I got to see Hanson for the 8th and 9th times a couple weekends ago, and it turned out better than I ever expected (DC also wins the best-concert-ever prize)! Here’s a quick recap of each show:

Baltimore (at Sonar):

- Taylor fell off the stage at one point ’cause a fan pulled him too hard … but it was funny, all of sudden he goes *plop* and disappears from view

- Got my first picture with Zac, and my new Hanson.net member CD autographed! Plus, Taylor hadn’t seen it before and was like “wow cool, sorry it took so long to get sent out to you guys.”

- And the set list:

1. Great Divide
2. Hey
3. Can’t Stop
4. Been There Before
5. Crazy Beautiful
6. Hole In My Life (Police cover)
7. I’ve Been Down
8. Go
9. MMMBop
10. Strong Enough To Break
11. Never Been To Spain (Three Dog Night cover)
12. Blue Sky
13. A Minute Without You
14. Runaway Run
15. Got A Hold On Me
16. Penny & Me
17. Running Man
18. Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz cover)
19. This Time Around
20. Lost Without Each Other
21. Something Going Round
22. If Only (encore)
23. The Ugly Truth (encore)

DC (at the 9:30 Club):

- While passing Starbucks on the walk, Taylor yells out something like “400 cups of coffee please” on his megaphone.

- Got my first picture with Taylor (with a little help from TOMS Shoes and Mike’s tallness)!

- 3rd row (closest ever)!

- Got one of Locksley’s set lists! They’re awesome, by the way.

- Zac messes up during “Running Man,” and Ike looks at him and starts laughing.

- After “Call Me” (I think), Ike reaches into the crowd, grins, and freakin’ gives me his guitar pick! At this point I’m like omg, I’m not supposed to be that girl … but apparently Mike had been occasionally pointing at me throughout the show, trying to catch Ike’s eye when I wasn’t looking (aww) … and I guess that’s just what Ike decided to do

- I wanted to see if there was any chance to get both Locksley and Hanson’s set lists, but the 9:30 crew kept telling the group of us who wanted them that they weren’t giving them out. Eventually the group dwindles down to just me, Mike, and another fan, and I was determined on staying — even if I didn’t get a set list — just to see what they planned on doing with them. Then the other girl leaves, and minutes later the very same guy who’d been saying no all night walks up to the stage, peels Ike’s off the carpet, and is like “here, you can have this if you leave now and don’t tell anyone.” Um, yay!

- Hanson recognized Mike when they came out after the show; Zac even remembered what color shirt he’d worn the night before

- Got my mini-poster signed, and my first picture with Ike!

- Set list, of course:

1. Great Divide
2. A Minute Without You
3. Can’t Stop
4. Been There Before
5. Crazy Beautiful
6. Hole In My Life (Police cover)
7. I’ve Been Down
8. MMMBop
9. A Song To Sing
10. Call Me
11. Never Been To Spain (Three Dog Night cover)
12. Blue Sky
13. Hey
14. Got A Hold On Me
15. Penny & Me
16. Running Man
17. Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz cover)
18. This Time Around
19. Lost Without Each Other
20. Something Going Round
21. Rock ‘N Roll Razorblade (encore)

This week’s mutterings (when it says _____, I think _____):

1. Singles :: Speed dating.
2. Blaze :: Mark.
3. Sandwich :: Wheat bread.
4. Outside :: Dark.
5. Gooey :: Marshmallow.
6. Industry :: Music.
7. Exclusive :: Limited edition.
8. Warranty :: Dell.
9. Magical :: Wand.
10. Heels :: High, red.

So yesterday, out of the blue, I get an email from a freelance reporter asking for permission to use one of my photos from the DC Hanson concert (and for a fast reply since the article’s running in less than 12 hours). Needless to say, I say yes, and wake up to an awesome review — and my first reaction is hey check it out, there’s my name!

The real credit, however, should go to Mike, since I’m almost 100% sure he took it … I was originally gonna ask them to credit him, but then misunderstanding ensued and my name’s there and I feel slightly guilty, even though he says it’s no big deal. I mean, I don’t call myself a photographer in any way and he’s the one getting photo passes at the House of Blues. So yeah … meh.

In other news … concert reviews will come, but only after my site stops hating me, even though I did nothing to make it randomly break in the first place. Not to mention no one helping me on the WordPress support forums, and now the Enthusiast forum, and the people at A Small Orange either not knowing what the hell was wrong or making things worse and not telling me *sigh* If you’ve tried to visit in the past 24 hours and were greeted with a lovely error message, sorry — hopefully more won’t be on the way.

Some background, thanks to Tunnel Vision:

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com.
2. Log in with username: nycareers / password: landmark
3. Click on “Matchmaker” at the top.

I wasn’t sure if 39 questions about what I like and dislike in the job world would produce anything meaningful, but since there have been moments when I’ve questioned if design is right for me, I decided to give it a go. Luckily, the results below provide a bit of reassurance! Bold = what I do now and italics = something I’d like to do:

Interest Rank:

1. Multimedia Developer
2. Website Designer
3. Desktop Publisher
4. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
5. Fashion Designer
6. Computer Programmer
7. Animator
8. Video Game Developer
9. Computer Animator
10. Graphic Designer
11. Artist
12. Business Systems Analyst
13. Database Developer
14. Medical Illustrator
15. Web Developer
16. Industrial Designer
17. Computer Support Person
18. Interior Designer
19. Sign Maker
20. Film Editor

I don’t care if it’s not official, this is just cool (besides, I got the evaluation weeks ago … though I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look it over yet again). About time things went right regarding getting out of here Is it a bad sign to be excited already?

This week’s mutterings (when it says _____, I think _____):

1. Dork :: Mike
2. Refurbished :: My HP printer.
3. Basket :: Easter.
4. Mousse :: Foam.
5. Studio :: Apartment.
6. 8 ball :: Magic 8 Ball, pool.
7. Masking tape :: Art class.
8. Love :: LDRs.
9. Wilder :: Laura Ingalls.
10. Lindsey :: Girl in high school.

There’s a huge praying mantis/dragonfly-type thing stuck to the front of my car, dead (but with pretty wings) from my drive last night. It’s kinda cool, but in a weird way … pictures may come later once my camera’s batteries finish recharging.