Random Thoughts

Over the years I’ve had thoughts for various blogs but nothing worthy of a “full blog” in my opinion so I held them back until they pilled up into a ball of randomness that would equal what I call a “full blog” posting. I’ve called these posts a variety of things …. “Time for a catch up” ...  “Jumping onto my soap box”  …  “venting” … “Random Thoughts”  …   “What Grinds my Gears”  but most have their own problems. They all basically allow me to talk about randomness that really doesn’t connect together and get them out of my head. Time for a catch up implies that you know the background of what I’m talking about, sometimes you will sometimes you won’t if you’v been paying attention. Jumping on my soap box, venting and what grinds my gears implies that what I’m talking about has passion about a particular subject usually things that annoy me or frankly piss me off. However in this particular instance that is not the case. I have decided however to go with “Random Thoughts” from here on out… so here we go.

Birthday … A week ago dear readers I turned well …. Yeah I’m gonna say it …. 44  and let me tell you lately I’ve been feeling all of those years. More on that in a moment. It was a good birthday. Pretty low key, which is how I like em. The day before my work peeps took me to lunch. On my actual birthday the boss and my department took me to lunch (It was a Friday and many of my work peeps are doing the 10 hour days so they can have Friday’s off thing to save “gas”) So I was treated to lunch on two days and it was very nice. I didn’t necessarily have “time” for it but it was nice to get out of the office and enjoy some fellowship, comradery, and good food and a break from the insanity that was a Friday at work. That night my parents and brother and Sister in Law took me to dinner. All I really wanted for my birthday was a nice Steak. I got it and enjoyed the haties out of it.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoy celebrating my birthday I just as I’m getting older don’t want the attention. Not because of the number but because … well…. I don’t give the same energy back to my friends on theirs and that makes me feel really shitty. I want to give that energy but I’m just exhausted from giving my energy to so many things. Yes I am well aware of how lame that sounds …. Just give it to me ok.  

Doctors/Kidney Stone … Around Thanksgiving my back started bothering me really bad. During “Covid” my General Practice doctor left his practice and started a practice for 65 and older crowd focused on I guess Medicare/Medicaid ? AKA I was out cause as I stated previously, I am well under that number. I wasn’t “needing” a doctor and didn’t want to venture into the places where the sick people might be mingling so I didn’t do anything about it. A few times I masked up and went to an urgent care for a steroid shot or an antibiotic and went on with my life. So when I called the old place that I used to go to with my old GP and was like “I have done something to my back” the nice lady on the phone basically said go fuck yourself. With people out with the Flu and vacations being scheduled for holidays the earliest I could get in would be January. I was like are you kidding me right now? She said no. I said bye. I suffered through it taking an anti-inflammatory pills that I had from when I had hurt my knee and some “over the counter” pain relievers to help me sleep but every morning it was like I’d get out of bed and someone would shank me in the lower part of my back in the exact same place every single day. At one point I even thought I had Sciatica and would try to do the “exercises” I found online for it. FIRST OFF WHY DOES EVERY BACK REMEDY START WITH GET YOUR ARSE ON THE FLOOR. If I could get off said floor that would be different but cheese and rice man I can’t do that. I’d try and I’d fail every time. There were a few times that I almost threw up from the pain and several other times that I let the pain get the best of me and had to clean up the results of that. I’ll spare you those details.

                                               

Needless to say I finally had enough and right around Christmas/New Years drug myself to the Urgent Care cause there was no way this was “just a strained back” anymore. I started having dreams about the pain I was in. Like full on technicolor dreams about going to the doctor getting an x-ray only to discover a broken hip, or a broken back, or that I was in the middle of a heart attack and the nightmare that followed. I had been resting it and babying it and lathering up in the muscle spasm creams and sprays just to be able to walk across a room. Jokes on me it was January before I could see anyone anyway. Well played nurse … well played.

The Urgent care discovered that I had a UTI and also took an x-ray that upon review revealed that I also had what appeared to be a LARGE Kidney Stone. They sent me to a Urologist. The first thing he did was take a urine sample then send me for a CT where I had to lie on my back perfectly still for like 10 minutes. When I went to get up I almost passed out the tech did too. She said I got super pale and made me immediately sit back down. I was glad it was angry so that they could really see it in all it’s pissed off glory. Then…. I went back to work.

Two days later he called, during my staff meeting, to say I had a 7mm kidney stone at the base of my kidney. It seemed logged in there and then he said the thing that scared me more than anything else … I don’t know that this is going to solve your back problem, but it needs to be dealt with. I almost burst into tears but regrouped and said ok so now what. He was going to schedule my surgery to have Non-Invasive Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) cause he didn’t believe I’d be able to pass it. That long ass word is basically the use of sound waves to crush the kidney stone into smaller pieces so that they can more easily pass through the bladder.

The immediate unknown hit me hard and frankly scared the shit out of me. However, it got scheduled and I prepared myself for my first ever surgery just after my 44^th birthday (that’s right it would be on Feb 1^st … so we are now 4 months into this process). Sure, I had had my wisdom teeth removed and done a colonoscopy before but nothing like this. It was going to be an outpatient surgery at the hospital with IVs, a medical bracelet with my name on it, and wires and stuff and I was to be put to sleep for it. I had a male work friend who was trying to walk me through all of it cause apparently, he does this like every 3-6 months. I told him I hope that will not be me.  The day of the surgery came the first thing they did was a scan of my kidneys and lower abdomen I guess to make sure nothing had moved. Then I told my father goodby and  was taken to the back, and they did a pregnancy test, which was Negative of course. Then … I waited and watched some TV, that is to say I flipped the channels. I made the mistake of leaving my phone at home (one more thing to deal with I told myself) I missed it so during that hour and a half or so.

                                                      

Next thing I know we are waiting on the anesthesiologist who eventually showed up and spent about 10 minutes telling me how small my mouth/throat was and that he couldn’t believe I don’t have Sleep Apnea and suggested I see a doctor about it. I was like um… ok can we focus on the task at hand please. Next thing I know they wheel me down the hall, I transition from the bed to this table thing, I shift into position….  and then…. I woke up in recovery. Like I have zero recollection of anything in between. Which I guess is a good thing. I woke up in the middle of my colonoscopy and I threw up on my dentist during my wisdom teeth removal.

My small throat was killing me …. The nurse lady kept asking if I needed or wanted ice chips and I thought are you crazy my throat doesn’t work. I could barely swallow. I asked if it worked, she said sure honey it did. I didn’t believe her. I just wanted to go home. I stayed there a little while longer while the nurses talked about Rihanna and if she had ever performed at the Super Bowl before. One of the nurses was sure she had and the others were like nah she hadn’t. Then they talked about last years Super Bowl halftime show naming all the hip hop stars, and they couldn’t remember Mary J or Eminem. They kept saying you know it had Snoop and Dr. Dre and those other people and when I yelled out Mary J they were shocked I was even sitting there. Ice lady came over to see if I was ok but one of the other nurses said she’s right Mary J was there and proceeded to round out the guest list. Then the nurse that was sure Rihanna had went to the all mighty google to confirm she was right only to lean she was thinking of the Grammys and played Disturbia at near high volume for much longer than I feel she should have.

That was my cue to leave. No offense to Rihanna but yeah it was time. I got dressed and was wheeled out of the hospital to my dad’s car. He stopped to pick up medicine at Wallgreens (that was not mine – he’d have to go back later for that) and we finally made it home. Mom had asked earlier in the week what I might want to eat and I requested plain white rice with a little butter. I promptly thew that up and went to bed. I slept for the next 9 hours. Got up, ate some saltines and took the only pain pill I’ve taken so far and then went back to bed where I slept in 2 hour intervals that night. The next day was more of the same. I’d wake up be groggy as hell, sit there for 15-20 minutes and pass out for about 2 hours and start the cycle again. I guess around 6:30 that night I finally got up and ate something real and stayed up the rest of the night in hopes of a better night’s sleep that night. I was proud to report that my back pain was nearly nonexistent unless I had a full bladder then it was more of the same. However, I was considering it a win.  In all of this I only missed 2 days of work. The day for the surgery and the day after. I’m not sure if I’m proud of that or not to be honest. I have spent the last few days trying to pass these things so I can move on with my life to hopefully never do this again.

Rest…. I suck at rest. When I’m resting I’m thinking about all the thousands of things I should be doing while resting which means 1. I’m not enjoying the rest … 2. I’m not really resting at all and 3. I’m also not accomplishing the thousands of things I'm thinking about which amps me up even more. Even on typical weekends I know there are things I should be doing but I don’t do them and instead watch mind numbing TV or play games or scroll on my phone kicking myself for not doing all the things instead of “wasting time” when “wasting time” is what my body is telling my brain I need to be doing but then my brain isn’t letting me enjoy it. Golden was quite proud I took 2 days for my surgery she wanted me to take more but I think also understood my need to make sure things at work were handled. I did at least work from home (more cause I had to than by my choice) so it wasn’t quite as grueling but still. That being said on Monday I’m going to sell back 40 hours of Vacation to my work. I’m not going to use it and I might as well get paid for it instead of losing it. So what I am saying is I’m still learning what “rest” is and how to use it.

Music/Convert Tickets…. Buy the freaking concert tickets or don’t. Just stop with the bitching. Is it stupid expensive to go to a “concert” yes …. Are these acts jumping through more hoops than ever to make shows even happen, also yes. It’s not ticketmaster, it’s not scalpers, it’s the fact that when they put an insane price on a pair of tickets (and we aren’t even talking a decent pair of seats at this point) people are still buying them. Taylor Swift fans weren’t bitching about the price they were bitching that they sold out before they could get in to buy them at that stupid price. Beyonce fans were the same way, bitching about the price as well as how quickly they sell out. Get the tickets or don’t. Honestly I don’t care but be pissed off about the right thing. Complain to the right people. The idea that Congress is going to possibly take this up is just blowing my mind. Congress hasn’t and can’t solve a damn thing but yeah let’s focus on this. Let a Beyonce tour not sell a ticket, let an Ed Sherran sell out half a stadium, let Taylor not fill the seats and see if those prices don’t come down but that’s not going to happen. There is always going to be someone perfectly happy to pay the insane price for your seat. When I saw Ed a few years ago in TN I admit I overpaid for my seats. When I got there, I was damn proud to have done so. Am I lining back up to see him on his new tour, frankly no. It’s a stadium tour, outside, in the south, during the summer. So many things to factor in…the weather, the heat, the uncomfortableness of the day. I love the new album and I still love the man but I’ve seen him do his thing in really great seats and now I’ll just watch youtube clips. Let someone else have my seat. However, if I did decide to jump back in the ring I’d pay the extra money for the decent seats. You will too. Sop acting all high and mighty as you pull the credit card out of your wallet. 

Now if we are talking about Bryan White just take the wallet do what you need to do and return it afterwards cause I'd pay anything the man asks me to pay and I'd even buy the boy a burger for his troubles. Have I told you guys how much I love that man ?! If not I should do that. 

                                                 

 

Lent is coming ……. Which means giving things up …….. which for me typically means social media and soda. Last year I did caffeine in general which also took out tea and with my recent Kidney stone issues I think I’m going to do that again. However Lent 2023 starts Feb. 22^nd and ends April 8^th. My nephew is getting married the first week of March so I’m not planning to give up social media but I also don’t plan to be on it as much either. I frankly look forward to this “break” and Lent is a good excuse for it. However in the lead up to and the aftermath of the wedding I want to see the messages, the pictures that are shared the fun surrounding it all and to do that I need to be on all the social sites. Maybe I’ll find something else to give up along with Caffeine but that’s another post.

                                   

Well there you have it …. random conversations from me about very random things I needed to get out of my head. Hope you enjoyed that. There were several other things I'm dying to talk about but those will come in another post.  

Marcy (@beaslma)

Nashville Night 2 ... AKA ED SHEERAN!!!!!!!

So it's been insane since the concert ... sorry this is so "delayed" but hey you have to quickly recover from a trip like this and everything else just falls to the side.

So ... back to where I was... oh that's right Day 2 of my super awesome Nashville trip with Christina and Trista. The day started out very innocently .... some sight seeing at the mall, maybe a boat ride through the Opryland Hotel later in the day and then .... the day turned amazing when we found the Smith Creek Moonshine distillery which was giving out free shots in the middle of a freaking mall!

Guys they had like 13 various flavors for our enjoyment... did I mention that the "tasting" was FREE?! I mean how could you NOT participate?! I will admit I didn't participate in all 13 flavors, I mean I even draw the line at alcohol when it has Peach in it ... or "coffee" flavored anything to be honest. I will admit when she pulled the coffee flavored one out Denis Leary popped into my head which made me giggle out loud harder than I meant to do so. By then I might have been a tick tipsy at this point cause ...incase you missed it ... FREE SHOTS!!!!!!!!

I will tell you what I tried and thought of the following:

• Sweet Tea - which was pretty good .. not fantastic but good.
• Peach - I declined this one
• Apple Pie - I declined this one too
• Chocolate Silk - this is the one that brought me to the table, it was delicious. Like hot chocolate with a kick. Like a nice hug that you didn't know you needed.
• Strawberry Shortcake - Another I declined
• Coffee - add that to the list I said no thank you
• Orange Cream - this one tasted like a Dreamsicle and it was delicious but too tart for my taste. I wouldn't want a lot of it at one time is my point.
• Butter Cake - this one was just gross . . . I mean I still vomit a little just thinking about it
• Ginger Snap - I declined this one
• Salted Caramel - If I could have married this I would have ... it was that good. Had they had smaller bottles of this stuff I'd have bought one but I didn't need the giant jars they had on the shelves. A thousand years from now I might be half way done with the jar... might be.
• Cinnamon  - I declined this one
• Lemon Lime  - I declined this one too -- eww I mean really? I mean who comes up with this shit.
• Straight - AKA White Lightening ... the OG of the Moonshine world -- the Granddaddy of it all ... and thank goodness it was last cause it burned ... hard. By this point most had walked away but me and a few others and let me tell you...one can't really appreciate the others without appreciating the base. I appreciate the base, and love what it signifies but yeah ... still burning a little bit to this day.

I will admit my friends didn't LOVE this portion of the day nearly as much as I did. However their displeasure of moonshine allowed me to have their shots so it was win ... win... win for me. So while I didn't try all 12 flavors I did have more than my fair share of 13 shots. Did I mention that we hadn't had anything to eat all day and it was close to 1pm at this point in the day and moonshine on an empty stomach is never a good idea?! ok .. cool just checking. That is a point that needs to be stated and just incase any of you saw me afterwards, no my face is not always that red, and yes I was on the verge of being a little drunk. On to food...STAT! I regret nothing....nothing I tell you ... except not buying any to bring home, I could totes finish that jar... totes couldn't but yeah i'm not a quitter.

After that we found food. I needed it, seriously my face was quite warm and i'm told that at some point I was dancing in the mall ... IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!!!! After a nice greasy burger I was good to go for round #2 but my crew refused to venture back to the Moonshine store, which upon hindsight... this was a good call on their part. Well played crew ... well played.

The coolest part of walking around the mall was seeing people in Ed Sheeran T-shirts from his first night in Nashville and talking to them about the show. The more I talked to people the more excited I got for the night ahead. Everyone had great things to say about the show and it just pumped me up more than I already was. I also discovered the shirt I planed to buy that evening. One decision made.

After the moonshine and lunch we made our way to the Opry Land Hotel for a quick boat ride around the hotel (more to sight see than anything else) then walked around the various shops.

It was at this point that I became an official County Music Manager when I financed the cutting of Christina and Trista's debut single, a cover of the Judds song "Grandpa tell me bout the good ole days." Unfortunately I was unable to be in the booth with them as they were cutting it I had business to attend to, gigs to book, myspace page to plan, Go Fund me account set up for our debut EP, you know that kind of thing. I wish the single was better but the equipment wasn't all that great. I'm going to work on that for their next single, cause I'm telling you this group is going places. Booking shows now just call 1-800-for-reals and I'll let you know about their availability. They will be made available for parties, weddings, really any place where people gather, your living room for instance. All money up front. Performance is non-refundable.

   

So we aren't ready to join Ed on tour yet but we'll get there one day and he'll beg to be the opening act for us! Sure that's how that's going to go...maybe I was still feeling the moonshine at this point in the afternoon. Shortly after that we made our way back to the car and back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Pucketts, one of my favorite places to eat ever and then the concert.

     

I've been to Pucketts before once to see my boy Markus Fox play, and lo and behold I posted we were having dinner before the show and Markus hits me up. "What do you mean you are in town and didn't tell me?" - Did I mention Markus has recently moved to Nashville to pursue music full time and thus I don't see him nearly as much as I used to which makes me a sad Marcy ? - Turns out Markus was playing directly across from the arena and scheduled to go on AFTER the Ed Sheeran concert so he said we should come down. I was really excited to see him again and we made plans to get together
later that evening.

Then food happened. Guys Pucketts is soooooooooooo delicious. Imagine your grandma's cooking with a really awesome sound track playing behind it. That's how I describe Pucketts. No one was playing while we were there but it was still early. We wanted to give us plenty of time to eat and get to the show and boy did we. After a delicious dinner we went back to the Car to park at the arena then "walk around" as it started to drizzle. Stupid NATE....just kidding he wouldn't show up until Sunday but it was fun to say. We walked down one side of Broadway and then came back up until we were back at the arena. We also walked over to the Ryman, couldn't go in as it was closed but could see the building itself and walked through the "gift shop." Everything in Nashville has a gift shop . . . . everything.

Upon getting back to the arena we stood in line for a T-shirt but they didn't have the one I saw at the Mall earlier booooooooooooooooo hiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssss, I did end up finding another but will have to start dieting like right now to wear it a year from now. ha! Then we got in line to go inside the Bridgestone Arena which took forever!!!!!!! I mean security was dumb tight and I get it really I do but good lord. Thank goodness we were so early. We made it to our seats in record time and I was immediately thankful for the seats cause they were amazeballs. Guys for real if he sneezed he would have sneezed in my face ... you know if he turned his head to the left. I was so excited .... I stood up and pointed to the back of the arena and told my friend, "those guys way back there are gonna be soooo angry!" I mean it's Ed Freaking Sheeran, he's a small ginger haired man with a guitar, that's it. Him, a guitar, and a loop pedal. Way back there I can't even imagine what he looked like .... I mean I guess it would have looked like him to those people. We also couldn't figure out where the "screens" were, I told my friend when we were planning that if I go I'm not watching a screen the entire time, I could do that on youtube for free. I had figured they were in the Jumbo Tron turns out that wasn't the case either. After a while I stopped caring about the people way behind us and focused on what was in front of us. That stage set up was ridiculous. Ed posted to Instagram a video of them building it once and I remember thinking they don't get paid nearly enough and upon seeing it in person i'm more convinced that's true.

Teddy's Photos - Stage Construction - Instagram

This evening was not without drama tho, just so you'll know. At one point my friend went to the restroom, I stayed in our seats. I had the tickets on my phone. She did not. The guy didn't want to let her come back to the floor. She finally just walked right past him and came to our seats. I mean it was the same asshat who showed us where to go like not 30 minutes before so she was like why are you hassling me.

Then without warning the lights went dark and James Blunt was on stage. I like James Blunt and upon leaning he'd be the support act downloaded his new album "The Afterlove" which I LOVE. It's cleaver and funny and just really good music. I really enjoyed his set which consisted of many of my favorite Afterlove songs but what no one set me up for was how funny Mr. Blunt was. He had us laughing between each song. It was a great start to the evening. While James was playing, that's right I've decided I can call him James now ..... the young ladies behind us were drink challenged and dropped a FULL coke with no lid and it was like the floodgates in New Orleans opened and took everyone out within a 3 mile radius. Christina, my friend, got the bulk of the spray. She was just happy it was coke and not beer, hold on to that hope Christina. The seats we were sitting in were soaked, the floor around us was soaked everything was soaked. So we stood for Jame's set. Seriously go get Afterlove. I was never a big fan of  You're Beautiful it gets on my nerves but as I've learned with Ed never just an artist by his singles.

When James went off stage watching the crew break down the stage and get it set up for Ed was fascinating. So much so that I didn't notice that the two young ladies who dumped coke all over us had been asked to vacate their seats when it was determined they were in the wrong seats anyway. They weren't even supposed to be there guys .... like what!?

During the intermission, since we couldn't sit, we talked with the couple sitting next to the "Coke girls" was we now refer to them. They were there celebrating the fact that their teenage daughter got a clean bill of health just that morning from scans done last week. She's been fighting cancer for 4 years and they believe she is now in remission. We all celebrated that. It was like our section was celebrating and it was awesome. The mom cried a little dad couldn't stop smiling and we were cheering for a girl we had never met. It was a really cool moment.

Then the lights went down again and ED walked on stage. Guys ... it was literally everything I wanted it to be and more. He was worth every penny. I hadn't looked up the set list he was playing at other venues cause frankly I didn't want to know. I didn't want to know he played say .... The City for Chicago and not here.... or that he played Lego House for Detroit but I didn't get it. I was surprised however by the setlist and have tried to recreate it in my own head tho I'm sure I'm missing some of the songs. He played (in no order other than what I remember) Eraser, Thinking Out Loud, Sing, Nancy Mulligan, Perfect, A-Team, Bloodstream, Don't/New Man/Happier remix (which I really want to have so I can listen to it forever on repeat), Galway Girl, Dive, and finished it off with Shape of you and You Need Me I don't Need you as his encore songs. I think there were more but those are the ones that pop into my head right this second as I type. I wasn't expecting Dive and Nancy Mulligan, two songs I love but just haven't gotten that much love. I also kind of expected him to dip more into his earlier CDs but this is the ÷ tour so it was getting all the love and I was A-OK with that.

Shortly into Ed's set the people who took the seats from the "Coke Girls" as we call them now were enjoying the show a bit too much for their Beer to handle and proceeded to lose control of their glass which then re-soaked Christina's chair, pants, shoes, and the floor. By the end of the show our feet were forever stuck to the floor. I really thought we were going to have to leave our shoes behind.

As awesome as both James and Ed were on stage one of my favorite things was watching this young man (11 or 12) sitting next to me who was at his first concert with his dad. His dad was so stoked about being able to give his son this experience and the kid recorded EVERYTHING like when the show ended I was shocked he still had any battery left for me to take a picture of him and his dad. It was so cool remembering that feeling of your first concert, mine was the New Kids on the Block with my mom and cousin (my cousin cried the entire way home). We saw several other people with similar stories ... the young girl with her dad who upon seeing her seats almost fainted. Another young girl with her friend (boyfriend?) who really needs to eat a hamburger but was also super stoked to be in that arena. A Young Couple who was almost more fun to watch than Ed To be honest. For those brief moments I was reminded why people go to concerts, why live music has a place in our world and why it should be celebrated. Sure we all have these songs on our phones, online and our computers but there's just something about live music that creates memories and connections with that artist that you don't get by just listening to a track in your room.

After Ed's show I was so pumped until we got outside and it was suddenly clear how many damn people were in that arena. Christina even looked at me and said, you ok several times. I'll admit part of me wanted to bail on Markus as opposed to walking through all those people, but we went ahead. If I had recently seen him or knew I'd see him soon I would have. I'm so glad we didn't however, we made our way across the street and walked right into the Bar. He was playing at a place called "Second Fiddle." When we walked in he was setting up his equipment, I hope he was as happy to see me as he let on cause it made me happy that he was happy. He was soaking wet with sweat but I didn't care that hug was totally worth being wet yet again.

It took forever for his band to set up, they were supposed to start at 10:30 and it was closer to 11 before they put finger to the first string. He's full on 90's country, don't ask him for Bro Country or the Marine will come out of Markus and that is just one of the many reasons that I love him. The other reason I love him, there were two young ladies who had to have been drinking since they were born cause they were trashed. They were dancing and having a good time but really getting on a lot of people's nerves cause they were at the point where the Drunk in them could care less about who was standing around them. Christina got hit in the face with one girls hair about 75 times. Markus finally got the attention of one of the guys with them and very quietly said "get them out of here before they get hurt!" and the guys listened. It was more enjoyable after that. It could have been a pretty scary situation quickly as they were knocking into people and annoying drunk frat boys which is never a good thing. It was an awesome end to a fantastic day. A few of the young ladies around us realized we knew him and wanted to know all the things about Markus. I will admit I told someone he was 25/26 but I think he's really closer to 30. I told them to find him on social media, see I'm still working for you Markus. He did a good job, I only wish I lived closer so I could hang with him more often.

Upon leaving Markus around 1am Sunday morning we went to an all night McDonalds near our hotel for beverages and food. I won't disclose how long we waited for the food just know it was closer to 2 when we finally got back to the room and had to wake Trista up to let us in when our key didn't work the front door. At that point I was ready to curl up in a ball and sleep in hallway, but lucky for us Trista let us in and my bed called me ending Day 2 in Nashville, well into Day 3.

When I say BEST.TRIP.EVER I mean it! I'm already trying to figure out how I can go see him next year on his Stadium tour. So I gotta make some money ASAP!

Hope you guys enjoyed our trip half as much as we did.
Marcy (@beaslma)

NASHVILLE FUN Night #1

So as a lot of you will remember I have fallen down the Ed Sheeran rabbit hole and when I say I fell down it ... I fell HARD ..... I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Nashville eagerly awaiting seeing him in concert tonight at the Bridgestone Arena. To say I'm excited ... well that's an understatement.

This trip has not been without drama. See my friend that is with me, she had a death in the family this week, Tuesday night to be precise. While I didn't want to be that asshat who said "but what about my concert" that was exactly the first thought that went into my head. We've been planning this for months and while I love her and am thrilled she ended up getting to come, I was coming if I had to sit there all by myself. I had a backup plan, always got to have a back up plan, but am glad I didn't have to put it into motion. See first I called Golden who had originally said she couldn't go this weekend but I thought it was just cause she didn't want to pay for the tickets. She actually had plans and couldn't go this weekend, thanks Mighty! Then I called another friend of mine, the one who I credit with making me fall down this hole to begin with, Katie, she was on standby. However Christina was able to make it work, so I told Katie to stay home and play with Nate. That's right people a Hurricane is coming but I could care freaking less, know why.... CAUSE I'M GOING TO SEE ED SHEERAN!!!!

Then Christina's friend who is having a rough time decided to tag along even though she isn't going to the concert just for a weekend of chilling with awesome people, the more the merrier! Let's roll .... the drive up was L-O-N-G. That KIA was pushing it hard and we got here around 8:30ish. We'd have gotten here sooner but there was a traffic cluster duck around Montgomery and another one in Birmingham and then some construction zone traffic that made the trip feel that we'd never get here.

We had tickets to the Opry last night and upon realizing that we were not going to make the 7:30 show we called, well Trista called, I was driving and Christina was trying to not throw up in the back (she gets real bad motion sickness when she's not driving) and got our tickets rearranged for the later Opry show. Thank goodness she did cause it was AWESOME!!!!!

I had so much fun, then again I've never been to the Opry where I didn't have a good time. If you ever come to Nashville it's a must activity. This was my 4th or 5th time coming at various points in my life and each show is better than the last. The other thing that's happened at each show... Vince Gill.

I mean I swear he must live in that circle. 

Tonight's lineup included .... Ricky Skaggs, Diamond Rio, Pam Tillis, Tracy Lawrence, Connie Smith, the Oak Ridge Boys, Vince Gill and Hunter Hayes. I wanted to see Diamond Rio back in the 90's so I was stoked they were going to be there as they start their Birthday celebration for their 92nd year! Happy Birthday Grand Ole Opry ... God Bless whomever decided to start this wonderful thing that has given us years of awesome music!

Tonight Pam Tillis broke out some American Girl by Tom Petty, which I loved, Diamond Rio made Christina cry with One More Day, and the Opry turns 92 this month!!!

I am so excited Trista made the show change, cause we had just decided we were going to have to live with missing it. I honestly was glad to go but the draw for me is Ed Sheeran tonight, but I knew Christina really wanted to see Tracy Lawrence and he did not disappoint at all. She's had a rough week and I'm glad she had a good time.

The crowd waiting to get inside the venue.

92nd Birthday cake

Shots of the various performers:

Christina and Trista at the doors

Everyone is up now so off for some sight seeing before tonight..... see ya tomorrow dear reader !

Marcy

Random Thoughts

So it’s been a while since I posted and it’s not that I haven’t been thinking of you guys or wanting to post but it’s just …. I have so many things I want to write about that all of it ends up a jumbled mess in my head … this happens on occasion and I have decided it’s time for another random thought’s post so that I can think like a normal human being again.

Adulting

I’ve talked a few times on this blog about being an adult and how I try so very hard to not be an adult however I am one. I went on vacation last week to the beach. On my way home from the office on my last day of work before my trip I stopped at the local liquor store to buy supplies. Upon getting home some 4 days later I was unpacking to realize I NEVER OPENED MY SUPPLIES. However that didn’t bother me as much as it hit me that I didn’t even think about opening my supplies. Like really? That bottle is still in the brown paper sack I took it home from the store in. That’s messed up on so many levels. If that weren’t enough, tomorrow we get a new employee and my boss will be at another office so I get the job of showing her around the office, getting her hooked up with HR, telling her what we do, and showing her where she can find things. Like I’m the 2^nd in command. Which I guess I was aware of but now it seems more official. That sounds like a job for a grown up …. Am I that person?! When did that happen? That sounds so …. Responsible.

DragonCon/Cosplay

So it is July …. You know what that means … it’s time for that all important decision …. To Cosplay or not Cosplay and why is that so hard for me? I always think of these ideas and then decide they are dumb or no one would get them or I’d never be able to do them justice so I decide not to do them. Then I get to DragonCon and boom there’s the costumes that I thought about or I’m reminded that everything is fair game at DragonCon. It is not uncommon to see amazing cosplay, as well as mediocre cosplay and blow your mind cosplay and it’s all ok. Last year I saw several Quail Man costumes, something I thought about then decided no one would remember or get it. This year I’m thinking about Daria from MTV days when you know MTV showed music and only a few other programs. I also thought about something that will allow me to use my new awesome chair Golden got me for my birthday/Christmas. I also thought about Jeanette Miller from the Chipmunks. I can totally pull that off nerdy girl who loves books.  However I know me, I’ll make all these plans, get up there and chicken out. I like to blend into the wall and in costume that’s not really what it’s about. Golden’s better at this Cosplay thing than I am. She’s better at a lot of things than I am but I don’t want to give her a big head. Maybe as DragonCon nears I can get Golden back on this blog … what do you say @theonlygolden ?

Travel and fun with Friends

As part of my New Year’s Resolutions at the end of 2016 I wanted to travel more, and spend more time with friends. So far I’m making good on that promise. Earlier this year with my friend Christina and I made the trip to Auburn for the weekend and traveling with her is always an adventure and fun. Of course I went to Birmingham in May for Golden’s birthday and got to hang with her and Marible. I just returned from a trip to nearby Orange Beach to see Journey with my friend Katie, at the end of Aug/Sep we will be going to DragonCon with Golden, in November I’m also going to Disney with Golden, and today I added to my itinerary with a tip to Nashville in October with my friend Christina to see Ed Sheeran for whom I've gone straight stupid for. I’m super excited about this trip. It’s been a while since I went to a full on concert in an arena and we have awesome seats. I am fighting my fear of the world by going out and about and putting myself into situations that normally make me nervous and scared. I have decided we are all going to die someday, I might as well be happy while I’m here and not have regrets, well not have a lot of regrets anyway. Besides fear of the unknown is no fun ... right. Now I just need to work on the writing thing.

Prayers for this nation and yes even this President

I’ve thought on several occasions about writing an open letter to our current sitting President but know he’d never see it, even if someone could read it to him, so I think it’s a giant waste of my time. However, every time his orange ass is on my TV or in an article I’m reading I am once again reminded of the point of letter. For full disclosure, I didn’t vote for him, I don’t care for him, but he’s what I have ended up with. That being said I need him to succeed and before you all grab the pitch forks and for a riot let me explain. If he can pull this off then the idea that anyone can be president lives on. Granted that person has to have money and there are limitations on who can and can’t be president but if he tanks it, and it looks like he’s going too, then for the rest of our lives anytime someone “outside of the box” runs for office they will point to his big orange ass to explain why that’s a bad idea. It’s not a Republican VS Democrat thing it’s a human vs human thing. Let me also add that I trust Trump far more than Pence and if the powers that be that are trying to impeach Trump win then we end up with Pence and I’m not sure that’s a world I want to live in. So I need everyone to relax and let’s see what this dumbass can accomplish before you know he nukes us all into non-existence.

Social Media/Elevation of the current rhetoric  
As some of you may or may not know during Lent this past year I gave up social media in general. No twitter, no facebook, no Instagram, no notifications, all I kept going was e-mail. It was everything I dreamed that it could be. It’s been about 4 months and part of me wants to go back. I purged a lot of my “follow” list when I got back on all my social media platforms and I definitely don’t use it like I did before the “break” but there are days where it’s still too much bullshitting and this person bitching about this and that person bitching about that and these guys over here wanting to bitch about something else and the others complaining that no one gives a shit about what they want to bitch about. Here’s the thing… it’s a giant world out there and we are all allowed to have different opinions the issue is when we completely dismiss the difference of opinion simply because it’s not mine. That being said the way we dismiss one another also upsets me. While in college I took a Rhetoric class and I remember telling the teacher that I thought people were being too sensitive about it, sometimes a writer talking about a dog is just that a dog. I want to go an apologize to that teacher now. I’m witnessing it first hand on a daily basis. it’s not that we have intelligent arguments that could sway the person being talked to, no that might make too much sense. Instead we use juvenile name calling and hastags to belittle and attack one another and then those same people bitch because our President is doing the same thing on a daily basis. Our children are watching people, well not my children cause I don’t have any but my nephews for sure. They see us acting like childish bullies on the internet and then we wonder why they are doing the same. Let’s elevate the conversation or not have it at all. It starts with us and Social Media is key to this change.  

I’m sure there are more but for now this is enough …. Thank you for letting me have my brain back.

Marcy

@beaslma