Meeting Celebrities - a docJEWmentary

While finalizing plans for my Halloween weekend, I had finally come to terms with the fact that I would not be attending the sold-out concert of one of my very favorite bands, Jimmy Eat World. No sooner had I made this assessment when I received a text from my friend James informing me that not only had he won tickets to the concert, but a chance to attend a private sound check with the band before the show. Sold!

So off we went Saturday afternoon, and after waiting for some time were escorted to the front of the stage. The guys played a few songs just for us (and for the sound check, of course) before coming down to sign photos for us. We were at the mercy of a professional photographer for photos with the band... so may not have gotten the perfect photos, but still awesome!

Jim (not zoomed in)

Me with Tom, Rick, and my friend James

The concert itself was amazing. It was a costume concert (what with it being Halloween and all) so many people were dressed up. Before the concert we'd seen some creepy ones, including a jawa wandering around. (If you don't know what a jawa is, it's those little guys from Star Wars that wear the cloaks with the glowing red eyes...) He stood near me for a minute and then walked away. I remembered thinking to myself, "Wow... that could be anyone." When the band went on stage.... sure enough, there was Rick the jawa on bass!

He'd been right there...

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to see the guys dressed up. They played a great show (and long... nearly two hours of JEW!) Definitely the best Halloween party I've ever been to!

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"Meet a Celebrity" has been replaced with "Play Laser Tag" on the Everlasting Bucket List.

Losing Sleep

Here I am again... 1:00am. A mere 5 hours from the time I need to get up and begin another exciting day in the life of Ami. I thought this would be an appropriate time for this particular musing.

A few months ago, someone spoke in church about discovering what keeps us up at night. His idea was that this would help us identify our most prominent personal obstacles or challenges. Tonight as I lay sleepless, I have made a list (since I'm great at making lists) of my most common snooze-robbing culprits.

1. Reviewing events of the day, whether good or ill.
2. Fear of having a dream involving the loss of all of my teeth. This is quite literally my worst nightmare. It visits me at least once a week.
3. Neighbors/Roommates. Nothing more to say here.
4. Caffeinated painkillers. I'm a firm believer that if Midol can't fix it, it doesn't exist. Except, of course, for insomnia.
5. Concerns for my future.
6. Regrets from my past.
7. Anxieties about current happenings. (Work, family, relationships, politics...)
8. Heartburn. Thank you, family, for the acid reflux.
9. Frustration regarding my inability to sleep. Counterproductive.
10. Miscellaneous. This is the category for all the dumb things like to-do lists and obnoxious song lyrics that keep my mind from winding down properly.

A certain friend of mine would just tell me to take an Ambien. Maybe, though, there are things to learn about myself when I have nobody else to talk to.