the Nonsense in Between

Ch Ch Changes

Let's begin with the obvious: welcome to my pretty new blog. It only took me an entire day but damn I'm proud. Lets just say if I had visited a country where they only spoke CSS I couldnt have said hello before today. Now I'm proud to say I could at least ask for the restroom.

Aside from the look of my blog I've also changed the title which brings me to more important changes in my life. Since losing my job over a month ago I've had the opportunity (that at times feels more like a curse) to think about life. It's forced me to really evaluate what life means to me, what defines life. What I realized is that as humans we are constantly bombarded by bullshit. Things designed to break us down and disrupt life. Disrupt life. So what is life? A question we each have different answers to but I think I may have found mine. When I was fired (so very unjustly) it made me question everything I believed in. How's, why's and why me's filled my brain and exhausted me. I never thought that my job defined me but it was certainly a big part of my life, or what I previously called life. If I was going to enjoy life again I would have to redefine it. In my search for meaning I realized that life isn't daily routine or even special occasions. Life actually only happens in rare doses that are easily lost. Life is made up of ineffible moments, moments that can only be described by the feelings they leave behind. Between these beautiful doses of life is nonsense. Even the words I type here in an attempt to express these instances are nonsense.

So welcome friends and strangers to the nonsense inbetween.

Oh the stories we'll have to tell the grandkids

In our short time together Dominic and I have had no shortage of epic moments. Moments we experience together that beg to have their stories told even though words cannot do them justice. Moments that burn such intense memories in our minds they defy time. Last night we were lucky to experience more of the same.

We thought the last encounter we had with Chris Conley was unbeatable, that was until last night! Saves the Day was playing at the Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom and we, of course, were there with bells on. Dominic and I were walking up to the doors and saw the STD tour bus outside. Inside the bus we see a pink haired kid who was unmistakeably Chris Conley. We decided to write him a note thanking him for the unforgettable gift. Dominic lifted me up to the window, I gave a knock and handed Chris the note. He quickly closed the blinds, surprised that he'd been spotted by fans. As Dominic and I turned to go back inside Chris opened up the window and invited us over. He asked us to show him the finished product and his reaction was priceless. With the window open he hung half way out to see the tattoos and talk to us. We thanked him and he thanked us. He said he loved our tattoos and he was happy to be a part of it. We talked for several minutes but i cant recall everything that was said, just that what we were experiencing was incredible. After the show we talked to him again and he let us know that he had told everyone about our tattoos. He seemed really excited about them and told us we're the only people with tattoos hand written by Chris Conley.

It's really crazy to think that we've made such an incredible connection with someone like him. We certainly will never forget him and I don't think, after last night, that Chris is likely to forget us either.

There were some other noteworthy events that took place last night but they dont quite match the tone of this story so I will let Dom post about them.

The Gift

The other day Dominic posted about the gift we received from Chris Conley of Saves the Day. Last night it finally came to fruition.

Let me start at the beginning...
A couple of years ago the Saves the Day song "This is not an Exit" gained a special place in our hearts and lives. The words in that song have meant more to us than any other. Later, when Dominic and I agreed to getting tattoos as a symbol of our commitment to eachother it seemed appropriate to have that title be the symbol. Just weeks after we made that decision Saves the Day was playing a show at the Aztlan Theater. We attended the show and as always had an amazing time. After the show we met up with Chris. We told him how much that song means to us and asked if he wouldn't mind writing it in his handwriting. He graciously obliged. That moment that we shared with him, the words we exchanged, the connection we made is forever burned in my mind, and now inked on my skin.

It being my first and probably only tattoo I feel the need to describe the experience...

First, we weren't even going to get tattooed last night we were just going to get consultations. To our surprise the tattoo artist wanted to do it right away! The artist we had chosen was a guy called Fish at Think Tank Tattoo. We chose him only because we'd seen, and fallen in love with, his artwork on their website. I couldn't have been happier with our choice. He took his time to make the tattoo look exactly as Chris had written it. Fish understood that it wasn't "just text" as so many tattoo artists had described it. It was an amazing experience for so many reasons. We even had the privilege of purchasing some of Fish's artwork that had drawn us to him in the first place. I can't thank him enough for his time, patience, and kindness.

Fall Out Boy Wedding

Thanks to Dan FallOutBoyWedding.com is finally up. We've been talking about it for a year and it's finally here! Last night, with the help of some friends, we flyered the Fall Out Boy show with this flyer.

Please visit the site and sign the petition.

26 Pairs of Acceptance

Last week our friend Maggie (of Maggie and Drew) let me hang out with her kindergarten class. The experience was so inspiring it gave me the push I needed. For many years I've kicked around the idea of becoming a teacher but carried alot of fear around it. Being incharge of the development of an entire classroom of little people seemed awfully overwhelming, a job reserved for saints and angels. Then I realized that all the time I spent in the beauty industry left me wounded. Let me explain something: The beauty industry is full of ugly insecure people who feed off of others' misfortune. With that said, I do believe that I learned alot from the industry. I learned that I am a very strong person with strong convictions. I also learned how to deal with many different kinds of people and how to hold my ground with each of them. And if I had the courage to speak to groups of critical, narcissistic, pompous assholes I think I just might be able to handle children.

From the moment I entered Maggie's classroom I was accepted. I didn't have to prove anything to them as long as I was taller they just trusted me. This experience was so foreign to me. No one was asking me questions designed to stump me, no one challenged my authority or gave me evil looks. Okay, sure they are only five years old but that's just the beauty of youth.