Jennifer Nettles Concert & TBT to Sugarland

I thought I would try to blog while watching Jennifer Nettle's concert from the comfort of my couch. I underestimated how much toe tapping I'd be doing. My laptop is a hoppin' and boppin'. I guess my first full blog while watching a concert will have to wait. Survey says this will never be accomplished. I've got to pay attention!

To my surprise, the show was a whole hour long. Now, that's what I'm talkin' about! Jennifer greeted us with a smile and that wonderful voice. She sang her way through her newly released solo album, That Girl. I had yet to buy the album because I thought it would be a cool experience to hear it live for the very first time. She did not disappoint!

There are certain performers that I'm drawn to, and Jennifer would be one of them. Why you ask? Well, she doesn't seem to hold back and let's her thoughts come right on out. I love when people are real. A couple of my other favorites like this are Kelly Clarkson and P!nk. Tell me those three wouldn't be a stellar lineup to see!

It's Thursday and after watching Jennifer sing her heart out tonight, my mind races back through all the Sugarland concerts I've seen. One of my favorite experiences was when I got to meet the duo in July 2008! If you'd like to relive the experience with me, here's the blog links that tell the story.

Excitement and Anticipation
The Wait
Final Event

I suppose a random thanks that will probably never be heard by the likes of RAM or YAHOO! is in order. They brought Jennifer to my living room tonight. Thanks for that!

Jane vs. The Grackle

I had a rough week at work last week. My mood seemed to deteriorate every single day and the fact that it was Friday wasn't even helping. I headed home for lunch, let Sparky out and confirmed that Jinkies was indeed holding down the bed.

As I finished up lunch, while watching the local news, I couldn't help but become annoyed by Sparky's new fascination with the basement door. I set my dishes in the sink, walked back to the basement door, ready to swing it open with a big, "See? There's nothing there!" But was beyond startled by something flapping about in my face. SLAM! "What the hell was that?"

I was trying to process my new winged friend and due to it's size, figured it must have been a bird and not a bat. Now I needed a plan of attack to get it out of the house. I called my coworker Jeff and he said to call Mark because he's a pro at getting varmints out of his house. Mark attempted to be helpful, but I don't own a net. Second suggestion was gloves and a sheet.

The Bird Catching Attack Plan:

1. Close all doors within the house.
2. Put Sparky in his crate.
3. Prop front and back doors open.
4. Gloves on.
5. Zip up hoodie and cinch hood as tight as possible. (I'll admit, I almost armed myself with my paintball mask.) 
6. Extend sheet and open basement door.

And of course the darn thing flutters down the stairs and the great basement chase begins! My basement is unfinished with low ceilings and duct work that I can hit my head on. Oh, and by this time, Jinkies has graced us with his presence... only to sit their and continually meow at the situation.

I'm going to guess that I spent about 10-15 minutes racing back and forth after the bird with my sheet in tow. At one point I had him pinned in the rafters behind the dryer, but my reach was not long enough gnab him.

At this point I went upstairs to make sure I didn't have any additional unwanted visitors. Ya know, with the doors being wide open and all. All was good, thankfully. I regrouped, shed the hoodie, and snagged a bucket. Back downstairs, I searched for a makeshift bucket lid before I remembered and stole the 5-gallon bucket lid from the hibernating canna bulbs.

Then I realized I only had one set of eyes watching me. The Grackle.

Well, shit! Upstairs I run to retrieve that darn cat. Jinkies was just hanging out in the backyard. As if this fiasco wasn't enough entertainment for him. Geesh. Back downstairs we go and IT's ON! I wish I could say I miraculously caught it in a minute flat after diving across the basement, ripping it out of the air in mid-flight with the bucket, and then triumphantly slamming on the lid. BOOYA!

But this was not the case, sooo, after another 10-15 minutes I had the little bugger cornered within a 'V' in the rafters. The bucket was positioned on one side and the lid on the other. My friend, the grackle, would not willingly hop in the bucket. I couldn't even startle him in with a little banging.

I was forced to put the lid down. With catlike skills, I batted him into the bucket and slammed the bucket flush to the ceiling. It's Trapped! Okay, but now I need the lid. Thank goodness I was able to set the lid within reach and not on the floor. Phew! I squiggled the lid in between the bucket and ceiling.

Here's my friend, I mean nemesis as he waits to be released. I had him chill in the kitchen while I closed the front door. Then I set him outside and closed the back door behind. Sorry, but you're not getting back in this house!

I gotta say, I was quite proud to have caught the grackle by myself. Although, I was kind of hoping that Jeff or Mark would have volunteered to drive the 1 mile to my house to help me out... my work big brothers let me down ;) . At least I know I can totally handle situations like this myself, and I had an awesome adventure to boot. That's one way to lift away the crankiness, and set your Friday straight.

TBT - Amos Lee

For those not familiar with the acronyms floating around social media, TBT stands for ThrowBackThursday. I have a feeling you'll be seeing this on my blog this year. A little storytelling just feels right.

Moving along, amongst the almost bagillions of spam emails I get everyday, I had an email from CMT catch my attention. The name Amos Lee was in the subject line. I never considered him a country musician, so I thought I'd check it out.

Who is Amos Lee you ask? Well, I was introduced to him as the opening act to Norah Jones circa 2004. Matt was a fan of Norah Jones, and suggested we take a road trip to St. Louis to go see her in concert. I enjoyed her first album, so why not? Sign me up.

This may have been the last time I let someone else buy the tickets to an event. Why, you ask? Well, when Matt finally got the tickets in the mail... ummmm... it turned out to be ticket. Yes, one ticket. He did so many searches trying to find the best seats, and didn't notice the quantity reset to 1 ticket prior to purchase.

Anyway, he somehow got the ticket fiasco straightened out and we made it down to St. Louis to for the concert. You never know what you'll get with an opener, but I remember that Amos did not disappoint. It was simple, he stood on stand with his acoustic guitar and sang to us. His rich, soulful voice and connection to the songs blew me away, it was one of those surprise performances that leads you to immediately buy the album and seek out more tuneage.

I hope to see him in concert again some day, but in the meantime I'll have to settle for online performances. My favorite song is in the collection below... it's the 2nd one, Keep it Loose - Keep it Tight.

Get More:

Random Thoughts - "Footprint" in a Cemetery

I had a crazy train of thought that happened this morning. It literally happened while I put my shoes on, so I didn't stick on any one question or mini-topic long at all. Here's how it went down...

I remembered a portion of a dream I had that gave me the point of view from a helicopter flying over of neighborhood during this snowy, frigid weather. In every backyard there was a beautiful winter scene that included a very sad frozen animal. I woke up before it became known if they would thaw out and live or not. I'll assume they were in Mother Nature's version of being cryogenically frozen.

My mind then quickly bounced to a coworker who had a pet cat pass a few months ago before the cold weather hit. He shared with me how they decided to bury the cat at the back of their property, where they would dig a hole and make a grave for their beloved pet.

Thankfully, before my mind headed down the sad road of losing one of my own pets, I couldn't help but think of all the times I've walked through Springdale Cemetery. Like a spinning rolodex, I picture all of the headstones I've read that span from the 1800's to 2000's.

Now this is where my mind really starts to spin. Are there people alive today that come to pay respects to those who lived in the 1800's? Is it just more of a historically "library" of people who used to live in the area? It kind of leads to the question of who will miss you when you're gone? What have you done that will be remembered or will there just be a gravestone with you name and some numbers?

But without a second thought on those questions, my train of thought takes an immediate turn to having a "footprint" in a cemetery. At what point would the space needed for plots in cemeteries start to "take over the world"? Would we have homes to live in, businesses to work and shop, but no more land for farming, parks, or roads? Our food is engineered in a lab, our outdoor experiences now take place in the virtual world and we finally figured out how to teleport, just so we can expand our cemeteries?

This isn't where my mind stops. I leave those questions hanging too. What this whole thought process ultimately leads me to is the question of, Do environmentalists prefer to be cremated and ashes spread somewhere instead of leaving a "footprint" in a cemetery?