So when I'm old, I'll remember all the cool bands I saw...

I've said to myself for awhile now, that I really need to write down all the concerts I've been to, because the list has gotten pretty extensive and I want to document all the bands I've seen.

And because I like things to be organized... I'll start at the beginning (and yes some of these I am embarrassed to admit to):

1. First Concert: The Newsboys, Geoff Moore and the Distance, PlankEye - Memorial Colesium, PDX - 1996 (with Lisa and ...)
2. Point of Grace and 4Him - Memorial Colesium, PDX Apr 1996 (with the church youth group)
3. Carmen - Rose Garden, PDX May 1997 (with the church youth group)
4. Switchfoot, Newsboys, Michael W. Smith, and many more... Jesus Northwest, Aug 1997 (with the church youth group)
5. Amy Grant - Rose Garden, PDX, Dec 2000 (Taylor and ?)
6. Caedmon's Call - Bauman Auditorium, GFU, Newberg, Nov? 2003 (Activities Committee)
7. Pivitplex and The Rock'n'Roll Worship Circus - Bauman Auditorium, GFU, Newberg, Feb 2004 (I had strongly blocked this one from my memory, took some searching to remember those names) (Activities Committee)
8. David Crowder Band - Bauman Auditorium, GFU, Newberg, Apr 2004 (Activities Committee)
9. Pivitplex - Redding, CA, May 2004 (Jen)
10. Shawn McDonald and Pivitplex - July 2004 (Amber and Jen)
11. First Concert by Myself: Jonah 33 - Our Place, Hillsboro, OR, 2004
12. Violent Femmes - Bite of Oregon, PDX, Aug 2005 (Johnny)
13. First Grown Up Concert: Death Cab for Cutie and Franz Ferdinand - Memorial Colesium, PDX, Mar 2006 (Karissa, Hillary and Haley)
14. Smelliest Concert: She Wants Revenge - Berbati's Pan, PDX, 2006 (Kate)
15. Damien Rice - Roseland, PDX, May 2006 (Charles and Jardon)
16. She Wants Revenge - Roseland Theater, PDX, June 2006 (Sara and Alia)
17. Panic! at the Disco - Portland Expo Center, PDX, July 2006 (Hillary, Haley, and Sara)
18. Anna Nalick - Bite of Oregon, PDX, Aug 2006 (Kim)
19. Rocky Votolato - Bumbershoot, SEA, Sept 2006 (Brandon)
20. Zero 7 - Bumbershoot, SEA, Sept 2006 (Brandon)
21. Best.Show.Ever.: The Killers and immigrant - Roseland, PDX, Oct 2006 (Hillary, Cheri, Haley, Jay, Sara, and Brit)
22. The Decemberists - Crystal Ballroom, PDX, Oct 2006 (Kate)
23. Eric John Kaiser and Tahiti80 - Doug Fir, PDX, Nov 2006 (Hillary, Cheri, Kim and Nancy)
24. The Fray - Memorial Coliseum, PDX, Nov 2006 (Hillary, Cheri, Rhoda)
25. Panic! at the Disco - Memorial Coliseum, PDX, Dec 2006 (Hillary and Alia)
26. Augustana and Vega4 - Wonder Ballroom, PDX, Jan 2007 (Ryan)
27. Ok Go! and Snow Patrol - Memorial Coliseum, PDX, Feb 2007 (Hillary and Cheri)
28. The Shins - Crystal Ballroom, PDX, Mar 2007 (Kate)
29. Longest Wait for Headlining Band: Bloc Party - Crystal Ballroom, PDX, Mar 2007 (Hillary)
30. Lexy Dale - PDX, 2007 (Hillary, Alia, Jay)
31. Modest Mouse - McMenamins Edgefield, Troutdale, OR, Aug 2007 (Kate)
32. Rocky Votolato - Showbox at the Market, SEA, Oct 2007 (Morgan)
33. Feist - Schnitzer Concert Hall, PDX, Nov 2007 (Hillary, Cheri)
34. Cold War Kids- Crystal Ballroom, PDX, Nov 2007 (Hillary)
35. Califone and Iron and Wine - Crystal Ballroom, PDX, Dec 2007 (Hillary, Danny, Morgan and Morgan)
36. Editors - Roseland, PDX, Feb 2008 (Hillary and Cheri)
37. Muse - Key Arena, SEA, Sept 2008 (Morgan, Morgan and Jill)
38. Sigur Ros - Benaroya Hall, SEA, Oct 2008 (Morgan, Morgan and Jill)
39. O.A.R. - Paramount, SEA, Jan 2009 (Alia, Nate and Morgan)
40. Rocky Votolato - House Show, SEA, Aug 2009 (me :))
41. Dave Matthews - The Gorge, George, WA, Sept 2009 (Lynsey)
42. Recently Off the Bucket List: Weezer and Blink182 - White River Amphitheater, Endfest, SEA, Sept 2009 (Jay, Brit, Elliot)
43. Furthest Traveled: Damien Rice - Sigur Ros' recording studio, Iceland, Nov 2009 (me)
44. Wolfmother, BestBuy, SEA, Nov 2009 (Karissa)
45. Raphael Saadiq - Showbox at the Market, SEA, Nov 2009 (Karissa)
46. The Sounds - Hawthorne Theater, PDX, Nov 2009 (Hillary)
47. Phoenix - Showbox SoDo, Seattle, Jan 2010 (Karissa)

Upcoming: Jack's Mannequin, Rocky Votolato, Presidents of the United States of America, Tegan & Sara (FINALLY!!), and U2

Still on my Bucket List: Coldplay, The Bravery, Kings of Leon, Damien Rice (again and again), Cake, Spoon,  Paramore, Metric, oh I'm a concert whore... I'll go to any of them :-)

Cuttin' a Rug

Why on earth do I ever stop dancing?  I danced for 3 hours Monday night!  My 1 hour LindyHop lesson rolled into the 1 hr Intermediate Balboa lesson, which ended with the social dance at the end.  Needless to say I was tired when I headed home, but man, what a rush! I forgot what a high I get when I dance - its like a drug (minus all those horrible side effects, and an episode of Intervention ;-)).  And to top it all off, I think that it counts as a workout, right?  If sweating is a sign of burning calories, I probably burned thousands ;-)  I mean, as gross as it sounds, I was covered in sweat - all my clothes will need to be washed... hmm you think I can wear my gym clothes next time? ;-)

While this may be this year's resolution, this is probably the umpteenth time I've started dancing.  I think I go through seasonal phases and then just stop going... maybe its because summer seems too hot (not to mention I've never been to a dance studio that has a/c - and seeing as all the windows were open at Sonny Newman's Monday night, and it was still hot in there... I can only imagine what it was like when Seattle was hitting the triple digits last summer!!).  Because of my sporadic dancing history, I also never know how to answer the "how long have you been dancing" or "what other types of dance do you do/know".  My dancing history is depicted below:

My other dancing quirk is that I never take anyone with me.  I dunno why, I love doing it, you'd think I would want to share it.  I've invited people before, but I feel like I have to play host.  Monday night, I think I only sat out one song to use the bathroom... that was it!  So if I bring a friend who doesn't know how to dance... how fun will it be for them?

Since starting up dancing again, I guess I'm going to start throwing myself at it full force...one of my dance partners mentioned a blues class this Thursday... I'm a sucker for the blues... so 2 nights a week of dancing here I come!  And to conclude, I was thinking the other night over why I like dancing so much, so here's the...

Top 10 Reasons Natalie Goes Dancing

10) It's enjoyable to watch people dance

9) The inevitable stories and blogs that will come out of it

8) The great side benefit of an aerobic workout

7) I get to use both my right and left brain

6) Meeting new people

5) When people ask me what I like to do, I can actually tell them an active/ interactive hobby (I mean, how lame do I sound when I say "tv"?:))

4) It's fun to watch the diverse dance crowd that shows up (the pretty boys who only come to the lesson w/ their girlfriends, the girls wearing impractical heels, the sweaty guys - who change shirts multiple times, the old men who've danced for years, the shy guys - who become more confident, and of course the cool jazz cats)

3) I'm actually decent at it (since it requires no hand-eye coordination).  It's a more balance oriented activity, and I've always been good at balancing - I mean, you don't see me just falling over for no reason, do you?

2) I get to be my hummingbird-self, and there it seems normal (I get to be around a crowd, can move from person to person, never have to sit and get out all the pent up desk sitting-boringness!)

And the # 1 reason... (drum roll please)...

1) It makes me feel good and gives me a confidence boost

So my friends, if you're willing to jump in with both feet, feel free to come join me!

New Shoes!

There's rarely a better way to start a Friday than with new shoes on.  What is it about our shoes that gives us confidence?  We, as women particularly, place a lot of importance on footwear.  A shoe can either make or break an outfit, or just add to the overall "blah" factor.

I finally "invested" (and I say that lightly, as $25 is barely an investment) in some booties - purple booties to be exact.  When booties first came out, I thought they were horrid (much how I didn't like flats)... but they've grown on me.  I mean, really, it's kinda easier... no shoving my full calf into a boot or trying to find the right pants to shove into them (or the right socks, because heaven forbid you wear the tight calf boot and have to peel it off)... cuz well, they just stop at your ankle! (and I have to think that if you happen to be struck with cankles... err I mean fat...think of how hidden they would be in a pair of booties!)

I received these purple wonders in the mail on Monday and immediately began pairing them with all sorts of things - though, I ran into a little hitch, since I don't have a full length mirror anymore (*sigh* a memory of another thing I was "forced" to give up when moving...my ex was a minimalist...and since he was helping me move some of that minimalist attitude got projected towards my stuff.  I should have fought harder!).  So there I am, home alone, climbing atop my bathroom counter to try to gain some perspective on the outfits, while trying to avoid running my head into the vanity lights.  Trust me, with all the crap on my counter, I could have easily slipped, fallen and been left for dead, thank goodness I don't have a cat that would eat me (see SATC).

Well, this Friday I decided to debut the new shoes w/ my "jaggings" (I adore my grey jeans/leggings), a white tank and my blazer (sleeves rolled up) - and yes, I've been reading a LOT of Glamour lately...(I was super behind).  And the 2nd thing the receptionist said to me (after saying, "oh it's just you"), was let me see those boots, and that coat!  So I walked (runway style - circa Cheri freshman year of college) back to them.  Showed off my little booties and my adorable Guess coat (see picture at left).  What a way to start a Friday, getting compliments on a new outfit!
And now, that you're all chomping at the bit... the shoes! (And yes, they are comfortable)

New Decade = Hope, right?

2010 arrived with, well, let's just say, some people are glad they get to write off the New Year's Eve choices as "bad '09" ones, rather than carrying them into the new year.  But it definitely came in with a bang and a big sigh of relief.  The last decade is FINALLY over.  It was an interesting one, and probably the first decade I really have full recollection of in my 27 years (I graduated high school in 2001, college in 2005, started my career at Deloitte the same year, bought and sold a house (2006 and 2008, respectively), and "landed" with my feet in the air at Alaska).  


I mean, 10 years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed I'd ever want to "write a blog" to "share my feelings" with the world, let alone post "status updates" multiple times a week.  But here I am, doing just that! (and most know from my fb addiction that sometimes, multiple times daily is more accurate - sorry for the SOX reference 
;-))


I've made my resolutions - and stayed far away from the typical "lose weight/ eat healthier", I figure those are always on my mind.  My real "goals" are to take dance lessons and keep a budget.  So far so good, but we're only 6 days in.

Really, so far in this decade, all I have felt is cynicism... Sunday evening I watched "Under the Tuscan Sun", a movie I absolutely love!!  It gives me such warm, happy feelings, it just feels so real...that is to say, until the end when it all wraps up like a Christmas present.  Now, I wouldn't feel so skeptical of it, if it just ended when Francis finds she has everything she wished for, just not in the way she imagined, that seems right, pleasing, normal even.  It reminds me that usually what we want may be right in front of our eyes, but we don't see it because it may not be in the way we imagined it.  That is real life.


Instead, the movie finishes up, with this gorgeous man entering the picture,it  all becomes uber-romantic and fairy-tale like...and it angers me.  Couldn't her life have been just as happy and fulfilling when she realized she had everything she'd wished for?  Not to mention, romance like that just doesn't exist.  No man is backpacking around in search of me.  And if they were, I might call them crazy!  But it really made me think... do I even believe in romance?  


The conclusion I came to was, no, I don't.  Oh it may seem that way at the beginning of the relationship, the "wooing" period, but after that it's just forced shows of affection to placate us girls (a date here, flowers there, doing the dishes... but never of its own accord, we tend to have to whine and b*tch a bunch first, maybe even cry that we don't know if our man really loves us or not because he never shows us).  I don't believe that there is someone out there looking for me, and the whole "true love" concept?  Well, I one time thought I found that person, the "one"... but that fairy tale ended and maybe I've used up that one?  The romance certainly went the way of the dinosaurs.


Or maybe, I'm just feeling lonely.  Almost all my close girlfriends are in serious relationships, and here I am, in Seattle, fighting to even make friends, let alone find a guy who actually tries to see me (more than the "hey what's up" texts... ;-)).  Maybe that should be my resolution, just accepting that I'm single and move past caring to find that certain someone?  Learning to be happy being just me.  At least at any rate, I'll know how to dance and be able to afford my own flowers and dinners!  No b*tching or moaning needed (plus, I'm even nice and do the dishes for myself without even so much as a "please Natalie!")