Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Future Disco. Consummated.

I still remember the very first time I ever heard Madonna. I was eight years old, and my friends and I were playing in a big field near my house. Julie Spencer brought over her boom box, popped in a cassette tape, and hit 'play.' Suddenly, the most fun, joyous melody I'd ever heard sprung forth, prompting us all to dance around. It was "Holiday," and I'll never forget how it made me feel.
At the time, however, I didn't know who it was, and when subsequent songs like "Borderline," "Material Girl," and "Papa Don't Preach" were putting Madonna on the charts (and in the headlines), I was too young to know what all the fuss was about. It wasn't until I randomly purchased "The Immaculate Collection" during my junior year of high school that I realised all these songs (to include "Like a Prayer," "Express Yourself," and "Vogue") were sung by the same woman. During the summer of 1991, that was the only tape in my car, and I totally rocked out to it.
My admiration (or borderline obsession) for Madonna grew rapidly over the next few years. I was always at the record store early in the morning whenever a new Madonna album was released. I covered my college dorm room in posters. I purchased two copies of the notorious Sex book. At the end of basic training, on my town pass, I made my parents take me to see Evita.
But, over the years, my tastes changed and even though I still considered myself a fan, it seemed to be mostly out of habit. I would pay attention whenever a new album was released, but didn't really scan the headlines or buy all the maxi-singles anymore.
When Madonna toured in 2001 for the first time in eight years, I was a kinda bummed I was going to miss it, especially since she was playing two nights in Vegas, and I had just moved from there to Japan. She toured again in 2004, and again, I missed out. A few months ago, when she announced plans to tour behind "Confessions on a Dance Floor," my heart began to flutter with excitement that this might finally be the time when I would be in the presence of Madonna. And it was.
This great event occurred on May 27th, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the fourth night of her 58-show Confessions Tour. The show was scheduled to begin at 8 PM. I arrived at 7. All day long I had been nervous with anticipation, and I couldn't believe it was finally happening. As I walked into the arena, I saw the stage, which included a main catwalk toward the center, and two smaller ones toward the sides. My seat was on the side, directly to the right of the end of the main catwalk. It was a great seat, and I immediately sat down and began fidgeting and wondering how slowly the next hour would pass by. (Thanks to Paul for letting me talk to him to calm myself down a bit.)
I kept looking at my watch, and eventually, it was 8 PM. But still, no Madonna. 8:10...8:24...8:37. Finally, at 8:45 PM (because apparently, Madonna likes to see me squirm), the lights went down. The whole place started screaming.

Disco Ball
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Spot lights began swirling and strobe lights started flashing. The huge video screens began showing footage of Madonna walking around her stables with her horses. A giant disco ball slowly descended from the middle of the arena, and landed at the end of the main catwalk.


Future Lovers
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
The disco ball opened up to reveal Madonna wearing a black equestrian outfit. She launched into "Future Lovers" while her dancers, all wearing saddles, gyrated around her.
Now, this whole time, I'm not really sure what kind of expression was on my face, but my mind was working overtime to take it all in. Everyone around me was dancing, and eventually, I began dancing, too. But this moment, seeing Madonna for the very first time, will forever be burned into my memory.


Confessions Tour
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
It was probably the most extravagant, theatrical production I've ever seen. There were several video screens that moved all over, trap doors in all parts of the stage, a talented dance troupe, elaborate costumes, and a brilliant light show. But at the center of it all was Madonna herself, dancing and singing and loving every minute of it. I would expect it to be difficult for one person to be able to entertain a sold-out crowd of over 17,000, and make every single person feel they got their money's worth, but she had no trouble at all.


Madonna
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
She seamlessly moved from one song to the next. Most of the evening concentrated on tracks from the newest album, but she threw in some old classics like "Like a Virgin" and "La Isla Bonita" just to keep us on our toes. And as she did, the entire stage was perfectly orchestrated to move around her. Even the interludes and costume changes were designed to be fluid so it never got boring. After the "equestrian" portion of the show, Madonna emerged on a giant disco ball/cross singing "Live To Tell" while images of African children with AIDS shown in the background. Later, she wore a big glam-rock outfit and rocked out on her guitar to "I Love New York," which was one of my least favourite tracks on the new album, but seeing it live made me love it.


Disco
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
For the evening's final disco theme, Madonna arrived sporting a white suit (a la John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever") and singing "Disco Inferno" which segued nicely into "Music." The evening ended with high-energy versions of "Lucky Star" and "Hung Up." I don't think I stopped dancing the whole time, nor did anyone else.
A few days before the show, I started to get nervous. Not just because I was seeing Madonna, but because I was wondering if I was making too big a deal out of it. What if I went to the show and it didn't fulfill my expectations? A lot of people have asked if it was worth paying $400 for two hours of entertainment, and now I can answer with a resounding "YES!" Who knows when she'll tour again, or if I'll even be able to go? Madonna is a living legend, and this performance proved why. It was a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget. Ever.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Traveling, Tents, & Treats


Utah Valley
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
I'd been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time, for obvious reasons. There was so much planned, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to fit it all in, but I did, and it was great.
Early Friday afternoon, John, Kyle, Kyle, Ryan, and I caravanned down to Moab to meet Brian, Ryan, Mike, Rob, and Matt at their campsite.


Price Liquor Store
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
And of course, we had to stop at the State Liquor Store in Price to pick up some supplies. Price is a very interesting town, but if you stay too long, you're likely to develop kankles.


Moab Brewery
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
When we got into Moab, we were way hungry, so we stopped at a local brew-pup, where I had a scrumptious hummus wrap and a couple pints.


Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Isn't Moab gorgeous? It's easy to see why this is such a popular destination.


Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Campfire
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
We finally got to the camp site just in time to set up our tent before it got dark. Then the drinking commenced.


Brian
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
I was drinking Crown from my flask, but for some reason, I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe I had too much food in my stomach.


John
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
John, however, was drunk in no time. I'm lucky I got a picture of him before all his clothes came off.


Brian & Kyle
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
The next morning, we went into town for a bit, then went back to the camp site to socialise for a while.


Dozer
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Ryan, Mike, & Matt
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
It was a super fun time, and I would like to have stayed all weekend, but there were important events in Vegas that required my attendance.


Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
So I got in my truck and drove...


Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
...and drove...


Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
...and drove...


Moab
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
...and drove some more. It was a seven-hour drive from Moab to Vegas, which was a little longer than I anticipated. But nothing was going to stop me. I checked into my hotel room, took a REALLY long shower, and headed downtown.

But that's another story to which I will get on an entirely different post (hopefully tomorrow), as it merits so much information that I'm still processing it.


Crown & Anchor
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
After the show, my friend Jason and I went to toss back a few pints at the Crown & Anchor, which, as I may have mentioned, is probably my favourite bar in the world. It was great to see Jason again, and we had a great time catching up.


Caesar's Palace
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Sunday morning, I met Melissa and Andy for brunch. I was having dinner with Jim and Nicole, but there was a stretch of time in-between that had to be filled. And if you know me, you know I can't go to Vegas without doing at least a little shopping. So I made a quick trip down to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. I limited myself to one item, which happened to be a pair of kick-ass jeans from Armani Exchange. Considering all the cool stuff I saw, I was pretty disciplined.
I had dinner with Jim and Nicole at the Mediterranean Cafe, which is probably one of my favourite restaurants in the world. I also finally got to meet their newborn son, Owen. Babies are great.
I considered staying another night in Vegas, but decided to go ahead and head back home last night. I'd rather have a full day to recover, plus traffic is going to be horrible today. I spent 18 hours driving over three days, which is a lot, but I enjoy driving by myself. It was a super trip, and it came in way under budget, even with the jeans.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Until...

I'm currently in Vegas. I spent last night camping with the crew in Moab. Tonight is the night. I'm actually kinda queasy because I'm so nervous. Is that weird?
I'm not sure if I'll head back to Utah tomorrow or spend another day in Vegas. Either way, when I get back home, I'll put together a nice photo stream of my weekend.
As for now, I'm on my way to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for a date that's been years in the making.

Friday, May 26, 2006

I'm a Thetan! You're a Thetan!


SLC Scientology Church
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
I went to lunch with my friend Mark in SLC today, and afterward, I didn't really have any plans. As I was driving back home, I happened to pass the Church of Scientology (as mentioned here). I figured, "What the hell!" and decided to go inside, just for kicks.
I was greeted by a lady in her late 30s named Cyndy. She asked me normal questions, such as why was I there and what interested me about Scientology. I just said I wanted to find out what was true about their beliefs and what was false. She was very polite, and we had a nice discussion.
She gave me a brief overview, answered my initial questions, and then asked if I would like to "see one of my thoughts." She took me into a small office and brought in a machine that kinda looked like a radio. It had two wires coming out of it and on the end of the wires were little metal handles. I held the handles while she asked me questions. Supposedly, the questions triggered thoughts and stress, which registered on the machine. The little needle was moving all over the place, but I didn't really feel stressed about any of the questions.


SLC Scientology Church
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Then, after a 200-question personality test, I was shown to a room where I watched a 50-minute (!) video of L. Ron Hubbard. He was basically just using a bunch of easy language and feel-good hype, and I wasn't really interested at all.
After the video, Cyndy asked if I would like to set up an appointment to review the results of my personality test. I declined, but left with a large pile of pamphlets and papers.
Funny thing 1) Cyndy briefly showed me a graph of the results of my personality test, but wouldn't discuss anything in detail unless I agreed to set up an appointment. She was also very adamant about getting me to purchase "Dianetics."
Funny thing 2) One of the pamphlets was about finding freedom from financial burdens. On the back, there was a place to write your credit card number for more information.
If I go back again, I'm going to take someone with me.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Trendy-tini


Mynt
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Last night, I met Chad and Mike for coffee in SLC. Afterward, Chad and I went to a really cool place called the Mynt Lounge. On the outside, it's all black glass, but on the inside, everything is white. If the iPod were a lounge, it would look like this. Very hip. They specialise in martinis and mojitos, and based on the two drinks I had, they were very tasty.


Chad at Mynt
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Mynt
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Waiting Room

I just got back home after spending three hours at the local Ford dealership. It seems some kind of safety feature was overlooked in the manufacture of my truck, so I received a recall notification in the mail on Monday. Not a big deal, really.
Waiting areas are interesting places. Usually people have been sitting there a while and are growing impatient. During my three-hour tenure, I saw watched several different people, most of them elderly, fidget and complain and stare at the ceiling. I got lots of reading done. Also, on the television, there was a really bad reality show about a group of women who, I'm guessing, spent some time at a camp together. It was full of phrases like, "...learned to love myself," and "...became one with my sisters." It was so absurd I wanted to make sick right there in front of everyone.
Last night, my friend Ryan and I went to see Mission Impossible: 3. It was a typical action movie with situation after perilous situation. I was on the edge of my seat during the movie, but now, I probably couldn't even tell you what really happened. The best story of the night was the six or eight people camped outside the movie theatre (in actual tents) in anticipation of X-Men 3, which doesn't open until Friday. I have nothing against these people, but I could never do it, mostly because I wouldn't want to be ridiculed by passers-by calling me a pathetic loser. More power to 'em, I guess.
My goal today is to do some very thorough and much-needed cleaning around our pad. When Ryan gets home from work this afternoon, his nose will burn from the smell of clean.

Flying By

I'm off until Tuesday. Friday is a "family day" and Monday is Memorial Day. I haven't had a good chunk of time off in a while, so I decided to take leave tomorrow and Thursday to make it a six-day weekend. I don't really have any particular agenda until the weekend, but I plan on being as lazy and drunk as possible. I know Tuesday morning will be here too soon, so I need to enjoy it as much as possible.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

A Grand Day Out


Sugarhouse Park
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Yesterday afternoon, I went down to Sugarhouse Park. The intent was to play football with Floyd, Mikey, and a few other people, but I arrived late and then my parents called and I ended up missing the whole football thing altogether. However, I still wanted to enjoy the weather, so I went to another area of the park and layed on a blanket for a few hours.


Sugarhouse Park
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
I also brought a book called "The Curious Indcident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. It's written from the perspective of a fifteen-year-old autistic boy who is trying to find out who killed his neighbour's dog. Probably one of the most charming books I've read in a long time.


Sugarhouse Park
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
I really like Sugarhouse Park. It's nice and quiet and the trees are so green and the grass is so soft.


Ducks Approaching
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
As I was reading, I heard some ducks quacking in the distance. I looked up to see they were waddling my way.


Ducks Getting Closer
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
For a minute, I thought they were going to come lay down with me.


Ducks Passing
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
But they passed by.


Ducks in the Shade
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
And went to rest in the shade. I went back to my book. About thirty minutes passed, and I happened to glance up to see...


Ducks!
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
...the ducks right next to me. Freaked me out! They approached very silently, like ninja-ducks, or something. After I took their picture, they waddled away. I think they wanted some food, but all I had was gum, and I didn't think that would be very healthy for them.


Sky
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
This is what it looked like directly above me. I took my shirt off for most of the afternoon, and didn't wear any sunscreen because I wanted to get a little colour. This was a pretty big risk for me, as pale as I am. I ended up getting slightly pink. Not enough to sting, but enough to tingle a wee bit, which is just what I wanted.


Grass
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
This is what the park would have looked like if I were a worm or a snake or a bug or other really small creature.


StoneGround
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Later in the afternoon, my friend Chad called, so we went to dinner at StoneGround, which is one of the best places to eat in SLC. On Sundays, they have all-you-can-eat salad and pizza. We gorged ourselves.


Brewvies
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
After dinner, Chad and I couldn't decide if we wanted to go to a movie or to a bar, so we went to Brewvies, which is the best of both worlds. It's a movie theatre, and in the rows of seats, there is a table and you can get beer and food and stuff. We watched Lucky Number Slevin. It was good, but not great. I'm sure the beer made it better.
All in all, it was a spectacular day. It's good to have a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Candles


Mikey's Birthday
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Today is Mikey's birthday, and he had a big party last night. In addition to our normal crew, there were tons of people there I didn't know. I don't even think Mikey knew some of them. Regardless, we had a great time.


Me & Katie
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Katie's favourite thing to do is hold out the camera and take pictures of us. There were several from last night, but this is the best one, I think.


Robert & Katie
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Kyle, Mikey, & Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
It's been great getting to know Mikey over the past few months. He's such a kind and sincere guy, and I hope we continue to be great friends for years to come. Happy birthday!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Down Time

Drew and I were talking over our beers at Rooster's last night, and discussed how the weeks have the tendency to fly by more quickly when, instead of looking forward to Friday, we look forward to Thursday. I enjoy Thursday nights so much, that it's pretty much like the start of my weekend, even though I still have one more day of work left.
As for work, it was another good, but tiring week. There was enough stuff going on to keep everyone busy, but not stressed, which is just the way I like it. Now, it's Friday, and I'm ready for some fun. I'm kinda thinking, though, that weekends don't really serve their purpose for me. It's great to have two days off work to rest and recuperate, but I feel my weekends are so packed, that I get more rest in the evenings of the early part of the week. But will I be slowing down anytime soon? I think we all know the answer to that.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Based on a True Story

Tuesday night, I went down to SLC to catch The Notorious Bettie Page. I thought it was great. Gretchen Mol was in the title role, and if the energy she gave off was anywhere near that of the real Bettie Page, I can understand why she became so popular.
Biographical pictures (biopics) have become increasingly frequent in the past few years. For some reason, I haven't really been interested in seeing any, but the more I see, the more I like them. The first time I really noticed this was after I watched Walk The Line, even though my favourite of all time would probably be Amadeus. The only problem with most of them is they've been so "Hollywood-ized" that it's difficult to tell fact from fiction. Regardless, it's always fun to do some personal research on an historical figure or see a film spark public interest in someone (i.e. Truman Capote last year or Malcom X in the early 90s). I think sometime in the next few weeks, I might have to go out and rent Coal Miner's Daughter or Gandhi.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

III


Blogging
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Today is the three year anniversary of the day I started my blog. I was in Qatar at the time. It's been through many different phases and growth spurts. It's still nothing too advanced, but I put a lot of effort into it, and I'm quite proud of it. Sometimes, it's hard to find things to write about, and even harder to bare my thoughts and emotions. I still enjoy going back through the archives and remembering what I was doing or what I was going through on a certain day. But mostly, I'm just grateful for everyone who takes the time to read it. Yes, that means you.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Keeping the Doctor Away

I had a caramel apple tonight. Probably the best quasi-healthy treat ever.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Xenu and His Galactic Confederacy

Whenever I'm driving along 4th South in SLC, I often pass the local Church of Scientology. It's a nice building on a frequently traveled street. I also recently read a very informative article in Rolling Stone and the Wikipedia article, as well. I've been getting more and more interested in other religions and wondering why people believe what they do. To me, Scientology is little more than superstition, but I'm very tempted to walk into that building on 4th South just to see what they say to me. If it happens, I'll be sure to post all the details.

Drying Out

I thought my party phase had ended a few weeks ago, but it just kinda kept on going. Then, this weekend, I didn't really drink, except for a beer with dinner on Friday, and a couple with dinner on Saturday. I don't know why, but I still had a great time both nights.
I consider myself a social drinker. I never really set out to get drunk, but when the conversation is flowing and everyone is laughing, I just go with the flow, and it's hard to track how much I've had. Ideally, my aim is to get a good buzz, and then ride it out for the rest of the evening, and I've gotten pretty good at finding the point where I know I've had enough.
Regardless, the fact that I'm taking the time to write this tells me I've been partaking a little too much lately. The next few weekends are pretty much already planned out, and there's going to be plenty of opportunity for downing lots and lots of liquor. Birthday parties. Bachelor parties. Camping trips. Festivals. Will I look back in a few weeks and decide that maybe I should lay off the sauce completely? Even if just for a little while?
We'll see.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Classy

Last night, we decided to have a white trash night. Our first stop was, of course, Hooters.

Drew & Katie
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Somehow, Hooters doesn't hold the power over me it did when I was, say, 21, but we had a good time anyway. Our waitress wasn't very attentive. I think she thought she could get by on the strength of her, um...you know.


Mikey & Ryan
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Kyle & Nick
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
It was a pleasure to have Nick with us for the first time. We met him at Rooster's back when we met Drew. He seemed to really enjoy himself, and I'm pretty sure he'll be coming out with us again.


John, Me, Kyle, & Nick
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Right before Katie took this picture, John about fell out of his chair, hence the strange expressions on our faces.


John & Ryan
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.





Kyle
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
After Hooters, we decided to continue the white trash night with a couple games of bowling.


Nick, Katie, & Drew
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Mark & Kyle
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Though they couldn't make it to dinner, Brian, Kyle, and Mark joined us for bowling. Brian even had his own ball and shoes! We were all a little intimidated.


Mark, Kyle, & Brian
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
I bowled a 114 on my first game and a 116 on my second game. I was just thrilled to break 100.


Kyle & Katie
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Me & Nick
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Everyone was giving me crap for always having the same expression in pictures taken of me, so I decided to take a few serious pictures. So here I am serious, and Nick is...psycho?


Katie & Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Again. Me: serious. Katie: humping me?


Brian & Kyle
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.



Mikey
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
Mikey knows how to drink like a MAN!


Floyd, Katie, Mikey, & Ryan
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
After bowling, we went to Brian and Ryan's for socialising and general merriment. I was the designated driver, but I had as much fun as ever, despite my sobriety.


John & Ryan
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.
John, however, got about as drunk as I've ever seen him. It was difficult enough for Ryan to get him into the car, and I'm looking forward to hearing stories of the ride home.