One Week In

Three days before Christmas. I have been in Provo for a week now and have only unpacked a small portion of my accumulated life brought with me from California. I still haven’t assembled one of the dogs’ crates so they are sleeping in the guest room while the cats roam free at night and slowly get used to their new home. The cats love the ledge that runs around two walls of my media room and have discovered which built-in shelf is the highest. For whatever reason they are drawn to the bathtub and sit in it any time I am in the bathroom.

The yard hasn’t yet been enclosed fully so the dogs have yet to roam free, but they have met Roscoe, the French Bulldog and his flock of chickens who live directly behind us and have exchanged barks with the young German Shepherd who spends entirely too much time alone in her run in the yard caddy corner to ours.

We had a horrible time packing up my house (thanks to my crippling fear of the move combined with my tendency towards procrastination) and managed to leave around 12 hours later than planned, leaving behind my lavender eye and neck pillows (I forgot they were in the freezer door) as well as my 10 & 12 pound weight sets (I was too exhausted to carry them to the car) and my bike with flat tires (there was nowhere to put it in the truck (or trailer that we had to rent at 7pm on Tuesday night because the truck was full).

Supposed to arrive late on Wednesday or early on Thursday, we actually flew into town with just over an hour before the doors were to open for the first show in Darcie’s baby, the new Unplugged! series at Muse. Eidola were playing an hour long set (two to three times as long as most sets at local Provo shows) and reworking their progressive rock sound into an unplugged format. The show did not disappoint and even received coverage in The Daily Herald and City Weekly. A turnout of around 40 people was a great start to the series and Mango Films shot video and stills for promo and Muse did a live recording of the performance.

I worked door at Muse on Saturday night for the last show of hardcore band, Parallax, who were on the verge of national attention when their singer, Blake Donner, died in an accident in 2005. This was a release for the limited edition vinyl pressing of their last recording, ‘Mediums & Messages’. 205 paying guests crowded into the venue to thrash and mosh to the band. It was a night with amazing energy and only one person really tried to convince me that she “only needed to use the bathroom” even though she seemed to know everyone and stayed until the end of the night once she finally paid the $6 cover. I was the front door bitch and I liked it.

It hasn’t been all fun and games, I have had a few dicey moments of anxiety, stress and insecurity about the move… Did I do the wrong thing? Will it all be fruitless? Or will this work out well and be a great fit? But sitting here in Muse Music Cafe, listening to Nicholas Allen sing to a group of about 30 people I have a feeling it will all be okay. Eventually. I think.

#PROCRASTINATIONDOMINATION

#procrastinationdomination – Twitter hashtag – the ability to find anything and everything else to do other than the very important task you should be working on

I forget who coined this hashtag. It wasn’t me. It was either Tashia or Darcie. This post is a prime example. I should be filling the four boxes that I just taped the bottoms of with books. I have so many books. I have so much stuff period. This is what happens to people with minor hoarding tendencies who live in the same place for 14 years.

Darcie arrived on Tuesday night, I can’t really remember what we did on Wednesday, but it sure wasn’t packing. Thursday we went to Alcatraz and did a driving tour of San Francisco and then went to Live 105’s Not So Silent Night Pre-Party. With Darcie’s broken foot, we were invited to jump the line so that we could go in and find a seat for her. We ended up in the balcony, stage left and enjoyed amazing sets by Grouplove, The Joy Formidable, and The Naked and Famous.

Bitzy from The Joy Formidable

Friday I made a bunch of move related calls, worked for a couple of hours, then headed to Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. Darcie and I started with a slice of pizza from Blondie’s (a Berkeley staple), walked around UC Berkeley campus for a little bit, browsed the clearance section at Amoeba Records (not nearly long enough), had cookie ice cream sandwiches at C.R.E.A.M. (absolutely delicious and just $2!) and then came home. For about an hour. We had tickets to Live 105’s Not So Silent Night, which had an amazing line up. Which became even more amazing as we listened to the radio while we got ready. Jane’s Addiction had to cancel due to a family emergency, so Live 105 called up a local trio to see if they could sub in. And that local trio just happened to be GREEN DAY! We were blown away! Darcie actually kept murmuring “Green Day” every few minutes, throwing in a “Fucking Green Day” every so often. I am not at all gifted at show reviews, but here is a synopsis:

Darcie’s injury paid off handsomely as we were able to skip the $35 parking fee (yes, you read that correctly) with her temporary handicapped placard. The walk up the hill to the arena was rough for her with the crutches, but we did get to zip in and ride the elevator up to our seats. What an insane night. It was bizarre seeing Young the Giant play an arena, considering the last time we saw them they were opening for Neon Trees in Cleveland.

Bush exploded on to the stage with ‘Machinehead’ and Darcie and I both screamed. Total unconscious fangirl reaction. During their set, I kept thinking, “How did I forget how great these guys are live?” while singing along to every song. Florence & the Machine started off with a couple of quiet number and then proceeded to rock the house for the last three songs. Dressed in a red flowing dress, Florence practically floated as she skipped around the stage during her set. It was beautiful.

Neither Darcie nor I had seen Mumford & Sons perform, but we are both great fans. It was an extremely moving performance with a couple of songs hitting home for Darcie in particular. The second best part was actually the two guys in front of us who looked and acted more like metal fans but in fact knew every single note and lyric to all of the songs.

And then it was time for Green Day. We had moved to the handicapped seating area during the break between sets, so Darcie was able to stretch out and rock out. Seeing Green Day in the Bay Area is always a treat, but this was even more special due to the last minute nature. Billie Joe explained how things came about, “Live 105 asked themselves… ‘Who can we get to fill in on 5 hours notice that lives 10 minutes away? Green Day.'” Billie Joe laid out the plan, “We’re gonna play a bunch of old shit.”. Which they did. The songs all came from ’39/Smooth’, ‘Kerplunk’, ‘Dookie’ and ‘Insomniac’ with the exception of the closing song which was “American Idiot”. I think Darcie actually rocked out harder than a lot of people in that arena and she was seated! It was her first Green Day show, and my last Green Day hometown show. What a great note to leave on.

courtesy of live105.com

Today is all about packing, which I am now going to return to. I swear. I’m not lying. Really. No more #procrastinationdomination today. Really.

Neon Trees Made Me Move to Provo (sort of)

Some of you may know this, some may not. I have Neon Trees to thank for the amazing changes that have taken place in my life over the past year and a half. I went from hearing “Animal” on Live 105 in January 2010 to meeting them at a radio show in Arizona, to running a fan site, becoming friends, changing careers and now moving to Utah. I am not by any means close friends with any of the band, but they have welcomed me into their extended family and I can’t begin to express how much that means to me.

So many people ask why I am moving to Utah and many assume that I am moving to be close to Neon Trees. Which is kind of ridiculous as they are on tour for 90% of the year. Here is what really happened…

As I grew to know Neon Trees and began Neon Trees Addicts I started chatting with other fans online. Some I met in person at shows or video shoots, some I have yet to meet. Over those initial 6 months after ‘Habits’ was released, I developed a network of interesting new people. There were a few people that I connected with and became great friends with including Ashley, Katie, Ann, Martha and more. But there are three people that have become my closest friends. We have a zillion other things in common besides our love of a band and these people have been instrumental in my personal development over the past year.

I met Molly Teas in person at an LA showing of Rocky Horror that I was attending with my friend Katie. Over the course of three days, she and I connected, particularly during a car ride from the LA 1/2 Marathon to my car. She is the kind of person that people are drawn to, and I am so honored that she is my friend. So much of a friend that she is flying up from LA to help me load the U-Haul.

Tashia Taylor runs Tree Huggers, the other main Neon Trees fan site. I just found out yesterday that Tashia disliked me for several months because I was having success with a fan site as well. She admits to being quite jealous and petty at times, but she eventually let me in (and probably regrets it now) and has become one of the people that I know will always tell me the truth and that I can always count on. And all of this happened before I ever met her in person, which didn’t happen until June of this year.

I also became friends with Darcie Roy. We chatted on Twitter for quite sometime, but it wasn’t until we had a ridiculously confused, utterly misunderstood conversation via direct message that we truly bonded. In a matter of weeks, we became best friends. Our friendship was strictly online until I decided that it would be cool to go the East Coast for some Neon Trees dates. Darcie said we could road trip it in her trusty van Bessie and I figured, why not? The dates were around my birthday, so what a fun thing to do. I opened an Etsy store and with the help of my Neon Trees peeps, I sold enough handmade jewelry and wrist warmers to pay for my plane ticket and some basic expenses. I first met Darcie in person when she picked me up at Logan airport. I was so nervous that she wouldn’t like me as much in person as she had online. It really felt like a first date! The trip went well, she didn’t kill me and was still talking to me by the end of the trip, and at that point we knew we had formed a truly special friendship.

Darcie was in the process of making some major changes in her personal life which included moving somewhere new to start over. She had decided to move to Provo. She too is friendly with Neon Trees, so stalking was NOT her motivation, but the band had spoken so fondly of the music scene in Provo that she had begun to consider it several months previous. She had recently realized that music was her passion and that she needed to be somewhere that was celebrated. Once she began becoming exposed to the people and music there, she decided that it would be a perfect place to start over. We packed up a U-Haul and drove her from Massachusetts to Utah in 4 days. Now that she was so close, I started visiting on a monthly basis. I was completely won over. The surroundings were beautiful, the musical offerings plentiful and I can do what I do (digital media marketing/merchandising) from anywhere with an internet connection. Plus, I would get to live in the same town as my best friend. Decision made.

Now she has arrived in California (her first time here) and we are packing up my apartment (where I have lived for 14 years), my animals and moving me to Utah as well. In 7 days I will be a Provo resident. All because of four musicians that I met at a radio show. Thank you Neon Trees.

Provo House Hunting (continued)

I arrived at what I now call “home” to meet Adam, one of the two owners. The current tenant unfortunately was not expecting us (her husband had not passed along the message), but was kind enough to let Adam show me the house. The first thing I noticed was the abbreviated two walls that connect in a right angle at the corner of the living room, providing division between the living room and the dining area/kitchen. I liked how it made the living room feel open and light, but provided a definite demarcation of the space. The living room had a fireplace in the far wall and a bay window to the street side. I have missed having a fireplace, so this immediately caught my attention. (+1)

To my right, there was large mirrored closet. Until yesterday morning, I had used a broken floor lamp as a coatrack, and it often fell over under the weight of 4 or 5 coats. A coat closet was cool! (+1)

Directly ahead, behind the aforementioned walls lay the kitchen. It had a gas range (+1), a built-in microwave in the range hood (not sure how functional it is), plenty of counter and cabinet space as well as one of my dream appliances. A dishwasher (+1). After 15 years of hand washing dishes, I cannot begin to tell you how happy the idea of a dishwasher makes me. It is totally worth the additional cost of electricity for the appliance.

Off of the dining room, a door to the two car garage (+1) with built in shelving along the back wall (+1) and enough room to park four VW Golfs (what I drive). The door to the back yard is at the back, allowing the garage to act as a mudroom as well (+1).

In the hall between the kitchen and the front door, a 1/2 bathroom. Perfect for when guests are over. (+1)

Up a few steps, the bathroom and bedrooms. In the bathroom, a counter top and under counter storage with funky old tile (+1); as well as a built in linen cabinet (+1). The master bedroom had his/her closets (+1) which made my heart sing as I am a total clothes whore. Two more bedrooms, one slightly longer and larger than the other with more than enough room for my desk, the dog’s futon and their crates. Closets in both (perhaps litter boxes/files in the office, and a shoe/handbag closet in the guest room?), with plenty of light.

Down a few steps, the family room. Being slightly subterranean, it had a small window which would be easy to cover with blackout curtains to allow for maximum tv  viewing quality (+1).  The room also allowed access to the shared laundry area. It turns out that the house was listed as a 6 bedroom house with a potential for a duplex, but due to the minimal window square footage in two of the rooms, not really able to be legally split. There was a front room with a door to the backyard, and then 3 steps down to the kitchenette/living room with two generously sized rooms off of that space. Adam mentioned that if I was interested, there was a possibility of me taking over that space as well after July. My mind immediately jumped to making the back 3 rooms into an office/rehearsal space/recording studio/equipment storage/merchandising storage combination (+5). This was becoming intriguing.

Out the back door, a patio that stretched the length of the house, included a firepit (+1), a raised patio behind the garage (+1), a grill in a beautiful stone base (+1) and an expansive yard. Trees along the back of the property, but nothing to really provide shade (-1). Almost completely fenced and Adam said that they could put a fence/gate at the end of the driving to secure the yard (+1). As I looked at the yard, I could envision a unstained (but sealed of course) pergola over a portion of the patio and stretching out over the lawn.

What had happened? This was supposed to just be a throw away, not a place that I was actually interested in. How did it rack up 20 points on my ‘specials’ scale? It was a 1970’s split level house for god’s sake! But I totally dug it. Unless something else stole my heart, this was it. I got an application, told Adam I would connect with Chris to meet him and submit the completed application.

I saw three more places the following day, one of which severely distracted me for a few hours, but still felt that the house on W 900 N was the place for me. I met with Chris on Monday the 20th and signed the lease on Saturday the 26th. I move in 10 days from now. I am ready for Provo, and can only hope that Provo is ready for me.

Day 1 in Provo – House Hunting. Mission Possible?

I meant to write an update while I was in Provo, but got wrapped up in my house hunt and my desire to relax before the big push. I have a few minutes now, so I thought I would catch you up.

I arrived in Provo at 3:30am on Friday, November 18th. My timing was perfect as Darcie was about ready to walk out the door to work (she works from 4am – 12:30pm as a receiving supervisor). I introduced her to the dogs through the car window and waved her off to work. The wrinkle was, she was on crutches. The previous morning she had run over her right foot with a power pallet jack and had broken it. We said hello and goodbye, I unloaded my car, set up the dogs and crawled into her bed to sleep. I had to be at a viewing at noon, so I wanted to try to catch a little shut eye.

At noon, I arrived at the first house viewing appointment. I knocked on the door. No answer. I walked around to the back of the house and found no one. I went back to the front door and took a quick look around. When the owner had not arrived by 12:15, I called him. He had totally forgotten our appointment and had gone to lunch. He told me to go ahead and look around and call him with any questions. As I toured the pre-war house, I saw things that were challenging and things that were attractive. It wasn’t until I went into the basement that I realized how big the house really was. The basement had been semi-finished, had a family room with a wood stove, 2 carpeted bedrooms, a full bath with the most interesting stone interior for the shower, storage cubbies everywhere, a storage room and an unfinished room at the back. I was kinda digging this place. Darcie texted me after going to an ortho consult to see if surgery on her foot was necessary (it wasn’t) and I asked her to come over. I took her on a tour and she was digging the vibe as well. As we were finishing, the owner showed up and we began to chat. I gave him my email address so that he could send me the application, and Darcie asked if she could look in the attic space. You would have thought she had asked him to sacrifice his first born. He rudely dismissed her questions, though she attempted to explain her interest. Needless to say, I decided against that house. If he was communicating with a potential tenant that way, how would he treat someone once they moved in. He apparently felt the same as he never emailed me the application.

We saw a second house, which had a kitchen smaller than Darcie’s (which is no small feat). Out.

By the next viewing, Darcie was tired and I told her I would go on my own to the last one of the day. This particular house had looked promising until I discovered that the landlord would be living in the basement apartment (which I was unaware even existed based on the ad). I had already set the time, so I decided to go see it just to be thorough. Little did I know; this would be the house I would rent.

…more later

The Ball is Rolling…

I made a big move on Sunday… I gave notice on my apartment. My heart was pounding, I began to to perspire but did not go into a full blown panic attack. Hooray! Yesterday and today I spent the morning booking viewings of houses for Friday and Saturday. I have six houses to look at, two of which I have high hopes for. I know it might seem silly to see houses that I am not sure about, but the goal is to get a good concept of what is available in my price range so that I can better judge the houses I am drawn to.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am a horrible procrastinator. I will be moving the same week that I finish classes and am spending 10 days in Provo over Thanksgiving. That gives me very little packing time and I have not made nearly enough progress. However, the last time I moved I didn’t pack anything until two days before the move. The fact that I have eight packed boxes already is a HUGE improvement! I don’t plan on sleeping very much tonight, I need to do laundry and pack for my trip and hopefully add a couple more boxes to my tally.

I am still experiencing moments of sheer terror at the massive changes that I am making, but then I remember that I will be able to have my best friend, Darcie, at my side while I explore the Provo music scene. Tonight is the second night of the Battle of the Bands competition at Muse Music Cafe, and Eidola, a band that Darcie has been raving about, is performing. I really wish I was already there! I just need them to make the finals so I can check them out in person on Saturday.

I do have a full schedule of shows for this coming weekend. My friend’s band, John-Ross Boyce & His Troubles, is having a record release party at ABG’s on Friday and on Saturday it’s the Battle of the Bands finals AND night two of the 6th Annual Cowboys & Indies at Velour. Darcie is an expert at venue/show multitasking, so we plan to catch both the finals and Eyes Lips Eyes‘ Cowboys & Indies performance. I have a feeling I won’t get much sleep until Sunday, but that is usually how it goes when I’m in Provo!

Well, that’s enough procrastination for today… I must return to the task at hand. I have a feeling those boxes won’t pack themselves.

Rainy Day Procrastination

Today is a gloomy, rainy day. And I am procrastinating. As usual.

I should be packing up my books right now but instead I am watching Grey’s Anatomy and wondering what my best friend, Darcie, and I will sleep on once the truck is packed and how freaked out the animals will be in the empty apartment. Have I gotten ahead of myself? Of course I have. I have 4 1/2 weeks until I need to solve those particular problems. My challenge is that I always consider the big picture, often before I look at what’s right in front of me. This can be both a help and a hinderance. I am determined to have it be a help this time around.

In one week I will be viewing houses so that I have a home to move into in 4 1/2 weeks. I am moving to Provo, Utah. It is exciting and terrifying all at once. My work allows me to work from anywhere as it can be done remotely, so I have decided to join my best friend in this college town at the foot of the Watsatch mountain range. I have spent the majority of my life in California, so this is no small adventure. I have visited the area numerous times and yes, I know what I am getting myself into.

Provo has a thriving local music scene which has produced some amazing musicians, one of which you just might have heard in the past year and a half on the radio, in a Vegas commercial, in a movie trailer, a television show or even a movie itself. There are three venues, shows Monday –  Saturday and a wide variety of genres. I want to help musicians that would benefit from my variety of skills. I can run live sound, craft a WordPress site, create a social marketing campaign, design and manage a merchandise line, brand a band, promote, and much more. There will not be a shortage of projects for me to work on.

I will be posting moving updates, and once I arrive in Provo, stories from the trenches. Wish me luck!