I absolutely adore the rain, but I would love to be able to go out tomorrow and practice with the camera some more. I feel like there is so much to learn and that I don't have enough time to do so. Its not like I am going to be a professional photographer tomorrow, although it would be nice! Brian and I went out last weekend to William B. Umstead state park to hike the Company Mill Trail. It ended up being a 4 mile hike, but it was really nice, very pretty and there were alot of neat things to take pictures of. And I was able to get some practice in. I am slowly learning the settings. I don't have to ask Brian now every time I need to change something. Sadly he read the manual and has a friend at work who gives him tips and he knows quite a bit more than me. Its funny, but since getting the new camera he is almost just as interested as I am about photography now. Its a nice hobby for us to share. Anyways I wanted to post a few pictures from the hike this weekend. The first is one of the little frogs we found hopping across the trail, the second is a picture of some of the trail, the third is a pictures of the creek that runs along some of the trail and the 4th is a picture of a strange mushroom/fungus we found. I have no idea what it is.
Thanks to Hurricane Bill, storm clouds rolled into this area yesterday. They were so beautiful. I'd give almost anything to live in a place where it stormed frequently. I unfortunately didn't have any of my camera's with me but Brian had his iphone and so I used that to take pictures with. They turned out pretty well. iphones do pretty nice pictures considering they are cell phones.!! The storm didn't last nearly long enough. We were inside of Petsmart when it started raining I was holding the most adorable orange male kitten. He was so lovable. And no, I didn't bring him home. I am guessing since we live in a apartment that two cats is enough for now.
In other news Alicia had her baby on August 20th! Ava Belle. I talked to her hours after the birth and would have never known she had just had a baby. She was very alert, not tired, excited, happy. It was nice. This is something she has been wanting for many years now and its great that she finally got it. Little Ava is definitely going to have Alicia's nose and looks like her lips too. She has dark hair now but I am thinking it will change a little as she gets older. So congrats to her and Bill on their growing family!! I can't wait to meet her on Labor Day weekend.
We arrived at Amos' Southend in Charlotte, NC at around 3:15 yesterday. After waiting in line for about a hour and 15 minutes we got to go into the meet and greet with the band. It seemed to happen so fast, but it was still memorable. I wish I could have been a little less nervous. I had the t-shirt on that I made that I posted about previously. J. Loren (the lead singer) walked right up to see and said "Let me see." and then grabbed my shirt and was looking at it and them immediately asked "Can I sign it?". I can't tell you how I managed to get the word yes out, but I did. Now I can never wash that shirt and I plan on actually framing it. They gave all of us posters and then signed them for us. It was such an amazing opportunity. Something I will never forget. After the meet and greet we went back outside where we waited in line for 2 more hours before being let into the venue for the show. Hurt played last so we watched Tunnels of Holland, Adelita's Way and Sick Puppies. But I was barely paying attention to the other bands because I was so excited and anxious to see Hurt perform. Sick Puppies however was very entertaining. Eventually the first three bands had played their set and I could feel myself getting more and more excited as I watched the stage being set up for Hurt. What an amazing performance, from beginning to end. I only wish they would have played more. We have been to alot of shows this summer, all of which I have blogged about. Cold, Nin Inch Nails, Tool, Tori Amos. And still I think that Hurt did the best job. The band members are so incredibly nice and down to earth. And you can tell through the entire performance that J. Loren really appreciates his fan. Watching him smile from time to time at the crowd would warm my heart. He even went out into the crowd for a bit, standing on the barrier between the stage and the fans. The fans were holding on to his legs while he never missed a beat while he was singing. He let one lucky fan sing a few lyrics to one of his songs. I had actually spoke to this guy outside, he had seen me go into the meet and greet and was asking me if I knew anything about the setlist. And he told me it was the first time he had ever seen them live. So I know for him that was a very memorable moment in his life. One he won't soon forget. I have a video of one full length song, my favorite song, Danse Russe. I will post it here. I hope you enjoy it. Hurt is such an amazing band, everyone should give them a listen!!
Tomorrow is the last scheduled concert we have to go to this summer. Its kind of sad. Its been a really good summer for concerts. Thats for sure. In the last year I have went to more shows than I had in my life prior. They've all been amazing, Smashing Pumpkins, Cold, The Killer and The Star, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Tori Amos....but even with all those big names the one I have been looking most forward to since I was able to get the tickets is HURT! I cannot wait to see them live tomorrow. I have been continuously listening to their three albums, Vol. One, Vol. II and Goodbye To The Machine for the last two weeks. I think it would be safe to say that I know every song on those albums pretty well now. I will be happy to see any of them performed but there are a few I am hoping to hear above the rest. Such as Danse Russe, Rapture, Assurance, Dreams Away. Also, I joined their street team about 6 months ago or so and for the month of August they chose 5 street team members per performance to meet them before the show. I am one of the lucky few. Luck didn't have much to do with it seeing as how only four of us RSVPed for the show. But none-the-less I am so excited and just a little bit nervous. I have never had a one on one meeting with anyone famous before. Hopefully I don't say or do anything too stupid. But then again, that would be classic for me. I didn't have a HURT t-shirt and the only way for me to get one is to buy one at the show, so I made one for the street team. I will be wearing it tomorrow. Its been hanging in my closet for a week. Its the first time I did anything like this so there are a few mistakes, but I think it turned out pretty good considering. It you aren't listening to HURT yet you seriously need to be! They are amazing!
This weekend has been pretty nice. And alot better than last weekend since I spent most of it sick. We didn't really do much , stayed inside since it was close to 100 all weekend. I really hate the heat. HATE IT. I'd love to live somewhere much cooler than this. I keep saying Alaska, but everyone thinks I'm crazy and that I would change my mind once I got there. I think they are wrong.
I went to Border's today and bought a bunch of reference books on birds, plants and butterflies/moths like a big geek. I actually got them so I can easily identify the things I take pictures of. I think in a few weeks I will buy the one on spiders and other insects. But I only wanted to spend so much money on the books. Anyways, they are really helpful. Already identified several things on my flickr page.
Work tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. Atleast I get to see HURT on Saturday. I am so excited. I just got the email last week that confirmed I get to meet them before the show. AND I get to bring the Canon Rebel! I can't wait!!!
As I posted before we went to see Tool on July 29th. I had originally taken the day off of work on the 30th, knowing we wouldn't be home until the wee hours of the morning and that I would be exhausted afterward. I had planned to go into work for a few hours on Thursday evening. But on Thursday evening I started feeling very ill. I thought it was from the leftover lasagna I ate. I pretty much laid in bed the rest of the day and night. I got up Friday morning still feeling bad but knew that calling in was not a option. So I went to work all the while knowing I wasn't going to make it the whole day. I managed to work 3 hours before going home. And then I came home and slept for four hours. I still didn't feel great when I got up and thought I was going to have to skip seeing Tori Amos last night. But about 6pm I started feeling somewhat better, not like I was dying anymore. And decided I better go, who knows when I might get the chance to see her again. And I made it through the whole show and only feel somewhat bad today. My stomach still pretty much hates me but my mind is grateful for the amazing performance that was Tori Amos last night. She is so amazing. I knew she was talented but I had no idea how talented until last night. GREAT SHOW! Also her opening band was called One Eskimo. They were really really good. They are from England and I highly suggest you give them a listen. I don't think you will be disappointed!!
I'm originally from southern West Virginia but moved to the Raleigh, NC area in April 2008. The mountains of WV will always hold part of my heart, its a very beautiful place. But unfortunately there isn't much opportunity there to grow as a person. I love live music and photography and try to get in as much of both as I can. This blog is just basically little inserts from my life. I like to share my pictures as much as possible and hope others will enjoy them as much as I do!
re the rain, but I would love to be able to go out tomorrow and practice with the camera some more. I feel like there is so much to learn and that I don't have enough time to do so. Its not like I am going to be a professional photographer tomorrow, although it would be nice! Brian and I went
out last weekend to William B. Umstead state park to hike the Company Mill Trail. It ended up being a 4 mile hike, but it was really nice, very pretty and there were alot of neat things to take pictures of. And I was able to get some practice in. I am 
slowly learning the settings. I don't have to ask Brian now every time I need to change something. Sadly he read the manual and has a friend at work who gives him tips and he knows quite a bit more than me. Its funny, but since getting the new camera he is almost just as interested as I am about photography now. Its a nice hobby for us to share. Anyways I wanted to post a few pictures from 
the hike this weekend. The first is one of the little frogs we found hopping across the trail, the second is a picture of some of the trail, the third is a pictures of the creek that runs along some of the trail and the 4th is a picture of a strange mushroom/fungus we found. I have no idea what it is.
