Heather—I actually need to get to DC more often, to take the kids to the Smithsonian, etc. My in-laws live in VA, and if we drive it takes 2 hrs. with no traffic, BUT it has taken 4 hours!! The traffic is so bad, fast and stressful. But the Metro is really easy to use. Not that Im an expert, but let me know when you are going, if you have any questions, I can find out for you (places to go, eat, stay, etc.)
Very cool that you met Zach—have you been listening to his stuff? I love it.
Nogali—yes, it’s great to be back. I just got caught up on those couple of threads about concert experiences, and was trying to decide how to contribute. I went to All Points West on August 10. It was not my best Jack experience, but more my situation than anything. It’s kind of a confessional, I guess....
Well, first, we drove up and had gotten a room at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. We stayed there before, and we made the concert an excuse to meet friends and get away for a night. So, we get there just after lunchtime, but neglected to eat lunch. We thought our friends would be there soon, so we had a couple of drinks. I really didn’t think I drank that much, but the margaritas were really really strong. So, I was a little out of it.
Interestingly, we decided to drive over rather than take the ferry, because we heard horror stories of how long the ferry took the night before. So, five of us got in the car and drove over. Sorry to say, but they had said there would be parking only for carpools—not true. But we had a carpool pass and were doing what we were supposed to do.
The venue covered a huge area. We had sprung for VIP tickets, I don’t really think that it was worth it. The other complication was that we had driven through some really nasty thunderstorms earlier in the day, and they were projected to hit NYC in the evening. So we didn’t know how that would play out, ended up being fine.
OK, so I was still a little drunk, and the pot smoke everywhere probably didn’t help...but much earlier on this forum, I had told Jungle Jam that I would get a Jack water bottle for his kid, whose broke. So I was really focused on making it to the merchandise place to get the water bottle. So I told my husband that I wanted to go over there. I went and got a bottle (and realized later it was not the right one :( ) and while I was gone they closed the VIP area and I couldnt find my husband. When I finally found him, he was really mad (that is, scared), but got over it soon. By now, I had sobered up, and enjoyed the rest of the concert.
This all occurred after I was rejected to be a volunteer in Camden for August 7. I had gotten the email saying reply in the next 48 hours, and I didn’t get the email for 2 days because my computer was down, I was really, really bummed.
Conclusion of the story: I joined Surfrider and sent Jungle Jam the water bottle and made a new friend in Australia. My 7 year old now has a Radiohead/APW Sigg water bottle she is keeping at school. I will not drink the margaritas at the Tribeca Grand again. And I concluded that someone else must have needed that volunteer experience more than me.
But I must admit I’m still sad about it. I was so excited at the prospect of volunteering, and then seeing Jack again, and both experiences didn’t measure up. BUT, it really made me think a lot. I really believe that things happen for a reason, and that we can always learn lessons from our experiences, good and bad.
