A New Beginning: Blue October on a hot Saturday night in August

So this weekend was A-mazing! Friday I got home from work and was anticipating my boyfriend moving into the house with me. My brother had finally decided he was ready for him to be out. Not that he was a problem or anything they just needed their space back with everyone going back to school. I understood. We STILL haven't gotten into our place yet so we have to stay with Mom and Dad. The only problem with that is that they are SOOO FAR AWAY from EVERYTHING! Well, Mom and Dad decided they were going to go shopping so I stayed home to wait for my honey. I also wanted to formulate the plans for one of my oldest and bestest friends, Jacintha, Saturday night. She called me on Thursday and asked if I wanted to go see the band, Blue October. She had won two tickets and told me she hadn't thought of anyone else but me to go with her. Back in the day we were eachothers concert buddy. The last one we went to together was Pepper, back in college. So we talked on the phone for about an hour. Its been almost a year since I had seen her. We keep in touch but its not an every day or every week for that matter, type of friendship. She is more like family and you know how you can go a while without talking or seeing them and then when you do its like nothing has changed. We are alike but so different. She told me about her job and her life. She has always been that girl who remains busy, but if you need her she is there. We decided that since Downtown St. Pete was such a far drive we should look into staying at a hotel. That way if we got a little too tipsy, we could just walk home. I told her I'd call her after my audition for Howl-O-Scream the next day and we'd iron out the plans. First, I needed to O.K. it with the boyfriend. I went to the audition and it was a long process. Over 1000 people showed up. It took four hours to audition and 2 minutes to tell me I wasn't what they were looking for. Apparently I look too alive and have to angelic of a face, whatever. At least I tried. Judd even came with me and sat for hours in the parking lot. He is such a supportive boyfriend. When we got home Judd and I started to look for hotels. The plan was that Judd and I would drive to the hotel and check in, I'd get ready and me and Jacintha would have dinner, drinks, go to the concert and Judd would find a bar to watch Jacksonville vs. Buffalo. Afterwards, we would meet up with Judd and go out with some of Jacintha's co-workers that were at a nearby bar. We found a reasonable priced hotel within walking distance of everything. It was the Ponce De Leon boutique hotel. It was very quaint and very old. The room was small but it had character. It wasn't fancy, but there was plenty of space for Jacintha to fit her air mattress and we all were pretty comfortable. When we got there I freshened up and made sure our things were in order. Then Jacintha called to tell me she was there and to come outside because she wasn't sure where the hotel was. She was hauling a crazy heavy bag and looked adorable in her heals, over sized shirt, skinny jeans, and accessorized perfectly. She is about 5'6" with blonde hair and blue eyes and has a smile that lets you know you are going to have lots of fun with whatever you do. We had that slow moment of running towards each other with arms stretched out and the people from the restaurant balcony I'm sure thought we were overly dramatic, but she is my best friend. After getting everything upstairs we decided to go and check out the concert line. It was wrapped all the way around the block and there was no paying for VIP, lame. So I had the brilliant idea to just get something to eat have a few drinks and then we could wander back and see if we could get in. They informed us that they had given out 5,000 while the capacity of the venue was 2,500 that was stupid! Jacintha, who frequents downtown St. Petersburg suggested this restaurant, Ceviche. She said they had Tapa (small plates) and the best white Sangria EVER! So off we went. OMG! Everything was perfect, right down to the gentleman at another table purchasing a fabulous, expensive ceviche with lobster and scallops and sending it to our table. How sweet! But I am taken :) So then we walked to the concert. We got in!! But then we realized as our jeans stuck to our legs from sweat, that we should have worn shorts. "No re-entry" said the security guard. But with a little begging, pleading, and flirting he told us we had "15 minutes and don't do the girl thing or he'd change his mind," WooHoo! So off we ran like 14 year olds! Jacintha wasn't paying attention and almost got hit by a trolley! It was scary at first, but then we laughed hysterically. We changed and sprayed ourselves down with body splash and Judd did the "be careful girls, love you, call me if you need me" speech and off we went. The concert was awesome! We heard several acts before and the main act, Blue October was so good at one point I grabbed Jacintha's hand while hanging on to my $11.00 Jack and Diet Coke and spun her around. Everyone backed off of us in a circle and the two best friends who have been through middle school, high school, and college together danced like no one was watching. It's moments like that that make me realize that sometimes you really are where you should be at that exact moment. Of course there were drunkards and fools but we managed to meet a great couple who enjoyed the concert with us and took a few pictures. Celesta and Sean had been married for four years and they owned a vintage store downtown. They were so laid back and a blast. They invited us to check out their shop sometime and told us we should all hang out again another time. They didn't stay for the whole set and left early, but not before giving each of us a hug and wishing us a wonderful evening. After the concert we walked back to the hotel to get Judd. We left to meet Jacintha's friends at Bishop. We didn't realize how dressy of a place it was and even Judd got a harsh telling that he shouldn't be wearing shorts, oh well whatever. We are used to Tallahassee's lame bar scene where you can practically wear pajamas and still get in. We walked up the stairs and there were several guys wearing shorts the dude just wanted to be a tool. This made Judd furious and he said "we are leaving to change." So we walked back and I changed, Judd decided he didn't feel like going out. I understood and went without him. He was fine with it. I met Jacintha back up at Bishop and ran into an old friend from middle school. "Erica...Erica Cartee?" Joe asked. I couldn't believe it I hadn't seen this guy since I moved the middle of my freshman year in high school. We all danced and then decided to check out another club called Push. It was alright, the energy was good and there was an awesome rooftop with a bar and a DJ spinning some awesome House music. We decided to leave, it was getting late and the place was closing. But then Jacintha screamed "Im hungry lets get pizza!" So off we went to Fortunatos Pizza. I ordered some for Judd, being the sweet girlfriend I am, to take back to him and I didn't get any because I'm on my diet. I was pretty proud of myself. We passed out back at the hotel and I woke up before anyone Sunday morning to shower and start packing up. Jacintha, who admitted she had had a little too much to drink the night before, packed up her stuff, said goodbye, and groggily walked to her car. Judd and I wanted to get some breakfast, but couldn't find a place so we decided on Cracker Barrel since I know they have a low carb menu :) It was fantastic and Judd ordered enough for three people. We drove home and relaxed the rest of the day, watching t.v., doing laundry, and I ironed Judd's work shirts. We ended the evening with a nice dinner with my parents and watched a DVD we had picked up at Red Box called Sourcecode. It was good. Then off to bed by 10:00 we went so we could get up at 6:00a.m. and carpool to work. Getting up before the sun and being on the road before the sun is up is not easy. We didn't have any problems and we both got to work on time. I have been craving something sweet so my mission today is to find and make a low carb dessert. I'll let you know how it turns out. All in all it was another amazing weekend with two of my favorite people. Live and Love ~ E

Hotel