So, our journey to the Mumford & Sons concert went a little like this ... We were making good time on our way to Kansas City until we drove into the most ridiculous rain storm/hurricane. While driving through the storm, our conversations inside the car were as eventful as the tsunami going on outside the car -- one minute we were both frustrated with each other, the next we were teasing each other and cracking up. When we arrived to KC, we were really short on time -- we had to find the venue, pick up our tickets
(which were being held by an old toothless tattooed hippie who Albert spoke to on the phone on numerous occasions and trusted for some reason), find our hotel, check into the hotel, drop off our beloved child, and find something to eat. All of this in the pouring down rain.
Finding the venue and the hotel went fairly well. But, there happened to be three other big events going on in the area, so there was no parking in the hotel lots. "PR Albert" must have kicked in because he talked one of the hotel workers into giving up her spot so that we could squeeze in and stay for the night. After going through all this trouble to get the spot, we hated to drive over to the venue. Our hotel was just close enough to the venue where we thought we could walk ............but far enough so that it was quite a journey with the pouring down rain! In the middle of the journey, we figured, hey, we're already wet -- let's walk through the Sonic drive-through. So, there we were ... soaking wet, eating tator tots, and waiting in line for the concert.
While in line, we sparked up a conversation with the guy standing in front of us. He and Albert talked music -- which songs they hoped the band would play, which songs they thought they would sing for their encore, etc., etc....dorky stuff. Come to find out, the guy was a Cuban from Miami!
(We'll call him RC for Random Cuban.) RC ended up being a really nice guy. He teaches at a high school in Miami and was actually in town for a debate tournament. Once the doors opened and we got in, we realized the venue was extremely small. We then saw a tiny gap in the front row where no one was standing yet. RC happened to be in that gap. Long story short, it was the best concert either of us have ever been to. Because of the size of the venue, it was a very intimate show. We know these guys are going to get big, so we feel very lucky to get to see them up close now while they're just getting started.
Back in our hotel room, after a very long day, I told Albert all I wanted was a nice cold glass of ice water. He believes that all hotel tap water is connected to a contaminated, poisonous sewer line, so he headed out to hunt down a vending machine. Much to my dismay, he came back with rasberry-flavored Aquafina FlavorSplash. Maybe it's just me, but when I'm craving an ice cold gulp of fresh water, nothing sounds more disgusting than what the bottle claims is a "naturally flavored water beverage." I took a sip and almost threw up all over the place ... I guess I was not prepared for the flavor splash.
In the end, we had an awesome time and Albert enjoyed his birthday present. Here are a few pictures ...
Change is hard. So hard. But exciting! I've been working for the same advertising/technology company for four years. And, I've been working from home for that company for the past two and a half years. It was the first job I landed after I graduated from college --- my first "real world" experience, my first clients, my first team. I was just beginning to feel successful in that position when I decided ... why not try a career change?! Last summer, I began the process of taking tests and filling out applications to become a teacher. Most people are very excited to hear that I'm going to be a teacher - normally, their first comment is: "Oh, that's wonderful! What will you be teaching?" I go on to say, "7th grade math," which, in turn, is answered with an, "Ohhhhhhh. Wellllll, uhhhh, good luck with that."
