AFI - Starland Ballroom 10/10/09

the show was amazing!
I can't even think of the right word to describe how wonderful it was.

I left my house at around 12:30. we drove and got slightly lost, but in the end figured it out. I got to the Starland at about 2:20. I waited for maybe a half an hour and then Christy showed up. she bought my extra ticket, we waited, and then someone she knew came over. Her name was Theresa and she was super nice! it was cold so she gave us blankets and later came back with a veggie wrap for Christy, but she shared it with me. then we waited some more.

Smith came out around 6 and handed everyone who was in the DF a wrist band. when I got to Smith I asked if I could take his picture, but I think he took what I said the wrong way and thought I meant that I wanted to take a picture with him, but he nicely said "I'm sorry, I'm working right now!".
I wanted to ask because I just didn't want to go up to him and shove a camera in his face.
so I got my wrist band and the DF line formed, we all waited until about 6:50ish to actually get in. I feel bad for the people that paid extra for the star parking, because it didn't even matter, the DF still got in first.

so I was up front for the whole show, there was a platform-esque thing that was a step above the rest of the floor that I stayed on for the duration of the show. although, I was shoved off by like two people who kept trying to hop on the platform. but I eventually got back up there.

as soon as gallows went on the crowd went crazy. everyone started smushing up against eachother, crowd surfing started and I got hit in the head with one of them, I think the guy actually landed on me. I had boots on so I was taller than usual, but I still wasn't able to hold the guy up! so he fell on me. and then I got smacked in the head a few times by people's hands. I thought it was kind of rude and gross that Frank kept spitting on the stage. but he got the crowd going and the music wasn't bad. but the only complaint I have with gallows playing was this one guy who tried ripping my shoulder off just to try and get closer. he left his spot and people swarmed in it, so when he wanted it back he tried shoving and pulling people out of the way. and during their set this same guy was basically throwing himself at people. I felt so bad for that tall guy with the lip ring who was to my right, he was being smashed by this guy! someone threw gallows set list into the crowd and I grabbed it. I wanted to put it away but couldn't reach my bag. I thought I had reached my bag so I shoved the list in, but I missed my bag and actually shoved it between myself and someone elses ass. then I asked the girl in front of me "did I get that in my bag? I think I did!" and she said "no, I think you shoved it between my ass" I apologized and grabbed the set list back and this time I got it in my bag.

so then AFI came on probably about 40 minutes after gallows. everyone went CRAZY. once again everyone was smushed against one another, and I still couldn't even officially reach my bag to pull my phone out to call people from the show as I promised (sorry Matt and Aly!). it was amazing though! besides the fact that I got hit in the head a few more times by people's arms. and also how some girl had her elbow out right up in my face. I got so mad because she kept smacking me with her arm I turned to her and said "can you put your fucking elbow down?" and she said "where the fuck am I supposed to put it!" she actually did have room to put it down, and after a little while she did put her elbow down. I feel so sorry for the people that were in front of me, especially the two girls, my rings got caught in their hair a couple times, and I probably hit them in the head a couple times by accident too. also, that guy in the hat, I felt sorry cause my arm(s) kept hitting his head, and to the girl with the monroe I was talking to before AFI came on, I believe my arm got shoved into her neck a couple times:/. AFI opened with torch song and after a couple more songs Davey saw a shoe and was like out of nowhere *pointing* "that's a shoe. whose shoe is this? is this your shoe?" and he handed it to some kid, then he said "wait, is that even your shoe? I think you only wanted it cause I touched it. that's fucking disgusting". from what I can remember they played (not in order): torch song, veronica sawyer smokes, end transmission, medicate, girl's not grey, dancing through sunday, death of seasons, the leaving song, silver and cold, on the arrow, love like winter, miss murder, kill caustic (with Lou from sick of it all), and just like heaven.

they did an encore after everyone chanted "AFI" and "through our bleeding we are one". the encore songs were (from the list above): just like heaven, miss murder, love like winter... I believe thodse were it, I was so excited it was hard to tell haha.

I was right smack in front of Hunter the whole night.

when AFI got off the stage for the second time, it was officailly over. I stood there for a couple of minutes and a girl I met while in line from NJ was so nice (she was with Christy and I the whole night, I feel bad I can't remember her name!) she bought us all water. so we drank our water and then went to the merch stand. I bought an AFI shirt, 3/4 sleeve. it's black and has the band members and details all in different colors. the background is black, but the sleeves are white. I got a small, but should have got an extra small... so it's kind of roomy, but it might shrink.

overall, I met some really awesome people! and it's a shame I didn't get really any of their names. the one story someone told me while in line that involved birthday parties and some rather sad and unfortunate circumstances (but the story was meant to be funny, and it was) that was one of the funniest things I have ever heard!

now I want to go to the Philly show in November:O

inspiration is found endlessly.

THIS: http://www.juxtapoz.com/12082-davey-havok-shares-his-art-collection-and-some-insight-on-being-a-musician

the art Davey has is amazing! and it's so varied, very good taste indeed. I find this quote very inspirational, "Do only what you love and give not a fuck if people have negative things to say about it. Being unpopular generally means that you're doing something right. If fame and fortune is all that you aspire to, please just stop, and spare us all." I myself am an aspiring artist and often am put down for doing what I love, I am told (even by my own family) I will be poor and will not get anywhere in life with pursuing art... but I find that quote so true, if you love something that emits creativity and that gives you happiness then why let people discourage you? I have known Davey has been one to appreciate art, so I think it's wonderful we get to have a taste of his wonderful collection. That man never ceases to inspire me with his words.

hair dye, gutters, and a window.

So today I decided to re-dye my hair (black) because I had highlights that were old and roots that were just awful. While I was actually applying the dye my dad decided he'd clean the gutters of our house. Now anyone else would have just used a ladder to do this job, but we didn't have one long enough. My dad improvised by using a hose, an extension cord, and an ice pick to clean our gutters and he got up on our roof (I know, interesting). I was sitting on the couch waiting for my 25 minutes to be over so I could rinse the dye out. The time was up and since my dad was using the hose I had to yell out to him I needed the water. He couldn't hear me the first time so I had to repeat what I had said. When he finally heard me he said "one minute!" well his one minute turned into more like 3. When he finally gave me the ok to use the water I went upstairs. And keep in mind he is still on the roof at this point but since I was upstairs we were on the same level. I was in my room getting the conditioner ready that I needed to use after I rinsed my hair when all I hear is *thump* "AHH shit" *thump*.... "help! help!" I went in the room next to mine to find that my dad got stuck in the window. He actually didn't need help because as soon as I walked in he got through. I asked him if he was okay after but it was just so funny I couldn't help but to laugh. at least he didn't break anything.

what awaits

I am currently sitting here and it is almost 1am. I am asking myself why I am still up. school starts in a couple weeks. I am anticipating going back, but at the same time do not really wish to. this year I will be a junior, the year that is, in my opinion, the most important. SATs, a graduation project to take care of, PSSAs, colleges to apply to. I can feel the headaches and stress descending upon me as I type:P

the summer is coming to an end, and I haven't done too much. I went to New York a few days after I got out of school. then in July I went down the shore with friends, and then a week later I went with my own family. after that I haven't done anything! right now I am really focusing on getting ready to go back to school. I still have to finish reading The Scarlet Letter for honor's English. I'll probably have a paper to write on that. I already read the first book that was assigned, Fallen Angels. I keep telling my mom I need new school uniforms. my shirts are just too big! I can't help I lost some weight, well I could I assume, but I don't have a problem with it haha.

I was exited that my DF package finally arrived today, but there's one issue... I still don't have full access to the boards. it's kind of a kick in the ass because I got this lovely letter saying "welcome! you are now apart of the official message board. here is your initiation package" and yet I am still waiting. soon... soon.

Chinatown & the meat meltdown

today my family and I went to Chinatown in Philly to celebrate my mother's birthday. we ate at the "Imperial In" which always has good food. her birthday was actually Friday, but we just went out to dinner tonight.
we as usual got down there pretty fast. it took us forever to find parking though. we roamed around the block a few times and then just decided to park in a lot. as we paid for parking someone pulled out on the street, just our luck. we walked around the corner to the restaurant and sat at a table that was already reserved for us. we ate with some family friends so they had a table ready when we got there. we all looked at the menu but I already knew what I wanted, an order of spicy eggplant and spring rolls. well... when I ordered I did order my spicy eggplant and spring rolls. when I got my order the spring rolls first arrived and I couldn't wait to sink my teeth in their warm deliciousness. I cut open the rolls since they were incredibly hot and something was odd about them. I looked inside and it didn't look like the spring rolls I was used to. I looked at it and said "hmm this looks like meat?". I turned to my mom and said "mom, what does this look like? does it look like chicken?" and she said "no, it looks like dough". well since I haven't been "up close" with chicken in almost two years I just assumed it was a clump of dough. I stuck the "dough" in my mouth and it was what I dreaded it to be... chicken. I immediately spit it out and literally almost burst into tears. the taste was an indescribable mass/mix of what I presume to be shit and just, shit. thank god I didn't chew it, I swear I would have puked. now normally from the Chinese place I usually order from their spring rolls are always vegetarian, filled with veggies and tofu. but apparently the place I went to eat at has two kinds. I actually thought all spring rolls were vegetarian! I assume not.
aside from my meat melt down the rest of the night was rather nice. I re-ordered my "spring rolls" and ensured this time that they were 100% vegetarian. and then about 10 minutes later my order of spicy eggplant emerged with its enticing purple tenderness. it was a nice dinner.

graphic enlargement

this works wonders if you have a small scale image and you want to draw it on a larger piece of paper.


(I used this technique to draw an image of Davey Havok.)

what is graphic enlargement?
it is an art technique where you take a small image and multiply it's dimensions by how many times you'd like to increase it's size to draw it on a larger scale. not only does this enable you to draw small images on a larger scale, it also enables you to draw the right proportions.

how do I do this technique?
first, what you need is: a ruler, a computer with a printer, a sketchbook or paper, a pencil, and a calculator.

second, if you see a picture online and say "wow! I'd love to draw this image!"
all you need to do is print out that image (but never print "fit to page" for graphic enlargement). it's best to find a small thumbnail image to print out if you are using this technique. for example, this image here would turn out to be fairly small when you print it, perfect for this technique:


third, after you print out an image you like you measure it's dimensions with a ruler. for example, let's just say the image from above turned out to be 2 by 3".

fourth, now that you have your smaller image's dimensions you can multiply those dimensions by any number you'd like to increase the size by so you can draw it on a larger piece of paper. for example, you have a 9 by 12" sketchbook and want to draw that smaller image in it, or maybe you have a 12 by 12" piece of paper. let's say you'd like to make your small image 4 times larger so it could fit your sketchbook. what you do is multiply the small image's dimensions (2 by 3") by 4 so you know what size paper you need to draw the image on. so for example, the dimensions of your larger scale drawing will turn out to be 8 by 12".

fifth, now that you have the dimensions needed for your actual drawing you must mark these measurements down on the piece of paper you are using with your ruler. so for example, that 9 by 12" piece of paper from your sketchbook now must be cut to equal 8 by 12".

sixth, now using your ruler you must draw lines directly meeting in the middle of the small image, and the paper you are drawing on. first, what you do is divide the small image's dimensions in half to make these lines. so the small image, which is 2 by 3" the lines you would draw would be at 1" and 1.5". for the paper you are drawing your image on, which is in this case, 8 by 12" you also divide these numbers in half. so on that paper you will draw lines at 4" and 6".

what you want is for it to look like this (and I am very much aware of how off the small image's lines are, I did not use a ruler for it, this is just for example and I happened to have 8 by 12" already marked on one of my pages):

a general rule of thumb is what ever dimensions you have, just divide them in half to make the lines exactly in the middle of the images.

seventh, now after you have drawn your lines down the middle of both images with your ruler, what you do is use the small image you have as a guide for drawing on your larger piece of paper. what you do is number the boxes on the small image and also put these same numbers in the boxes of the larger piece of paper you are drawing on. now you simply match each box up and draw what you see in each box according to the numbers. like this:

the lines you drew for this technique can be erased after you finish your piece. it's best to draw the lines lightly.

personally I like printing images out and cutting them down to equal exactly 2 by 3". what I then do is always multiply those dimensions by 4 so my actual drawing will be 8 by 12".

an introduction to my life

a friend suggested I post some of the stories that I have had the pleasure to experience in my life on here. all of these are comical. my family is really not normal. unfortunately this is the only story I can think of at the moment worth mentioning!

specifically one story that always entertains people is when I went tubing on the Delaware river last summer. it all started on a hot summer day, my grandma picked my brother and I up in her car. we were then on our way to pick up her friend Darlene who was going to tag along. she had that "Tom Tom" portable GPS car navigation system newly installed in her car so she was using that to direct us to the tubing place. she kept calling it the "girl in the box" and when it said "turn left" for example she would turn the opposite direction and state that the "girl in the box" was wrong. also, when it wouldn't talk she would say "HELLO girl in the box!" and tap on it. many times we kept going in circles or passing the street we were supposed to go down. when we finally got to the place we walked to where the bus and tubes were. this man is handing all these tubes out down a line and ensuring everyone is getting a tube before we get on this bus to take us up the river. well, this older perverted looking man points to me and says "does he need a tube?"... another man said "he? he is a she!". I was insulted, but keep in mind I had the worst and most unflattering attire on I think anyone could ever wear. I wore a very large t shirt, shorts, old shoes, and a hat that my hair was tucked into, I also had shades on. the only reason I tucked my hair in was because I was afraid the sun would fade my hair dye. in retrospect, I looked like a total dike. when I finally got my tube (I was the last to receive one) we all got on the bus that would take us up the river. the old perverted looking man sat across from us and I stared at him the whole time due to the fact that I was pissed at him. I also swear this man had a boner the whole time, I am not kidding. when we got off the bus we got in the river and started our descent down. the water was really cold and shallow at first and there was also barely a current. we floated on for what seemed like forever in the hot sun. I kept putting sun screen on every 15 minutes or so and my grandma kept saying "stop putting so much on! you'll get poisoned! you know Bonnie put too much sunscreen on once and she got really sick!". that never happened to Bonnie (my grandma's friend). that's something I love about my grandma she makes up stories to scare us so we will stop doing something that she feels will potentially harm us. she then snatched the sunscreen away but I managed to regain it about 10 minutes later. at one point as we were floating down the river my grandma suggested we bungee ourselves together so we wouldn't get lost. at that point my brother and I paddled father away from her. my brother got really far ahead and my grandma kept yelling "DOM! DOM! DOMINIC!!! I'M COMING!" as she thought something would happen to him. I'd say about 20 minutes later from that my grandma's friend Darlene fell asleep face down on her float. Darlene literally looked like a corpse floating along the river. there was a point at the river where it would split two ways, we had to wake her up so she wouldn't go the wrong way. a little while after that we seen the god damn food boat, it whisked past us as we were floating for fucking ever in the hot sun. we then floated for what seemed like two hours before we got to the "island" which was just a bunch of rocks/gravel with tables to eat at where the boat was parked. there was also a hippy on the boat who had the longest hair I had ever seen so it was like a fucking red cape going by. before we actually got to this "island" though (when it was in sight) a man got out of his tube and started walking over to it. I thought "oh fuck this, I'm tired of floating I can just get out and walk to the food boat like that guy is!"... it was such a bad idea. although the water was super shallow the current was crazy, so as soon as I got out I fell. my grandma almost died at this point. she panicked and rushed over screaming "JAC! JAC! GET BACK IN YOUR FLOAT! JAC!!!!". how embarrassing. so I managed to get back in my float and made it to the "island" eventually. the food boat luckily had veggie patties but they had to get another boat to bring it to the food boat. apparently veggie patties are special orders and also cost about $5 more. after we ate we got back in out floats and went down the river until we got to the point to where the bus would pick us up again to take us back. we then got back on the bus and were on our way back to where the car was parked. I wanted to get changed because I was NOT going to ride home in wet clothes. there was no where to get changed so I went inside this smelly tent thing where a bunch of flies happened to be. my worst nightmare. the tent seriously reeked of shit. I held my breath and got dressed as fast as I could. then we were on our way home.

I will post more crazy stories like this as soon as they pop into my mind!
Mallory happened to remind me of this one (since I explained the whole thing to her when it happened)... so I just had to explain it to everyone else:D.