TDLP Encounter: 1/2
Currently listening to Our Hearts Hero. You should be too...
Friday, making the transfer from Detroit to Ann Arbor was a little nerve wracking. I almost missed the bus, and nearly had a heart attack. If I was finna end up stuck in Detroit, I would have cried really hard. I would have traveled almost seventeen hours and not made the last hour so that I could see The Dry Leaf Project...that would have sucked. Thankfully, I made the transfer by the skin of my teeth. I awkwardly boarded the bus with my guitar strapped to my back and my backpack dragging behind. I was beaming and my heart was racing. Finally, I was back in Michigan, only this time, I was there to see the band that had the most influence over my life to date. I ran through every emotion possible in my head and wore myself down. There was just so much stress from home I was running away from and didn't want to remember. I was just trying my hardest to ferget it all. Thus I shut my eyes, braced myself, and opened them to find myself calling fer a cab to get me from the Ann Arbor station.
Arriving in Ann Arbor was like a sense of relief. I was here. No matter what happened, I was here. There could have been a million things wrong at that moment (and with the way my phone was going off, there really were too many things wrong), but all of that just dissipated into this calm. It was like stepping into another world as the cab drove past Michigan stadium. I saw parts of Downtown and marveled at how much Michigan was like home, but in a much cozier way. No one was rushing. No one looked at me like I was a loon. I was tired and weary, but it was well worth it.
I arrived at the hotel and just walking through the door made me want to collapse into the bed. I dropped everything and it fell with a thud to the ground. I was done my traveling until about six or so that evening when Kelly would be picking me up with her friends. I didn't want to sit down or anything. I just wanted to sleep and wake to the voices of angels. I was so happy to just be in Michigan, there were still no words to describe. I smiled and made small talk with the ladies at the reception area, casually slipped away from making a super exciting conversation continue, and took my key, heading straight fer the room on the first floor. I took a shower first, and then I nestled myself into bed and just slept for a little bit. Around 4.30 I woke up and texted Kelly to let her know I was awake. Around six o'clock, she texted me to let me know that she was on her way. I was getting anxious and really really nervous.
When Kelly got to the hotel and I saw her come out of the car, I nearly died on the inside. She was sooo beautiful. Her pictures do her no justice. I have always thought her to be gorgeous, but in person...WOW. I hugged her, and she popped the trunk so I could load "Matt Suchan" (my new acoustic-electric Ovation Applause guitar) in and get it signed. I crawled into the back seat and got introduced to Elise, another genuinely incredibly beautiful girl, and Moaty, who the kiddies at the venue called "Jesus." We stopped and got some McDonald's, although I soon discovered I wasn't as hungry as I normally am. Elise baked these cookies that looked really good. It sucks that I'm allergic to chocolate. We rode an HOUR AND A HALF up to Montrose, MI. On our way there, we listened to some of Elise's iPods, and made a dance video on her Mac. Maddy texted Kelly to tell her that the church was wicked small. Elise and Kelly groaned a bit and then when we got there, we all started cracking up, cos there was a dirt road, and the kids were blowing up balloons. They were like, "it's a birthday party!" and chuckled a bit. We crawled out of the car and I grabbed my guitar, and headed inside.
We went in through the side door, and I sort of lagged behind a bit, cos I was FREAKING OUT on the inside. I looked up from staring at my feet and saw Ryan Scott Graham. THE Ryan Scott Graham. I really did feel like dying right then and there. I saw a whole bunch of people in the room and everyone was all spread out, but to my left in chairs were Drew of the original GLV, Evan Baker, Jen, and Wasim with John. Right behind Ryan was Maddy at the merch table with Jordan Baker. I could care less how small the venue was at this point, I was just so happy to be here. Ryan started walking towards me, and Kelly was finna introduce us, but I like kinda awkwardly stuck out my hand at Ryan. Instead, he hugged me, and I got a little shaky. This was flippin Ryan Graham. I still couldn't believe it. Then Kelly showed me around and I said hello to everyone. I met Jen Wagner, and was so happy on the inside. Wasim figured out who I was from MySpace and said "hello" as well. Kelly pointed me in the direction of the stage and I just froze up a bit. Matt Suchan was up there. It was Matt Suchan. It was like I had tunnel vision and I didn't even know what to do with the surge of emotions I felt on the inside. I seriously thought my body was finna shut down and collapse. I still had my guitar strapped to my back, and just kinda stood on the edge of the stage. Kelly went over and gave Matt a hug, but I just kinda gawked. Then he gave me a hug, and I was on the verge of tears. I couldn't stop smiling. I saw Jamie Dear, and hugged him, which was pretty sweet, too. He has the most awesome smile. Then I saw Richie. He came over and gave me a hug, while I felt my head press into the neck of my guitar. "Nice to finally meet you," he said. I still couldn't wrap this moment around my head and savored it. I was going to remember every image; every smell; every feeling; everything.
I went back by the merch table and set my guitar down. I asked Maddy fer a silver sharpie, and lo and behold, she had one. I was super stoked, and asked her to sign it first. She was like, "You want me to sign it?" I just nodded slowly and beamed at her. She signed it and was like, "this is cool." I went around and got everyone to sign it. There were remarks like, "we really aren't that cool, ya know." I just looked at them like they'd lost their mind. They were really insanely huge to me, and I didn't know what I could have said to convince them otherwise. I just was really happy to finally meet everyone and was so stoked to get a break from the chaos of home.
Tis this conclude part One of prolly two.
Friday, making the transfer from Detroit to Ann Arbor was a little nerve wracking. I almost missed the bus, and nearly had a heart attack. If I was finna end up stuck in Detroit, I would have cried really hard. I would have traveled almost seventeen hours and not made the last hour so that I could see The Dry Leaf Project...that would have sucked. Thankfully, I made the transfer by the skin of my teeth. I awkwardly boarded the bus with my guitar strapped to my back and my backpack dragging behind. I was beaming and my heart was racing. Finally, I was back in Michigan, only this time, I was there to see the band that had the most influence over my life to date. I ran through every emotion possible in my head and wore myself down. There was just so much stress from home I was running away from and didn't want to remember. I was just trying my hardest to ferget it all. Thus I shut my eyes, braced myself, and opened them to find myself calling fer a cab to get me from the Ann Arbor station.
Arriving in Ann Arbor was like a sense of relief. I was here. No matter what happened, I was here. There could have been a million things wrong at that moment (and with the way my phone was going off, there really were too many things wrong), but all of that just dissipated into this calm. It was like stepping into another world as the cab drove past Michigan stadium. I saw parts of Downtown and marveled at how much Michigan was like home, but in a much cozier way. No one was rushing. No one looked at me like I was a loon. I was tired and weary, but it was well worth it.
I arrived at the hotel and just walking through the door made me want to collapse into the bed. I dropped everything and it fell with a thud to the ground. I was done my traveling until about six or so that evening when Kelly would be picking me up with her friends. I didn't want to sit down or anything. I just wanted to sleep and wake to the voices of angels. I was so happy to just be in Michigan, there were still no words to describe. I smiled and made small talk with the ladies at the reception area, casually slipped away from making a super exciting conversation continue, and took my key, heading straight fer the room on the first floor. I took a shower first, and then I nestled myself into bed and just slept for a little bit. Around 4.30 I woke up and texted Kelly to let her know I was awake. Around six o'clock, she texted me to let me know that she was on her way. I was getting anxious and really really nervous.
When Kelly got to the hotel and I saw her come out of the car, I nearly died on the inside. She was sooo beautiful. Her pictures do her no justice. I have always thought her to be gorgeous, but in person...WOW. I hugged her, and she popped the trunk so I could load "Matt Suchan" (my new acoustic-electric Ovation Applause guitar) in and get it signed. I crawled into the back seat and got introduced to Elise, another genuinely incredibly beautiful girl, and Moaty, who the kiddies at the venue called "Jesus." We stopped and got some McDonald's, although I soon discovered I wasn't as hungry as I normally am. Elise baked these cookies that looked really good. It sucks that I'm allergic to chocolate. We rode an HOUR AND A HALF up to Montrose, MI. On our way there, we listened to some of Elise's iPods, and made a dance video on her Mac. Maddy texted Kelly to tell her that the church was wicked small. Elise and Kelly groaned a bit and then when we got there, we all started cracking up, cos there was a dirt road, and the kids were blowing up balloons. They were like, "it's a birthday party!" and chuckled a bit. We crawled out of the car and I grabbed my guitar, and headed inside.
We went in through the side door, and I sort of lagged behind a bit, cos I was FREAKING OUT on the inside. I looked up from staring at my feet and saw Ryan Scott Graham. THE Ryan Scott Graham. I really did feel like dying right then and there. I saw a whole bunch of people in the room and everyone was all spread out, but to my left in chairs were Drew of the original GLV, Evan Baker, Jen, and Wasim with John. Right behind Ryan was Maddy at the merch table with Jordan Baker. I could care less how small the venue was at this point, I was just so happy to be here. Ryan started walking towards me, and Kelly was finna introduce us, but I like kinda awkwardly stuck out my hand at Ryan. Instead, he hugged me, and I got a little shaky. This was flippin Ryan Graham. I still couldn't believe it. Then Kelly showed me around and I said hello to everyone. I met Jen Wagner, and was so happy on the inside. Wasim figured out who I was from MySpace and said "hello" as well. Kelly pointed me in the direction of the stage and I just froze up a bit. Matt Suchan was up there. It was Matt Suchan. It was like I had tunnel vision and I didn't even know what to do with the surge of emotions I felt on the inside. I seriously thought my body was finna shut down and collapse. I still had my guitar strapped to my back, and just kinda stood on the edge of the stage. Kelly went over and gave Matt a hug, but I just kinda gawked. Then he gave me a hug, and I was on the verge of tears. I couldn't stop smiling. I saw Jamie Dear, and hugged him, which was pretty sweet, too. He has the most awesome smile. Then I saw Richie. He came over and gave me a hug, while I felt my head press into the neck of my guitar. "Nice to finally meet you," he said. I still couldn't wrap this moment around my head and savored it. I was going to remember every image; every smell; every feeling; everything.
I went back by the merch table and set my guitar down. I asked Maddy fer a silver sharpie, and lo and behold, she had one. I was super stoked, and asked her to sign it first. She was like, "You want me to sign it?" I just nodded slowly and beamed at her. She signed it and was like, "this is cool." I went around and got everyone to sign it. There were remarks like, "we really aren't that cool, ya know." I just looked at them like they'd lost their mind. They were really insanely huge to me, and I didn't know what I could have said to convince them otherwise. I just was really happy to finally meet everyone and was so stoked to get a break from the chaos of home.
Tis this conclude part One of prolly two.
posted by Giggles at
3:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home