Hello dear boys and girls!

Wow, I let my inbox back up for a few days and now when I get on the amount of messages literally blows me away. A quick apology on my part to everyone who is waiting on a reply to a comment or acknowledgement that i've seen your latest journal or creation. Lately my time on DA has been limited.. but I will eventually get around to responding as soon as I can!

ALSO!

The rumor that had been buzzing around about Steven Tyler quitting Aerosmith? Well, it turns out that it was JUST a rumor.. straight from the horse's mouth itself, Mr. Tyler has confirmed that he as of now is still with the band and shall go on performing with them until his larynx gives out.

That's something to cheer about.. ROCK ON!

I hate to get that last journal off of my page but.. *sigh* it's time to
let go and move on. It's over and shall always be one of the fondest
memories held in my heart.

Anyway, here we are again at 's college library, i've been trying to sort through my mountain of deviations and comment on everything.. so be patient with me if I haven't gotten to you yet. I will eventually. Lol. Katie's got pink eye.. I need a bath.. and I just saw someone who could be my character Horace incarnate stroll by. And he smelled strongly of a natural herb that Bob Marley would have been proud of..
I love observing strangers.

Man, my mouth is so sore, I went to the dentist yesterday to have a filling replaced and the spot where the novacaine was injected is literally pounding against my jaw. I should have taken some Tylenol this morning..

Anyway, here's a survey to munch on a few brain cells.


Stolen from

○● B R I T I S H ○●

[x] You drink a lot of tea.
[x] You know what a brolly is.
[x] Deal or No Deal has taken over your life.
[x] You use the word "bugger" or the phrase "bloody hell."
[x] Fish and Chips are yummy.
[x] You can eat a Full English Breakfast.
[x] You dislike emos almost as much as you dislike chavs.
[x] It's football...not soccer.

Total: 8


○● A U S T R A L I A N ○●

[] You wear flip flops all year.
[] You call flip flops "thongs", not flip flops.
[x] You love a backyard Barbie.
[x] You know a Barbie is not a doll.
[x] You love the beach.
[x] Sometimes you swear without realizing.
[] You're a sports fanatic. Football.
[] You are tanned.
[] You're a bit of a bogan.
[] You have an Australian something.

Total: 4


○● I T A L I A N ○●

[] The Sopranos is a great show.
[x] Your last name ends in a vowel.
[x] Your grandmother makes her own sauces.
[x] You know how a real meatball tastes.
[x] You know Italian songs.
[] You have dark hair and dark eye color.
[x] You speak some Italian.
[] You are under 5'10".
[x] You know what an Italian horn is.
[x] Pizza/spaghetti is the best food in the world!
[x] You talk a lot with your hands.

Total: 8


○● S P A N I S H ○●

[] You say member instead of Remember.
[] You speak Spanish or some.
[x] You like tacos.
[] YoU TyPe lIkE ThIs On Da CoMpUtEr.
[] You are dark skinned.
[x] You know what a Puta is.
[x] You talk fast occasionally.
[x] You have had highlights or have dyed your hair.
[x] You know what platanos are.

Total: 5


○● R U S S I A N ○●

[x] You get short tempered.
[x] You know of somebody named Natasha
[x] You get cold easily.
[x] Rain is fun for you.
[] You get into contests all the time.
[x] You can easily make do with the cold weather.

Total: 5


○● I R I S H ○●
[] You think beer is the best.
[x] You have a bad temper.
[] Your last name starts with a Mc, Murphy, O', Fitz or ends with a ley, on, un, an, in, ry, ly, y or L.
[x] You have blue or green eyes.
[x] You like the color green.
[x] You have been to a St. Patty's day party.
[] You have a family member from Ireland.
[x] You have red hair.
[] You have/had freckles.
[x] Your family get together always include drinking and singing.

Total: 6

○● A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N ○●

[] You say nigga/nukka casually.
[] You have nappy hair.
[] You like rap.
[x] You know how to shoot a gun.
[x] You like chicken.
[x] You like watermelon.
[] You can dance.
[] You can sing gospel.

Total: 3


○● A S I A N ○●

[] You have slanty small eyes.
[x] You like rice a lot.
[] You are good at math.
[x] You have played the piano.
[] You have family from Asia.
[x] You laugh sometimes covering your mouth.
[] Most people think you're Chinese.
[] You call hurricanes typhoons.
[] You go to Baulko.

Total: 3


○● G E R M A N ○●

[x] You like bread.
[x] You think German Chocolate is good.
[] You speak some German.
[x] You know what Schnitzel is.
[x] You hate it when stupid people call you.
[x] You went to Pre-school.(
[x] You're over 5'2".

Total: 6


○● C A N A D I A N ○●

[] You like, play/ played hockey
[] You love beer.
[x] You say eh.
[ ] You know what poutine is.
[x] You speak some French.
[x] You love Tim Horton's.
[] At one point you lived in a farm house.
[x] You watch/watched Degrassi.

Total: 4


○● A M E R I C A N ○●

[] You hate foreigners.
[] You hate non-Christians.
[x] You're lazy.
[] You have had an abortion.
[] But love the penalty.
[] You don't read.
[x] You shop at Wal-Mart.
[x] You think this survey is rather biased.

Total: 3


○● B E L G I A N ○●

[] You grow some small vegetables in the yard.
[x] You like french fries.
[x] You think Belgian chocolate rules.
[] You know that the official best beer in the world' is Belgian.
[] You speak both Dutch and French.
[x] You like Belgian waffles.
[] You call a pub or bar a café.
[x] You fully realize and acknowledge that your football team sucks.
[] You drive/own a French or German car.
[x] You have a lot of comments on your government.

Total: 5

○● D U T C H ○●

[x] You like the color orange.
[] You are a football enthusiast.
[] You often go to 'coffee shops'.
[] You know what is meant by 'coffee shops'.
[x] You tend to overreact and show your emotions.
[] You have a cheerful nature.
[x] You like the sea.
[] You are good at building handiwork projects.
[] You tend to favour the megalomania.

Total: 3


○● A R A B ○●

[] You are a patriot.
[] You say "3ngleezy" instead of "english".
[] You laugh at other accents, especially Egyptian.
[] You beckon at things with you forehead or eyes.
[] You like seafood, especially fish, more than any other type of food.
[] You are tanned.
[] You have a black hair.
[] Your last name starts with " Al " or " bin "
[] you like showing off, especially with new cars and clothes.
[] You dislike reading.

Total: 0



Wooowoooo! British, baby!

We just got back from Roger Daltrey's Use It Or Lose It Concert and I am in love.. pure
and simple.

Where to begin.. I feel like so much has happened within such a short period of time and
at the moment it's left me with a buzzing sense of shellshock. I feel drained, melancholy
and euphoric all wrapped together in one. It's mind-boggling and surreal, i've fallen in love all over again and feel as if everything I want to be and be seen by has been washed
away by the rain and moved onto Indiana in a little white van. How can your heart be made
whole as well as torn to utter shreds at the same time by someone you only got to spend 1
minute with? I feel blessed. Eternally and spiritually blessed. I feel like I should have
said more, I shouldn't have just stared in transfixed silence at him. I feel like crying in
pain. I feel like laughing with joy. I feel drained, melancholy and euphoric.


This day has definately been one that will stick out for the rest of my life.
A maturing and tear-jerking experience worth every penny.

It all started with wandering around downtown Nashville most of the afternoon in utter
impatience until the box office decided to finally open. and I had been a
bit snippy with each other from parking stress and general irritation with people forcing
you into a corner wanting hand-outs, Katie got an interesting hug and a "boob kiss" from some
guy on the strip she gave a couple of bucks to.. and then at the bar we stopped at called Tootsie's where we were supposed to meet a couple of Who fans from thewho.com, some
singer (while singing Squeeze Box - amusing, no?) for no apparent reason grabbed my scarf
and wound up keeping it. Not from my generosity, he just wouldn't give me the damn thing
back!
So needless to say, we needed something major to cheer us up.

A few minutes before 6PM, we were standing outside of the auditiorium, a very gorgeous old
building in it's own Christian tabernacle way. People were mulling around outside and a few
sprinkles had begun to fall. Killing time was easy, all we had to do was start up a few
conversations!
The first pair we talked to seemed a little stand-offish but the woman showed us her copy
of Roger's album Ride a Rock Horse that she was hoping he would sign. That started the
chain of when she first got to see The Who themselves perform, and then the topic of age
differences, the fact that we were into them at the age of 18 and 19 seemed to really stand
out. We also met a woman who reminded me so much of Katie's aunt Jan! She was such a
cool bird and had been in love with Roger for years.. her own enthusiasm maximizing with
ours. Haha.. I even remember her saying that she had lied to her husband about buying the
350$ plus Meet and Greet ticket and instead told him she had won it.
She is yet another nameless face that will live on with us.
We also met this interesting firefighter named Kip who seemed to have been very taken with
us, he stuck with Katie and I throughout the M&G and concert, showing us the gift that
he was going to give Roger, offering to buy us drinks, etc. Slightly odd at first, BUT
aren't we all? He was a very kind man when it came down to it.
It turned out Kip had the seat right next to mine and ended up switching with Katie so
that she and I could sit together. Such fortunate circumstances and sweet gestures!!
Anywaaaaaaaay.. we got our laminates in the lobby and headed to the balcony where we all sat
around until Roger was ready to see us. And then.. while we were in our seats watching
them set up the stage.. there he was, we had caught a fleeting glimpse of Roger Harry
Daltrey backstage!! What made that part even more memorable was Simon Townshend (Pete's
brother who was guitaring for the band) catching sight of us two waving at him and actually
waving back!!!! I love the man, he looks nothing like Pete, but a little like Mr. Clean, and
has a shitload of guitaring talent that makes my toes curl just thinking about.

Then the time came.

We (all 50+ of us.. their were sooo many people there for the Meet and Greet) were ushered
through into the dressing rooms by a Ryman worker. Standing in line, the excitement was exhilarating. Everyone was smiling and shifting nervously.. I kept grabbing Katie's
shoulders which I know probably bothered the hell out of her. Haha, but I had to do
something! We got the chance to talk to so many fans while waiting and even meet a few new
friends.. most having gotten to see The Who in their prime, when John and Keith still reeked
havoc. It was amazing because they even told us that this was the first time that the Meet
and Greet had ever been done! And the descriptions, man.. the descriptions that the aging
Who fans gave to us made me realize instantly why music is a key centerfold in life. The
passion that everyone exuded.. they knew why we were there and were glad to see us. Because
that's why they were there too. I've noticed that the Who fan is a rare breed.
Ever so slightly different from the norm but generous to a fault. I mean, we were leaving
our purses, bags and autoraphed stuff with each other and we had only just met! It's a
binding connection that I want to always relive in my mind's eye. Just like with Abbey
Road on the River. That is the atmosphere I crave.. that is my heaven.
Back to standing in line. So, Katie and I were within the first few people to go in to see
him. When we got up to the doorway, the first thing that caught my eye was curls. Curls, nose
and profile. He was so much more beautiful then any picture, TV show or DVD recording could
ever capture.. dressed to the nine in a blue button-down shirt and black pants. No, I take that back, it was not his appearance that first drew my attention.. it was his voice. Rich, deep and thick that made me instantly squeal with girlish delight, clawing more into
Katie's shoulders when we heard that laugh of his.
Katie went before me and had quite the time herself, recieving a kiss on the cheek initiated
by him and enjoying his embrace. I was so happy for her!!
As I was waiting, I made a little small talk with the crew member who was introducing us, saying that Roger must have been really jet lagged from all of the touring. He actually
seemed surprised and pleased that I wanted to talk to him, agreeing and saying in his own cultivated accent "Yeah, it's been hell on all of us jumping from place to place.. what
did you say your name was again, love? Sorry.. it's been so mad." and then he annonounced
me. "This is Patricia!"
I felt like I was standing before royalty.
My turn had come, my butterflies had never been more pronounced, Roger's smile was so
bright as he took my hand into his and said "Hello Patricia.." me stammering my own hellos
as he swept me into his arms for the picture.. it was breathtaking and magical. He gave
the most amazing hug I think i've had yet, a firm yet loving embrace that said he was glad I had come. I can't remember if my arms were around his waist or around his neck, but I know
his head was cushioned against my own neck, I could feel the brush of those curly blonde
locks against my own. And he smelled so good!!
He then turned to a small table and began signing my drawing that I had made of him.
He smiled and muttered something like "I see you've gotten my twisted face.." Then I gave him an Elvis drawing that I had done and he laughed saying "Elvis, is this for me?" All I could manage was a feeble "Yeah." before shutting up completely as he signed my 8 by 10 picture. I remember going completely blank and just staring at his hands as he
swirled his signature. I noticed his beautiful wedding ring, the lines in his face perfectly
symmetrical to my eyes. I had lost my voice and every sort of plan of proclaiming my
adoration or telling him how much their music has touched my life flew out of the window!
That's the biggest thing I will probably regret.. not speaking up when the chance came. But
honestly, how do you explain to someone what they mean to you when.. words can never be
enough? I need to draw.. I need to write.. I need to do something to express these
overwhelming emotions! They're eating me up.
He then handed me back the picture and thanked me for coming, I couldn't think of anything
else to say but ask him if I could get another hug before leaving which he seemed perfectly
fine with, saying in his own jovial way. "Oh yeah, sure!" before yet again, taking me into
his arms. This time a full blown embrace that rattled me to the core. I let go and he said
goodbye, letting me leave the dressing room floating on cloud nine. I was smiling like
a doofus as we passed those who were still waiting in line, people reaching out to
pat me on the back. My heart skips a beat or two every time I think back to that moment
when I looked down at the signature and saw "To Patricia with love" *sigh*

After Katie had called her dad, I called my mom in the hallway freaking out and shaking, telling her half-asleep self about it in literally under a minute. She had to laugh at
me but was glad it had been worth it. Have I mentioned before how much I love her?

The intermission was lovely afterwards, we bought more merchandise, talked to our Who
cronies a bit more. Okay, okay, okay. Now we need to get into the next big deal here. THE
CONCERT ITSELF!!

We were seated in a half moon shaped auditorium and we were on the ground floor on the left side (the performer's right). As Katie said in her own journal, I could reach my fingers out
and literally brush the side of the stage. The girl sitting next to me had brought flowers
to give to Roger which later on we saw being carried off by another random couple outside that he must have given them too.. c'est la vie?
Then the lights went down and the opening act that Roger had hand selected came on to play.
They were called Paper Zoo and had a very expressive sound, I enjoyed it. Especially
the bassist who looked like Jimmy Page with a bushy hairdo, and the lead guitarist looked just like a guy from the movie "Milk" which Katie and I couldn't help but point out.

Then Roger came onstage and made everyone forget their had even been an opening band,
the man radiated youth from the start, with me screaming my lungs out as he jumped right
into this brilliant rendition of "Who Are You?" that got the crowd roaring for more.
Every song he would introduce with a story, and he talked so much! It was so strange..
it was as if the audience had become one and he was talking directly to each and every one of us. I found myself nodding along as if he could see me listening.
He played such a medley.. Some Cheiftans songs that he performed with that band, "Squeezebox," "Pictures of Lily" (And made fun of John Entwistle before that! He made
fun of his voice and did a few high pitched notes.. he can still hit 'em, people!), "Baba
O'Riley" (in which he got a standing ovation and I about rocked myself silly), "Going Mobile" (in which Simon was absolutely sexy!), "Walk on the Water" (MRF! DAMN! ROGER!)
"My Generation Blues" (which sort of happened by accident and what a fantastic accident it
was), a song from McVicar (which he dedicated to his fans!), "Behind Blue Eyes" (which he dedicated to his dog that had got hit by a car right before the first recording with The Who), "Blue, Red, and Grey" (which seemed like an epiphany for Katie, because that was the one song she absolutely wanted him to play), "Naked Eye" (which he ended out with and made
the tears fall without shame, because that was the one that I wanted him to play!), "Young
Man Blues" (which was sex worthy. Damn, that man can still scream!), a Johnny Cash medley that led the audience singing "Ring of Fire," "Days of Light" (a song that Roger wrote himself while on the road in Australia and what I consider to be one of the most fun
songs of all time), "I Can See For Miles" (one of my personal favorites because I can tell
he puts so much passion behind that song.. it's his own favorite I believe.)
Their are probably a few others that we've forgotten so forgive, a lot has happened.
And what made it even better was he would stare in our general direction every once in a while, and something that my crappy camera didn't manage to catch was that smile from him. He smiled at us. As did Simon at me during Squeeze Box...

He was so open with the audience, and so raunchy! I swear, his sense of humor and general
perverted nature had me wanting to jump the stage. When it got to "Ring of Fire," he wanted the women to sing on the second chorus, guys on the third. To the girls he said. "I'll lead you down, just the way I like ya."
......................
They need to make an icon orgasm plz.. you do not want to know what was going through
my mind. *fans self* He is such a God damn turn-on!!
At the end of the show I got a chance to hand him two roses that Katie and I had as the other girl handed up her own sunflowers. I can still feel the flex of his fingers gripping around mine. I miss it and really, REALLY, hated to watch him leave.

After the show, Katie and I wanted to see him off by sneaking off around to the back of
the building, in an alley between Ryman and Tootsie's. We were able to see the crew and
rest of the band board the buses but Roger and Simon apparently disappeared out of a
secret exit, either way, it was still awesome standing there in the pouring rain just
enjoying the afterglow of the moment. We were soaking wet as we walked back to the parking garage because Mother Nature decided tonight was the the night to unleash the wrath of rain
upon Nashville.. all in all, we made it back to the hotel fine and ended up just sitting
back to unnwind for the rest of the night. One of our posters was a little torn from water
damage but that was it, and even now, I find myself staring at my autographs in disbelief that it really happened. But it did. And I am in love. With Roger. With Simon. With Rock and Roll.

Drained, melancholy and euphoric...

That sums it up. Love you all. It's time to go to sleep. I'll upload a few pictures before bed but since most of my own pictures turned out pretty suckish, i'll leave it up to Katie to get the majority. She really did snag the prize photos.

Oh, and Happy Halloween everyone.

-- Patricia

Quick nutshell of events before the rambling begins!

and I have arrived safely in Nashville. We're set up in the hotel, (that
was the easy part.) The hard part was finding our way downtown to the auditorium and
then re-finding our way back. It took us about 5 hours grand total to navigate... full
of wrong turns, tears and insanity. Did I mention that I love big cities but hate roads?
*phew* Either way... we're back safe and sound.

BUT!!!!

Okay, this is where I honestly felt like we entered the Twilight Zone for a moment.
When we stood around outside of the auditorium (just to get the excitement out of our
systems to know that this was really happening) we noticed that a big, white, tour bus without any indication of who was inside was idling right by the entrance. We could
see a bunch of people inside chatting.. and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass
up. If Roger was in there, I was going to make our existance known. So after building up the courage, I knocked on the door. This pudgey man with glasses and a pissy look answered. I stammered "Hi, w-we were just wondering if this is Roger Daltrey's tour b-bus?" He answered quite impatiently. "Who??" I repeated my question. And then he answered with a very
blatant 'fuck off' expression. "No.. this is Lewis Black's tour bus."
I quietly nodded like an idiot with a muffled "Okay." before walking away with Katie.

Then it dawned on me a few seconds too late that that had been the asshole of a
comedian himself, Louis Black.

I have no idea how to feel about it. I just wanted to share it before we went to bed.
Tomorrow is the big day, but that was a pretty odd experience.
Talk to y'all later.

--Patricia

I needed a new one up...

You know what I just realized, the chief librarian here could be an
American version of Phil Collins.. he's so adorable!
And speaking of Phil, do your part and send up a little hope that Genesis will FINALLY be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
next year. That goes for The Hollies and KISS as well...

Anyway.

It is two days until Roger Daltrey's concert, one until we leave.. I
feel like i've been neglecting the countdown, but I think it's just been
a bit too exciting to express all of the emotions running through
the likes of and myself.

One definite thought crossing my mind strictly for myself is "Why the
hell didn't you stick to the diet, you bloated cow!?"
Aren't I just the best self-cheerleader?

We're pretty much packed and ready to go.
All that's left is the damn waiting.. and I still need to finish Elvis.

Oh! And to all of my friends who wanted a good picture of Roger from the concert, i'm going to try my best and get one for each of you (you
know who you are) if my camera is able to pick up in the auditorium.
I love you guys, and hopefully the next time you hear from me it
will be filled with a radiating high that leaves the computer
slightly buzzing. That's what I pray for at any rate.

Ciao for now.

--Patricia