spinning on that dizzy edge

AFI Begin Transmission - XASYOUWISHX

2009-01-13T22:14:00.001-08:00

AFI Begin Transmission - XASYOUWISHX

Posted using ShareThis

2008-11-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

i want to hear those three words.
i really do...and this surprises me.
so new.

2008-11-04T23:07:00.001-08:00

GO OBAMA!

I am so happy and proud right now! Will hopefully get a chance to expand this post later, I just had stop and quickly show my huge relief and joy that we won.

2008-09-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling so restless...

I start work on Monday and I feel like the clock is counting down. It's kind of like that feeling of dread at the end of summer when you're about to start classes. Even the interviewer told me to "enjoy my last weekend of freedom." I don't know what to do... do I try to enjoy myself or try to get all my things together/figure out my lunches/outfits for the next few days? I can't even hang with J because he needs to study for his exam.

The early hours are going to be so hard to get used to, but I need an early shift to beat the LA traffic. Sitting in an hour+ of traffic would be worse, but I hate getting up hours before the sun rises. Ugh, I'm dreading winter. I hate winter mornings...it's so hard to leave the comforts of a warm bed, it's nighttime dark outside in the mornings, my car windows are covered in dew or frost and my defroster takes ages to work, plus there's fog in the morning (this is what freaks me out the most, a craptacular driver on the 405 freeway in fog?!), add rain to that and I'll be one very grumpy commuter. I suppose I'll get used to it eventually.
.
.
.
A few pictures of food I've made in the past few months...

Lemon cake.

Pasta and salad. Lunch one day.

Homemade Granola. Made this the night before a picnic, it went great on top of fruit and yogurt.

Red Potato and Green Bean Salad. More picnic food, these were yummy.

2008-07-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Job Interview

This afternoon.
I'm a nervous wreck.

Update: interview was actually ok!! i actually am pretty good at interviews! omg! but i didnt get it... aww. :/

2008-07-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

YES, I really am that old. NO, I'm not lying to you.

So I'm at the park around 8pm last week, just hanging out with my bf after kicking a soccer ball around for a while when a cop car suddenly pulls up next to us. There are two cops, only the driver is visible though, the other guy's face is hidden in shadows. They have their window down and they don't say anything at first so I say "hello." They want to know if we've seen a guy in a white t-shirt come by. I tell them some kids ran by a few minutes ago and I think one of them may have been wearing white.

Then the guy proceeds to ask how old we are. I really hate this question so I don't answer it right away, I mean, what does he care anyway? But he seems to be expecting an answer so I tell him, "24." He replies back with, "Are you lying to me? Because you don't look 24, you look more like 15." Now I hear the whole you-don't-look-(insert whatever age I am)! thing all the time, and depending on the person who tells me this I either get annoyed or just laugh it off. I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to do the annoyed bit with the cop, so I just laugh and say, "no really, I am. I get that all the time though! But I could show you my ID, it's in the car."

He ignores me and asks my bf's age and then asks us if we have ever been arrested before. "No," we say, and I am getting more and more insulted by the minute but trying hard not to show it. Instead I ask them if what is going on and whether or not we should leave the area/if it's unsafe. He just drives away with a "be safe" though. Ugh.

I'll be 25 next month and people think I'm 15. Haha, he probably thought my bf was a pedophile, because unlike myself, he does look his age. I guess it really didn't help that I had my hair back in a ponytail and was wearing a t-shirt with a mermaid and a scuba diver on it. It's a threadless t-shirt and I swear it's not as lame as it sounds! :[ Ha.

But yeah, I get this age thing ALL the time. I got this today at the dentist! I get it at concerts, and, ugh, I got hit on my some middle school kids when I was like 20! I just feel like I don't get taken seriously because people think I'm still a teenager. It's annoying, but I know it's better than the alternative so I guess I'll look on the bright side and wait for the day when I'm 40 and still passing for late 20s to 30. Whoo.

2008-06-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Lydia has discovered windows.

...but how do I get down?

She looks so funny in that one.

Close-up!

Destructive little bugger...

but oh so cute!

2008-06-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Pancakes

I love pancakes with fruit for breakfast, but I've never made them from scratch, I always use the mix from box. :/ Yesterday I decided to make them myself -- sooo much healthier because you can use whole wheat flour, no chemical preservatives, no corn syrup, and no milk/whey/eggs that the pancake mix boxes have.

Toss:
- 1 1/2 C Soymilk
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Oil
- 1 C All-purpose flour
- 1/3 C Wheat flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Tbsp Flax seeds
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Lemon Extract (or vanilla)
- about 1/8 C water to thin batter out (add as needed)

All in a blender.

Pour into hot nonstick pan.

And voilà:

They were a tad bit too flat (I like them a little bit more fluffy), but still good. Oh, and if you can't tell by now, I like strawberries. The white stuff is powdered sugar.

I made them based off of this recipe from veganyumyum, of course.

2008-06-23T12:27:00.001-07:00

Cake with Strawberries

I wanted to make a two layered cake for father's day...but the cakes kinda fell apart so I made two single layered cakes. Nothing special, just out of a cake mix box and a can of frosting. Not vegan, but I baked it without eggs. I replaced the eggs with a mix of apple sauce, bananas and flax seeds.

2008-06-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

I ate at One World Vegetarian Cusine* ...

in West Covina last Friday and had their vegan cheesecake for dessert. OMG, it was delicious, so the next day I was craving more of it, but that place is just too damn far* so I decided to make my own.

*It's a casual place and they have a lot of different types of food. I had a "quail" with vegetables and rice (very good), "egg" rolls (pretty good), bf had teriyaki "beef" (okay [fake beef doesn't really go over well with me, it's all about the fake chicken]), and then the cheescake for dessert (awsome!!). The restaurant is decorated nicely and still has great prices, so it's DEFINITELY worth the trip. I can't wait to go back and try some other plates.

Anyway, I sorta followed this recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. Except I used soy milk instead of eggnog and I omitted the brandy/rum because I didn't have any. Also, Trader Joe's didn't have any silken tofu!!! :/ So I used regular tofu.

Everyone that has tried the cheesecake says it's good, but I don't think it compares to One World's creamy...and slightly gelatinous version. That description might sound gross, but I swear it was good. It was light and fresh yet still cheesecake like, I don't know how they did it. I think you can taste the tofuness in mine a little too much, that might be because of the type of tofu I used though.

2008-06-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

MMMM, Fried "Chicken" Seitan

I'll be making this again.

I mostly followed this recipe from veganyumyum (i heart that blog).

2008-05-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Awesome Orange Chicken Style Tofu

So easy to make, and you don't even have to have all the ingredients listed. You can pretty much replace any of the vegetables with some other vegetable you have on hand, like bell peppers or asparagus.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 block extra firm tofu, drained and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 smallish eggplant, chopped
Mushrooms, chopped
2 green onions, minced (just use regular onion if you don't have them)
1/2 C shredded cabbage
Carrots, chopped in long little pieces
Salt
Pepper

Sauce:
3 TBSP orange juice
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP vinegar
4 TBSP light soy sauce
1/2 C brown sugar (reduced a little bit if you don't like it too sweet, i just don't pack the sugar very firmly when measuring)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 TBSP Cornstarch mixed with 2 TBSP water

I also like to add ~1 tsp of this Asian chile thing that I got from a Chinese market but I have no idea what it's called because the label is all in Chinese. It has chili flakes and peanuts and it's in oil. Really yummy.

Directions:
1, If you have a nonstick pan that actually works toss the tofu in the pan on medium heat and cook until the water disappears. this is way easier than having to press the tofu and drain all the water out. As soon as the water is gone add some olive oil and then add the eggplant and garlic. If you have a crappy nonstick pan just add the oil first and try to get as much water out of the tofu as possible and hope it doesn't splatter and burn you.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Once eggplant is almost done add the rest of the ingredients.
4. While that cooks, take a smaller pan and add the sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch mixture) to pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and add the cornstarch mixture while stirring. Once it gets as thick as you want it, take it off the heat.
5. Add sauce to the tofu and serve with rice. I think the sweetness goes well with a side of plain edamame.

2008-05-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

Tofu Ceviche!

Yum! This recipe is super easy and it tastes good...it tastes like what I think I remember the real thing tasting like. :) I found the recipe for this online, but I changed a few things to make it yummier. :)

Ingredients:
One package extra firm tofu, chopped and marinated in my crazy homemade Worcestershire sauce.
Tomatoes, cut into little cubes
Cilantro, chopped
Red onion
Salt
A ton of lemon juice (I use meyer lemons from my backyard)
[You could also toss some chopped up green chile if you're into that.]
[I've also made it with chopped up radishes.]

My crazy homemade Worcestershire sauce Ingredients*
1/2 C apple cider vinegar (any kind of vinegar will do though)
1/4 C water
1 C orange juice
4 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pepper

*The original tofu ceviche recipe said to marinate all the tofu with 2 tablespoons of vegan Worcestershire sauce.... How are you supposed to marinate all that tofu with 2 tablespoons??? you need at least a cup of sauce to cover it completely and that's a lot of Worcestershire sauce ...which of course I don't have, so I googled a recipe for the Worcestershire sauce and made some modifications to it ...because I didn't have the proper ingredients for it of course! I finally bought the proper ingredients for the sauce and I decided my version was much better, so maybe this doesn't taste like WS, but it tastes good on the tofu, so there.

Here's what you do:
1. Take a package of extra firm tofu and squeeze as much water as you can out of it then slice into small cubes. I like to wrap the tofu in a couple of paper towels and then wrap it with a cloth towel and pile plates on top of that.
2. While tofu is being pressed, mix all of the stuff for the crazy homemade Worcestershire sauce together in a small pan and stir thoroughly. One it starts to boil you reduce the heat and simmer for a minute and then take it off the heat.
3. Toss the sauce on top of the tofu and let it marinate in the fridge for half an hour or so.
4. Afterwards, spread the tofu out onto a baking sheet covered in a nonstick mat type thing or parchment paper. Don't get a lot of sauce on there because it will just burn. Put in 350 degree oven for half an hour, mixing halfway through the cooking.
5. Meanwhile slice up all your veggies and squeeze a lot of lemon juice.
6. When tofu is done toss it in your bowl of veggies and lemon juice and salt and put it in the fridge for a few hours.
7. Eat with some tostadas.

2008-05-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Monte Negro, Django James and the Midnight Squires and Haim

I went to the Key Club last night for their free indie night type show that they do on Tuesdays. I wanted to see Monte Negro because I thought the way they blend English with Spanish and dancy type music might be fun to see live.

They were the headliners that night and they were pretty good, but I didn't like the singer's stage persona...he seemed like he was trying too hard and half of the time I didn't understand what he was saying in between songs.

Their live show is pretty good though, and besides, the cute drummer and bass guitarist more than make up for any annoying frontmen. :)

They did a cover of Soda Stereo's "Musica Ligera" and my Soda Stereo obsessed BF was very much indignant that they even dared to cover such a song. The look on his face when the first chord rang out and the face that accompanied the "Oh my god, he doesn't even know the right words!" were funny to watch.

We were both really impressed with the second band that played that night. They're called Django James and the Midnight Squires. I really wasn't expecting them to be good, but they came out and this little kid with crazy hair, a green jacket and sparkly green makeup across his face came out and started singing right away. The song started off mellow with the singer belting out the words and the keyboardist and both guitarists singing these awesome background "ohh" type things. Their sound is very unique and the lyrics are not your typical lyrics.

The singer who goes by the name of Django James (formerly Johnny vox) has an awesome voice and a cute London accent. I don't think I have a particularly wide music repertoire, but I would say his singing voice reminded me a bit of Freddy Mercury. And the kid can dance! Haha. So I've been snooping around their myspace/personal myspaces and it appears they are a VERY new band, like 2 months old! Plus, they are all young, the singer especially. But if this band manages to stay together I think they will be very big. Check out their youtube videos, I unfortunately didn't get any pictures or videos of them. Check out their myspace too, if you don't like them upon first listening try again! ha, that's just how much I was impressed by them. Oh! and the singer was getting over a sore throat to top it off and he still sang great! He was coughing between songs!

I feel I should mention the first opening band just to be fair. They were called Haim and the three singers/guitarists are all sisters. The have a keyboardist and drummer as well, don't think they're related. They had a lot of family members there, it was cute. They weren't bad, their voices were impressive and they really get into the show, but a few of their songs had a tendency to drag on a bit.

2008-05-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sausage and bean mix type thing...

My lunch:

The sausages are a bastardization of the Everyday Dish's Spicy Italian Vegetarian Sausages recipe and Cupcake Punk's Super Easy Steamed Sausages recipe and my crazy substitutions.

2008-05-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Pie...

So my dad brings home 3 boxes of strawberries. Not the little basket ones, the larger plastic containers. OK, I love strawberries, BUT NO ONE IN MY HOUSE HELPS ME EAT STRAWBERRIES AND THEN THEY JUST GO BAD SO I FEEL BAD. :( I usually wash most of them and then freeze them for smoothies. This time I decided I wanted to make a strawberry pie.

I made a pie crust and baked it in the oven. My crust was hideous. I suck at pie crusts. :( Probably because I insist on trying to work a little bit of whole wheat flour into the crust in an attempt to make it healthy or something. Anyway, my pie crust dough was too dry and cracked while I was rolling it out, so I got cranky and wadded it up into a ball and then slammed it against the countertop... and then started calmly over again. The damn thing shrank in the oven though. :/

While the crust baked, I sliced a bunch of strawberries and kept the outside slices for decorating the top of the pie. I tossed the inside slices in a pan with about half a cup of sugar and a little bit of vanilla and cooked them for a bit. Then I tossed that into the pie crust (minus the juice), and attempted to make it look pretty with the fresh bit of strawberries. Drizzled some of the juice on top to make the fresh strawberries look glaze-y.

And voilà. Don't look too closely at the crust. :(

2008-05-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Tofu Wings!

They were pretty yummy. :)

Recipe taken from Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit taken from "Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk!"

2008-03-26T17:55:00.001-07:00

I MADE RIBZ!

And they were yummy! For some reason I was never a big rib eater when I was a non-veg, but that being said, these things were absolutely amazing and I want to make more soon! I even made my mom try them and she says they do taste like barbecued ribs.

The recipe is from Everyday Dish. I like watching their cooking videos because afterwards I want to go on a cooking spree.

Here's what you need for "Susan's Barbecued Seitan Ribz":

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons peanut butter, tahini or other nut butter
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon soy sauce
about 1 cup barbecue sauce

Pretty simple. Go to the site, watch the video/read the recipe and then go coook!

That's a picture of the ribz on day two (yummy leftovers). There's rice, beans and then the ribs of course. Those are the ugly ribs, the cute ones were eaten first. :) Some yummy asparagus are one the plate as well, gotta have something green. The red sauce is a tomato sauce that my dad makes for barbacoa. I think I may try modifying this recipe by omitting the barbecue sauce and then tossing in some barbacoa seasonings next time. Mmmm, seitan rules.

And another picture just because:

2008-03-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

Spinach Gnocchi!

I've never made Gnocchi before, but it's surprisingly easy to make. I did make it in a pretty lazy way though... I microwaved 2 red potatoes (1 small and 1 large) and 2 white potatoes (1 small and 1 large). I just used those potatoes because they were the only ones I had. Then I grated them with a fork, added about 2 cups of flour, and about 3/4ths cup of frozen/thawed spinach. Mix it up, roll it out into a long tube thing on top of a floured surface and chop off segments of about 1" long. Maybe a little bit longer.

Then use your thumb to roll the little segments off of a fork to make cute little stripy groves on them. Toss the gnocchi into a large pot of salted boiling water (don't throw all the gnocchi in at once, do several batches). As soon as these little suckers float to the top scoop them out! Don't leave them in any longer or you will end up with mush like I did with my first batch!

Then open up a jar of spaghetti sauce heat and toss it over the gnocchi. Simple.

And a picture of an apple crisp I made as well:

It was originally supposed to be an apple pie, but I made the gnocchi and a bunch of sausages beforehand, so I got too lazy to make a pie crust.

2008-03-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Whoo!

So, the first meeting went well. We actually didn't meet the day we were supposed to meet because he got stuck in traffic! So I waited around anxiously all day for nothing!! When we finally met [way early the next day] I didn't even have any time for the nerves to build, I just got ready and took off! The work I have to do is pretty easy and I get to hang around equestrian centers and noisy birds all day. I've actually got some scouting to do... I need a couple of back up sites in case things don't go as planned at the sites we have already chosen.

Here's one of the birds we're hoping to attract:

It's a Great- Tailed Grackle. Picture courtesy of Google Images, hopefully I can take some decent pictures of my own soon.

2008-03-10T20:17:00.001-07:00

I'm so nervous!

Tomorrow afternoon I am going to meet with the senior director of the research project I'm going to be working on. It's my first time meeting him! He sounded nice over the phone, and maybe slightly awkward? At least I hope he is slightly awkward, because that tends to put me at ease. He's coming down tomorrow and we're supposed to check out all of our research sites. I really hope he'll drive... I don't like driving with people I don't know well and driving to places I've never driven to doesn't make it any better!

I tend to freak myself out when it comes to new situations, I know that is normal, but I think that it's a lot worse than what your "average" person goes through. I hate that. I must think of questions to ask and general conversation for the drives to all our spots. Awkward car silences are not fun...

Is it dumb that I'm worried about what to wear when I've already got the internship? WHY DON'T I HAVE MORE GROWN UP CLOTHES?! What should I do with my blah hair? Pony tail will keep it out of my face and off my neck (I think it will be warm out tomorrow), but will I look too little kid-like? Stupid, I know, but when it comes to professional settings, I always think people will think I can't do things based on how I look: teenie-tiny, young-looking girl. I must peruse my closet now.

2008-03-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

So...

I have far too much time on my hands lately... and I thought it would be interesting (to me, anyway) to take pictures of everything I ate for one whole day. But I forgot/got too lazy to get the camera after breakfast. So here is a picture of Friday's breakfast:

Tofu scramble (loosely based off of this recipe), peruano beans, romaine lettuce, avocado slices, a strip of Morningstar's bacon, ketchup, a slice of toasted whole wheat bread, and orange juice. It was yummy.

2008-03-07T21:29:00.001-08:00

"Simple Apple Yogurt Cake"

I was craving a cheese danish a few nights ago so I hopped on the internet and searched for yummy vegan danish recipes. Then I found out that they took forever to make and I wanted sweetness now, but luckily I found a different recipe to satisfy my bread craving. I made what Susan, from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, calls a "Simple Apple Yogurt Cake." But of course I was missing half of the ingredients so I made a bunch of substitutions, but it came out okay. I wasn't too crazy about how I could taste the brandy (the recipe actually called for rum, but I had none so I figured brandy was kinda the same thing...). I also ended up replacing the apple sauce with mashed bananas, the apple juice with soy milk, the plain soy yogurt with regular strawberry yogurt, and I skipped the raisins altogether because yuck.

Here's a picture:

Not much to look at, I know. The white patches, in case you are confused, are apple slices. I probably wouldn't make it again, but my Mom liked it and said I should. Hmm.

EDIT: I MADE THIS FOR EASTER, WITH THE SAME MODIFICATIONS AS BEFORE EXCEPT I ACTUALLY USED PLAIN YOGURT THIS TIME. I ALSO USED SOME WATER+SOY MILK IN PLACE OF THE APPLE JUICE. IT WAS MUCH BETTER. :)

2008-03-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Pizza!

I made 2 whole wheat pizzas and they were yummy. I'm really happy with the pizza dough recipe I've been using lately: Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
It's easy and it tastes good.

My sister is in love with Papa John's pizza, but I think it sucks because they put like 3 little pieces of bell pepper on it! Lame! I put a ton of veggies on mine. Yellow and green bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomato slices, onions, and small pieces of "pepperoni" seitan.

Pepperoni recipe story:
A few weeks ago I went crazy and decided to make two different kinds of pot stickers, veggie stuffed and "meat" stuffed. Well, I've been into making a ton of food so that I can freeze it and have insta-meals the next time I'm feeling lazy. :) So I made double the seitan that the pot sticker recipe called for and tossed it in the freezer. For the "pepperoni" I thawed and chopped the seitan and poured a little bit of soy sauce on them...and voilà instant pepperoni!

2008-02-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

mmmm, I made Banana Bread!

I used the PPK's Banana Bread recipe and made a few minor [changes]:
-I skipped the apple cider vinegar because all I had was red wine vinegar and that didn't seem very banana-bread-like.
-I sprinkled raw sunflower seeds and flax seeds on top of the loaf before baking and it made the top part supper yummy.
-The suggested baking time of 60 to 70 minutes was a little bit too long (for my oven at least); I cooked it for ~57 minutes and it was a tad bit overdone on the bottom.

Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup margarine, at room temp
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
2 cups flour [I used whole wheat]
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar [I totally skipped the vinegar but added a bit more soy milk]
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice [I used pumpkin spice instead, 'cause I obviously don't have a well stocked spice rack]
1/2 teaspoon salt
[raw sunflower seeds]
[flax seeds]

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 8x4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, soy milk and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. [Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and flax seeds]. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes. [55 minutes for my oven].

Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5 and will definitely make it again next time I have a bunch of rotting bananas. :)

2008-01-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

MMM! Apple-Orange-Cranberry Salad

So Delish:

Green leaf lettuce
Peeled and chopped orange
Chopped granny smith apple (coat with lemon juice before adding to salad)
Chopped dried turkish apricots
Dried Cranberries
Raw sunflower seeds

If you're one of those people that insist on hiding the yummy natural flavors of your salads, use a basalmic vinaigrette.

2007-12-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

I don't...
want to mess things up.
want to settle.
want to care so much about what others think.
know what I want.

2007-10-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Why...

do some people speak extra loudly when they are on the phone? I mean, yeah, the person you're speaking to is far away, but you don't have to yell loud enough for your voice to travel to them--that's what the phone is for!

2006-04-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

AFI @ The Henry Fonda 04/28/06

The show was awesome. We got there around 2, took a look at the line and then decided to go eat at Truly Vegan. Talia, Mark, and Ramon were in there eating. I felt like a dork for recognizing them from the omb. I didn't talk to them though. Talia is just as intimidating as everyone says she is! I got a menu thinking they could sign it later.

The food at Truly Vegan was yummy, I got the "fajita me" and it came with 2 pita-like breads with juicy yummy vegetables and some soy meat product inside. SOO good. However I was too excited to eat more than one of the fajitas so I gave the rest away to my mom. Yes, my MOM. Ha, she told me about a year ago that I'd better take her to an AFI show, so I did! She wanted to see Davey run around and scream. She likes the screaming. :D She doesn't get how such a voice comes out of such a small guy (she thought he was bigger/buffer).

So we finished eating and then headed back to the venue. We parked and Mini yelled "Jade!" and threw open her door. Ha, I thought she was going to rush out of the car! She saw Jade going into the theater in through the back alley. So about 20 or so more people had gotten in line since we passed by, but the line was still pretty small. A crackhead bum was walking around talking to some of the people in line. Funny. Security told him to go away after a while. I saw Fritch walk by us while we were sitting in line like 6 times. I wanted to take a picture of him, but no one else even noticed him or said hi. Mini said he was walking by and waiting for someone to notice him. ha. We saw 2 guys from the opening band walk by. I recognized a bunch of other faces from the OMB. Some kids came by and said "you want to hear our band?" and handed us a cd. I didn't feel like puting it in the car so we left it there by the wall, sorry guys.

Finally the line started to move at 7. People were cutting. Some guy tried to say he was with us and just get in line. Um, no. I think he just ended up cutting somewhere else. They did a horrible job checking people, but hey, I'm not complaining--I got my camera in. They did a horrible job checking tickets too. Since the tickets went on sale only a few days before the show almost everyone had ticketfast tickets that you print out on your computer. They weren't scanning the barcode or anything. I could have just bought one ticket and printed it out three times! Plus I heard a few people just paid the security guards to let them in. Ha, good for them I guess! By the time we got in there was already at least a 4 foot chunk of people at the front of the stage. So I knew I wasn't going to get to the front and went up to the balcony like we did for the dresden dolls. The veiw is great and there's no pushing. A bunch of girls ran past me tearing down the decemberunderground promotional posters. Damnit, I wanted one! Ha.

While waiting for the opening bands I decided to go downstairs to pre-order the cd and get the poster they were giving away--I needed something for AFI to sign later! The opening bands sucked in my opinion. All of Take the Crown's songs sounded the same to me. Ryan Wilson had "I heart DH" on his shirt. cute. The second band, The Dear and Departed were a little bit better. They had a girl guitarist. I liked their last song.

Finally they left, took their stuff, Adam's drums were uncovered, I saw Mikey and RJ, someone did the "check 1-2-3" thing and tested stuff out, and them Miseria Cantare started. Davey did a back-flip into the crowd early on. :D Nick 13 joined them for "A single Second" and later on Brandan Schpppeiiiisfklaj, whatever his name is joined them for a song I can't remember right now. What song was it? Anyway, he did the screaming part and then Davey was trying to take the mic back and he was still all into it.

See? ha.
**

Nick 13 and Davey
**

HA, Davey was wearing suspenders, but when he came out they weren't attached to the front of his pants. After a few songs he wanted to tie them up, he ran over to Smith but I guess it was taking to long so he came back and did another song. Then he had Jade talk for a bit while he tried again with his suspenders. He ended up giving up and taking them off. It was funny. He also couldn't find where he put his mic when he came back, he said something like, "Yeah, we're a professional rock band." They went right into a new song "Kill Caustic" and afterwards Davey said, "That was a new one in case you didn't notice. I was too busy with my suspenders and forgot to introduce it," or something along those lines. They played "This Time Imperfect" <3>

Crowd walking
**

They left, people did the "Strength through Wounding" chant, they came back out and did some more songs. They did "Death of Seasons" and at the end where Davey screams, Hunter, Jade and Adam walked off the stage and left Davey screaming on the floor. Awesome.

A few of the pictures I took from the balcony:

Some pictures some awesome people took (in other words, not me)!
**

**

**

**

**

**

**

**

** = I borrowed these pictures from someone else! I'm not taking credit for them, they're just so awesome I had to use them. Credit goes to PaperAirplanes and SomeoneElseICantRemember.