collage

my laptop is back in business!
my charger decided to take a permanent hiatus by sparking ferociously at me like an angry [electrical] animal and then just dying. in my hands.

and now the obviously cheap knock-off of a charger that i ordered on ebay is here! and i don't have to borrow my neighbor's charger. he's a saint. he's saved my life on more than one occasion.

here is a song that i'm mildly addicted to right now:

of course it's billy. you should not expect any less from me by now.

life is splendid.
i've been arting it up recently.
i arted it up today while watching titanic. [and maybe crying when they started playing nearer my god to thee]
it was good to be back.

also still waiting impatiently for a letter from le missionaire.
always. always always always have to bring him up.
and still praying.

always. always always always praying.

this man hasn't failed me

i really don't know what it is about billy. but he really really makes me feel better.

the sting was muted.

"i spoke to you in cautious tones.
you answered me with no pretense.
and still i feel i said too much.

my silence is my self-defense.

[and it was my self-defense.
in that silence, please have heard something.]

and every time i've held a rose,
it seems i only felt the thorns.
and so it goes, and so it goes,
and so will you soon, i suppose.

[you did.]

but if my silence made you leave
then that would be my worst mistake
so i will share this room with you
and you can have this heart to break."

[and you did.]

she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be

while doing custodial work this morning, i was listening to billy joel on my phone. the longest time, if you must know. hannah mentioned the song she's always a woman.

it got me thinking back to february 19th.
when billy played that song, i really felt him playing it for me.
boys were making me sad, but billy was there to sing for me.

.....

i remember the first time i heard this song. i was in my parents' 1992 ford escort. the radio was on, it was dark, and i was driving around syracuse probably going to branticus' house or something. i heard the words, recognized billy joel, and wrote the lyrics in my phone so i could look up the song later. i was fairly new to billy at this point.

i think the missionary had something to do with my initial liking of billy back when i was 15, but he doesn't have anything to do with my continual smitten-ness with the piano man.

.....

the most she will do is throw shadows at you...

photo montage

i now present to you a chronological photo montage maybe not a montage exactly, but use your imagination describing my night in salt lake with

billy.
and elton.




whitney and i really like trains.











we also really like big macs don't judge and the ones we ate were
awesome...











so that guy behind whitney's head is indeed wearing a skirt.

he was mean.

but we were still excited anyways!

and we looked pretty






it really was surreal. i had been waiting for months and MONTHS to see billy and elton.

and then here it was.

i'm basically freaking out inside my head in this picture.





see the red arrow? please enjoy the faces that these people are making.

yes, that's the guy wearing the skirt. he was a lovely man.









and then they came out.
and this picture is legitimate emotion.
not posed.
even skirt man behind us is smiling
billy and elton have that effect on people

oh.
my.
lovely.

i love these men.
and they were right there!
granted, i would have had to jump
down from nosebleed seats,
but still.
right. there.








then all of a sudden the lighting started.
and it was magical.

this shows you sort of what elton was wearing.
very characteristic of elton.
and i saw it in person!
in case you were still wondering
if i was there...

hey, who's that behind me?
oh wait...it's elton john.












there was this lady next to us...
she was as enthusiastic as we were.
dancing around, singing.
i liked her.

and she took this picture for us.

please ignore the fact this
is an ugly picture.

i just like the fact that billy joel
is behind me.
and that there's a couple making
out in front of me.

just an added bonus.








and then there was billy.
my not-so-secret celebrity crush.

they both played again
at the end.
elton sat on the piano.
billy just rocked out
like billy does
and they played pianoman.

the most beautiful version of the song
i've ever heard.

the concert ended.
we were happy (courtney isn't pictured)
and that lady behind us was confused.

all in all:
best.
night.
ever.

it will always be the delta center

elton.

billy.

elton and billy. together.

seriously, one of the coolest things i've ever had the chance to witness i've witnessed many, though...my life's been pretty cool thus far

they came out to applause and to courtney and whit and i practically crying; we were so excited

they started by playing "your song" and i about died. that was the song that really converted me to elton.

after a couple more songs, elton played by himself, and it was fabulous of course.

...

then billy.
i have a secret celebrity crush on that man.
despite his age.
and height.

oh, billy. he came out, wooed the crowd and me and played the piano like nobody's business. it was beautiful. "always a woman"...yeah. he sang that for me.

then they were together again and they sang "pianoman" as their last song. no words really describe how lovely that was.