100 Little Pleasures of (Touring) Life: #27

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Primm, NV:  Nowadays, you can find a Starbucks in pretty much any hotel lobby.  Or, in the case of Primm, Nevada, inside the Chevron across the street. But when you want a cup of coffee before you change out of your jammies or there's (gasp!) not one in the lobby itself, you have have to rely on the hotel room coffee maker. In the past, it's always been the typical coffee pot with a one bag of caffeinated coffee and one bag of decaf coffee. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a Starbucks Dark Roast, but in most cases, it’s a no-name brand that, once brewed, tastes like… hotel coffee. Now that I’ve switched my coffee fixins’ from sugar free vanilla powder (plus two pinks, blues or yellows) to a simple green, the taste of the coffee is a bigger deal.

The typical coffee pot usually sits awkwardly on the desk or in the bathroom sink. There's usually some sort of mess made while trying to pour the coffee in the back of the pot or the coffee spilling while pouring it into the styrofoam cup. (In my defense, it's usually early and I haven't had my coffee yet!)

Another downfall of the hotel room coffee pot is that most days, I just need a single cup to get me going in the morning. But because it can brew 10 cups, I end up wasting about 9 of them. Granted, I could only pour enough water in there for one cup, but I don’t want the coffee too strong and there’s no fudging the amount of grounds in the pre-wrapped pack o’ Joe.

But now, a new trend has begun:

#27: Single cup coffee makers in the hotel room (one of the 100 Little Pleasures of (Touring) Life)

Easy to use,
single cups,
no mess
and GOOD coffee.

The epitome of a little pleasure of (touring) life.

100 Little Pleasures of (Touring) Life: #26

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Burbank, CA:  I've been thinking recently about my day to day life. When you break it down to the simplest form, my daily grind is just as typical as the next person's.  Roughly, when I'm at home: I wake up, take out my mouth guard, contemplate working out, check email, find some sort of protein to eat, finally drag myself to boot camp, return home feeling exhausted yet accomplished, check more email, make coffee, realize I'm still in my sweaty gym clothes, shower, eat a pre-made Trader Joe's salad, more emailing / advancing / recapping, catch up with a friend over drinks or dinner, prepare my to-do list for the next day, final email check, make-up off, mouthguard in, and off to bed.

On the road, it's pretty much the same thing with a few added bits, such as: checking in the band, sussing out where the dressing rooms are, confirming ground transportation, handling meet & greets, making sure dinner and aftershow food are arranged, getting the artist on stage -- overall, just make sure everything runs like clockwork and everyone is happy.

Ok, so there are a few out-of-the-ordinary events that occur in my routine.

That being said, though the happenings might be the same each day, the main difference and unique part of my gig is that they happen in different locations. So when it's time to make the donuts, I focus more on the where then the how.

Over the past two weeks, I've been from one side of the country to the other. When I get to each hotel room, I open the shades and take a good look at what lies in front of me. It brought to mind one of the 100 Little Pleasure of (Touring) Life:

#26: Seeing a different landscape outside of my hotel window.

From New York:

To LA:

With a stop in Hinckley, MN (keepin' it real):

To me, it just seems like an ordinary life, within extraordinary circumstances. 

From 23rd Street To NPR

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Hinckley, MN:  Last year, I was introduced to and fascinated by a website / art project called Dear Photograph. When I took a trip to the motherland over the summer, I scrounged through old pictures, blogged my findings and submitted one to be (hopefully) posted on their website.

I hadn't heard back or seen anything posted, and though slightly disappointed, overall, I was just happy that I found such a unique and simple creative outlet. And made by a 22 year old Canadian to boot!  But then in December, I received an email:

Thank you for your photo submission to DearPhotograph.com! 

We are now in the final stages of choosing the photos 

which will appear in our upcoming Dear Photograph book. 

The book will include photos that have been featured 

on the dearphotograph.com site, 

as well as other submissions that will be unique to the book. 

We are pleased to inform you that your submission 

is one of many being considered for inclusion in our book.

How fabulous! I had no idea that a book would be published, but this might be an even more unique than having a post on a website.  After another four months, another email came:

This is the day we have long been waiting for 

and we can now officially tell you

that a photo you had submitted to DearPhotograph.com 

will be featured in the upcoming book Dear Photograph.

I immediately pre-ordered the book featuring my photo and when it arrived, I hurriedly flipped through the pages, waiting to see my little self and grown up thumb. Then on page 159, I saw it:

It's 4(ish) year old me, standing in front of the house I grew up in on 23rd Street, blowing a kiss. Mom always told me to blow kisses as she took my photo, but only seemed to be able to capture the hand out part. I have tons of pictures of me as a child, with my arm extended. When I returned to the same spot last year, I actually went back twice since the photo didn't line up perfectly. Mom sat in the car and waited as I spent about 20 minutes making sure the vintage orange grass in the photo matched up with the freshly cut grass of today. (My perfectionism seeps into all areas of my life.)

I was excited that I had been published (granted, in someone else's book, using someone else's idea... but published nonetheless) but the bigger thrill came when I received a text from a friend who said "I just heard them talking about your photo on NPR."

Now, I love NPR. It's where I get all my news and interesting tidbits of information. And where I can listen to my secret boyfriend and play along with (though very poorly) the other Carolyn on Says You!  And NPR saved me when my heart was broken and I couldn't listen to any music because it was all about love. You can't really get too emotionally triggered by stories of the national debt (other than they're talking about the national debt).

So I went to NPR's website and was able to listen to the story online.  David Greene, from Morning Edition, was talking to the book's author about the usual story points discussed in all of his interviews. But then David focused on one photo:

GREENE: I'm looking at one photo where it's an old, kind of, fading photograph of a little girl standing on the sidewalk. And that photo is being held up by a woman, almost lined up with the sidewalk as it stands today. And she writes: "Dear Photograph, I'm still blowing kisses."

JONES: Yeah, I know. That one is really well-lined up. Like, it looks like the sidewalk still has like the same grass growing onto the sidewalk. And like the light poles lined up and all the houses along the side are lined up. And you can still see the cars are lined up real well.

GREENE: Although different style cars. The cars in the old photograph look like they're from the '60s...

Three observations about that conversation:

1.  I'm so glad I spent 2 trips and an additional 20 minutes making sure the picture lined up just right. Obviously I am not the only one who appreciates a little perfectionism.

2.  Those cars are from the '70s, David Greene. Not the '60s.

3. THAT WAS MY PICTURE THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT ON NPR!!!!! 

After the thrill has gone, I am left with only one choice: figure out a creative way to get myself on NPR on my own.  

(And listen to the show HERE one more time....)

A Musical Theatre Review

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New York, NY:  It's funny -- as much as I love live music performances (concerts), I just have never gotten into musical theatre. There's something about watching characters in a movie or a play discussing something... then, out of the blue, break into song... which makes my skin crawl.  Maybe it's because of the unbelievable factor of it all (seriously? you had to just SING about how happy/sad you are instead of just TALK about it?). Or maybe it's because every line is SO overacted and SO over-projected (again, this talking thing might be a good alternative to singing every emotion and thought you have).

That's not to say that my mother didn't give it her best shot. I do have fond memories of watching "Funny Girl" with her, curled up on her lap, feeling her whole body shake as she laughed when Babs asked, "What are you going to do? Shoot da schwans? 'Deesh lovlies?"  But other than the personal connection with M (& Babs), I simply can't seem to get into it.

However, when you're in New York - specifically with someone who loves theatre - you go, and hope that perhaps your preconceived notions of musicals will change.  And in this case, I was able to experience three different shows to see if I could be proven wrong.

Ghost:  The Musical
A recreation of the 1990 movie, "Ghost," turned out to be the exact thing that I loathe about musicals: random singing. Since I knew the story line, I understood what was happening and what was about to come, but instead of Molly talking about how much she missed Sam, she sang about it. The saving grace was the Oda Mae Brown character (played in the musical by the fabulous Sharon D. Clarke and in the movie by Whoopi Goldberg) and the special effects of the show, making you believe you were watching a 3D movie without the funny glasses.


Peter and the Starcatchers
Recommended by a friend, this was the prequel to Peter Pan. This was more of a play with songs than a full-on musical, so I could handle the sporadic musical numbers thrown in for good measure. However, the British accents were so quick that I missed a few of the laugh-out-loud references that built the story line. But I was impressed with their creative nature to turn the single set into multiple backdrops and the handful of actors that played different characters. 

Once: The Musical 
Here's where it all makes sense. The story is about an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant who share a love of music. She inspires him to write and perform his music and so he does -- which makes the singing throughout the musical be appropriate. And more importantly, Once, the movie, is one of my favorites and hearing "Falling Slowly" performed live brought me back to another place in my life where hope was something I was rediscovering again.

Perhaps I'll never be a true lover of musical theatre, but this week has shown me that if you keep trying, maybe one will inspire you enough to return and try it again.
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How To Read

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On a plane somewhere between Nashville, TN and Millville, NJ:  I love books. If I read a review of them or get one recommended to me, I will immediately go to Amazon and put them in my cart. Days later, I will receive a brown box in the mail, full of the three latest books I put in my cart.

The only problem is: I don't read them.

I try to, honestly. But it's just that if I have a few minutes to myself, I think about all the other things I could be doing: working on photos, answering a few emails, writing a blog.... I can't help but thinking of reading a book as a project I must complete versus doing it as a relaxing activity.

I even joined a book club in hopes it would give me inspiration to read, but instead, I find myself scrambling at the last minute to skim the pages and bring enough wine to cover the fact that I have no idea what everyone else is discussing.

On my latest personal trip, I had about a 4 hour drive from Asheville to Nashville.  I wanted something a little more entertaining than my iPod mixes or NPR shows to keep me company on the solo trip home.  Before I left, I decided to download an audio book of my latest book club read, Bossypants by Tina Fey.  I had actually already purchased the book but in typical fashion, I had yet to read it.

Within the first few miles of my trip, Tina Fey's voice blaring through my Scion speakers, I already knew what was happening.

I

was

hooked.

Credit

It's not that it's just a funny book.  It's that hearing Tina Fey read the funny parts - in her own voice - makes it come to life in a way that my own imagination (had I actually read it) could never do it justice.

In no particular order, here are a few things I love about the audiobook (and Tina Fey, in general):

- she uses numbered lists. I love lists like I love spreadsheets. It gets the information to the reader / listener, in a very organized, succinct manner. Especially while listening to an audiobook, it helps me to mentally see a list in my mind of the points she is covering.  I actually write emails that way sometimes and I feel more accomplished than if I were just to write a paragraph blob.  (weird, I know, but organized nonetheless.)

- she gets anxiety.  It's the comfort of knowing that someone you admire who truly looks like she has her shit together might get a little freaked out in the same way you do every day on occasion.  In her words, "My ability to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne.”  Oh yeah?  Well, I'll see your chin acne and raise you grinding teeth, Tina Fey.

- she uses perfect inflection.  Again, there's something about hearing the author read her own piece of art that gives such a personal connection. I almost cringed in delight from the sarcastic responses she wrote to rude anti-fans, writing to Perez Hilton to say "The only reason she's celebrated is because she's a woman and an outspoken liberal.  She has not a single funny bone in her body."  After a mocking agreed response, she added a PS:  "You know who does have a funny bone in her body? Your mom every night for a dollar."  Hearing her read that line alone was worth the cost of the audiobook alone. ($21.95 on iTunes.  And you're welcome, Tina Fey.)

- she talks about Upfronts. I had never heard the term Upfronts until the boss' new TV show got picked up and I heard we were going to New York for them. I'm new to this side of the TV world and figured I'd understand what it was when I got there. (Kind of like realizing a "runner" in the concert world means someone who runs errands for the band and production team and a "showrunner" in the TV world is the main person in charge of the entire show. Big difference to know before you ask the showrunner if he can grab you a skinny chai latte on his next run.) But somewhere around Pigeon Forge, I heard her describe the Upfronts in detail!   Literally, she said:

"The announcement of which shows are piked up each year takes place in May at an advertisers' convention called the "Upfronts." Ad buyers from all kinds of companies gather in New York City for a week. Each day one of the networks presents its "new fall lineup" of shows. They talk about which "target demographics" they reach and how many "upscale" viewers they have.

It is sexy, like having-lunch-with-your-parents-after-a-medical-exam sexy."

Thank you for that very specific breakdown of what my current week will consist of, Tina Fey.

- she wears glasses. And glasses make you smart and sexy and funny and talented. Or at least that's what I'm banking on.

Credit

I began my trip with Bossypants and literally couldn't stop listening.

*I listened for three of the four hours on my ride home from Asheville to Nashville. (Minus two bathroom breaks, one phone call and a few random songs played to sing with at the top of my lungs. Road trip necessity.)

*I drove immediately to Trader Joes to pick up my new-found & new-loved pre-made salads for the week and I listened on the way home from the grocery store.

*Once home, I put my earbuds in my phone, phone in my pocket and listened while I put groceries away.

*I then did a load of laundry to continue to listen.

*I then went through my mail and separated bills from shredables to continue to listen.

*Hell, I even cleaned my toilet so I could continue to listen.  (And also, it really, really needed to be cleaned.)

When I finally finished the entire audiobook, I sat down, took my earbuds out and did the next logical thing you would do after listening to such an awesome piece of work.

I took out the softcover book.

Yeah - so remember how I said I love books, I just never read them? This proves my point. I have owned the book of Bossypants for at least two months, but had just never taken the time to read it. The beauty of having heard the book and now being able to read the book means that I can flip through and look at the pictures she referenced, but not have to weigh myself down with the pressure that I.must.finish.the.book.or.I'm.no.good.

AND as an added bonus to having the book in addition to the audiobook? (You're welcome for the double purchase, Tina Fey.) There's an additional Reading Group Guide in the back of the book that was not talked via iTunes. Under "Tina Fey answers her fans' questions from Twitter:" @NotStephanie asks:  Most awkward moment?  Her response:

"Getting my period for the first time while wearing white terry cloth shorts in front of all the members of New Kids On The Block at the exact moment I won the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.  Luckily, I'm pretty sure this was just a dream."

Referencing my favorite boy band at the end of your book to make me feel even more inspired by and connected to you?

Well played, Tina Fey. Well played.

From Nashers To Ashers

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Asheville, NC:  In preparation for a summer full of gone-almost-every-weekend, I took a personal road trip to visit my BFF in North Carolina. It's been a perfect mix of lounging and drinking and musing and eating and laughing... and even a bit of exercise thrown in to combat any hints of gluttony guilt.

Getting our walk on at the North Carolina Arboretum

A walk in the park: the way to not feel bad for future wine intake

And speaking of wine...

The queen of the house, complete with her own chair.

When I can't sleep, Obi watches the sunrise with me

As if it had a choice

At least someone's doing the work! 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Super Moon

A stop to see the Thistle Farms display at Greenlife

Older, wiser(ish) and still besties.

Perspective

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Nashville, TN:  On the heels of rediscovering grace last Sunday, I went to check out Midtown Fellowship with, appropriately, my friend Gracie. Midtown is comprised of three congregations:  Downtown, 12th South and Crieve Hall. Gracie invited me to join her at the the Downtown location, which worked out well since it is approximately 5 minutes from my house and since they offer an 11am service -- a welcomed time considering I've been up at 7:30am each morning this week (thank you, boot camp!).

Aesthetics:  The Downtown congregation meets at Rocketown, a non-profit youth outreach facility which normally hosts skateboarding and punk concerts. I loved the urban feel of the venue, though not seeing stained glass windows or sitting in pews made me wonder if this could really be a church... at least in the traditional sense. I chalked it up to being yet another step on The Great Church Search, but hoped I was hip enough to fit in.

Greeting:  Once we entered, the main lobby area was set up as a social mingle haven. You were able to help yourself to coffee, tea or water (with or without lemon) and given the opportunity to mix with other like-minded folks. No one went out of their way to welcome me, probably because I was already there with a plus one. I wondered if a newcomer, alone, would be met with enthusiasm or if the well-intended hang was more of a ramped-up version of finding the cool kids to hang out with in high school.

Community:  The approximate 250 attendees were young and white, with the exception of an older couple sitting on the other side of Gracie.  A part of me felt like I fit right into this crowd until I realized some of them were old enough to be my children.  (I have a similar feeling when I shop at Forever 21 and realize forever ended 16 years ago.)  And speaking of children - there were none to be found. Turns out "Kidtown" is a place where the 5th grade & under crowd goes to hang during the little-over-an-hour service.  It was nice to have a fidgety-free experience (minus my own personal fidgets.)

Music:  The musicians stood on the floor with the rest of us, stage left, which offered a chance to focus on the music, not the performers.  From what I heard, a single vocal, acoustic guitar, fiddle, piano (and possible synth?) collaborated for a mix of Americana / folk / country and old spiritual melodies. One song ended with the haunting repetition of "Hallelujah," ala Jeff Buckley.  Though I normally love some spirit-filled, gospel funk on Sunday mornings, this was a welcome calmer, reflective sound.

Service:  The service was simple:  two songs, a prayer, the sermon, another three songs, a final prayer and announcements.  The vibe of the church is that it was vibey.  String lights added luminous ambiance. A wall of handwritten prayer requests, lit by candlelight, was both meaningful and artsy. And everyone came as they were... which was pretty casual.  From t-shirts and jeans to vests and fedoras (and that was on the women) -- even the pastor wore khaki shorts.     

Message:  The sermon started out with a very specific and catchy topic (complete with creative logo on the screen): Dancing Lessons - A Study on the Book of Ephesians.  The pastor, who normally resides at the Crieve Hall congregation, began with an engaging question: how does our position and perspective affect our response to things?  I waited to see what sort of path he would go down to discuss this interesting topic, but felt that it never really got going.  Instead, he seemed to focus on using pop culture references to (from my perception) keep relevant with the young crowd. And I'm talking a LOT of references, where he mentioned song titles when speaking of biblical or religious ideals like Janet Jackson ("what have you done for me lately?") and Belinda Carlisle ("heaven is a place on earth").  And he even impersonated Hank Hill, as if he were on "Antiques Roadshow."  

Eventually he got closer to the question at hand and talked about the differences of being egocentric vs. theocentric. One way to not be egocentric would be to, in his words, "let go of our works and efforts to establish our identity."  I began thinking perhaps his too-relevant references were his effort to get a laugh and establish his identity as a hip pastor. Already, I was forming my next blog in my head, thinking of clever ways to describe the scene.  As I took notes, citing the latest Ace Ventura quote he dropped, I stopped myself with a thought:  perhaps I was using my blog to establish my own identity. Talk about casting the first stone! The initial rhetorical question was now personal -- how does my perspective of going to church each week affect my response? I began to see a pattern -- once I enter a new church, I immediately scan the room to qualify my blog checklist (aesthetics, greeting, community, etc.) instead of truly opening myself up to the way God's love is revealed in each establishment. I conjure up witty ways to describe the message or elicit a response from my "fans" (hi mom! :)) than to really allow the word to seep into my subconscious. Perhaps I had lost sight of the reason I started this journey in the first place.

Maybe the pastor isn't the one who's lost perspective after all. 

Denomination:  Midtown is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America.  The denomination was organized in 1973 but is divided from other Presbyterian branches, due to "doctrinal issues."  They adhere to TULIP:

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

Overall:  The church felt like a cross between comfortable hang and trying too hard. The bit I will most take from this stop on the journey is a piece written in their WHO WE ARE description:  "We are strugglers.  Yes, it's true!  We are messy Christ followers who wrestle with all sorts of imperfections and shortcomings. Despite our deficiencies and weaknesses, he is constantly drawing us to himself and continuing his transforming work in our lives." THAT sounds like a pretty perfect perspective.  

Reflections on the Journey Thus Far:  Just when I think there's not a lot I can gain out of a Sunday morning, I am reminded there is always room for more learning, more growing, more reflection. (Including this beautiful reflection of the Nashville skyline in Gracie's glasses -- I was mesmerized!)

Contact:  

601 4th Ave S.

Nashville, TN 37210

www.midtownfellowship.org

Facebook page

One More Thing:  After two unsuccessful attempts at brunch stops on the east side (don't even try Marche or Margot on a beautiful Sunday afternoon), Gracie mentioned the Copper Kettle, which I had not been to yet. After only a 10 minute wait, we enjoyed a brunch buffet (and eggs made to order), coffee (me) and tea (G) and an incredible view of downtown. As per usual, Gracie's ability to dig deeper and believe fervently made for meaningful discussion and absolute gratitude for the continued conversations of faith this  experiment is bringing me.  

From this perspective, perhaps my identity is at least in the theocentric ballpark.