IT'S MADDOW TIME, BABY!

There is one question that is asked each week night in my house, usually by me;
"When are we going to watch Rachel Maddow?"

You know, the smartest/wittiest/cutest openly gay political commentator and host on MSNBC?

You know, the woman that takes her gin & tonic with four limes just like myself?

(so excited when I found THAT out!)

PLEASE TELL ME YOU KNOW.

This started just over a few weeks ago. My counterpart stated something about how he was a fan of Rachel Maddow, but I had never seen the show air in our house. I believe the first time I had my eyes glued on Ms. Maddow was during the coverage of the earthquake that had taken place in Japan in March. This was probably the most exhilarating coverage that I saw of the quake and perhaps the least sad while being the most informative. I was hooked from the start when she showed us pictures of the most adorable little uranium pellets and shiny fuel rods. Finally! An inside look at what every news reporter had been talking about, but not showing to us. Before this aired, I kept stating to Eric how I wanted to go in one of these plants ASAP to look around, I'm a visual learner, gotta give me the visuals! I was quite fond of how I actually took notes on nuclear energy while watching her show. I loved it. I loved her (seriously messing with my straight vibes, Maddow). She reminded me of the new 2011 Tessa or I remind myself of her is probably best put. It's like how I've been putting it to everyone, I've acquired this thirst that I cannot seem to quench when it comes to learning. I feel so many people have become complacent in being ignorant and that does not necessarily pertain to a specific age bracket. I feel the only way to truly keep yourself alive is to keep filling yourself with new insight and knowledge. I feel that we are truly vessels, we need to be continuously filled because we're constantly (if you're doing it right) releasing information, and as more gets dispersed, more needs to be absorbed. I think the two best things you can share are music and opinions. Without them, I'd be destitute. I feel she has same spark to her. Actually, I KNOW she's got that same spark to her. She is a whip. There is no other way to put it. You can watch the video of her presenting the process of a nuclear reactor and you can see the visuals! Put on your thinking cap, yo!

I have no idea what it is about her. It's driving me crazy in the best way ever. As my friend Brooke said it (so glad I know another avid Maddow fan) "I don't know if she's brainwashing me or if she's the smartest person ever because I seriously agree with EVERYTHING she says." Oh hey, Liberal Brooke! That's exactly how I feel when I watch her show. I love that I go over the range of emotions during the course of the program. Lately, watching more of Michigan's industrial towns collapse & crumble while simultaneous school closings loom on the horizon in other parts of the state as they try to push them off to private charter companies just makes me angry. Is this the beginning of the end for public education in America? Watching this particular segment got me all fired up. I felt like marching-no, no RUNNING to Michigan to help those girls protest to KEEP THEIR SCHOOL OPEN. When did that become an arrest-able offense?

I was talking to a girl about this at work the other day and found myself shouting by the end of it. It's kind of how I end up reporting all my news to people. So less about what I see on the air, and more about the real focus of this entry (...?)

So it gets me thinking; (wait, do you smell a girl power story coming?)

I've been watching this show avidly for the past few weeks and it got me thinking; what makes THIS show different? She definitely holds an allure. Today kind of put it all in perspective as I saw this article pop up on the tweet deck. It goes on to say how she feels that people that are gay and closeted have a responsibility to come out, especially as an anchor and especially to strengthen the community. Seeing how much respectable intelligence she has oozing from her (sorry, bad imagery?) it makes me wonder, could someone else pull this off? Say a bleach blonde? I wonder if the appeal is in the fact that a). She's gay and b). she has a bit of masculine appearance (although, she's adorable)- but does this make facts ring more true? It just kind of gets me down on women again. HA HA HA HA. No but for real, it just makes me sad. Think of all the adorable little news anchors out there;

Seriously. You're not going to go into work talking about what any of these women were newsing about.

It's sad and it's true.

I feel that Maddow is where she is because she goes about it in a whole different way. I feel that blonde/attractive/straight laced anchors typically reduce themselves to entertainment reporting or views that are so in-your-face to the right or left that it just becomes hilarious. It's not because they are not smart, it's probably more the case of no one is letting them run with it. You lose the focus when the news is there, because the style of reporting is exceptionally "air-y". There are some amazing women journalists and opinion contributors, but will the bleach blonde ever be explaining fission and nuclear meltdowns on her own show?The only answer here is, hopefully. Perhaps, I'm being too harsh, or not really informed on the spectrum of reporting that blondes do, but I feel like based on what I see, it holds a bit of truth. I feel like does not occur commonly because because they don't allow themselves to be put in that position. It's kind of like when I was in a meteorology class and my teacher said "You should definitely look into broadcast, you know enough about weather and you've definitely got the look for it." Totally flattering, but I'll take the painstaking science over the bubbly anchor position.It wasn't that I was rejecting being on a news program and giving the weather report, it was irritating because that is what I was being reduced to. I don't want to just know about the basics and report on dew points and strong winds, I want to know the embedded purpose for it happening. I want to be out there chasing the storm, learning more about the new emerges that come from it all.

 For some news anchors, hardcore journalism doesn't come with the job, simply reporting it, does. This kind of goes back to my last post about dying your hair from blonde to brunette in order to be taken more seriously. I get it, I really do. I feel like if I did have a show I would have to wear my glasses in order to get a point across but at the end of the day I thought Legally Blonde would have done more for us. I remember hearing a tid-bit somewhere about how women news anchors struggle immensely with trying to fit in the "serious" bubble, while also maintaining attractiveness to rope in viewers. Women anchors will be taken more seriously if less attractive or if they have hair of a darker colour, however, if they are not as attractive as their competitors, they may lose viewers...? This sounds ass backwards, but it's the fire that female broadcasters have to juggle. I kind of feel like Rachel Maddow was given all allocations to skip over all of this. Like perhaps this time being gay worked out big on the advantages here, while I'm sure it may have hindered her in other ways.

If you haven't seen, Rachel Maddow has a male twin. I am so glad others are buzzing about this on the interwebs, because it's a good spectacle. Chris Hayes or Brother Maddow?

First glance you're like..."wait...what?!"

I remember last Friday she was out and he covered for her and I was in the kitchen bopping around and I hear the same Maddow inflections, but it's a male. Definitely a male. It was hilarious because I almost cannot watch it. I know- you would THINK them being the same would make it easy for me to watch, but I just find it too odd. I feel like when he covers for her show Rachel is at home watching going "Uh huh, thatttt's right, very good."

You can watch him cover for her

At the end of the day, she completely inspires me. It is SO great to have smart females have such strong voices in the media. I love trying to sway republican males in their 50's to get hooked on the show. It's always a hoot. I can only hope for more females to hold these hard hitting journalistic positions. I wonder if she needs any interns?? (I will write in artichoke juice) PICK ME! PICK ME!

Tune into MSNBC weeknights @ 8/9pm

looks like I fell in the "no inspiration" tunnel.

i n s p i r a t i o n   sslllummmppp.

I have a little (a very little) desire to write up a few words. My mind has been going over a particular tidbit for the past week or so I thought I'd finally put it out there. Awhile back, my friend Laura and I were talking about Tron/Olivia Wilde. I know very little about both, but she went on to tell me more about the star and she said that she is actually a natural blonde but dyes her hair lighter so that people will think she is smarter. For the more direct quote;

"... I'm a natural blonde, but I feel like a brunette. I feel like people treat me now how I should be treated. People used to be shocked, when I was blond, that I wasn't stupid. I used to get these comments that I swear people thought were compliments. Like, 'Oh! You're smart!' - like they couldn't believe it."

Here are my thoughts on this. Did you ask? No. Do you care? Maybe.

Okay, Olivia so you're a natural blonde. You're in the low percentile when it comes to being born with what others vie over. Here you are dying it because you're concerned that people will treat you like you're stupid or think you are less intelligent upon meeting them? GOOD. LET THEM. The advantage is all yours here. I get it, I understand you need the darker hair to feel like you come off in a more intelligent light and I get that having dark hair maybe makes you feel more "sultry" and "jaded", but learn how to play the cards.

I would much rather have people constantly underestimating me while I turn around and refute what they have to say or strike up a more riveting conversation. I would love for people to think that I was inept while really I'm in a state of perpetual competence. This can only work to your benefit. I would love it to constantly blow people out of the water while they were teaching me how to swim along the shore. I'm not trying to say that my capacity for knowledge is "blowing you out of the water" worthy, I'm just trying to make a point. Blondes don't have to be desirable because of reasons that might dumb them down a bit, but hopefully they will become more desirable for the "secret wisdom" they've obtained and concealed.

So today, I met with Laura and had lunch. I have been wearing my thick rimmed glasses lately, sporting a change, and adding some character. Which to me, is just that; adding character. I have always loved wearing fake glasses and everyone has always thought they are real (obviously, who doubts poor vision?) I told her about what I was writing about and I said, can I refute this? She said, "Yes." So I did. Glasses have always given off that smart, nerdy vibe. I can dig that, but wearing them doesn't make me smarter. Neither does dying your hair. Although, sure I guess it's fun to pretend.

So on the topic of hair colour. I was watching something that was aired on CBS and during the commercial break, a commercial for the 10pm news came on. The words that came from his mouth were something along the lines of  "How more women are going grey and can you do it right?" WHAT? Oh, looks like the women of the suburbs have had a radical change in their view towards grey hair. Why does this have to be a trend? Why couldn't we embrace this like...forever ago? And who inspired this all of a sudden? Glenn Close? Helen Mirren? The Queen? Seriously. So I didn't have to watch the news story to muster up an opinion about this. So normally, when one dyes their hair, they do it to accomplish what nature could never and will never be able to give them. Like me for instance, I can dye my hair black (Oh, I'm never doing that again) because I know that a single black hair will never sprout from my little head. It make sense. However, I know that if I put in a good 25 more years of living (or find a career where I stress myself out immensely), I will sprout Grey hairs atop my cabeza (head in espanol, yo!). So why would you go about dying it instead of just letting the natural phenomenon streak on in naturally? I am so amped on the idea of grey hair. Although, this may view may change when I'm that age, but I can't see further damaging my hair for something that will come in due time. Wait it out ladies, let those silver fox strands grow in on their own.

The Rock Island girl that rocked the house.

I'm still wearing my cloak of excitement from last night and it look it looks fabulous!

I cannot believe it happened. Did it? Yeah. There are pictures. No pinching necessary here.

My girl, Brooke, told me about a FREE Lissie show going down at Reggie's. Um...FREE? Hell, I paid for tickets to see her at Lincoln Hall back in January and didn't end up making it. I didn't really mind that I lost money on this one, I don't mind contributing to Lissie's music one bit. So I scooped up the offer for this gem, made the trek to her casa, and hopped in the car to go nice and early. We arrived to meet her friend, Dana, around 4:30 or so. The place was still pretty empty, so we were able to snag a huge booth right off the side of the stage. Appetizers are half off on Wednesdays and my Margarita was $5. I felt like the money-saving gods where whispering my name and pouring my drinks.

So I go out to snag a cigarette and of course Lissie was out front being her cool rock star self chatting nicely (ABOUT XRT! duh HUGE ear perk) with people. I genuinely wanted to smoke, but I genuinely wanted to tell her that I'd been waiting for her to be played on XRT since I've heard music escape her mouth sometime early last year. So I puff, puff, put that shit out, and made my way over. I stood behind friends she knew when she diverted the attention to me. Opps. So I said "Hey, I'm a huge fan, you'd be perfect on XRT, I tweet both of you guys all the time, so I hope you get played soon!" I'm telling you, this girl is so freaking adorable and genuine and totally tubular.

So back inside, the crowd and excitement were growing and my sobriety was somewhere in the mix when these three older women sat down at the table in front of us. My first thought was "Hell yeah! I knew I should have told my mom about this artist...teehee hipsters".

Sound check came and went. Why do they never say "Check Check Czechoslovakia"? or "Check Check Checkmate"? I've been wondering that for too many years now. This was an XRT show. I'm sure you know what that means to me. I knew there would be a DJ in the house somewhere. AH HA! I saw Marty Lennartz from a mile away. I wanted to go up to him so badly, ask him about what it was like to work there, ask him to get me a job and then just stick with that topic for 30 minutes, but I didn't. Why? I don't know at all ::kicking myself:: I am so revved that Lissie is trying to get her stuff out on such an amazing station. Lissie reminds me of a really early Melissa Etheridge (no...not that kind, Brooke). I love that. Some of her pictures even confirm that...

 

So Marty Lennartz announced her on stage and a wonderful hour and a half ensued. She played an 11 song show I believe; Wedding Bells, Worried About, When I'm Alone, Bully, Little Lovin', Record Collector, In Sleep, Cuckoo, Everywhere I Go, Oh Mississippi, and Kid Cudi's Pursuit Of Happiness. This was an amazing set. I love all of her songs, especially her Lady Gaga cover of Bad Romance.  I had never heard Kid Cudi's song or heard Lissie's cover of it somehow. I ABSOLUTELY fell in love with it and upon hearing it last night. You better believe I got it today. I've decided a skating routine needs to get choreographed to this song immediately. I just love the way she sings this. It's a perfect cover, especially because I feel like she would heavily relate to this song. I want to tell the world about this song. The way she went into it below is very similar to the clip below and that was thanks to Brooke. I want to tell the world about how awesome Lissie is. She gives off this exuberance.You can tell she loves what she does and that she worked her ass off to get where she is. She is so real and you can definitely tell she's from the Midwest. Poor girl's bus driver took off in Finland with her equipment, they had to rent her gear. She rocked it and there were no need for apologies, but I loved the guitar tuning session where she went into the end of "part of "Little Lovin" and I belted out the "WOAH OH OH OH OH OHHHH!" to go along with it. Sorry crowd, couldn't resist! And yeah, I'll consider that a duet!

I also thought it was vital to shout at the crowd for being stiff as boards. This was a dancing show, my friends. Start acting like it.

Listen to how rad this chick is live:

"Pursuit of Happiness"

Kid Cudi Cover

So back to those three older women that were seated in front of us. Well, before Lissie played Bully, I believe that is when she announced her mom was in the audience. Two of the women pointed at one of them and I was so stoked! I couldn't believe it. I (like a huge creep) put my hand on her back and said "You must be so proud!" and she was like "We are!" One of her two best girlfriends was dancing around with us and was so excited we were such big fans. Before Lissie performed Pursuit of Happiness, Brooke bought her a shot of tequila because that her thang.

I got a few pictures, but since I have a temp phone, they aren't really worth posting in the slightest. However, I did snag this-

Okay. So let it be noted that when I get excited, it tends to show in my gums.

She looks adorable here! I look frightening, but what are ya gonna do?

please please please go buy "Catching A Tiger" and then go on a long drive on a country road with your best girlfriend. You will not regret it!

I cannot even believe that all happened. Then after the concert they hosted karaoke. The cool part was that it featured a live band, the unfortunate part was that you had to read the lyrics off a sheet, but it's worth it to have the band behind you. I had never done karaoke before and their selection was really limited, but I ended up doing "Me and Bobby McGee". I really, really enjoyed myself! I love performing, but have never sang in front of people before. Hopefully there were no bleeding ears! Ew, that grosses me out. I don't know why I wrote that.

Gosh. What a fantastic night! Now Common XRT! Play her!

-Tessa

Thank god! The seduction is back!

The other day, a miraculous little tweet left my fingers and jet-setted its way through the webs. I had shared that my first subscribed issue of POP magazine came. As I pulled the twice a year mag from the mailbox in all my glory, I stared longingly at the cover, and then wished I had gotten the Elton John cover shot.

I kind of view magazines as an experience. I like to flip through the whole thing in one setting. I hate skipping ahead to articles, although skipping ahead to spreads is always so alluring, but I rarely let it happen. I made a rare exception when I received the Vogue with Natalie Portman on the cover and I had to see what she was saying about her experiences with Black Swan. Oh and I also skipped ahead to see the Lady Gaga spread (although I still haven't read that article yet...) in the March power issue. Whoops!

So when I got this magazine, I set it aside and whispered sweet nothings to the paper publication about how I would soon flip through the pages to reveal all of its glory. So it eventually happened and about 10 pages in (precisely) you find yourself staring at Tom Ford's brilliance. I'm so glad these ads are back. If you're not familiar, Tom Ford immerses his ads in sexuality and power. His newest ones happens to be one of my favorites, where you can see my latest inspiration;

I love this ad. It oozes with sexuality and seduction. It also makes me super stoked that I snagged a pair of huge thick rimmed glasses in Japan in November and I just knew I was doing the right thing. I can't even believe that women allow themselves to bitch about these ads. Tom Ford is a genius. He also typically portrays women with curves and the woman always appears confident as hell. The problem here is...? Sure these ads are racy, but that's good. We need that in fashion. Something to push the envelope and make people remember that women with bodies are doing way better than those without. I'd rather have full figured women, portrayed sexually but still exuding extreme confidence than an ad that inspires nothing.

Is anyone familiar with the show "Arrested Development"? Well, if you're not, you're crazy, and if you are well let's delve in; So you know how Lindsay is always whining about how she's being objectified? But then the moment that she's not she makes sure she goes out of her way to become objectified? Well I feel a lot of women are like that. I feel that women go out of their way to complain about ads like these;

don't worry, ladies. Men get to take it all off too!

okay, okay. I'll stop.

I'll leave you with this last one;

So what's the problem here? It's all properly being modeled. No falsies here, it's just...if these ads don't make you excited to be a woman...then...I don't know--THAT'S CRAZY! heh. You can just feel the power of seduction here and I can dig it. If these women are being objectified, SO WHAT. That's what they're getting paid for. These ads are hot and I'm so glad they are back. I remember reading about Tom Ford's comeback, I can't remember if it was in Vogue or not, but some woman commented about how she was disappointed and said something along the lines of "Tom Ford is back? What's the problem, he didn't make enough money off of women the first time around?" WHAT!? He is a fashion designer for both parties. So yeah, somewhere along the line he's going to be making money off of women, his ads just provoke people to do it. Clearly, it worked. Women feel sexy in Tom Fords clothing mostly likely because the women in his ads are sexy. It makes sense. I feel that owning a piece by Tom Ford would be very much like owning a pair of jet black Louboutin's. Right?

So again, thank you, Tom.

I feel like he is saying..."Why thank you."

You can pick up that vibe here, can't you?

the 23 year old with 6 phones.

Ah. Here I am, fresh faced after just over one week of being twenty three years of age.

Well, well, well. I have seemed to acquire one thing-a thirst. A thirst that I cannot seem to quench, which is really the best kind when you're not actually talking about being parched. I just mean I cannot seem to get enough of absorbing new ideas, learning how things work, and setting my standards a little higher. I don't know what that means, really. I'm not one to constantly measure my standards to see if they need adjusting. I think I just have that "Blair Waldorf" surge running through me at this moment (yeah, yeah, Gossip Girl reference) Describing yourself as Blair Waldorf is always a risk and most likely a huge stretch. She has this overwhelming desire to obtain a position of power; one that is all her own. She's also kind of bat shit crazy, but sometimes this is to her advantage when she tackles 595481 things at once. She just has her standards set-HIGH. I just feel like I'm working towards something, I can only hope that the future holds bigger and better things. 23 is so young-I'd like to think that there is still so much time to accomplish what I want, I just feel..behind. I'm not sure if it's necessarily "power" that I'm after, but I'd rather be influential. I'd like to be in a position that puts me in a comfortable place financially and emotionally. I'm adaptable as all hell, I just want to find something that provokes more drive.

I attempted to write this post on Tuesday and it is now Friday. I won't let this fact get me down. Today is April Fools Day and on this day last year you could find me near the stage at the Aragon watching Spoon. If it were four years ago you could find me calling my manager to put in my two weeks, in which she started crying. ha ha what a great day of trickery. This morning Google put out a hilarious joke and I'm trying to figure out what XRT announced this morning as their prank. One of my favourite websites, thinkgeek.com did their own fake merchandise that was actually extremely appealing. I'm bummed I couldn't think of something a tad more epic...or well, anything at all for April Fools Day! I'm sure I will think of something brilliant tomorrow. Of course.

In other news, my new ThunderBolt should be here sometime next week. After recently switching to Verizon, I initially chose the Droid X. Then four days later the ThunderBolt came out. The new 4G LTE amazingly fast blah blah blah phone that was so close to my old beloved evo. The phones I've had in the past year's time have been quite crazy. I'm a new technology snob/we switch providers all the time. I like it when my phone is efficient and fast just for the mere fact that I use it for many things. Meet the lineup

iPhone 3GS

I liked this phone a great deal and I remember upon receiving it I was out of my mind excited.

Eric got it for me after one week of dating (August 2009) because he always saw me eyeing his. This phone was super efficient and crisp. The OS got boring. I really like the iPhone, but I love android.

the Nexus One

I liked this phone. This was my first introduction to android. Eric let me use it to see if I would like it because we were planning on switching to the Evo. This phone was "cute". Much smaller than a lot of the other phones around. The buttons also made it difficult to use this phone. I was always hitting the wrong things due to bad placement/design. This was back in May of 2010.

The Evo 4G

Aw, then there was perfection. Almost. This is my favourite phone I've owned. Just holding it makes you feel majestic. It felt like a fine piece of technology that you had to have. The search on this phone sucks beyond believe. I've encountered so much frustration as to how it navigates the search. It's hard to explain unless you have the phone. I loved so many things about this phone. But then we switched to Verizon and after 6 months of having a phone I welcome change, so then I got this on June 6th 2010. The day it came out, I think. That was the goal. & no, I didn't wait in line for it.

The Droid X

This is what I chose when we went to Verizon. I like this phone, there was nothing really wrong with it, I just liked the Evo better. The ThunderBolt will pretty much be the Evo, but with faster LTE technology. So while we are ordering the ThunderBolt, I'm using;

BlackBerry Curve 8330

I actually kind of like this phone and how it is wired for business. I will only be using this for about a week or so.

ThunderBolt

One of the biggest reasons I got this phone is because since I'm still new on my plan I had a chance to get this phone for $125 instead of the outright purchase of $700. I decided to go for it since it was available. I'm anxious to get my HTC back, but I'm not looking forward to the shitty battery life.

I know it's a tad ridiculous to own this many devices in a year's time with three different carriers, but eh, what are you gonna do?

My Golden Age: Being 22

ALAS! This post is finally getting written. Settle in, suckers! It's going to be a longggg one! It has been building up in my mind and fingers for just over a month now. Now that it is here I'm a tad anxious (BIG TIME ANXIOUS).

As I review the post from this time last year, I can't help but think that it was an extremely weak lead up into turning 22. Maybe that's because I was being extremely naive about what the year would actually hold for me. I cannot even believe it it actually unfolded how it did. I want to always remember this year, so I'm here to summarize the hell out of it.

Of course, I turn to Lin Brehmer to really pull this whole thing off. When I first heard this

'"Lin's Bin" about what it meant to be 22

air a few months ago, I thought it was just by sheer luck. I was closing up in my shoppe, and perhaps I was there a little later than I should have been, and then it was time and I heard this ode to being 22. And I listened. And I cried. How was I going to part with this fabulous age full of the most amazing experiences? How was 23 going to be better than 22? I don't know what it is about this new age of 23, but I'm extremely finicky about it. Is it the number? Maybe I'm getting that irritating flashback of Blink-182 where they declare "Nobody likes you when you're 23!" It could be likely this feeling is provoked by people saying "being 23 sucks." It does kind of sound like a drag. I'm really trying to find a bright side to this. So here's to the year! Everything below stands out extremely vividly in my mind over the course of being 22. Of course it's in order! ;)

The New Living Situation (3/21)

I moved in with Eric a few days before my birthday, but I think officially the day before. It's the first time living away from my parents and it's been a really great experience. We've really made this space our own, even though it was a total bachelor pad. I have not "chick-ed" out his place and have kept it preeettttyyy neutral. But I have learned so much this year through living with Eric. I feel like a completely different person through all the things I've encountered & picked up from him. He got me hooked on a countless number of shows, politics, and technology. I couldn't be more thankful that I live with such an amazing person & I get to share my space with him each day. How fantastic!

The first show in order after turning 22 was Spoon on (4/1)

no pictures unfortunately (on an old phone). It was at the Aragon and we had a good spot. A great show, very similar to the New Years Eve show, except they included more songs because their new album was actually out by the time April came around. I love seeing Spoon with Eric just because he loves them and I love them and we just enjoy seeing them together a lot. He just has so much excitement when he sees them live and I like seeing that come through :)

Thom Yorke with Atoms For Peace was next show at the Aragon on (4/11)

I really wanted to be front row for this, but I knew it would be a tough feat. We ended up having pretty good spots, but we were back at the Aragon (It kind of felt like home last year). It was amazing, but that feels like an obvious statement because it's Thom Yorke we're talking about here. One of my favourite artists of all time, I couldn't believe I was seeing him live. I couldn't contain myself when he busted out some Radiohead. This was one of my birthday presents from Eric.

The next night was Florence + The Machine on (4/12) at the House of Blues

(review for both of these shows here)

Holy hell. I can't even believe this experience happened. LOOK HOW CLOSE I WAS! I went to this show with one of my best friends, Cady. You don't even understand the disappointment I feel when I know I will be missing her second show here in Chicago, but I know that this first show was the true primo experience. Two of my all time favourite artists back to back?! Something like that only happens if you're golden. Or if you're my mom and see Melissa Etheridge onenight and Madonna the next. That's pretty close too. Oh & I snagged the setlist ;)

On (4/22) we saw Passion Pit at Congress Theatre!

This show was righteous because it was on the 22nd of a month, so that was ideal.

The amount of kids on drugs at this show was almost overwhelming.

There were kids throwing up and passing out in all corners and in bathrooms.

It was just extremely odd. We were all the way in the back, but could see because we were on a platform. I'm just so glad they closed out with "Sleepyhead" because that song ruled my life for a solid month. I have to make a not here because the lead singer, Micheal Angelakos had a sinus infection and seriously sounded amazing. I was skeptical about seeing them live, but they're great.

on (5/20) we saw Metric at the Vic

Woohoo! I love Metric. I remember the first time Cady & I saw them a few months before at Cubby Bear we were going to start our own Metric Religion. I went with Eric to this show and he wasn't feeling the whole meshed in the crowd show thing so we headed up to the balcony. We parked it in front row all the way to the left. As soon as the music started I was up and dancing. Opps-I'm a crowd person, I need to dance exuberantly at shows. I continued to be the only one even standing, let alone dancing, which allowed Emily Haines and I to have a moment at the end where we pointed at each other from stage to balcony. It happened and it was beautiful. Emily Haines always makes me want to be a rock star.

A few days after on (5/29) we packed up

& flew down to Savannah, GA for a week to spend here & in Hilton Head

I had never been here before, but Eric had been many times as a kid & it's one if his favorite places. We rented a convertible and cruised all over Savannah and Hilton Head. I was so excited to get to see that place and he was happy to have shared those memories with me. We went during his birthday, so we were there until June 6th or so. Such a great vacation! I did a huge wrap up in this entry.

A few days after we returned we saw Phish at Toyota Park (6/11).

It was Eric's first Phish show if that says anything. I had seen them twice before. Both times with my brother and sister-in-law and this time Eric joined us. I love seeing Phish just because you can let loose and enjoy yourself, but it depends heavily on who is seated around you. Especially at this sort of venue. I remember camping out and going to see them a few summers ago. Ha, that was a wild experience. However, Phish played my DREAM SET on this particular night. Wolfman's Brother, David Bowie, Divided Sky, Golgi Apparatus, & Prince Caspian! Seeing them on this date was significant. I had seen them on 8/11/09. The day after I started dating Eric. But on this particular night we learned Eric doesn't dig live Phish in the most hilarious way ever. He totally fell asleep :( ha ha ha.

I saw Modest Mouse at Pitchfork on Friday (7/16)

They played a lot of good songs, I'm not really a huge fan of outdoor venues, depends heavily on the artist/crowd. It was similar to the show Eric and I saw awhile back of them at the Aragon. This show was one of the three tickets Eric got me for my birthday :)

Then one of the best nights ever happened; Natalie Merchant on (7/22)

I treated my mom to this one because she had initially turned me on to her music when I was a child. I wrote a huge review on the ticketmaster website. It will be the last one featured if you're interested in reading more about it. During "Kind & Generous" she called down from the stage to ask if my mom and I were "Mother and Daughter?" because we were dancing all over the place together. I snagged a setlist from this show as well. I just never ever thought I would see this artist live. I couldn't even fathom the idea, but when I got those tickets in the mail, it was almost surreal, and then seeing the marquee made it so official and wonderful!

A couple weeks after this was our one year :) (8/12)

and no, we don't like Starbucks coffee-we actually hate it, but that's just where it started :)

I didn't just make him the cookie. Eric got me this Arrested Development memorabilia.

Gob is my favourite character in the show and he uses this scarves in the episode "Missing Kitty". I couldn't even believe it when I opened it!

We spent a day in Chicago on (8/14)

We ate an amazing breakfast at Orange where I got this amazing Chai Tea French toast;

We also caught a Sox game, my first one with my die-hard sox fan of a companion.

He was at the World Series game where they won and enjoys the games immensely.

This is where I guess I was inducted into fan-ship on this day.

He even got me a shirt. I guess that makes it official.

In mid August, a furry friend arrived at our house!

His name is Toby! We took him in after a friend of mine needed a place for her cat to live.

We love him and are so glad we didn't pass up the opportunity! He is a great cat :)

On (9/22) I took a night flight out to Portland, OR to meet Eric

We had wanted to go to Portland together sometime soon, and then the opportunity arose for him to go on business. He did for the first half of the week and I flew out there on Wednesday night. It was an amazing trip. We went to a bunch of scenic spots, went out to the coast, drove up to Washington, stood in a Lahar, and just enjoyed the hell out of each other's company for 5 days. Wow, what an amazing trip to an amazing place. You just get this vibe there. It's a weird place and I hope it stays that way

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pictures: Mount St. Helens/Lahar, Yale Park (just a park we stopped at on the drive to Washington), I believe this was a sound we went to, Our hotel room at The Nines (I love this hotel), and Eric and I around in Portland. He's holding coffee from our favourite place out there, Public Doman.

In September I made a huge hair change when I took quite a few inches off.

I did it in my bathroom by myself. I cut it to above my shoulders and I am glad I did it.

I mean, I wish I still had long hair, but it was full of impossible layers. It needed to go one length.

The picture above is halfway. It happened in two stages. You'll see that below.

On (10/5) my Nephew was born.

Jack is the first baby I've ever held.

I couldn't have been more terrified.

October brought a lot of excitement!

I carved a pumpkin that was worthy of putting a candle in!

Eric and I made our third trip of the year by road-trippin out to DC for the Rally To Restore Sanity on (10/30) on the National Mall. He told me we were going as soon as it was announced and there was no objection. We are totally the couple that can be couped up for 10 hours in a car and not go nuts too. That helps. It was a really unique experience. I'm really glad we went.

On the way back home on (10/31) we went to both air and space museums.

I've been to the one at the Smithsonian, but not to the one in Virginia, where they have the good planes. So since it was only thirty minutes away and on the way home anyways, we made a pitstop. I got to see CONCHORDE up close and personal. I love that plane. We watched a documentary on it early in the year and it brought me to tears, I wish it was still in flight. I also got to see the SR-71 Blackbird. I believe it can get from L.A. to New York in 90 minutes. It could be less. It's no longer in flight, but it is such a beauty.

On (11/6) I spontaneously went on a trip with my father to Japan.

You can read more about how that happened HERE. I spent a 9 days there with family and it was such an exquisite experience! I got to see my niece for the first time and see that wonderful country! You can find an onslaught of pictures/summary HERE.

So after I came back from my adventure, it was smooth cruisin' in cookie world as I incorporated some Japanese & Chinese in one bouquet;

Thanksgiving and Christmas were both wonderful. We split them evenly between our families. It was a really good holiday season.

We ended the year on (12/31) with staying in the city.

We saw the Black Keys and stayed two nights at The Hotel Monaco in our favourite suite.

You can read about that whole weekend HERE.

That pretty much sums up everything big that we've done. When people ask me why it is I'm so sad to be 23, I tell them what I did when I was 22 and they join in with my mindset. I saw so many amazing artists, met some great people, learned so much about such a wide variety of things, and just have gained this sense of security that even though I don't know exactly what I'll do for the rest of my life, that I'll make my way. I feel so lucky to have experienced so many trips to different places all over this country and even internationally. I have grown in ways of what it is like to have to be responsible for keeping up a house.

I have learned three things while being 22 and will only continue to grow with this practice-

Ladies; Intelligence, Confidence, & Femininity are your three sharpest tools. Use them.

I have learned the perfect instance in which to just walk away.

I have learned to keep my mouth shut at the right time, but I have learned to speak up when I feel it's necessary or want to learn more on the subject.

I have learned a long walk can fix a lot.

I have learned that there is nothing quite like waking up next to your best friend everyday, but still longing to see them at the end of each work day.

There are many things that I have learned, but as long as I'm alive, that's going to keep happening. As Lin said, "expect suggestions...". I always will expect something from people, but if I get suggestions, let's just hope for good ones. I accept advice with open arms, but I'm careful on which bits to follow.

I'm not afraid of getting older, I just like the numerical appearance of 22. It was also, of course my Golden Year. The best year I've encountered. I can only hope 23 will go smoothly. I'm sure if I still have the momentum of everything that happened last year pushing me, then I will be just fine :)

-Tessa