Weekend Recap - Road Warrior Edition

I feel like I lived in my car this past weekend.  Between 5 p.m. on Thursday and 3:30 p.m. today, I spent more than nine hours in the car -- going from my home to Ames to Omaha to Ames back to home.  It was a long, exhausting few days, but they were plenty fun and fulfilling as well.

My first stop Thursday night was Battles BBQ for dinner with my friend, Jamie, and her friend, Jen. After enjoying some smoked meats, we headed to Headliners, where one of my favorite music boys in the world would be playing that night.  I haven't seen him since September, which feels like a very long time.  Of course, when you've seen someone perform 10 times in 2.5 years, those gaps do feel longer than they are.

I got to talk to Tim a little before and during the intermission of his set.  He asked what was new with me, and I told him about the novel I'm writing.  I told him if it gets published I would need to get his permission to use some of his lyrics because my characters go to his show.  He was pretty excited and asked to know more about the story. I described it as best I could and he said he couldn't wait to read it.  He also said he could see Justin Timberlake in the lead role.  Ha ha ha.  That amused me.  Oh, and I got him to sign my CD, since he failed to do so when he mailed my copy to me back in September.

Yay!

Then he gave everyone what they came there for -- great music -- with some help from Austin Vallejo (who was also fantastic).

Tim brings his sound to Headliners.

Austin & Tim.  I think this might have been the 90s medley.

Even though I was at Tim Stop's show as a friend and a spectator, I ended up putting on my merch girl hat. This happens to me a lot when I go to shows, especially his.  For some reason, people (especially when they've been drinking) think they can just take stuff from the merch table and ignore the sign with prices on it.  Four keychains walked off before I went over to supervise the table.  That made me sad.  So, of course I put a bunch of cash into the till to cover the cost.  It wasn't my fault or my responsibility, but I still felt like I needed to do something. While I was standing there, a few people tried to take window clings and stickers for free.  But I stopped them and made them at least sign up for the mailing list.

When Tim finished his set, he was surprised to see so many names on the mailing list. "Was that all you?" he asked.  I shrugged and said, "I just told them if they were standing in front of the stage, they should sign up for the mailing list. And a few people tried to just take stickers, so I made them sign up as payment."  That earned me a high five.  "You should come to all our shows," he said.  "As soon as you can pay me to do that, I'm there," I replied.  ((Seriously, being a professional merch girl sounds fun to me.)) We talked a little more about music and the business, and then I helped him pack up merch before I took off.

On Friday, I got to sleep in a little.  Then my mom and I went to this upscale consignment store (yes, it really exists) downtown because they have a great petites section, and I needed a black skirt for the conference I was heading to later that day.  I ended up with a black skirt, a fun shirt and two pairs of jeans for $45.  Yep.  That's a win.  Then we went to visit with my dad a bit and had lunch before I needed to get on the road again.

This weekend I attended Mary Kay Career Conference in Omaha.  I've been an independent beauty consultant for a little more than a year, but this is the first conference I've attended.  In about a day and a half, I heard about ten speakers, each sharing their Mary Kay story and experiences. It was really inspiring and energizing.  We also got to bring home the brand new Botanical Effects Skin Care line.  It was a lot of driving, and I didn't get much sleep, but I'm really glad I went.

My director and me at the conference.

I landed back in Ames last night.  I had ambitions of a "Hunger Games" viewing, but I was too tired.  I knew I wouldn't make it through a 2.5 hour movie, so that'll have to wait until perhaps next weekend.  After I've gotten some rest and my cats have forgiven me for leaving them so much.  Ha ha.

All in all, it was a great weekend, but it's definitely good to be home.