The Mason Station

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

WooHoo!!

Time to slap some heels and a pencil skirt on me because...

I'm a working girl again!

Or rather, I will be a working girl once again come August 27.

I just accepted a position with Vanderbilt University Medical Center Development and Alumi Relations Department as a Program Assistant for their Clinical Programs. That's a really, really long way of saying I'll be working in fundraising for Vandy's Medical Center.

I am over the moon excited. I have been interviewing with them for several months now, and am delighted that we finally found a position that I am a good fit for. I can't wait to start!

What a great week- first Paul McCartney, and now a job with Vanderbilt!!!
You couldn't wipe this smile off my face if you tried. :)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Yesterday...

started out as a not so great day. I have been feeling pretty blah lately. I'm tired of not having a job, tired of looking for a job, tired of not having extra money to play with, I've just felt tired. Adding to my not so great mood was the fact that my musical hero, Paul McCartney was performing just down the street from us and I wasn't going. Not that we couldn't have found tickets- they were out there- but the prices were so incredibly expensive there was no way we could afford to go.

It probably goes without saying at this point, but I have an amazing boyfriend. Amazing. After Will got home from work he decided we should walk down to Broadway and have a few drinks while we checked to see how much scalpers wanted for their tickets. The concert was scheduled to start at 7:30, and right around 7:20 a torrential downpour started. Lucky for us, that moved all the scalpers into the bar we were in, so we started dealing. We made an offer on a pair of tickets (not necessarily a lowball offer, but definitely not face value)- the dealer said "no way jose", understandably. We weren't trying to pull one over on them, but we did have a set limit to spend. Well, I don't know if it was the rain, the time (being so close to the start of the concert), the desperate look in my eyes, or simply the fact that the broker was standing right next to the dealer and OKed it, but at around 7:25 last night all the stars in the universe aligned and we got our tickets to see Sir Paul McCartney! Not only did we get the tickets, but we payed $200 under face value and had amazing seats.

To say that the concert was spectacular is truly an understatement. I mean, it was Paul McCartney!! 1/4 of The Beatles! Author of several of my most favorite songs in the world. The man that I used to fantasize that I would one day marry. (And yes, I realize that I'm far younger than he is. However, rock stars always go for younger women, so at one point I legitimately thought I had a chance, should I just get the opportunity to meet him.) Quite possibly the most famous musician in the world. Ever. And we sat about 100 yards away from him. I was literally giddy with excitement. I realize that I'm a music freak, and can get fanatical over things like this, but even Will, who is much more level-headed than I, was in awe. As a warning to non-music lovers, this blog is going to be long. But I just want to record some of the things that went on at the show so I don't forget them.

There weren't a lot of pyrotechnics or fancy things happening during the show. Just Paul and his bass, guitar, ukelele, or piano, and his back up band. During "Live and Let Die", though, they shot blasts of fire off the stage, and it was awesome. The crowd went crazy when that happened!

He played a little snippet of Jimi Hendrix, at which point I leaned over to Will and mentioned how crazy it was that he probably knew Jimi back in the day. Sure enough, Paul went on to tell a little story about Jimi performing and asking Eric Clapton (who was in the audience at Jimi's concert) to come onstage and tune his guitar for him.

Paul played a few songs that were predominantly "George's" or "John's" Beatles songs. He played "Something" as a solo with a ukelele as a tribute to George, before it turned into a beautiful ballad with the band backing him up. He also made "A Day in the Life" and "Give Peace a Chance" into a medley as a tribute to John.

I literally cried during the show. Twice. Is that embarrasing to admit? Kind of. I didn't cry in that weird, psycho, Beatlemania way. But when he played "Blackbird", which is one of my favorite songs EVER, it just hit me. I wasn't watching a band play a cover of this song. I was watching THE man who wrote the song play it. Live. A living legend. Goosebumps abounded. And tears fell at the sheer awesomeness that I was experiencing. I also cried just a lil bit during "Something". It's another favorite of mine, and it was really sentimental the way he dedicated it to George. During the whole song, pictures of George were streaming behind Paul. It was touching.

I can't remember exactly which song it was (I'm thinking "Day Tripper"...) but Paul informed us that he was playing with the bass that he used to record the song originally. How amazing is that?!

Another way to give me goosebumps? Seeing an entire sold out audience sing "Hey Jude" in unison. People were singing every song, obviously, but during "Hey Jude" Paul actually stopped singing and the audience took over. It was a really, really cool moment.

Paul was really great about interacting with the audience. A lady had a sign made up that asked him if he would sign her Hoffner (his bass from the Beatles years) tattoo on her back, and at the end of the show he obliged her. It was pretty cool. He signed right under the bass tattoo, and I'm willing to bet that she went straight from the concert to the tattoo parlor down the street to have his signature tattooed permanently. I personally am not a tattoo person, but I would tattoo his autograph on me in a second if that had been me!
Also during the encore Paul noticed a boy, who was probably around 12, holding up a sign that said, "Hey Paul, I want to play a song with you". So Paul brought him up on stage. As it turned out, the boy informed Paul that he was from Mexico (not sure if he told him that because he didn't speak english or what), and Paul wasn't really able to decipher what instrument he played. Paul ended up telling him (in broken Spanish) to just "groove" to the next song, "Get Back". The boy was wearing a Paul McCartney shirt, and danced around stage while Paul played, and then joined him at the mic to help sing the chorus. That kid basically has a million cool points going for him- he jammed onstage with a Beatle.

Despite having several cocktails before the concert, I didn't leave the arena once to go to the bathroom. Did I have to go? You bet I did! Really, really badly in fact. But I couldn't bear to miss even one second of the concert so I held it. For over 3 hours!

Overall, the concert was everything I could have hoped for. Paul was charming, energetic, funny, engaging, and appreciative. I know it has to get old playing the same songs over and over again for years on end, but it has to feel good knowing how much his music has affected people of all ages. Truly a night I'll never forget, and one more thing I can mark off my bucket list! Thank you Will for turning an otherwise not so great day into one of the greatest musical evenings of my life! Smooches!

And naturally, since we didn't expect to actually get tickets, I didn't bring my camera with me. (Had I brought the camera, we wouldn't have gotten tickets. Murphy's law.) I took a few pictures with my phone, which don't do the concert, or our amazing seats, justice. But at any rate, here they are:

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Sweet Home Decatur

I took an impromptu trip home to Decatur this past weekend to help Mom and Dad work their booth at the Farmers' Market. My parents' friend Seka owns a bakery in Champaign called Pekara, and Mom and Dad have been selling their goods at the Decatur Farmers' Market this summer. Every Saturday morning Dad gets up super early and drives to Champaign to pick up freshly baked breads, croissants, danishes, scones, cinammon rolls, and cookies from the bakery, and then races back to Decatur to have the goodies on display by 8 AM. They have nearly sold out every week they've been at the market, so Mom is seriously considering opening a "franchise" of Pekara in Decatur, either downtown or in South Shores. I was a little hesistant when she told me her "opening a bakery" idea, but after seeing how successful they have been selling the breads at the market, maybe I'm wrong. Everything they sell is freshly baked, all natural, and insanely delicious! For any of you folks who have friends and family who are still in Decatur, stop by and see my parents on Saturday mornings in Central Park!

The other perk of going home? Seeing Kelly! I really, really miss having girl friends near me down here in Nashville, so it's always nice to get to hang out with my bestest friend. I love that no matter how much time passes between our visits, nothing about "us" changes. We fall right back into our routine- she practically lives at my parents' house while I'm in town. Kelly is Mom and Dad's favorite "daughter". :) We had a girls' night out on Saturday and I guess I had a little too much fun- I felt too awful to make the drive back to Nashville on Sunday. Not that that bothered me, once I woke up (for the second time) that afternoon, I felt well enough to hang out with Mom and Dad and enjoy a lovedly homecooked dinner.

I loathe, detest, despise the boring, dull, slow 6 1/2 hour drive back to Decatur, but it was certainly nice to be home.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

And They Call it Puppy Love

I'm in suburbia this week. Will's sister Sue and her family are out of town for a few days, so I'm up in Kentucky, watching their house and their adorable puppy Gus while they're gone. I've noticed some very strong similarities between watching puppies and kids.

Like children, puppies require schedules. Gus functions at his best when he has a regular pattern to his day. Our schedule this morning has included eating breakfast, getting some exercise by taking a walk, snack time, playing outside in the pool, clean up, and rest time.
If it suddenly seems too quiet around the house, it's time to check on him. More than likely he's up to something bad.
Puppies are mischieveous little guys. He has a ton of puppy toys, but naturally, his favorite things to chew on are the items he's not supposed to have. So far this morning I've wrestled away from him the following items: a doll pillow, a water bottle, several mega-Lego blocks, a small action figure, my flip flops (twice),and a couch cushion. I find this annoying...he thinks he's funny. I take one thing away, he comes back seconds later with a new item hanging from his mouth. You can almost see him laughing at me as he triumphantly returns to the living room each time.
He loves snacks. Some of his favorites: marshmallows, american cheese slices, and Easy Cheese. And he will do just about anything you ask of him if he gets a treat at the end.
He loves to cuddle. Anytime I'm sitting on the couch, he jumps right up into my lap and smothers me with puppy smooches.
He is endlessly curious. Even if he's laying down and resting, his ears perk up and any sudden noise or movement on my end.
It's impossible to get him to sit still for a picture. I've been trying for hours to capture his cute lil face. It's just not going to happen.
You fall in love with him so quickly that you wonder why you don't have one of your own.
Then you clean up a steaming hot pile of poo out of the grass and quickly remember why you are petless.
He is exhausting to keep up with, but so stinkin' cute that it's worth it.

And since I can't get him to hold still, I'm snagging one of Sue's pictures of him so everyone can see what a cutie I'm dealing with:

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Happy Birthday Leslie!

Per my cousin Leslie's birthday request, here are some random "I" thoughts. The cheapest gift I've given for awhile! In no particular order:

I am in my 8th month of unemployment. This is the longest I've been without a job since I was 15 years old (since 12 years old if you count babysitting as a job). I'm becoming more and more anxious about finding a job (something, ANYTHING), but trying really hard to not dwell on it.
I enjoyed playing host to my brother and sister-in-law, parents, and Ella during their visit to Nashville this past weekend. Having people stay with us at our home makes me feel so grown up.
I would love to host my and Will's immediate family for a Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday at our house. I think that would be the ultimate "you're a grown up" experience.
I know 8 women who are currently pregnant, or have given birth very recently. That's a wholelotta pregnant people! 4 of those ladies are friends from high school. Knowing this many pregnant (married) women makes me sometimes wonder if I'm behind schedule in...life, I guess. Will and I are perfectly happy where we are and not in any hurry to change our lives right now by adding a marriage or a child to the mix. But sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to have kids of our own...
I know I'm not ready for kids for several reasons, but I realized one important (albeit selfish) reason while we were walking around Savannah, GA on a really, really hot and humid day. I don't want to have to carry a hot, sweaty kid around when I'm already hot and sweaty myself. Gross. Ironically, I carried a hot and sweaty Ella around for a whole week in Gulf Shores, and in Nashville this past weekend. I guess you just have to buck up and take one for the team sometimes. (And truthfully, it wasn't all that bad. Especially when carrying around a sleepy little girl.)
I miss going to concerts and discovering new music. Will is not really into music like I am, and I feel bad forcing him to go to concerts with me. I wish I had a music buddy in town to go to shows with.
I wish I was more outdoorsy than I am. I love being outside, but it seems that the great outdoors doesn't seem to like me. I'm prone to sunburns, bug bites, chiggers, poison ivy, etc...
I like that Will and I are similar in many ways, yet completely different in others. It keeps things lively around our house! One of our friends once said to us, "I can't believe God made 2 of you." We really like to say that to each other when we finish each other's sentences or react the same way to something.
I wish I could pick up and move to a different country for a year...or longer. I think living abroad was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced, and I'd love the opportunity to do it again for a longer stint of time.
I wish I could speak multiple languages. How great would it be to converse fluently with people from all over the world? Also, how great would it be to eavesdrop on other people's conversations without them knowing you knew what they were saying!
I believe in spirits, guardian angels, and that there are people "up there" watching over myself and my family. I often talk to my family members who have passed away.
I mentally say a Hail Mary every time I hear sirens and pray for the person who is sick or in trouble.
I think Era laundry detergent smells the best.
I am very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but enjoy dressing up every now and then as well.
I was probably a little too excited to see that there is a Ghost Hunters marathon on TV today.
I sometimes visualize myself winning the lottery and deciding what I'd do with my winnings to the point that I'm terribly disappointed to not have money in my account.
I have never mowed a lawn...unless you count sitting on my Dad's lap when I was a kid.
I wish I knew how to do something fun with my hair. Alas, I am hair-inept. I don't want to cut it off, though, even though that's a logical solution to my problem.
I am not a shy person, but embarras very easily. I don't like being the center of attention.
I sometimes think some of the things that happen to me, or the conversations that Will and I have are funny enough to be sitcom material. I crack myself up.
I check email/facebook/blogs FAR too often during the day. It's almost like an obsessive compulsion.
I think that we may have new neighbors moving in next door. And I'm sad to admit that I'm not thrilled by that news. I liked having a quiet, empty place to share a wall with.
I can't wait to have a house with a yard so we can get a dog. While we can technically have pets here, our place just isn't dog-friendly..at least not for the size dog we want.
I love the exciting feeling you get the night before leaving on a big trip somewhere.
I felt nervous at my interview with Vanderbilt yesterday. That was the first time I've had nerves while interviewing. Hopefully that's a good sign!
I don't understand what the big deal is about gay marriage. Admittedly I don't know much about politics, but I thought there was a separation of church and state. Why can't 2 men or 2 women who commit their lives to each other enjoy the same freedoms that the government grants to a man and a woman? I don't see how the "it says it's wrong in the Bible" arguement works for the government.
I believe Ranch dressing is the ultimate condiment.
I love playing with my Wii, but only in spurts. It will sit unused for months, and then I'll break it out everyday for a few weeks.
I often wish I had gone to a college that was bigger, farther from home, and had a football team. Not to say that I was unhappy at SLU- I really enjoyed my time there! I jsut sometimes feel that I missed out on the ultimate college experience by not having a football team to root for. (This probably comes from living in the South where football is king.) But I believe everything happens for a reason. (ie- had I not gone to SLU, I wouldn't have moved to Chicago after graduation with an old college friend. And then I wouldn't have had the series of jobs that I had and met the people I did, which means I wouldn't have met Will, etc...)
I enjoy word puzzles and card games.
I hate bananas, yogurt, jello, pudding, and flan. I literally gag at the thought of eating any of those things. It's a texture thing.
I can only wink with my right eye and can only make the "Elvis" lip on my right side

Monday, June 28, 2010

Ohhh, boy

Good job, Meaghan. Plan a vacation, while unemployed, to go to an expensive foreign country. And heck, while you're at it- stay a couple days in the #2 most expensive city in the world! $43 for lunch? Chump change.

I read this in an article today:

2. Oslo, Norway

Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $43
Can of beer from a grocer: $4.71
One kg of rice: $5.66
One dozen eggs: $6.72

Entertainment: Movie ticket: $16

Gulp....good thing we're going to be sleeping cheap. Camp grounds, overnight trains, fishing cabins, and hostels will hopefully offset the expense of...eating. Unfortunately, eating is something that is unavoidable, so here's hoping not every food item in Norway is costly.

In other Norway news, Andy and Sandy have booked tickets to come to Norway, too! They fly into Oslo a week after we do. Hopefully we can hammer out some plans while they're visiting Nashville this weekend so we can meet up in Norway and celebrate Sandy's Norwegian roots together. We'll have to do it over a hike or a fishing trip where we catch and cook our own fish, though. I don't think I'll be able to afford to eat.