So, That Happened

Have you ever been yelled at by a 90-year-old Jewish man for putting on hand lotion? I have. Twice. (Ok, I’m actually not sure if he was mad about my use of hand lotion or hand sanitizer. And it doesn’t matter because I’m not about to stop using either.)

Here are some other things that happened while I was on blog hiatus:

• Brand New blessed us with new music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (There aren’t enough exclamation points in the world to adequately express my excitement.) I’ve even heard “Mene” on the radio twice: once on Alt Nation about a week after they released it and on Faction last Friday. I was driving back to work from lunch when I heard it on Friday. (Why should I get a long weekend for the national holiday to end all national holidays just because said holiday fell on a Saturday? My boss is such a fucking asshole.)
• I saw both Brand New and Neutral Milk Hotel (!) in concert. I had to pass up the Brand New show in St. Pete, though 😦 (I’ll get over that someday.)
• I was not emotionally prepared for the Phillies to trade Jimmy Rollins. Not at all.
• The powers that be have decided on a global release day for new music. I’m all for that, but the morons chose Friday as that day. Friday?! It’s an abomination. Everyone responsible should be tried for crimes against humanity. It starts this Friday and I don’t think I will ever get used to it.
• You know what else is an abomination? The live-action Jem movie. I saw the trailer before Pitch Perfect 2 and it fucked with my head. That is not a Jem movie; that is a movie about a teenage YouTube star wherein all the characters just so happen to have the same names as the Jem characters. (I’m still so upset about this that I won’t even link to the trailer.) Still, it might improve the market for my vintage Jem dolls.

I’m sure there are other things, but that’s all I can think of right now. Obviously there were changes in my life, too, and someday I’ll write a post about them. Today is just not that day. I will try to get better about posting.

Oh, and I still haven’t heard anything about that dream job I interviewed for. I’m trying to remain optimistic (no news is good news, right?), but it’s getting harder. I know it’s only been three weeks, but it’s been three weeks. If you have any positive vibes to send my way I would really appreciate it. Really.

Until tomorrow. (Hopefully.)

Happy Dance

This is a great time to be alive.

Brand New announced three Florida shows in October on Tuesday. Including one in St. Pete. I found out about these shows 15 minutes after the presale tickets went on sale. But the presale had already sold out. Not to fear, though, because I had nearly 48 hours notice of the general ticket on sale today at noon.

Then my dad came home at 11:40 and asked if I’d go pick up Five Guys if he ordered it online. I said sure because I figured there was no way he’d be ready to order it before noon (plus, I mean, it’s Five Guys). Less than five minutes later he asked what toppings I wanted on my little cheeseburger. And a minute later the order was submitted and the website said it would be ready at 11:53. I kinda started to panic but I had the Ticketmaster app on my phone and the last time we ordered Five Guys online it took longer than the website said it would to get the food.

Not this time, however. I got to the restaurant a few minutes late (the 25 MPH speed limit in my parents’ community is such a pain in the ass) and still managed to walk out with the food at 11:59. At this point I had two choices: hang out in the parking lot a few extra minutes or drive home and then attempt to buy tickets online by which time they probably would’ve sold out. (In fact, people on Facebook are claiming the St. Pete show sold out in one minute!)

So, yeah, I stayed in the parking lot. And since I was logged in to the app it took practically no time for me to buy my ticket. The hard part is refreshing the page at just the right time to claim a ticket. I don’t consider myself a particularly lucky person, but I have the fucking Midas touch when it comes to Ticketmaster; I’ve never failed to get tickets to a Brand New show that was sold through Ticketmaster. It’s not the best superpower ever, but I’m fond of it 🙂

Today was a good day.

Until tomorrow.

Hands Down

I got very excited when I heard Dashboard Confessional on my ride home this evening. But, after my initial excitement, I found myself yelling “it’s still not Brand New, though” at the radio. Still, I was glad to hear “Hands Down.”

The last time I remember hearing Brand New on SiriusXM I was driving to the job I quit before I started grad school. That was a long time ago. Meanwhile, Alt Nation is shoving new bands down my throat so hard that I get sick of them within two weeks (see: Gemini Club, Skaters, and Knox Hamilton; I’ve started turning the channel every time the Junior Prom song comes on just so I don’t get sick of it too quickly). There’s got to be a happy medium. I think a channel devoted to 2000s alt rock (think Lithium meets Pop2K) would be a good place to start.

Until tomorrow.

Good Omen

Manchester Orchestra’s new single, “Top Notch,” came on the radio immediately after I started my car this morning. I decided it was a good omen for the day and I was right. You guys, I got tickets to see Brand New in Philly in July!!! The tickets sold out in three (3!) minutes according to Radio 104.5 (and they would know, since they’re presenting the show), but I fucking got some 🙂

Today was a good day.

Until tomorrow.

Another One

I really love getting emails from Brand New, you guys. Even if said email announces a European tour next year that I can’t possibly attend rather than a US tour or a new album. Still, the fact that there was an email from Brand New in my inbox this afternoon made me happy 🙂

The email also claims that they’re going to do the UK portion of this tour in a TARDIS-shaped bus. I don’t exactly believe that, but it would be awesome if it were true. Plus, the mere fact that someone in Brand New knows that TARDIS is an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space warms my heart. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love them more than I did this morning, but it turns out that it was.

That settles it, I am definitely going to wear a Brand New t-shirt and hoodie when I travel on Friday. Hooray!

Until tomorrow.

Enjoy The Weekend

I actually have things (yes, plural) to share tonight. Hooray!

• I don’t want to sound conceited, but I’m pretty sure the Internet was invented so that I could one day fall asleep listening to this video of Brand New’s entire RiotFest Chicago set. I don’t know why I never thought to share this before since I’ve been listening to it pretty much every night for the past two months. God bless the Internet.
• That being said, I finally got around to listening to Tom Hiddleston on the Nerdist Podcast and I may have to start listening to it every night. I’d seen people talk about Tom Hiddleston’s voice online, but I didn’t quite get it; suffice it to say that I get it now.
• Another thing I kept forgetting to share was Emma Approved, the new web series from the geniuses behind the  Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It’s pretty fantastic. And Mr. Knightley is gorgeous 🙂
• I guess we’re officially at the end of the year when people start putting out mashups of the most popular songs of the year, huh?

And…it’s not Friday anymore. Dammit.

Until tomorrow.

All The Sad Faces

Brand New announced today that they are playing two more shows this month: one in LA and one in Brooklyn. This should make me happy, but mostly I’m sad that I can’t go.

See, I realized that all three of their East Coast shows are happening the weekend I’m gonna be in New York. And those shows are in North Jersey, Long Island, and Brooklyn; it is not inconceivable that I could get to all of those shows fairly easily if only I had tickets. (Would I skip Matilda to see Brand New? Oh fuck yes. And I want to see Matilda.)

But, of course, I don’t have tickets to see Brand New. And I can’t afford to buy them because I am very, very poor. (Would I go into debt to see Brand New? Oh fuck yes. It’s a good thing I don’t frequent StubHub and other such ticketing sites.)

I need to see Brand New again, you guys. It’s been two years; I’m getting antsy. YouTube videos just aren’t cutting it for me anymore, but they’re all I’ve got. I should be thankful for what I have, right? Didn’t we just have a holiday about that?

Until tomorrow.

Again?

This morning I woke up 70 minutes before my alarm. (I know this because I actually looked at a clock when I realized I was having deja vu all over again.) (Important thing I just learned: I taught my autocorrect to always capitalize “Deja” by writing Deja Entendu so often. Important thing I just learned while writing the first important thing: I taught my autocorrect the word “Entendu” – also always capitalized.) Why did that happen again? It wouldn’t be so bad if I were a) going to bed at a normal hour (before midnight) or b) setting my alarm for something later than 6:30. But I am going to bed late *and* getting up early.

I really hope it doesn’t happen tomorrow. Like, really.

Until tomorrow.

The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

We are another year removed from the release of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me with no new Brand New album on the horizon. But, for today at least, that’s okay. Because today is about celebrating the timeless wonderfulness that is The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me.

I wanted to listen to Devil and God basically nonstop today, but that would have impeded my progress at work. (Sad but true.) So I only listened to it once. But there is something kind of perfect about driving on a dark highway with the window down and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me blasting. It felt like an appropriate tribute for the seventh anniversary. Certainly more appropriate than listening on earbuds while sitting at my midget desk and staring at my two monitors.

I will always be grateful to whatever spirit inspired me to pick up The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me at Best Buy that day. (Still wish I could remember exactly what day that was.)

Until tomorrow.

Sad Face

I happened to notice when it was 11:59 this morning. I thought, “Brand New tickets go on sale in one minute but I can’t buy them.” And then I had a sad.

Of course, it’s good that I resigned myself to not going to either both of the shows because it turns out that I could not afford it. I am so very poor; I just had a mini panic attack while looking at my bank statement.

Here’s a helpful tip from me to you: if your parents ever try to convince you that buying a house is a good idea, punch them in the face and tell them to fuck off. (My house was cheap and the interest rate on my mortgage is less than that on my student loans, but it still costs me over a thousand bucks a month. And the fucking thing has depreciated considerably. I am so, so fucked.)

Until tomorrow.