Why? Why not.
T minus 5...
After performing in Colorado just a little over a week ago, we went down to New Mexico to perform in Albuquerque. Instead of spending the day off after our performance in Albuquerque, however, I decided to fly home for 24 hours to surprise my parents. So I re-routed my Barrage plane ticket for L.A. to go to Phoenix instead, and bumped it up a day earlier. Then, fortunately, I had a free flight on Southwest, so I used that to meet up with the band in L.A. the following day.
I even pulled off an elaborate rouse with my friend Jere, who had planned to grab lunch with my mom. She called me the night before and was so excited to get lunch with him--little did she know that I'd be in attendance, as well!
It was great being home, even if it was just for 24 hours. I took my parents to a great Korean restaurant in Gilbert called Chodang, and because they had never really had Korean before, it was neat getting to introduce them to a cuisine I've come to thoroughly enjoy while traveling with the band.
T minus 4...
The following afternoon, I caught a plane to L.A. and met up with the band. As soon as they picked me up from the airport, we headed into downtown L.A. for the night. Most of the band went to a Vancouver Canucks hockey game, but Annette and I decided to head over to the Walt Disney Concert Hall (designed by Frank Gehry) to hear the L.A. Philharmonic play Mahler's 5th Symphony. After eating an incredible meal at Bottega Louie (pretty sure it's the best pizza I've had in the States), I stopped by Macy's to pick up a tie (I felt guilty wearing jeans to hear the L.A. Phil, so I figured I needed to class up my outfit as much as possible....), and we walked up the street to the WDCH as the sun was setting. It was an idyllic evening, to say the least. The WDCH is definitely one of my favorite concert halls--if you're ever in the L.A. area, I'd strongly recommend going to a concert!
T minus 3...
Before we left for St. George, Utah, I got to see even more family, as my Aunt & Uncle came to one of our performances outside L.A. I'm really glad that this job allows me to visit with my relatives who don't live in Arizona!
T minus 2...
After two performances in the beautiful, picturesque town of St. George, we drove to Vegas for a performance and two days of rehearsal for the upcoming China tour in May.
Vegas turned out to be a special visit, as well, because my awesome friends Jere & Allyson drove up from Mesa for a mini-vacation in Vegas to see me and also to celebrate their 8th Anniversary! And, quite fortuitously, our great friends Kaitlynn & Jordan (both originally from Mesa), now happen to live just outside Vegas!
I had an unbelievable amount of fun hanging out with them after the show, and also the following evening, during which we took Jere & Allyson to visit the Bellagio, as they had never been before. Visiting a hotel might sound lame, but visiting the Bellagio is a full-on experience: watching the fountains out front, indulging in the smells of the conservatory, and eating crepes while people watching provides quite the evening of entertainment.
T minus 1...
Then, we headed back to L.A. for one more show last night. I got to visit with my friend Nick, who was also a quartet coach of mine while he was doing his doctorate in cello at ASU. It was especially exciting having Nick come to the show because he had absolutely no idea what Barrage was--he just knew I was in it. That being said, performing last night was especially refreshing and exciting because I began to re-experience the excitement of the show vicariously through Nick's presence!
...liftoff.
Mission: accomplished...in an extraordinarily nerdy manner.
Departure for Guatemala for our Central America tour: T-42 hours.
2 comments:
The fact that I not only got a "shout out," but several mentions AND a picture... WOW!
That being said, REALLY!? You chose THAT picture of the fourteen we took that night to post?! I look like I have "you know what" in that picture!!
Seriously, SO MUCH FUN!!! I hope you have a SAFE and fun trip in South America and I'll be praying for you whether you want me to or not - so there.
Can't wait til July - ew, that means I should probably start fast walking now to prepare for the transition into jogging which in turn will become running. Ugh!
Word! I think that might have been your most concise and yet informative post yet. I'm with Jere, tragic picture to say the least, but it WAS 1:30 in the morning, so whatev.
It really was the MOST fun I've had in awhile, thanks for playing in Barrage, and therefore making it all possible!
Be safe in Central America, have fun and take lots of pictures so i can continue to live and learn through your blog!
Love you friend!
P.S. do you think I can use anymore exclamation points? I'm just wondering!
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