The Good News Thread: I'm So Excited! And I Just Can't Hide It!

[soyperson]

Well, I had the best weekend. 

Spoiler

As soon as we left the parking garage (which was right next to the auditorium) we got into the Ryman parking lot and there was Griffin, the drummer (brother of the lead singer/guitarist Taylor), making polite conversation with some older folks. My dad told me to go say hi, which resulted in me getting a pre-show photo with the drummer, which was awesome. 

We had an extra ticket to the show, as my sister didn't go. She had exams yesterday, so a drive to and from Nashville (about 6 hours either way) was a bit out of her way. Anyways, we were standing in front of the auditorium, about to go in, when this British man came up and asked us if we knew much about the band. I gave him the basic run down, and, long story short, we sold him the extra ticket. His name is Ken. Very nice man, works at Cardiff Uni. One time, Doctor Who filmed in his office 

The show itself was phenomenal, you guys. I was standing, and dancing, and singing to every line. It was the most fun. Thirteen rows back, and I was having the best time. I even got a hat that says "Let's Party", which is a reference to a line from a song. They did a few songs that really just broke me down into tears. It was all so wonderful.

In the second-to-last song, Taylor and Griffin's dad got onstage and sang "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" by Sam & Dave. It was wonderful. And the last song, "All Your Favorite Bands", was by far one of my favorites. During the last chorus, they stopped playing and Taylor turned around the mic so the audience could sing. The song is wonderful, by the way. The chorus goes "I hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it'd be / I hope your brother's El Camino runs forever / I hope the world sees the same person that you've always been to me / and may all your favorite bands stay together." (Interesting story, actually: after the concert I heard Taylor say that he wrote that for a friend who was graduating high school and didn't want to go to college, just wanted to live her life 'without a chaperone', as it were. It's sort of a "good-bye" song.) So yeah. 

Afterwards, we waited outside near their bus for a good half an hour until they finally came outside. Well, most of them. Griffin came out first, I got him to sign some stuff (including a setlist I swiped from the stage after the first set ). He went on to the bus, and Taylor came out and hung around, I got photos and signatures and stuff, and then Lee the keyboardist came out. Now, slight disclaimer: Lee just joined the band a year or so ago, so I never was able to form a strong opinion of him before now. My verdict: he is a fantastic person and player. We got photos, and signatures, and talked for a bit, and then he moved on to sign other people's stuff. Flash forward to a few minutes later: my mom is standing by the bus with Taylor, just conversing about general stuff. (Taylor, by the way, is just the nicest guy. You can walk up to him and strike up a conversation and he'll just totally invest himself in it.  Just a great guy.) She, apparently, brought up the fact that I have diabetes, and he said, "Oh! You should go talk to Lee!"

As it turns out, Lee has had Type 1 Diabetes since age 16. (He's 31 now.) 

We started talking, and 45 minutes passed. Everything he said, I found myself relating to so heavily. It was so weird, and unlikely, and just... great. 

By around 1:30, I ended up friends with two of my favorite musicians on the face of the earth. And I got Lee's number and email. 

It was... magical, you guys.  I can't really describe it as otherwise. 

If you get the chance to see Dawes live, you should. It's a truly special experience.

 

Edited April 30, 2017 by bleeder

[Tristan]

@Darkness Ascendant @A Budgie They have a local Comic Con in the city I live in, so I just go to that one. It's not as big as San Diego, but it was still good  

[Claincy]

@Delightfully Smoak That's fair *shrug*. I don't really have the energy to get into a discussion about why I thought it was that good right now. Sorry  All else aside I do really like the soundtrack to that film.

 

[Steeldancer]

I got an 100 on my level 6 Nyssma solo!!! Top level solo, and I'm hoping to go to either nationals or All state choir 

[Oversleep]

Got sick... but the con was awesome

The only thing I haven't managed to go to (the queue was too long and the room got full just few people before me :< ) was Worldbuilding so that's sad but it was pretty awesome all in all.

My second con and first big con. I am making a mistcloak next year.

Oh, and I met Peter Watts. He's really, really awesome.

Edited April 30, 2017 by Oversleep

[Sunbird]

@bleeder That sounds AMAZING!! I'm glad you had such a fantastic time!

[+Slowswift]

9 hours ago, bleeder said:

Well, I had the best weekend. 

  Reveal hidden contents

As soon as we left the parking garage (which was right next to the auditorium) we got into the Ryman parking lot and there was Griffin, the drummer (brother of the lead singer/guitarist Taylor), making polite conversation with some older folks. My dad told me to go say hi, which resulted in me getting a pre-show photo with the drummer, which was awesome. 

We had an extra ticket to the show, as my sister didn't go. She had exams yesterday, so a drive to and from Nashville (about 6 hours either way) was a bit out of her way. Anyways, we were standing in front of the auditorium, about to go in, when this British man came up and asked us if we knew much about the band. I gave him the basic run down, and, long story short, we sold him the extra ticket. His name is Ken. Very nice man, works at Cardiff Uni. One time, Doctor Who filmed in his office 

The show itself was phenomenal, you guys. I was standing, and dancing, and singing to every line. It was the most fun. Thirteen rows back, and I was having the best time. I even got a hat that says "Let's Party", which is a reference to a line from a song. They did a few songs that really just broke me down into tears. It was all so wonderful.

In the second-to-last song, Taylor and Griffin's dad got onstage and sang "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" by Sam & Dave. It was wonderful. And the last song, "All Your Favorite Bands", was by far one of my favorites. During the last chorus, they stopped playing and Taylor turned around the mic so the audience could sing. The song is wonderful, by the way. The chorus goes "I hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it'd be / I hope your brother's El Camino runs forever / I hope the world sees the same person that you've always been to me / and may all your favorite bands stay together." (Interesting story, actually: after the concert I heard Taylor say that he wrote that for a friend who was graduating high school and didn't want to go to college, just wanted to live her life 'without a chaperone', as it were. It's sort of a "good-bye" song.) So yeah. 

Afterwards, we waited outside near their bus for a good half an hour until they finally came outside. Well, most of them. Griffin came out first, I got him to sign some stuff (including a setlist I swiped from the stage after the first set ). He went on to the bus, and Taylor came out and hung around, I got photos and signatures and stuff, and then Lee the keyboardist came out. Now, slight disclaimer: Lee just joined the band a year or so ago, so I never was able to form a strong opinion of him before now. My verdict: he is a fantastic person and player. We got photos, and signatures, and talked for a bit, and then he moved on to sign other people's stuff. Flash forward to a few minutes later: my mom is standing by the bus with Taylor, just conversing about general stuff. (Taylor, by the way, is just the nicest guy. You can walk up to him and strike up a conversation and he'll just totally invest himself in it.  Just a great guy.) She, apparently, brought up the fact that I have diabetes, and he said, "Oh! You should go talk to Lee!"

As it turns out, Lee has had Type 1 Diabetes since age 16. (He's 31 now.) 

We started talking, and 45 minutes passed. Everything he said, I found myself relating to so heavily. It was so weird, and unlikely, and just... great. 

By around 1:30, I ended up friends with two of my favorite musicians on the face of the earth. And I got Lee's number and email. 

It was... magical, you guys.  I can't really describe it as otherwise. 

If you get the chance to see Dawes live, you should. It's a truly special experience.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Sunbird said:

@bleeder That sounds AMAZING!! I'm glad you had such a fantastic time!

Indeed it does sound amazing!  

My fav band's coming to Sandy this June, but the best I could hope for is them to play new music. None of this "meet and make friends with the band members" nonsense.  

Edited May 1, 2017 by Slowswift

[Sunbird]

Just wanted to share a few photos I took last week =) With how much I was outside, I swear I must've taken like 1000 pictures, and now I have to sort through them all and pick out the best ones to keep. Very time-consuming, so there's just 5 for now.

Spoiler

Osprey (also known as a fish hawk or fish eagle):

Female Red-breasted Merganser:

Killdeer nest with four eggs in a gravel parking lot:

Horse that happened to pose cooperatively while I had the car stopped to look at a nearby hawk:

The Swainson's Hawk that I had stopped the car to look at:

 

[Mestiv]

@Sunbirdas always you give us amazing photos

[Datan Nomlibash]

I just hit 100 posts on the shard!!!

That might be less than impressive to some but for a long time lurker It feels like a major accomplishment.

Also life is good despite all my problems. A rare treat.

And I am getting on top of my writing and getting that much closer to being an author or something.

And I might get a raise.

And I learned that people generally like to hunt with me in monster hunter.

Other stuff to but I cant think of any right now.

[Hemalurgic Headshot]

I just finished Brian McClellan's Powder Mage Trilogy, and I loved it! I fully recommend it to everyone, I don't care.

[Sunbird]

18 hours ago, Mestiv said:

@Sunbirdas always you give us amazing photos

Aww, thanks.

[A Budgie]

So I was thinking of purchasing a shirt from Brandon's website/store...but I've never really bought anything online before so I'd like to know if anyone has bought from here and what they thought of the stuff?
The one I'll get if I do buy'll probably be the Stormlight or Vin one, by the way. I wanted a Stick one but there's no more.

Edited May 2, 2017 by A Budgie

[Darkness Ascendant]

You guys make me jealous  

[Truthweaver]

@A Budgie I got the Stormlight shirt for Christmas and the fabric is so soft, the shirt fits really well, and it's become my favourite t-shirt to wear just because it's so comfortable. I would definitely buy another shirt from there again.

[ShadowLord_Lith]

Today is my pre-AP biology STAAR test, and I'm feeling pretty confident I'll do well. Aside from that, we're reading "To kill a Mockingbird" in my English class and I agreed to make a cheap Nightvale knockoff with a friend of mine on wattpad. I'm having a ton of fun with it and, overall, my life is going pretty good right now!

 

Also, @Darkness Ascendant, thank you. You go through so much and stay strong, you create such beautiful art, and when you tell stories about even the darkest of times, hope can be found laces throughout it, your such a positive influence in the lives of those around you; don't let anyone tell you otherwise! 

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles, your writing is amazing! It catches and keeps tight hold of my attention in ways I've seen few authors replicate. You're an amazing writer, and an amazing person; if you've got an idea that you think works, I'll support you as long as I am able.

 

Good luck, both of you; I look forward to seeing what you're futures bring!

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

40 minutes ago, ShadowLord_Lith said:

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles, your writing is amazing! It catches and keeps tight hold of my attention in ways I've seen few authors replicate. You're an amazing writer, and an amazing person; if you've got an idea that you think works, I'll support you as long as I am able.

Thank you so much!  I'm seriously smiling right now. 

[soyperson]

I have already figured out how to play and sing the new Dawes song. I'm total trash for this band but I'm a dedicated fan. 

I think my musical career could take me places, if I let it.

[Darkness Ascendant]

Wait what @ShadowLord_Lith What did I do to deserve a thank you?  

Seriously tho, thank you.  Things have actually gotten alot worse lately, a massive muddle hmph, I'll explain when I get the chance, so your comment really helped me smile :1

[StrikerEZ]

Hey, so I finished the Spanish AP test today! It actually went really well! I felt like it was way easier than the mock AP test my teacher gave us, except for maybe the simulated conversation. That's still really hard, but I did a lot better on it than I normally do. Except for when, during one of te 20 second times I'm supposed to talk, I said about half a sentence than said nothing else because my brain forgot what it was doing. Other than that, the test went really well. I'm hoping for a 5, but worse case scenario I got a 4.

[Sunbird]

That's great, @StrikerEZ! Congrats

[A Budgie]

@StrikerEZ you do Spanish? I'm surprised.

@Truthweaver I ordered the SA shirt, and it was kinda expensive but I'm sure it's going to be worth it. Good to hear that.

[StrikerEZ]

@A Budgie ¿Por qué te sorprende que hablo español? No es una gran sorpresa, ¿sí? Tambien, he hablado sobre mi clase de español antes, yo creo.

Si necesitas ayuda con la tranducción, no ten miedo de preguntarme.

[Erandeni]

Congrats! @StrikerEZ,I have been told that Spanish is pretty difficult to learn, because we have more exceptions than rules.

[A Budgie]

7 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

@A Budgie ¿Por qué te sorprende que hablo español? No es una gran sorpresa, ¿sí? Tambien, he hablado sobre mi clase de español antes, yo creo.

Si necesitas ayuda con la tranducción, no ten miedo de preguntarme.

Non parlo spagnolo, parlo italiano. La mia scuola solo insegna l'italiano, francese, cinese, e giapponese. Non so una scuola insegnamento spagnolo.