AeroMo 06-28-09

What can I say? I lucked out. I did not want to spend $180 for my ticket. If I was going to spend that much, I wanted to at least WIN some of that money, it was, after all, a casino. I certainly did not want to LOSE any money, and then purchase a $180 ticket on top of that. But that's exactly what happened.

First time I went to the box office, they wanted to put me BEHIND the stage. I said screw that. Box Office is open til nine. I will check back. So at approximately 8:36 I walked up to a different box office window and asked the young woman, "whaddaya got?". She circled with a grease pen section 16, not bad, and then she said, but I do also have two on the floor. Section 2. I said, did they just become available? She said yes. I said, give me one. And so I was in Section 2, Row B (third row actually because they started with AA), seat 16. But I did not sit in my seat. I got seated, made friends with the two guys seated between me and the catwalk, spotted Ellen and struck up a conversation, and then with the coaxing of my two new friends and the confirmation from Ellen that it would be ok, I walked on over to the catwalk, where I stood for the entire show. This spot was nearly the same as the best seat I'd ever had up until now, which was Row L at the Dunk in Providence, also on the catwalk. But that was about ten people back. This was about half as much. And at the Dunk, there were two catwalks. Last night, there was just the one. Closer to the stage were security, Ellen's friend (who caught Steven's shirt and harmonica, I think he and Ellen just became friends last night), Ellen, Lisa, Kristin, two other girls, and then me. And then more security. Security told me no video, but I misinterpreted what he said and thought he was saying no camera, so I put it away for almost the rest of the show. Near the end of Round and Round I asked the kid, "everyone else has their cameras" at which point he told me still shots were ok, it was just video that was not allowed. So I repeated what he said, twice, and then thanked him, and proceeded to take what would be the equivalent of one of the largest rolls of film available today, about 40 more than I had already taken before he told me to put it away. OMG I might not have a job or any money, but seriously, that concert ticket was possibly the best two hundred bucks I've ever spent. The memories, pictures, and one tiny little piece of video I did manage to capture will last me the rest of my life. Not to mention sharing in everyone else's delight who was there, and knowing that I had one of the absolute prime spots in the entire arena, and possibly being able to see my own ugly mug in other people's shots. I am in heaven right now, and no one can possibly steal this joy from me!

Edit: 12/12/09 ~ With the fate of the band now a total unknown, this Aero Mo show and the Mansfield one become MUCH MUCH more valuable experiences for me.

Aerosmith at Comcast, 06.16.09

The band appeared, the crowd went wild, and as the first few notes resounded through the stadium, I found myself wondering why I ever started to stop liking them, and feeling enormous relief and gratitude that I chose to go to the show. I had been feeling disillusioned with the Boyz, there's been no new material in ages, and their last hiatus lasted 20 months, and naturally they have been beset with health issues, as they are all in their late fifties and early sixties at this point. But they did so well last night, and the audio quality was I think the best I've ever heard at any show, and even though Joe never beat his guitar with his shirt, and even though they ended prematurely (10:50PM), it was probably among the best money I have ever spent for anything, and having been unemployed for the last four and a half months, the things I choose to spend my money on are few and far between these days!!

Something about the lighting when they first appeared last night, made me so incredibly grateful for my sense of vision and the more I thought about it, the more I realized an Aerosmith concert is the greatest opportunity to appreciate my physical body and all of its accompanying senses. I don't have the greatest sense of smell, but it was hard to miss the marijuana permeating the crowd, I even smelled a seed! My ears were working perfectly and my voice, although a little rough this morning, came through for me last night, especially when cheering for (Thank God he's recovered) Tom Hamilton, the one I met most recently. Brad was not there last night, and they did not play You See Me Crying, but I have all of Big Ten Inch Record on video, and that I believe is the first time I've ever seen them do that one live. I will post my pics and vid on Facebook pretty soon.

Poker Poker Poker

I haven't been blogging much lately because I have been so busy playing Texas Hold 'em poker in every format imaginable. I play online every Saturday at noon and Sunday at 3. Sunday nights I play in real life at a place called the Tavern in Framingham. Monday nights I play at the Lazy Dog in Marlboro. Tuesday nights I play at the Original Sports Pub and Pizza in Framingham. Wednesdays I either play there again or at Finnegan's in Hudson. Thursdays and Fridays I don't have poker unless there is a home game. Plus I play online through Facebook every chance I get, either Zynga Texas Hold 'em or Poker Palace.

The people I've met at cards are very very nice. I have made some good friends there. I am happy to have started back up with poker, after taking a two-year hiatus. I used to play at Tin Alley Grill in Framingham, from February 2007 through May 2007. I do not remember why I stopped but I think it is one of three things. Either someone pissed me off, or I didn't like not being able to smoke and play at the same time, or the weather warmed up and I found other things to do. I really think it is the middle one, though. I think I got my home game going specifically so I could smoke and play at the same time, like in the old days at Cam's. I really do like to smoke whenever I gamble, for me the two go hand in hand.

Happy Easter!

This has been the greatest 8 days for me. It started last Saturday night when I saw Gilmour's Breakfast at the Knights of Columbus in Westboro. Sunday I played poker at the Tavern and lost. Monday I played at the Lazy Dog and came in second to Victor, which meant I won the certificate. Tuesday I played at the Sports Pub in Framingham and came in first in the first round. Wednesday I went back and came in first in the second round. So I won a certificate three nights in a row, and my points for April and the second quarter started out with a bang! Gotta go check the leaderboards at some point. Thursday we had the first home game we've had in a while, and only the second since I lost my job. Friday morning, Paul sent me down to the casino which turned out to be a bad idea but at least I had fun. Plus it was a beautiful day. Friday night, more Gilmour's Breakfast but first I had dinner with Amy and we watched "What the %^&*@# Do We Know" together, Down the Rabbit Hole version, pausing for discussion. I always enjoy the time I spend with Amy and am very glad we met! The GB show in Connecticut was amazing, they had a girl singer come onstage to scat the Great Gig in the Sky and it is no exaggeration when I tell you my eyes got moist listening to this woman belt out this beautiful song. She did an amazing job. Amazing. I've never heard anyone besides Claire Torrey sing that song so well. I hope they invite her back to do it again! Yesterday I played in my first monthly tournament and came in twelfth out of 29, not bad for a first attempt and starting with so many fewer chips than most contestants. Today has been extraordinarily relaxing and I am gearing up for yet another week on the job search. Hopefully etfile calls me back in pretty soon, I don't want to lose hope with them but fear I may be too expensive, time will tell.

Edit 05-18-09: Easter Sunday was a very good day for me. After the monthly tournament on Saturday, I had sent out a couple of Facebook friend requests. Sunday around noon-ish, one of them was accepted and some communication started up. That friendship has blossomed and I had a very good early spring because of it. And to quote Forrest Gump, "and that's all I have to say about that."

Roger Waters and Pink Floyd

Lately I have been reminiscing a lot about the Pink Floyd reunion at Live8 on July 2nd, 2005. I don't really have the words to articulate the full meaning of this event to my life. I find it remarkable that this happened after I had completely given up hope that this would ever happen. The same thing happened after my mother died. We had made an agreement ahead of time (we knew well in advance that she was going to die from non-Hodgkins lymphoma) that she would come to me in a dream if it were at all possible, and that she would tell me I was right in everything I had come to believe about what happens after we die, through my reading of near-death experiences. Well she waited (I forget now) either three or six months to actually make this visit to me, and it was definitely after I had given up all hope of it ever happening.
When I met Steven Tyler the first time, he showed up to the charity event moments after I had given up all hope that it was ever going to happen.
In a way it makes me want to give up all hope that I will ever win the lottery! Why do I get the feeling if I did that, I would win?!?

Let Go, Let God

Abraham's stream - Surrender - Let Go, Let God, isn't it all the same, really? Relax, go with the flow, take it as it comes, live in the moment, is it all saying the same thing, or something different? Be good to yourself, do unto others, you can't love another until you love yourself...

How can people hurt each other? That's what I don't get. How can people deliberately harm another person with malicious intent? Don't you realize what you do to me, you do to yourself? Are you not concerned with the life after this one, where you get to go through it as me, and get to be on the receiving end of that pain you inflicted? This is why I am an uplifter in this lifetime. When I get to be you, I want the interactions you have with me to be pleasant and memorable and leave you with a smile on your face when you think of me. I really don't want to see myself crying through your eyes. So please don't make me cry, you will only come to regret it.

It's all the same

Abraham-Hicks' "Stream of Well-Being" = A Course in Miracles "Nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists, herein lies the peace of God = Taoism "Going with the Tao" = Let Go, Let God or Surrender. It's all saying the same thing. Again, Abraham-Hicks "You are loved, all is well". What is there to be worried about? What can happen to you? You are energy and can neither be destroyed nor created but merely change form. There is a lot more going on here than we can just see with our eyes, but you really have to be open to accepting it in order to be able to see it. It's all perception, that's all it is. You get to decide if it's "positive" or "negative". You get to decide "what it means". And inside, you know you know the answer.