1.23.2010

tally hall, no one's better than you. {part II}


{{the classroom}}

after lunch, we headed to the empty classroom and the boys were so amazed at how detailed it was. they said that it was cool because they'd think they saw everything, but then they'd see another tiny detail. from the 'tally hall-passes' to the 'top bananas' to the colored sitting...dots in the reading area (with lyrics "another story to tell" in the sign above). dang, cheryl. good job. it consisted of all this stuff:

note that all the signs are lyrics from their songs. so brilliant.
and of course, the guys all rooted for the individual tables that matched their corresponding tie colors.

the room passed their inspection::
i was a bit shy about snapping pictures of the guys in the classroom, even though i always document everything...wherever i go. i didn't want them to feel all paparazzi'd or annoyed. so i took a few; they weren't my best. but here ya go:

above:: sam, the sound guy (cleverrr)
ironically, after we left the room rob asked if he could get copies of those photos since they didn't have cameras on hand (besides ross' iphone). ka-dang it. i totally should have taken awesome epic ones. oh well, i said i'd get them to him. we then chilled in the hall for a bit (i had fun watching kids take one glance at them wherever they went and squeal or get really excited and run away).
and the kids couldn't believe their eyes::
the kids had really wanted to meet the band, but the teachers told them not to get their hopes up, as the band had a whole lot to do that day. after they checked out cheryl's empty classroom, though, the boys went into the next classroom which consisted of cheryl's class and another class to actually meet the kids. the boys looked a bit out of their element, like they weren't sure what to expect, but excited nonetheless.

it was adorable; the kids had all been feverishly working on 'tally hall' signs for the guys and covered them up as soon as they came in. it was fun to see the kids interact with the band.the kids were all whispering frantically to each other to hide their posters from the band to surprise them in the concert, and zubin imitated exactly what one kid did---excitedly held up the sign for all to see. classic.
and the band clapped for the kids (because the guys felt they deserved a round of applause, too, after their deafening welcome from the students)
after a good lil' conversation with the class, the band bid farewell with hi-fives.

i was privileged; i got to see the signs after the band left the room to get ready. :]

i apologize i don't have much to say about the actual conversation...it was in december. :) but, cheryl, if you have anything to add, by all means, let me know or leave it in the comments! it was a grand ol' time.

next up: the official elementary school concert review.

1.22.2010

tally hall, no one's better than you. {part I}

so. as most know, tally hall is one of my favorite bands. to understand more about tally hall and our history, check out my last review of their concerts. it's long...i know...but highly entertaining. promise. this one will be long (and entertaining) too. i'll do my best and add all the detail i can, because i know some of you wanted to go and weren't able to make it, and some were really meant to be there (jeff & cheryl) but due to circumstances beyond their control, couldn't. this one's for you. i'll even split it up into separate posts to break up the monotony of one gargantuan post. in reality, i wrote these december 21, 2009. yup, it's taken this long to get the pictures uploaded.
like jeff, i'll sum these next 5 posts up for those of you who just won't read them. had lunch with tally hall, went to two tally hall concerts in the same day, one was for a bunch of elementary school kids, awesome pictures after the second. true story.
you might not go to all these links, but reading this would help understand how awesome it is that tally hall (on tour with rooney right now) performed twice in utah on friday, december 4th, 2009. that's right...twice. and the first performance was at an elementary school. no, really. an. elementary. school.

if you don't read that link (+20 'awesome' points if you read both links...if you comment that you did, maybe i'll draw you a picture!) the bottom line is that our friend cheryl is an elementary school teacher and made her room tally hall-themed this year. as jeff wrote a while ago,
"a week or so ago, the (world's coolest) principal emailed them, saying that they hadn't been able to raise the funds, but that if the band was coming by again next year, to let him know, and maybe the school would have gathered some more by then (so cool). the planning people wrote back, saying that the boys loved the idea so much that they were willing to do it for what the school had."
{{lunch with the band}}
and cheryl invited me to have lunch with the band before the performance. i cannot explain how excited i was. not even because they're getting "famous" or whatever (that's cool too) but because i've met them three times (again, the homework is in that first link!) i was just excited to hang out with them because they're just such cool guys. honestly. that's one of the reasons they're my favorite band. they are so super chill and fun that i figure i'd probably hang out with them if we ended up in the same town or at the same university.

i got off work early and raced straight to the elementary school. upon asking directions of where i should go in the front office, i was asked if i was "with the band" by the secretary. she didn't quite understand who i was or why i was there (apparently she didn't read my blog post either) i looked around. "um...yes." then i grinned, half guilty, to myself. "well, i'm friends with cheryl and with the band." she told me i could just go on back then. i went past the cafeteria, where i saw a glimpse of the band warming up [pretty sure it made me randomly skip for a few steps] then i headed to cheryl's classroom. i felt like a celebrity upon entering, because all the kids recognized me as i'm in most the band photos that cheryl has up on her wall. rad. the kids were all taking math tests, and listening to tally hall. i couldn't have found a happier classroom test environment.


skip ahead. it was time for the lunch. the lunch consisted of costa vida (mmmm) and all the stuff shown below:

and the people included cheryl, her awesome boyfriend blake, the speech pathologist of the school (another fan), the principle, and me. oh, yeah, and the band. : ) (included in "the band": rob cantor, andrew horowitz, zubin sedghi, ross federman and joe hawley, plus awesome michael schoonmaker who is their tour manager and mr. sound dude sam, who is awesome as well)

anyway, we were all just waiting expectantly for them, and finally they came! rob was first, and he introduced himself to me. as i shook his hand, i mumbled something like, "yeah...we've met before. three times. and took pictures." i don't know if he remembered me right away, but i think he might have after i said that. or later. or whatever. anyway, everyone introduced themselves. lunch was great. the seating around the nice faculty table went like this: blake, cheryl, mike, sound dude, amanda, me, rob, zubin, ross, world's coolest principle, joe, and andrew. some highlights of the conversation--
  • where everyone was from (blake started and it went something like, "california", "provo", "new york", "california", "salt lake-- then provo", "provo", then quickly "provo", "provo" and "provo". those last three were rob, zubin, and ross following me. rob explained that he was just going along with everyone else and zubin said he wanted to fit in. =D) after the principle said where he was from, the last two boys muttered something about apparently being from provo as well. :)
  • fun at football games: we explained that at byu it's always fun doing the wave because the section with the older folks in it is always fun to watch with the few who stand slowly and proudly with their hands in the air at the right time. apparently at michigan state (where the boys met), they had awesome crowds and when the games got boring, they had the wave all figured out. they would do a few normal rounds, then one sped-up round, then one slowed-down round, then they'd reverse it, then they'd do the wave simultaneously in both directions. sheer brilliance.
  • animation: i explained my major to them and apparently they got to tour pixar animation studios! i am so jealous. they said everything was very aesthetically pleasing and they let their workers kind of work on whatever they needed to, to enhance the creativity. so. awesome. no wonder it's the goal of any aspiring animation student to end up there....i also recommended to them the book how to be like walt. yesss.
  • i asked what their favorite tour was, and of course they first responded guster (where we first saw and met them)-- but then they said that really, though, when they toured with guster they were surprised at the response they got in salt lake. rob said he thought maybe it's because they look like missionaries. i think he might be right.
stay tuned to hear about cheryl's classroom....

1.09.2010

props to 2009. you were pretty great.

{note: success! i have fixed the majority of the photos so you can now click them and they will enlarge! i'll fix the rest later :D}

january:: started the new year by playing rock band for the first time with my awesome coworkers, went to bodyworlds with jeff (i'd been once before and time #2 was awesome), discovered a new favorite town (midway), and took my first wedding reception photos-- kyle and kilene (still aren't all edited. um...), learn that i have pretty cool friends.
february:: attend byu's synthesis with guest guitarist anthony wilson, receive ORCA grant, classes start to get intense and awesome, start dating zach, start to learn how to take risksmarch:: make second annual appearance as dr seuss' thing 2 with matthew and ryan for elementary school kiddos, sing for Catholic church's irish celebration, sing with 3 friends for mom's entire elementary school and become country rock stars to them, proclaim ourselves as country rock stars and take photos, niece jordan gets baptized, decline ORCA after much deliberation, turn 21! and learn that kids can teach us a lot more than we can teach them


april:: get accepted into byu's illustration BFA program, finals (ugh), my favorite tree ever dies and it is truly tragic, go to LDS conference (goood seats!), start spring semester and learn to appreciate my home and the value of hard work



may:: zach goes to korea and japan for 3 weeks with the byu wind symphony, i roadtrip to idaho with my sisters (!) (i still haven't received photos from this), various sketchisodes and sketchventures, heidi moves to AZ and i'm released from presidency (sadface), celebrate mother's day and mom's birthday, learn that friendships can be strengthened from a distance...which is pretty cool.

june:: go to ER from an allergic reaction to a bug bite (i just paid yet another bill from this just yesterday), re-discover my love of outdoor theater, mom gets knee surgery, i take care of her and give her shots in the stomach to prevent blood clots, i grow up a lot, zach gets swine flu, i get called to be sunday school teacher, i learn lots of hard life things, strengthen my faith and take on heightened responsibility

july:: zach and i take my adorable nieces and nephews to see hot air balloons, i donate shoes to africa, i take photos for christa's wedding--20 gigs of memory, i take haynie family photos, i take becky slinker carroll's photos, zach + danielle + jade + i perform in the ballet 'pioneer legacy'--making up about half of the 'choir', i learn business aspects of photography (money, process, etc) by way of my own initial ignorance and realize i really miss performing

august:: daddy/daughter date at one of my favorite places, buy new running shoes, start to run again, adventures in park city, camping & jet skiing with zach + tricia + logan, learn to appreciate my body and realize adventure can be had anywhere when one seeks for it



september:: get excused from jury duty (again), school starts, sister comes to visit from idaho, released from sunday school teacher and called as relief society teacher, darling visits and we have traditional breakfast at kneaders, learn to accept things as they come even if they don't fit into my "plan"

october:: ward camp-out, alpine loop, vending machine show, opera: 'tales of hoffmann' [zach played in the pit. i watched the opera and loved it], haunted gingerbread houses for fhe, homecoming parade, i was partly in charge of BYUIA halloween party at bob barrett's house, visit mom's classroom, another niece gets baptized...on halloween (i convince mom and sister to be whos from whoville with me!). i am reminded to appreciate the subtle beauties of life and learn be a better leader and planner

november::
get sick as a dog (4th time this semester), attend they might be giants and regina spektor concerts on the same night, celebrate mickey mouse's birthday with chocolate mint cake and ice cream in my gesture drawing class, double family reunion in arizona for thanksgiving, sister and i get lost multiple times driving there and back, bond with siblings by performing two songs for talent show (i played guitar with my brother alan and we all sang, then just robin and i sang, with al's help and my guitar!), i get very sick in hotel at reunion, i am reminded how amazing my family is and remember how blessed i am to have them

december:: jon foster comes and i get to go to breakfast with him and 2 other students and brother hull, jon foster lectures and all socks in attendance are rocked, i get to have lunch with tally hall, i attend two tally hall concerts in one day (blogs are already written and will be published as soon as i can get the pictures all posted: stay tuned), jeff's annual Christmas muppet + egg nog party [i decorate a cookie to match my shirt], finals just about kill me, annual Christmas caroling party, festivus 5, Christmas with family + family and friend parties, zach and i throw successful beatles rock band/ping-pong/pool table/apples to apples/wii party (stay tuned for the next one! everyone's always invited), zach + danielle + i attend provo's first night and then with brittany have dang good fizzy bubbler and hot chocolate. i start to learn to balance.

and so, the year ends the same way it started: rock band. :] but more importantly, i've changed. i think i've grown up a lot this year through facing a lot (a LOT) of difficult decisions. there are still lots to come and i'm still learning. i think i've grown closer to my family. i've made wonderful new friends and reconnected with old ones. i've lost opportunities and gained other ones. all in all, i'm a work in progress.

as a shout-out to the new year, written on january 1....
dear 2010, i almost cut my hair and donated it today to celebrate you...but decided to buy a shirt instead. it was safer. welcome, anyway.