Afishionados,

Well, just another exciting day for me today. You know, the usual stuff: wake up early, drive to school, attend class, drive to Indiana, hang out with Missy Higgins again… Yep, just the usual for me.

I don’t think I look half as retarded in this photo as I do in my first photo with Missy. Of course, I didn’t have to drive five hours this time to see her, either, so I wasn’t nearly as tired as before. Still, I think I rarely take a good (or even decent) photo, but I think this one came out pretty well. Plus, Missy is the attractive one in the picture, and everyone’s eyes will be focused on her and not me, anyway. Besides, her expression in this photo is positively adorable.

Missy’s traveling with two other bands right now and her spring tour debuted in Indianapolis, Indiana tonight. Thankfully, Missy got to play first in the queue. Unfortunately, the other two bands had to play as well, so her show was much shorter than the last five times I’ve seen her. I expected this going in, but her performance, as always, was top notch.

Immediately upon finishing her act, Missy headed straight to her huge, black tour bus. A small group of us had to pry her (nicely, of course) from the bus and beg her to sign autographs and take photos. I think there were only 6 or 7 of us altogether. Obviously I don’t know Missy personally (despite my best efforts and six concerts later ;-)) but she still comes across as very sweet, innocent, caring, well-rounded, and extremely down-to-earth person. She is also one of the most shy people that I have ever met. Missy wasn’t upset or mad or anything about the guy knocking on the bus’ glass and asking her to come out (and no, it wasn’t me that did that).

Unlike the concert in October, I worked up enough courage to actually say more than two words to her. I told Missy that she was my favorite musician ever and that I loved her music. I also thanked her for touring the USA and confessed that I’ve driven to see her in concert each and every time that she visits. Missy simply smiled, waved to me, and said, “Well, see you the next time, then!” And with that, she climbed back aboard her bus and was gone.

Afishionados,

What this world needs (and by world I mean Australia and the United States) is a plan that allows citizens of one country (and by citizens I mean me and only me) to exchange citizenship with citizens of another. A one-for-one kinda deal.

There’s gotta be someone dumb crazy enough to want to leave Australia and move here, right? Plus, I can really help out some of Australia’s citizens.

Look at this woman, for example. She’s posted to the Singles ads because there aren’t enough nice guys in Australia for her to date. Since the US and A seems all about being the world police, I feel it’s my duty to help out this damsel in distress.

She needs a boyfriend and who am I to say no? I am now accepting donations to help the fundraising necessary to complete my plan. I accept all major credit cards, PayPal, Checks, Money Order, and anything I can sell for cash, including but not limited to: your first born child, addictive drugs and medication, and novelty Star Wars toys from the 70s.

Maybe I should get Angela Lansbury to do my commercials, too. You know, have her look all mopey and depressed, walk around crowds of Australian women, and have her say lines like, “For just 10 cents a day, you can make these hot Australian women’s dreams come true.” I think it could work.

Remember, it’s not about helping me, it’s about helping others. So please help by donating today!

Afishionados,

Chicago was short but awesome! I got into town around 1 P.M. Chicago time, had lunch, took a nap, then hitched a free ride downtown in plenty of time to see Missy Higgins perform at Martyrs’. Last year, I found out by simple luck that Missy Higgins was performing in Seattle. That concert was excellent and I had a great time. I spent the entire evening standing about 5 feet away from Missy as she sang for about an hour and a half.

The concert in Chicago blew that one way out of the water. The concert was sold out even before the show started. The venue was still a hole in the wall, but the Chicago crowd was a lot more lively than Seattle’s. I think Missy liked the Chicago crowd, too, because she spent a lot of time giving background info on her songs and joking with her fans. She even extended her stay and played a handful of extra songs because people were enjoying the concert so much. The show felt much more intimate than last year’s. Missy doesn’t have a single song that I don’t like, but she does have some that I enjoy more than others. And as far as my favorites, Missy played ‘em all :-).

I borrowed my mom’s camera for the trip, but I didn’t take it to Martyrs’, which worked out just fine because it was far too dark inside to take any good photos and flash photography was prohibited. Thanks to MySpace, I got a bulletin from Missy that said she’d also be playing a free gig at the Borders bookstore in the heart of downtown Chicago. Since I didn’t know this when I planned my trip, I hadn’t planned on going. But since I drove myself, I quickly readjusted my schedule.

Martyrs’ probably had two or three hundred people there. It was packed pretty full and it was hot as hell. Borders, on the other hand, was a completely different animal. Only 30 or 40 people showed up for it. And guess who had the frontmost seat directly in front of Missy :-D?

The Borders gig started at 12:30 P.M. I showed up at 11:00 to grab a good seat and some coffee. My chair was literally two feet away from Missy’s piano. I was even closer this time than I had been in Seattle. This may not sound so amazing to people not familiar with Missy Higgins, but consider her audiences in Australia: Typically 4,000-12,000 people at $65+ a pop. Here’s a photo of the Live Earth concert that was held in Australia. Missy performed here, so you get the idea.

I killed the time by chatting with the guy who set up her equipment. Unfortunately, I never got his name, but he was very friendly and I know he was from Perth. We prattled on about Australia and Australian musicians, and he reinforced the idea how insanely lucky I was to be so close to Missy at a free “concert”. Since I don’t live in Australia, I don’t think I can fully comprehend how popular she is over there, but I like to think that I can, at the very least, appreciate it.

Me, looking very tired from getting up at 7 A.M., driving to Chicago for an 8:00 P.M. concert, not going to sleep until 2:00 A.M., and getting up at 8:00 A.M. to see Missy at Borders. Holy crap.

Around 11:40, Missy came out to finish setting up her keyboard and guitar. By this time, there were probably 10 people (most of whom were at the concert the night before) waiting for the event to start and Missy was kind enough take some photos with us. So, it seems that crossing my fingers paid off after all.

The Borders event was, of course, a much shorter show than the Martyrs’ concert. But it really felt like a private party and Missy was there just to entertain us, and only us. She didn’t even have a playlist, she just took requests for songs off her new album from her fans (I managed to sneak in a request and Missy played it. Woo!)

After about 30 minutes, the show switched to an autograph signing. Convenient that I brought my CDs with me. I jumped in line fast enough to be third.

I was nervous when I talked to Missy, but she’s a very cool and down-to-earth person and seems like a really easy person to get along with. I can only imagine how much money she’s made since she started singing, and I’m glad that she hasn’t gone the way of the “American music star” and let all her fame and fortune go to her head.

As she signed my CD covers, I told her she was my favorite singer and more than worth the 5+ hour drive to see her. And then she looked at me like I was crazy and asked, “You drove 5 hours to see me? Where are you from?” I thanked her for her awesome performance at Martyrs’ and told her I’d drive back to Chicago in a heartbeat if she ever came back to sing, which resulted in a very Australian, “No worries”¹ and a “Thanks so much!”.

I’m sorry if this seems like too much rambling, but it’s been a very fast 48 hours and I’m completely burned out from driving for 10 of those 48 hours. I’ve probably bored most of you, but I think I really wrote this post for me. I’ve seen Missy Higgins live three times now, and each time keeps getting better and better. I’ll never forget my (too short of a) trip to Chicago, and I’ll never forget the concerts or the opportunity I’ve had in just getting to sit down and talk to Missy Higgins. It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and means the world to me.

I took 51 photos at Borders, but I kept the flash off as to not annoy or distract Missy while she sang. Here are just a few that I thought turned out especially well. I also want to say that the guitarist in the green shirt (Ben Edgar, also quite good) is also very cool. He, too, thought I was crazy for driving 5 hours to see Missy.

¹ This phrase translates to “No problem” for any Yanks not familiar

Afishionados,

I haven’t had a “real” vacation for a long time, and so I’ve decided to take a few days and head to Chicago. It’s going to be a fast trip, but it’s going to be better than the last time I was there because there will be no Navy boot camp involved this time. And this time there are Australians involved!

My favorite musician in the world is Missy Higgins. She’s from Australia and something about her songs and her voice just gets to me. She’s not well known in the USA and I prefer it stay that way, because her tickets are so much cheaper as an “indie”. I saw her last year in Seattle and she was great. Thanks to a MySpace bulletin, I saw that she was coming to Chicago. After I bought a ticket and booked a hotel, I saw that Missy’s actually playing two venues. Awesome! Hopefully I’ll get to see her twice, because she doesn’t come to the USA as often as she tours Australia. That’s that plan, anyway. I’ll even keep my fingers crossed for an autograph or (gasp) a photo.

I won’t have a computer with me, but I will have access to email, so anyone in the Chicago area who wants to buy me lunch, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.

In a completely unrelated note, I got new glasses. They’re completely round, and I like ‘em. Harry Potter, John Lennon, and Steve Jobs: Eat your heart out.

Afishionados,

Scotty from Star Trek had his ashes onboard a rocket on the way to outer space. Apparently, his last wish was to boldy go where no ashes have gone before. Unfortunately for him, the rocket crashed and landed somewhere in New Mexico. Instead of searching for aliens in space, maybe he’s taking the easy way out by taking a peek through Roswell? He just can’t doooooooo it, Captain! He doesn’t have the powerrrrrrrrr!

Here’s to you, Scotty. I would say “Live long and prosper” but… well… you’re already dead. So, instead: May the Force Be With You.

This news courtesy of Engadget.

Afishionados,

It is with much pain and regret and I am here to inform you that my ship, the U.S.S. Neverhome CVN-72 is on its way to the other side of the Puget Sound here in Washington. This means that former Navy personnel that have the fortunate luck to be out of the Navy yet the foolishness to return to working alongside it and have converted from “I’m a neat and tidy sailor with a pristine haircut” into “Fuck you, I make 8 times as much as you and I can grow my hair out and throw my cigarettes anywhere I please thank you very much because I am now a shipyard hippie” will be working on my ship.

This also means that my 8-hour day now includes a 2-hour bus ride to work and a 2-hour bus ride from work. Ah, yes, Uncle Sam, how I do love thee. From the creators of “Boot Camp” and “Naval Nuclear Power Training” comes the exciting sequel to the Naval Adventure that is my life, “The Shipyard”!

But that’s not all! If you act now, Uncle Sam will also throw in a FREE night’s stay¹ onboard CVN-72 in the most narrow, claustrophobic, shit-stained bed you can imagine! But wait, there’s more! If you call within the next 10 minutes we’ll also include our famous “Cinderella Liberty²” package and no additional cost to you! Hurry! Operators are standing by!

Someone send me some Midol because I’m going into Uber PMS mode until the spring.

¹This will be my first night I’ve slept onboard the Lincoln since I reported to it, hence the fruity picture. You get it, right?

²Cinderella Liberty means I have to report back to the ship no later than 12:00 midnight. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

The good Reverend over at the Tetherd Cow has gone on vacation. Click for a larger version of the picture.

If you could travel through time and visit any era when would you go and why?