Friday, June 20, 2014

Reach Out & Touch One Republic

It's December of 2013 and I'm logged onto LiveNation.com to purchase my One Republic tickets during presale.  I'm beyond excited at the thought of purchasing the best seats I can get so I can see the twinkle in my niece's eyes when she opens up her Christmas gift.  

The clock strikes 11:00 am on the dot and I hit the submit button after having set myself up on the page an hour before.  I get seats mid-section but I am not happy.  I'm a seat snob.  Always have been, always will be.  I need to see these boys up close and personal.  I spend the next 20 minutes declining seats in two different browser windows.  FINALLY I get 2nd row seats and click submit to make my purchase when LiveNation boots me off the site and actually forbids me from logging back on.  FOR-BIDS!!!!  I've never had this happen but I guess my fate is finally catching up with me.  I am devastated.  I try on my phone but no device in my household will work because our entire IP address is now banned.  Can you say, "Depressed?"

Think... I tell myself.  What am I going to do now?  Yes, I'm having this conversation in my head as I visual my niece's look of disappointment, as she has been hinting about this show for a long time.

Ding, ding!  Bright idea!!!!!  The light bulb goes off.  I log onto Twitter and I tweet the CEO of Live Nation.  I have corresponded with him before so I know it's really him and I know that he does respond.  A little time goes by and I receive a response!



I couldn't be anymore thrilled as Mr. Michael Rapino remedies the situation by getting me two FRONT ROW seats.  Wow, what a thrill.  Mr. Rapino, YOU ROCK!!!

Oh yes, one more thing... I was lucky enough to win a 2nd set of tickets to the same show just one week prior so I was able to give them to family friends.  Such great joy!


Below are photos from the show, which finally took place a week ago.  American Authors opened (awesome band), The Script followed up and they were more entertaining that I expected, and One Republic finished off with a powerful and lively show.  If you haven't seen One Republic before, put them at the top of your list.  They're on tour in the U.S. now with their latest "Native Summer Tour".  You don't want to pass up this show.

 Me and the Gorgeous Niece



Front Row!!!



 American Authors







Family Friends


The Script


























One Republic







































































Thursday, June 5, 2014

Let's Raise Money for Homeless Kids!

Help my 17-year-old niece Giovanna and I to raise $500.00 for the Switchfoot Bro-Am Auction Night Soiree.  You will help us to have dinner, rock out with the ever-inspiring San Diego rock band and do a meet and greet.  All of the money goes to benefit local San Diego children's charities and you get to make our dream come true.


Giovanna and I will already be in San Diego for the annual Bro-Am surf competition taking place at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas so please help us to top of our weekend with this once in a lifetime opportunity.  We'll be sure to post all photos here if you help us reach our goal of $500 ($250 per ticket) to get tickets.  We have less than one month left as the dinner soiree will take place on July 11, 2014.  I know these tickets will go fast!

Donate here: 









Sunday, May 25, 2014

Switchfoot's 10th Annual Bro-Am

Who's joining me for Bro-Am in San Diego in July????  I am uber excited to see these guys two days in a row and to be able to experience my very 1st surf competition.  So much to see and do while my niece and I enjoy the likes of Rob Machado and the Switchfoot boys.



My Soul Refueled...

I was so excited to see Switchfoot for the 4th time, this time at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.  I had purchased the VIP experience so I'd be able to do the meet & greet but the day of the show I received an email stating it would take place at 4:30pm, prior to the show, right after soundcheck.  The last time I had done a meet & greet with these boys it was after the show so when I purchased passes, I excepted it to be the same process.  Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed that I had to request a refund because there would be no way my friend and I could make it to the city before 6pm.

Lucky for me, after an amazing show, we waited by the back entrance to the venue and Drew Shirley came out.  We chatted for a couple of minutes & I took this awesome photo with him.  A moment I will treasure always.


Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Help Me Win - Keith Urban

Please help me with up close & personal with Keith Urban.  It'll take less than one minute of your time & I'll finally get to see KU perform after all these years!  Star 101.3FM is giving me the chance to win.  All you have to do is click the link:

http://www.1013.com/pages/contests/urban/?6

Thanks a bunch!!!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

My First Attempt at Firearms Training



Below is a brief summary of my experience at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, one of the best firearms training sites in the country.  Located in Pahrump, Nevada, about an hour's drive west of Las Vegas, I felt like I was in a movie.  An adventure it was... the only thing missing was a Mark Wahlberg sighting!  I kept looking, I promise.  In case you didn't know, Wahlberg trained at Front Sight to prepare for his role in the movie "Shooter."  Now I see why.

I was that girl who shot her gun during malfunction training set up and then cried on the range out of sheer embarrassment.  Attending defensive handgun training at Front Sight was not my idea of a good time but after having Dad purchase me a Smith & Wesson M&P .22 for Christmas, I felt obligated to join him in training.

I’d only shot a gun three times prior to training.  I was by no means a pro.  To the contrary, I wasn’t very good at all.  So going to Front Sight was totally out of my comfort zone.  But as soon as I arrived I felt as though I belonged.  These people were similar to me in their beliefs.  I could already feel it.  

The range master and his team were friendly and welcoming yet professional, instantly making me feel at ease.  They made an excellent team in how they presented and instructed.  I always felt safe and was never concerned that something could go wrong.  I’ll admit, I struggled to learn the Weaver Stance, how to focus on the front sight and the entire process of dry practice.  It took the full first day for me to grasp how to handle myself on the range.  On the morning of the second day, as the instructors were showing us how to set up malfunction type 2, I inadvertently set up the gun to shoot instead.  I was overwhelmed and wasn’t sure what I was doing but as professional as the team is, we were safe at all times.  We were instructed to move into firing stance and prepare to shoot (what was supposed to be a malfunction) but my gun went off.  I was shocked and flustered.  The tears began streaming down my face from shock and embarrassment.  Immediately, our Range Master Morello came over to me to see if I was okay and to reassure me that mistakes like this happen and that I was in just the right place for it to occur.  Needless to say, I sat out the rest of the malfunction training but continued to watch from my seat.  As soon as that portion of training was over I jumped right back in the game.  I didn’t want to be the girl who quit training and walked out because of a simple error.  After all, that is why I was at Front Sight!

By the time training was complete, I felt empowered and more prepared for handling a gun.  I would eventually like to go back to Front Sight to continue my training.  The staff is incredibly knowledgable and professional and I am beyond grateful to them for sharing their expertise.  They were extremely patient with me as I continued to make small mistakes - I struggle with learning more than one step at a time - and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to lead on the range.  Top notch!  I highly recommend Front Sight for beginners and professionals.

For more information about Front Sight go to http://www.frontsight.com.


















Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Puerto Rico Awaits...

Less than two months and I'll be back on la isla del encanto.  I can't believe it's been almost 10 years!  Soon we'll be sitting right here on this very beach... in this guesthouse eating this delicious Puerto Rican food.







Let the countdown begin!!!!

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