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So . . . this happened:

And I loved it :)

Nun, das Warten hat ein Ende

As cliché as it sounds, I’ll never forget the first time I heard a song by Rammstein.

I was driving my sister and her friend back to her house when she found out that I’d recently discovered a German-language band called “E Nomine” and asked me if I’d ever heard of Rammstein before. At that point, I had not. She had a burned CD with her that contained several of their songs and as I continued to drive she played “Sonne” for me.

I knew instantly that Rammstein was going to be no one-hit-wonder; there was no way that a band who could produce a song that powerful could only do it once.

A few days later I went out and bought a copy of “Sehnsucht” and “Mutter”, about a week later I purchased “Herzeleid” and was then was ready for the release of “Reise, Reise” which happened shortly after. Over the next few months I immersed myself in their world – watching music videos, reading interviews – and after some initial hesitation (Rammstein can be intimidating if you’re coming off the heels of alternative rock afterall) I declared them to be my number one.

Ever since then it has been a continuous, unshakable love affair.

I’ve never in my entire life been able to listen to one artist for so long. There have certainly been bands that meant a lot to me in my past but I’ve never been so content just listening to one artist’s work over and over and over again. Their music can be very raw, coarse, and angry and then somber, beautiful, and euphoric but it’s always emotional.

Really, the only thing you need after that is a great live show and for that, Rammstein is truly legendary.

Flamepots, rocket-shooting rifles, fire-spurting metal angel wings, exploding dolls and flame-thrower masks are commonplace.

The first time I saw a DVD of their live performance I was blown away and then quickly became obsessed with seeing them live. The only problem was that – short of flying to another country – I was never given the opportunity. The last time Rammstein toured the United States was a decade prior. In all that time the band had maintained that they were unsure of their fanbase in the United States, that they figured we had all forgotten about them following their 1997 hit “Du Hast”. However, when their last album hit number 13 on our charts with absolutely no promotion whatsoever they decided to test the waters and their one-night-only concert at Madison Square Garden sold out in under 30 minutes.

I got my seat, bought a train ticket to New York and on December 11th, 2010 finally experienced what I had slowly started to believe would never happen.

There is no possible way I could explain how amazing the show was. It was absolutely everything I ever thought it would be from the pyrotechnics down to the raw emotion and perfection of the music and vocals. One of the best moments of the show came during the performance of “Benzin”- check out mark 3:50 if you're curious.

The performance itself wasn’t the only fantastic thing about the show – the crowd and the energy was incredible. I meet people from all over America who’d spent thousands to attend the show and the stadium was vibrating from anticipation well before Rammstein took the stage. Even though the show sold out as quickly as it did, I myself was somewhat skeptical about the audience – maybe all anyone would care about was “Du Hast”. That was most definitely not the case: everyone freaked out when they played songs from their first album as well as their latest and everyone knew all the call-backs despite them all being in German.

It was like being in a room with 20,000 of my best friends.

The worst part of the show was watching them leave.

Hopefully though, our enthusiasm will given Rammstein the encouragement to come back and show America more love.

I will most certainly be there if they do.

What's The Vegetarian Equivalent Of "Gobble, Gobble"?

I'm sitting here watching "Die Hard" and basking in the post-Thanksgiving glow that only copious amounts of food can provide. Food, mind you, that myself and my roommate prepared all on our own. The day began with some aaaaaaamazing French Toast with vanilla extract, cinnamon and powered sugar:

We then took a break to watch the Rifftrax version of "Jurassic Park" before camping out in the kitchen for about 2 hours to make a broccoli and cheese casserole, veggie friendly stuffing, asparagus, nibblets and sweet rolls:

And finally, pumpkin pie and a mocha latte with cinnamon and nutmeg:

All in all, despite that I did miss being with my family, it was a very successful Thanksgiving.

Can't wait to enjoy leftovers tomorrow.

Life as an Adult

So, I'm alive.

I just realized the other day that it had been awhile since I last updated this blog. Things have been busy up here; I've been working a lot (nearly 40 hours a week, thankfully) and generally just keeping up with day to day things when I'm not.

I have also come to realize that moving up here was the best thing I've ever done.

I love living in my own apartment and working to pay my own rent and bills.

I love learning how to cook.

I love having seasons; fall was AMAZING.

I love the people I work with and I'm incredibly thankful to have the job I have while I continue my search for a vocation.

Yeah, things are good here.

My roommate and I are planning a pretty rad Thanksgiving day breakfast/dinner for our first respective Thanksgivings away from our families. It's going to be difficult being away from everyone in Florida but it's still going to be great.

In less than a month I'll be headed to NYC to see Rammstein. Yeah, I'm still pretty excited about that.

I got nothing else right now.

Life is good.

You Had Me At "Du Hast"

Once upon a time, there was a German metal band that made beautiful music.

Over the span of 16 years they produced the most glorious, engaging, and heart pounding rock ever to assault the eardrums of humankind.

Somewhere inside those 16 years however, they seemed to forget about their fans in North America. They appeared to think that our love affair with them went out with “Du Hast”. They seemed unaffected by the fact that with absolutely no promotion of any kind their latest album, “Liebe ist fur alle da” debuted at 13 on our charts. They seemed to think that one show after 10 years on American soil would be enough.

Then they sold out Madison Square Garden in 13 minutes.

Thankfully, this loyal fan and her friend were able to get tickets - although not together. But, yours truly is officially going to see the world’s greatest rock band on December 11^th of this year.

I am beyond happy but I also kind of want to punch Till Lindemann, Richard Kruspe, Paul Landers, Christoph Schneider, Oliver Riedel and Flake Lorenz in their faces.

RIGHT IN THEIR FACES.

YOU’VE HAD FANS HERE FOR YEARS.

YOU’RE MORONS FOR IGNORING US FOR SO LONG.

I still love you though and look forward to giving you my voice in a few months.

Wir Sind Für Die Musik Geboren

I got the greatest news of my life today.

Rammstein - the band I have been unabashedly in love with for 6 years - is performing a show at Madison Square Garden on December 11th of this year. This is a band that I have dreamed about more times than I can remember. A band who's music has moved me to fits of laughter, tears, and unbridled euphoria since the first time my sister's friend played one of their songs for me as I drove them around. A band that still reduces this 25-year-old woman to fits of fangirlism. A band who encouraged me to study German so I could better understand their lyrics. A band that has come to mean so much to me that I've had their lyrics inked into my shoulder.

And a band who has not performed in North America in 10 years.

A decade.

Which, of course, means I've never been given the opportunity to see them live. Let me tell you, it's one thing to never get to see your favorite band live but when said band is known for shows that look like this:

it hurts just a little bit more.

I know it hasn't really hit me and it probably won't until the curtain drops on the night of the show. Tickets go on sale October 9th and I will be a bundle of nerves until I get confirmation that my seat is safe.

For now though, I think I'll write out my dream playlist:

Weißes Fleisch

Du riechst so gut

Asche zu Asche

Sehnsucht

Du Hast

Links 2 3 4

Sonne

Ich Will

Feuer frei!

Mein Teil

Keine Lust

Rosenrot

Mann gegen Mann

Te quiero puta!

Rammlied

Ich tu dir weh

Waidmanns Heil

Liebe ist für alle da

Donaukinder

Or they could just play their entire catalog. That'd be cool.

Please Don't Use Those Stairs

So I fell down the stairs today.

That was fun.

I was woken up at 7:30 this morning by the sound of someone ringing our doorbell insistently. In my sleep, I was worried that one of my roommates had maybe locked themselves out or there was some other emergency or Rammstein was ready to perform a private show for me so I got out of bed and opened the front door only to make it about 2 steps before I slipped and tumbled.

And tumbled, and tumbled, and tumbled.

I honestly have no idea how far I fell - I just remember thinking in the middle of it that I had died and was in limbo where I would proceed to fall for all eternity. Thankfully, all I ended up with was a scraped hand, a bruised elbow and some very sore thighs - I'm really lucky I fell the way I did.

Did I mention that when I got to the door no one was there?

Urgh.

Other than that little mishap, things are really starting to fall into place. I absolutely adore the people I work with and I'm totally in love with my apartment. Speaking of which, this is where I'm calling it because my beautiful roommate is making me dinner.

Peace.

Dwight! You Forgot Your Bumper

So guess what?

It was one week ago yesterday that I drove into Somerville to start my new life and today I had my first shift at my new job. I’m working at with the Bostonian Historical Society selling tickets, ringing up purchases – things like that. It’s certainly no career but it’s a job that is giving me something to do, money, and time to adjust to my new surroundings.

I’m incredibly thankful and I’m pretty damned excited - even if I did end up getting into the city two hours before I had to because I was so damned paranoid about using pubic transportation. It’s probably safe to say I’ve got that covered now though; I’ve made several trips into the city by myself and got home tonight for the first time alone.

I guess that sounds strange to people out there who are used to buses and trains but I’m from the suburbs and drove my car everywhere. The only time I ever used public transportation was when I was on vacation. In time I’m sure I’ll learn it like the back of my hand and then come to love it . . . and probably hate it.

Until then, life goes on.

Tomorrow, I’m working until 5 and then going to try and get my laundry done and maybe hit the gym.

Either way, I’ll be (thankfully) busy.

Please, Pay Your Fare

I’m sitting here in my new room, belly still full from my first home-cooked meal in my first apartment (tilapia, pasta with feta and black olives, followed by coffee ice cream and espresso), and I am pretty damned content if I do say so myself. It took about two days for me to get everything unpacked but now that it is I have to say it feels just like home.

You know, it’s funny but moving away from home to live 100 miles away in for college was harder than moving over 1,000 miles away. I suppose it’s because I know what it’s like now to live without my family close-by and I am living with a very good friend from college anyway. In a way, this kind of feels like college part 2 – only without any classes.

And no job.

That is driving me a little nuts. Today was the first day since I got here that both my roommates were up early for work and since I had no where to be I felt . . . a little sad. I went on a long walk, did some grocery shopping and ventured out on the buses and trains by myself for the first time.

Everything was successful.

The buses are slowly starting to intimidate me less. I was never uncomfortable with the trains but the buses are so confusing! Still, I know the buses that will get me home and that’s really all that matters. That and having my iPhone; that delicious little piece of technology is making it much easier to get used to my new surroundings.

Tomorrow, I’m heading off to a Planet Fitness that is about an 8 minute bus ride from my apartment (so excited there is one here!) to sign-up and enjoy a good workout and then it’s time for some hardcore job searching.

Wish me luck!

Y el Gringo se Asusto

Another long day done.

Well, it wasn't as long as yesterday but 8.5 hours on the road after 14 the previous day still justifies the ache behind my eyes.

Dad and I are at a beautiful hotel in Farmington, Connecticut where we're staying until about 8 tomorrow morning before we make the final 2 hour drive to my new life in Massachusetts. It's crazy; I've never driven through so many states in my life and to think I'm going to be living with that many states between everything I've known for the last 25 years.

I'm crazy excited. Or is that wicked excited.

I'll learn.

I just want to be there, get settled, and get things going. I need to find a job and a gym ASAP. The job requirement is obvious but I think the gym is just as important. You see, beginning in January I went on a diet and over the course of 7 months managed to loose all the weight I put on during my time in graduate school. It was a lot and I'm really, really anxious about putting in back on again. I'm really hoping I can find some sort of reasonable fitness center in the area.

Anyway, so tomorrow is the big day! I'm unpacking, shopping and, oddly enough, meeting up with some friends from Florida who just happen to be visiting the area at the same time I'm moving in.

Best get some rest.

See you all tomorrow.

Shippin' up to Boston

So a lot has happened in the past few days.

A very good friend of mine from college came down and she, my sister, and I spent the entire day at Disney World. Understand, when I say all day, I meant we parked the car and didn’t get back into it until 12 hours later. We screamed on the Rockin’ Rollercoaster, we dined in England, we squealed with joy on Big Thunder Mountain and we nearly vomited on the magic teacups. All in all, it was an incredible, perfect, wonderful day and the perfect sendoff to my 25 years in Florida.

Then, I said goodbye to my friends at work and this morning I hugged my mom and my cat goodbye. That was hard. I still remember how my eyes burned.

Immediately after, I spent 14 hours in a truck, loaded with my entire life, with my Dad slowly traveling from Florida up to Virginia where we’ve stopped for the night, 800 miles from where we started. It really didn’t start to get bad until the 8^th hour or so but the fact that I only slept about 2 hours last night surely didn’t help. Plus I got to see these:

which I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Tonight will be a very, very different story. I had the best freaking beer I’ve ever had in my life, a delicious broccoli and cheese soup, salad and an amazing shower.

I fully intend to be unconsciousness within the hour.

Tomorrow, it’s on to Connecticut where Dad and I are spending another night before I finally reach my new home in Boston.

For now though, there is a comfy bed calling my name.

Climbin' up the Topsails

A lot has happened in this last month. My landlord has cashed my checks, I’ve signed the lease and now I’m getting everything in order before the big move which is officially less than a month away. I’ve starting buying basic essentials for my new place like bedclothes, towels and most importantly, winter clothes; let me tell you, shopping for peacoats in the middle of summer in Florida is quite the experience.

Basically, all I have left to do now is wait.

It’s strange, when I first came to the decision to move to Boston I thought the upcoming three months would be the longest of my life. Now, I can hardly believe that I have less than one month left.

I continue to bounce back and forth between unmanageable excitement and extreme anxiety. Okay, well, maybe not extreme but I still am pretty darn nervous. It’s really strange thinking that I’m going to be so far away from my family – my family that I only moved 100 miles from when I went to college. It’s refreshing and daunting and wonderful.

It all makes me feel extraordinarily ineloquent.

In the next couple of weeks I’m going to work on saying my good-byes, including a trip to Disney with my sister and friends, and then it will be time for my dad and I to hit the road.

Unbelievable.

And wicked awesome.

My Life So Far

So here’s the story:

I graduated from Flagler College in 2007 having earned two bachelors degrees, one in English and the other in Sociology. Like most people, I had grand ideas of what life was going to be like after I graduated college; I was going to have employers banging down my door begging me to come and work for them. Turns out, it didn’t really happen that way and I soon found out that two more “liberal” degrees plus one bad economy equals the continuation of making lattes for people, a job that I have always been thankful for but that is a far cry from my vocational aspirations of non-profit work.

So with much deliberation, I decided to continue my education at the University of Central Florida where in December of 2009 I received my masters degree in Applied Sociology. Now, surely, those employers really would be beating down my door. Once again I have been mistaken. It would seem that even having a higher degree won’t do you much good in a still poor economy, especially for someone who has spent the majority of her life in school rather than garnering actual experience within her field.

So now, at the age of 25 and finding myself in a rut I have embarked on easily the biggest quest of my life: in early September I am packing up and moving to Boston. It was a surprisingly easy decision to make when a very good friend of mine who currently lives there reminded me that, yes, they do in fact have coffee shops in Massachusetts and even though it’s not where my hearts lies, I can make a living that way. At the same time, I can start over and move out of the state that has been my home since the day I was born. Not to mention that my dear parents, continuously supportive though they are, are probably ready to have their house to themselves again. Basically? This 25-year-old finally gets to be an adult.

Today I mailed the checks for my security deposit and my first month’s rent. It’s official. For someone who would describe herself as the polar opposite of spontaneous this is a big deal. A big, freakin’ deal. Things always do have a way of working out though, don’t they? I’m excited and anxious and cannot wait to open this new chapter of my life and record it all here.

See you soon.