Well, young Ashlee has made yet another big step in her life: she moved into an apartment! And she's also done speaking in third person. It doesn't feel as big of a deal for me as it is for Lauren, who's never lived away from her parents. I, of course, moved away from my family almost a year ago. I spent the summer with Lauren's family, and that was definitely like having parents, even though we're not related. Living in the dorm we only had one room, plus a bathroom. So it just feels like we're living in the dorm but that we don't have meal plans and we have more rooms. And we also have to pay rent and that fun stuff.
I start work in about a week-and-a-half and classes start at the community college on June 4. I'll be taking psychology and math. Lauren and I are also planning to - finally - get our licenses this coming Friday. I took the test last summer, but mucked up on the parallel parking. I suppose if I'd done perfectly in all the other areas of the test I would have been O.K., but oh well. I'm determined to get it this time around. I have to have it, as it's impossible for me to get from my math class on Thursdays to work in five minutes, even on a bike.
So, what else is new? Hmm . . . oh yes. I SAW MEGADETH! Dear God, it was amazing. The entire trip was incredible. The three of us - Kat, her mom, and I - pretty much fell in love with Indianapolis and can't wait to go back.
Lauren and I went down to Hannibal on the evening of the thirteenth and met up with Kat the next day at the salon while Lauren and I got our hair trimmed and got manicures - the first one of my life. (I got a really dark purple color, as I figured pink wasn't really appropriate for a heavy metal show.) Then we hung out at Java Jive for a little while. When Lauren left, Kat and I went up to her house for the next. Both of us slept horribly, let me just say. We woke up pretty much every hour until we finally got up at nine o'clock and prepared to leave. Her mom teased us every once and a while about possibly dropping the envelope containing our tickets into a mailbox at the Post Office.
Kat and I were actually quite calm in comparison to how we thought we'd be. Every once and a while we'd squeal and bounce in our seats. When we finally started seeing signs for Indianapolis, we got more and more excited. By the time the skyscrapers appeared, we were pretty much bouncing in our seats. We gout to our hotel around five o'clock in the afternoon. It was right down the street from the mall, but we didn't really have time to explore then. So we went across the street and ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (my first time - they had John Lennon's jacket). Then we went and sat in our hotel room until 6:30 when we finally decided it was late enough to go to the theatre.
Two seconds after we got out of the van, a couple guys said to us: "You two don't look like Megadeth fans." It was both amusing and irksome. Yes, we know. The typical Megadeth fan is a guy. And if the fan is female, then she's generally dressed much more scantily than we were, has black hair, piercings, tattoos, and the like. We're just not like that. She's also generally older than twenty. Anyway. The first thing we did when we got inside was buy some t-shirts. Kat and I got matching ones with all the guys on the front and Dave in the back along with the tour cities. I got Lauren a ladies' shirt with wings and a very low neckline. It's hot. Despite what one might believe, heavy metal fans are rather nice and fun to talk to, so we socialized quite a bit with others both in the lobby and in our seats until the show started.
Lacuna Coil was first. I've loved them since I was twelve, ever since a friend introduced me to their song Heaven's a Lie. Kat loves them, too, so we had a blast. We probably cheered the loudest for them. At one point I yelled, "I love you, Cristina!" Because I do. She rocks. Because everyone in the audience sat during Lacuna Coil's performance, I assumed that everyone would just stay sitting for Megadeth. There was a small amount of time in between sets. Then the lights lowered and we all waited with bated breath. There was a sheer curtain in front of the stage. Music started and we could a see a larger than life shadow of the mighty Dave Mustaine as he played. It was intense. Then the curtain raised and there they were! It was amazing. I freaked out and kept grabbing Kat's arm and squealing excitedly. Before they started, the guy next to us said, "If you guys swoon, you're on your own." Definitely a valid warning.
Even though a lot of people chose to sit at points, Kat and I remained standing the whole time. We're such troopers. We rocked out, singing along and having a fantastical time. When it was finally over, we were on cloud nine. If we'd gone back to find their bus we probably would have met the band, or at least some of them, but we didn't think about it. We collapsed at about 11pm in our hotel room, which is quite early for us. When we woke up the next morning we decided to explore Indianapolis for a bit before heading back home. We went to this gigantic monument on the Circle, and we stopped at a bakery for breakfast called Au Bon Pain, and we all got lots o' fruit. Then we went over to the Chocolate Cafe and Connie, Kat's mom, bought us a few pieces of candy (malted milk balls!). The guy getting us the candy recognized our shirts and asked about the show the previous night and asked if Megadeth played Symphony of Destruction, which of course, they did. Then we walked back over to the mall. I'd had no idea that H&M was so cheap, but I got a lovely top for only $13. It makes me happy.
The trip back to Hannibal seemed to be a lot shorter than the trip to Indianapolis. We read a lot and listened to music. When we got back, we were still kind of dazed. I still am. It was an amazing trip and concert. I still can't believe I saw them. Life is good.
