The (non)artsnob

There were a couple different articles/blogs on ADN today about ASO's opening night concert, so I thought I'd add my own take on my own blog.

First, Randy's hair was as fantastic as ever. The perfect combination of pouf and feather. Although, I did notice during a bow or two that it may be *gasp* thinning a little on top. I'm still not sure what you call Randy's haircut. It's certainly not a mullet, but it's not crazy long 80's rocker hair either. I could definitely see him with either of those haircuts in a past life...maybe someone should dig up some old 80's pictures of him to compare. This is like the reformed version, right?

Second, parking. Holy crap, when the symphony sells out, it really does a number on downtown parking. Luckily, for me, it wasn't super cold nor was I wearing super cute (high-heeled) shoes so parking down by Snow City wasn't a big deal.

Third, the heat. Ok, I know that a good number of symphony goers are, how do I say this...well, old. Is this why the PAC cranks the heat up so high? It was seriously so hot in the Atwood my right leg was completely useless the rest of the night.

In all seriousness, the ASO did an amazing job. It was so wonderful to see them sell out a performance, and I hope this is an indication for this seasons ticket sales. Todd and I decided that getting season tickets would be a great way that we could guarantee at least one date night every other month. Todd was a season ticket holder when we met, but we haven't gone to the symphony together since before we were married, and I think it was definitely something we both missed.

Icing on our cupcake? A sweet thank you card and gift card taped to our seats as a surprise from Mariah's Mama. THANK YOU!!!

It was a super-sized concert, because of the usual season openers (star spangled banner/ak flag song) but also because they recognized both Arthur Braendel Sr and Ted Stevens. There was some debate over whether the Stevens tribute was necessary, since other notable AK figures haven't been given the same, but I think it was both appropriate and beautifully done. And for once, the people of Anchorage didn't applaud when they weren't supposed to! Oh, not for the entire concert (no, there was plenty of poorly timed applause to be had), just not during the moments of silence for these two men.

Ask and you shall receive

With all of my checking of the FedEx tracking website yesterday, I decided to give it up. I knew my package was in Anchorage (as of 11:42am, to be exact) but it said it wouldn't be delivered until Thursday. To my surprise, when I left work today I had a voicemail from the FedEx delivery man who had tried to deliver my package! I called him back and, to my even greater surprise, he came back! Whoohoo! My new laptop is here. In fact, this is my first blog post from my new computer. Of course, now I need to figure out how to get all my stuff on here that I want and get my iTunes transferred....yikes. Wish me luck.

Things I am not good at

Well, just one of the things I am not good at...waiting. After complaining for a really long time about my laptop, it was finally decided that I would get a new one. So after some quick research on my part (that should read, looking at Best Buy and talking to coworkers/friends) I decided I wanted the Macbook Pro. Todd took a little more convincing (that should read internet research, quizzing coworkers/friends, looking at Best Buy, checking Consumer Reports, comparing between different Macs, between Macs/PCs, etc), but he was soon on board as well. I ordered my new computer on Friday. Always one to *try* to save money, I did my ordering through a work program called Life Balance. The good thing is that it saved some money. The bad thing is that you have to order online. Thus, the waiting. I swear if I check FedEx tracking one more time I will probably get a pop-up that says "Hey, crazy stalker, leave us alone. The damn package is on the way and it will get there when it gets there!"

Remembering

I didn't know my husband when the 9/11 attacks happened. He was a "probie" with AFD, having just moved here from a fire dept in Colorado. We both have totally different memories of this day, but today I realized something. As I watched my son "read" one of his MANY fire truck books, I said a little prayer for my own sanity, as I'm sure he will go through a period of "I want to be a firefighter when I grow up". My prayer was that this doesn't last and that he has a nice, safe desk job.

To be fair, my husband and I both would be incredibly proud of him...I will just require Xanax thinking of my baby in a burning building :)

What I also realized today, watching footage from 9/11/01, seeing the men and women of FDNY racing into the madness and the unknown of that day, is that my husband would do the same thing. He doesn't know you, but he would die to save you. I don't know many, if any, people who can say the same thing. Yes, he gets paid good money for his job, and yes, they play foosball and floor hockey (A LOT), but when shit goes down, trust me, you'll not only want my husband there, but he will be there. No questions asked, no judgement. He will be there. And when you thank him, I know what he'll do. What they all do. They just shrug and smile, and say "Just doing my job."

And I will be at home, biting my nails, praying that he comes home.

***Not to make this political, but please think about this next time you vote for a person for public office who doesn't support police and fire.

Happy!

Mason loves to talk. In fact, sometimes he just repeats the same word over and over, and over and over...I hate to admit it, but it can be quite annoying after a while. But most of the time I just listen and try to figure out what he's saying.

Yesterday, during dinner, Mason told me he was happy. This is one of his new words he loves to say. So I asked him why he was happy and he said "Dada home. Happy". Todd had been at work for an extra long time, so he hadn't seen him since Sunday. I smiled and told him that Daddy being home made me happy, too. Being selfish, I asked him what else made him happy, thinking maybe Mama would be next. Nope. "Papa. Happy" was the next answer. Ok, what else, I asked him...Mason then stopped for a second, smiled his little cutie smile and said, "COOKIE! HAPPY!"

So there you have it, the key to my son's heart...Daddy, Papa and cookies.