surprise the designer

I went to my first concert when I was still in middle school. My dad got tickets to a Barenaked Ladies show through work, and it was totally life changing. The band was clearly having fun up on stage (it makes a big difference) and they were really talented. We left at the end of the night on a total high, with songs in our heads and smiles on our faces. It was such a good experience, in fact, that I went to see them 10+ more times over the next few years. And through all those shows, I thought seeing a band at an arena was the way to go. Until, of course, I got to college. My friend Sylvia was waaaaay hipper that me when it came to music. And she's the one who introduced me to small bands at small venues starting with an Architecture in Helsinki show in Buffalo, NY . Consider my life changed once more. Because there's really nothing like being right there, dancing your face off, with the band just a couple feet away. But how to find these ever elusive good, small, tour...

When I was in middle school, I called the local pop radio station and got to announce one of the songs in their daily top ten. We recorded my radio appearance on a cassette tape. I kid you not. I don't usually get to listen to npr during the day, but today I had it on in my car while I was running some afternoon errands. When Talk of the Nation invited listeners to call in for a segment about new grads not being able to find jobs, I decided to call and weigh in. The line was busy the first few times I called, but then I got through. And I made it onto the show. You can hear me at approx. the 11:00 mark. There are plenty of things that I wish I would have said: that co-op is invaluable, schools need to be more real-world oriented, and the added cost of a degree from a big name university doesn't seem to be worth it. But I'm glad, in my minute on this show, that I piped in and said something along the lines of, 'it's not all bad.'