothing alike.  But we are related!  Really!

2.  I get really bored watching action movies, and I don’t know why.

3.  I am not a good artist but I’m crafty.  I really enjoy scrapbooking and decorating and am excellent at making poster and powerpoint presentations.

4.  When I was in college, my friend Marie and I had a picnic in an elevator.

5.  My first week in geology class, I absolutely hated it!  (it was topo map week.  do not start off geo 101 lab with topo maps)

6.  I took piano lessons for 10 years.

7.  The year that I was editor of my college newspaper, student congress shut it down because we did not make enough money in subscriptions and ad sales.  That was my first personal experience with “politics.”

And now, for the award winners….

1.  Rachel from Dreaming of the Country: She’s from Wales, goes on adventures to cool looking places, and posts tasty looking recipes on her blog

2.  Off Black: This guy is from New Zealand (which I very much want to visit someday), he likes airplanes, and has an adorable little daughter

3.  Jen from Sprite’s Keeper:  She’s funny and creative, and hosts the weekly spin cycle, which is always a lot of fun and a great way to get some new reading material

4.  Epicute:  This blog is freaking adorable, and delicious!

5.  Jeanne Winters:  This blog helps me with my crafty side.  I’ve actually done a couple of the projects on here; they’re pretty simple to do and really cute!

6.  A Field Journal:  The projects on here are also very neat!

7.  Katie from Marriage Confessions: My blog was just some silly little thing I decided to write before I came across this one.  From here, I began to create my “blog network.”  Her blog is really cool, too!

OK!  Back to work!