Twitterhunt

For a couple of months now, I have followed Martina McBride on Twitter. She has always been one of my favorites for country music singers and in the past I have seen her in concert. Following her I noticed that she posts clues in most cities that she goes to and hides two pairs of front row tickets to her show staring around 4:30 the day of the concert. We already had tickets for mom, dad and I because mom really likes Luke Bryan and Blake Sheldon, who were opening the show. But, I really wanted to win the tickets anyways. So like clockwork at 4:30 the clues started.

1st Clue..."this used to be a US Mint...now the "public" goes there"...

From seeing past clues, you kind of figure that the hiding spots are somewhat near the venue because how far is she really going to go to hide tickets? Our immediate thought was Publix's and the second clue confirmed our thought. So dad and I raced out of my condo (he almost forgot his shorts!) and drove down to Publix's. By the time we arrived, the addendum for clue two was posted.

Clue #2...."I would go here to get food...or flowers....or maybe rent a movie..."

The addendum to clue 2 sent everyone searching (surprisingly there were a lot of people, like 25 or so) looking for the tickets in cookbooks and recipe suggestion areas of the store, but with no luck did anyone find the tickets.

Clue #2 addendum... "maybe you can't rent a movie here..but you can get tips on what to cook for supper."

Clue three was the giveaway and after getting that it was luck as to who would find the tickets.

Clue #3....."Once you get there, you might find I'm up to my old Trix"

I will say that I had home store advantage because this the Publix I frequent for my grocery shopping, so once I saw Trix I rant to the cereal aisle and located the Trix. It was me and this other girl pulling out the boxes. And it was after I got a few boxes out that I saw them. A white envelope set toward the back of the shelf. I had actually found the tickets! To be honest, a day later, it still hasn't set in. I remember walking back to the front of the store and showing dad that I got them and then calling mom laughing at the thought that we had actually gotten them.

When we got to the venue the annoying ticket people told me that I couldn't bring in my camera because it had a detachable lens. I argued with them for a while, got annoyed and walked out and around to another door, where I hid my camera a little better and held my small camera in the my hand and vola, I got it in. So me and hundreds of other people used our cameras with detachable lenses and the world hasn't come to an end.

Camera policies make me mad because the venues have no understanding of cameras and their policies reflect that. My everyday camera with a detachable lens has far less zoom than the normal point and shoot camera. Or my favorite is no professional cameras. What is that? Off my soapbox...

For Luke Bryan and Blake Sheldon, mom sat front with me and then switched with Lauren who came down for Martina McBride. To backtrack, Carrie Underwoods concert was bad to say the least, so I was hoping for a better concert and was sure Martina McBride would do it. What I think I loved best was that she sang so many of her older songs, which I love and mixed in a few new songs, but not too many. The stage was simple, but effective. Probably my favorite part was when she came out for her encore in a Carolina jersey. It made my night!

Dora the Explorer (and Diego, too!)

Ok... here's a crazy question- are you or someone you know around 5 to 5 ft. 3 in. tall and interested in wearing a Dora or Diego costume at a Carolina baseball game? We will treat you to dinner! It could be a fun experience. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks!

That is the Facebook status that started it all. My friend Jordan put out a request for people who would be interested suiting up. I put that I liked her status and that ended up leading to me volunteering to be Dora. This would be my first time suiting up in any type of full costume with a head and I wasn't sure what to expect, but it is something I have always wanted to do. That still left the position of Diego unfilled. So my other friend, Laura, stepped up and agreed to be Diego!

When we first arrive at the baseball stadium, our costumes were in huge black cases. Luckily we opened Diego first because he came with dressing instructions that were needed to get the suit on in the correct order. You would be surprised, but the costumes come in ten pieces. Once we got Diego figured out, it was on to Dora. The oddest part of the costumes are the thong like body suits that give you the shape. The shoes are the hardest part because they are so big it makes it hard to walk. Dora has the extra complication of having to hold Boots with her right had, which gets pretty heavy.

The day consisted of two 20 minute stints where Dora and Diego went out seperate and then one time where we went out together. It was really cool to see the excitement of the kids when they got to see us. The only down side was that is was soooo hot in the costumes. By the time we suited up for the third time, our costumes were still wet from the second trip.

We were almost finished with our last trip when I got surrounded by middle school boys who were screaming at Dora and banging on the head and pushing. At that moment I felt assured I was going to fall over. It is not easy to balance and they were pushing so hard. The guy that was escorting me was trying to get in but it was my cousin Diego that came to the rescue. He came swimming through the crowd and grabbed my hand giving me a pull and helping me get away.

That pretty much wrapped up our day as Dora and Diego, but we were now starving for food. One problem: we smelled really bad (not to mention we didn't look great either!). Ended up that hunger prevailed and we sprayed ourselves with some travel lysol i had in the car that took away our smell long enough to let us eat!

Fanatic Fan

This weekend marks three concerts playing at the Colonial Life Arena. Kicking off the weekend was Taylor Swift, followed by Carrie Underwood and last but not least tonight Martina McBride will take the stage tonight with Blake Sheldon and Luke Wilson.

Friday night Jillian, Ashley and I headed to the concert and we were meet there by lost of younger fans, some who seemed too young for a concert, but whatever. Excitement was definetly in the air, but it was a little disappointing to arrive and find that Kellie Pickler had cancelled her set for the evening. So Gloriana opening and then came Taylor Swift. I had seen her before at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach and when she opening for Rascal Flatts last year, but this was certainly the best show by far. The set was great, two LED rounded pillars, 3 sets of stairs and a huge background LED board that filled in the whole back drop. All of these changed from lockers to woods with the stairs being waterfalls to a castle. They also had graphics that coordinated with different songs, but everything had a purpose and was very well done. Also great costume changes and use of backup dancers. We were in the 29th row on the floor, which weren't great for the most part, except we had been given a heads up that she would come down a back staircase and perform in the 100 section and then perform a stage at the the back, right next to our seats! That was probably the best part of the night. And her mom stood back there the whole time in the sound booth and she is so sweet.

The only downside was that we had a creeper beside us. After he got his knife taken away he proceeded to take pictures and video tape during her whole performance. He would get made when people got in his field of view and messed up his photos and some of the time he would sit in his chair and shake. Really weird. But it was overall a great concert.

Next up was Carrie Underwood. Jordan had her suite from work and we all sat up there to watch the show. Opening for the show was Sons of Silvia (who i had never heard of) and Craig Morgan, both were boring. Up next came Carrie Underwood. Coming after Taylor Swift, her set was a joke and concert as a whole lacked flow. Oh, and do you remember the screen savers from the '90s that had the weird shapes that morphed on the screen or the starburst? Well, that was the graphics on her screen. I am still perplexed and dumbfounded by the whole thing. I found myself bored and the concert was not engaging at all. Carrie is a good singer, but you are just as well to listen to a cd than waste time seeing her in person.

Up next tonight is Martina McBride! Hoping for something better!

Vote for Claire for Glee!!

One of my good friends sister Claire has auditioned for Glee. Please vote, just click on the link below

checked out Claire @Glee

Oh What a Night

For Christmas I gave my mom tickets to see "Jersey Boys" in Charlotte. You may be thinking that this was a little self-serving with my love for musicals and all, but she had always said she wanted to see the show and we had never seen it on Broadway.

It just so happened that The Wonderful World of Wicked was in the Northlake Mall, so I meet up with my parents in Charlotte and we set out to the mall. The Wicked set up included Galinda and Elphaba's costumes, a spot to take photos and a card to get stamped at various stores where you could get discounts and then drop off for a chance to win tickets. I'm not going to lie, it was really exciting, although I had seen most of the costumes from the Behind the Emerald Curtain tour.

After a fun trek around the mall, we headed back to chill out before going for dinner and then the show. I really love the Belk Auditorium. Whoever designed it actually understood how to design a theater where you can actually see from your seats (what an idea). I know a lot of the music from the show, but really had no expectations for it. The music and cast were infectious and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Some of the audience members were annoying though. One woman proceeded to yell out during parts of the show, the woman beside my mom sang the show and the guy behind when (when his cell phone wasn't going off) was telling the people beside him what was going on (like we weren't all seeing the same thing). Sometimes I wonder if these people didn't come straight out of a barn!

If you are in the Charlotte area, I highly recommend you check out the shows and especially next season. The Blumenthal Broadway series will have "9to5," "Shrek," "Young Frankenstein," "White Christmas," "Billy Elliot," "In the Heights" and "Next to Normal." Amazing shows - go see them!

There's Always Magic in the Air...On Broadway

If you don't already know it, I LOVE Broadway. It's not just the shows, but its everything about them. I am fascinated by the whole process from the initial idea and writing the show to putting it on stage through workshops, and finally, hopefully, making it to the Great White Way (or West End). I especially love the marketing and advertising, but I'm a little bias!

Since my first trip to NYC in 2001, I have been more times than I can count and have seen shows that have changed my life. Although I have been to visit the city with some really cool people, I have never been on a trip entirely with Broadway lovers, which when you want to wait at the stage door and you can come up with a song lyric for any situation, non-Broadway lovers get a little over it.

So for this trip, we have been planning it since December (I know this because we booked on my birthday). Allison, Rachel and I were the original three going and about two weeks ago my friend Cole joined the trip too.

The dates for the trip were chosen based on seeing Sutton Foster in "Anyone Can Whistle" that was only showing for one weekend. It ended up that Raul Esparza and Donna Murphy were also in the show and were amazing. Murphy as the Mayoress stole the show! To cap off an amazing night, we got to meet all of them at the stage door, which is a real accomplishment because Foster doesn't always come out. It was, to say the least, an amazing night. For dinner before the show we meet up with some of Allison's friends at Vinyl, which had amazing food (I had fried chicken better than any you could find down south) and the theme was cool too. Each bathroom featured a different performer. There are three locations in the city, but ours featured Nelly, Elivis, Cher and Dolly Parton. So that was Friday, but let's go back.

We all arrived in the city Thursday. Cole and I got in the earliest and meet up at Laguardia (which is a feat in itself) and caught a cab to the hotel. Allison was next and Rachel was last because her flight got delayed. Rachel didn't make it for dinner, but the rest of us headed to Ruby Foos, which was a fun restaurant with Asian food served family style. Although our waiter didn't think it was enough food, the portions were huge and we had more than enough food with two entrees. Luckily with some help from Marques, Rachel made it from the airport in time to grab a quick bit to eat and meet up with us to see "American Idiot." The new musical features Spring Awakening's John Gallagher, Jr. and the music of Green Day. Although it wasn't my favorite for the story, it sort of lacked dialog, the stage, lighting and choreography was brilliant. It is a show unlike anything Broadway has ever seen before. After the show we got to see some of our Spring Awakening favorites, Marques and Alan.

Saturday was a double show day, seeing a matinee of "In the Heights" and the evening performance of "Promises, Promises." I have always had a grudge with "In the Heights." I first saw the show when I went to the Tonys in 2008 and everyone keep talking about how revolutionary it was, but I just didn't see it. It was a combination of "West Side Story" and set in NY like "Brooklyn the Musical" or something. So it has taken two years before I could bring myself to see it. The show was good, Corbin Bleu was playing the lead role of Usnavi and did a good job. Is it the best thing I have ever seen, not really.

The show that surprised me in how much I loved it was "Promises, Promises" starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. It was funny, creative and really different from anything I had every seen. It is based on the Oscar-winning movie, "The Apartment" and is really worth seeing. To cap off a star-studded trip, we got to meet both Hayes and Chenoweth at the stage door.

While visiting the city I got to tour where I am going to be living this summer, which has an awesome location next to Macy's in Herald Square and has outings to see Broadway shows. What could be better than that?!?!

During our trip we did do other things that see shows. It is unfortunate that shows aren't at more diverse times of the day because we would have loved to see more! Macy's was having their annual Flower Show which featured more than a million flowers in their store. It was beautiful and smelled great as well. One night for dinner we went to Maxie's. I don't recommend it, the food was eatable at best and our table looked like a bad feast at the end. To hit the highlights, the breakfast food came with mashed potatoes, which had a peanut butter consistency and all came with bread, not toast, which was six pieces of cold white bread. And yes, there was jelly, but it tasted like grape children's benadryl. Another fun excursion was wondering around Central Park. I had been to the park, but it was to eat or just see it and had never really explored it. After a trip down memory lane on the swings we climbed one of the gigantic rocks and just had a fun time. It was a great ending to the trip.

Sadly Rachel was the first one who had to head back but Allison, Cole and I wondered down to Greenwich Village and walked up seeing some great sights of the city. All in all it was a spectacular trip and I can't wait to be in the city for the summer.

Better Late than Never

So I haven't blogged, in well, forever. Things have been super busy but exciting all at the same time. I can't believe that I am almost finished with my master's degree. It feels like I just started! Below is my attempt to catch up:

Aside from Broadway, seeing my Gamecocks play football is my favorite thing in the world. This year playing our rival, Clemson, the game started out rocky when they scored a touchdown in the first 30 seconds, but something happened and we turned the game around. I certainly wasn't expecting the game to end in our favor, and after what I had seen so far in the season it was shocking when the Gamecocks took the lead and held it! Ending 34-17, the Gamecocks won the game. My early post about Carolina Football talks about the game, but if you have never been to an SEC football game, you haven't been to a real football fame. Sandstorm is our theme song you could say and when it is played, the entire student section of 12,000 jumps and cheers, creating a one of a kind experience.

Football ending comes up right as classes are finishing up too. The holiday season seemed to fly by and we spent New Years in Vail. My friend Rachel joined us to ski and then graciously let me stay with her in Denver for a few days. I had never spent any time in Denver other than flying into it, but it is a great city. The art museum is one of the best I have been to in the World. There exhibit was Embrace! and 16 artists had been invited to choose any spot in the museum and do whatever they wanted. The result was some brilliant art that filled so many neat spots in their beautiful building. Rachel had to work, but I had no problem filling my time. Other spots I visited included the Margaret Brown house (Unsinkable Molly Brown from the Titanic) and the US Mint where they make coins.

It wasn't long before it was back to classes. This semester I have four classes: Integrated Combination Strategies, New Technology and Mass Comm., and independent study with the marketing director of the Department of Theatre and Dance and a magazine class where we write for the alumni magazine for the school, InterCom. The time I have left over from that is divided between working in the Office of the Provost and as a communications intern at the S.C. Arts Commission. I love working at the arts commission because everyone here loves the arts and so there is always someone to chat with about what is going on with arts in the world. Classes have be interesting this semester and we have had some neat projects that have put our skills to the test.

Also this semester I had to take my COMPs, which are two days of testing that have to be passes in order to graduate from the program. After arguing to be able to take both days in the same semester (you would have thought I wanted to fly to the moon), I was able to take both in March. Day 1 was five questions in five hours based on the five core courses of the program. To be honest, it was really boring. It was no test to what we had actually learned, but rather what could be memorized and typed out in the time allotted. Day two on the other hand was exciting. In the five hours we had to essentially write out an entire campaign including research, communications plan, goals and objectives, evaluations and provide a budget. This was much more fun and made the time fly by.

It was funny because I passed all of the day one except research, which means I have to make two or three additions to pass and got a passing score for day two. Surprisingly, there were a good many people out of the seven who took day two that didn't pass. It's a little shocking because it is a culmination of all we have been taught in all our classes and you only had to get an 80 or better to be allowed to continue to the oral defense. They made a big deal about me not having had my practicum, which I am doing this summer, yet the people who didn't pass were all in theirs. makes you wonder...