Wonder World Tour

On Monday, November 16, 2009, Miley Cyrus' Wonder World Tour made a stop at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse.

As Miley's #3 fan, I bought tickets the moment they went on sale this past summer.
The tickets were listed in three price ranges, and we bought the mid-grade ones.
Sadly, they were more towards the low end of that range...

This was a paperless ticket concert.
In order to gain entry, one had to provide photo ID along with the card used to make the purchase.
It apparently worked as a scalper deterent, as there were still tickets availiable the day of the show.

Doors opened at 5, amd the show started at 7.
Not sure when we left for the show, but traffic was crazy once we hit downtown Indy.
And in my opinion, $10 for parking is insane.

It was a crisp night, and we made our way to the venue.
You could feel the excitment in the air.

There were several side enterances, which I'm sure helped with crowd control and lines.
We may have received an odd look upon admission due to our lack of children. Whatever.

Amazingly, we were given directions to our seats from the door.
I'm not sure how complicated of floor plan a fieldhouse has, but giving everyone directions seems like a tough job.

First thing I noticed was an arrow pointing towards Hardee's.
Yes, there was a Hardee's inside the building. Sweet!

But we wanted to find our seats first, so the Happy Star would have to wait.

Normally, I would buy a T-shirt, but at $35 I would have to do without.


In the halls:

While I went to find a certain Happy Star, Dalyn stood in line to try and win better seats.
Not sure who planned this, but they had had big screens that everyone could see while you typed in your personal information: Name, address, etc...
And a very bored photographer waiting for a winner.
They also had a few manaquins modeling Miley's latest fashions.
Since little kids kept tugging on the clothes, one of the manaquins was showing off a breast. (No, I don't have a picture for you.)

Between there and the Hardees was a photo shoot.
You could get your picture taken and have a digital image of Miley added into the shot.
And then of course printed out for you to keep. Oddly free. (No picture here, either.)

Our seats:

We sat stage right up in the balcony.
Despite the height of our seets, they were pretty good since we were right next to the stage.
I started off taking pictures and soon gave up. I don't have a zoom.

The opening act:

Metro Station. I'd actually heard of them before the concert. I'd even heard one of their songs.
Normally that would be saying a lot for the random band that you're forced to sit through to get to the real act, but the lead singer of Metro Station is Trace Cyrus, Miley's older brother.
So everyone already knew who he was.

Now I'm not quite sure what type of audience Metro Station is used to, but Trace is covered with tatooes.
Covered.
And while I'm pretty sure the band itself is all male, they had these two female dancers that went a little overboard.
Towards the end of their show, Trace had managed to become topless. The girls were going wild.
I think he shaves his pits.


Miley time!:


The roadies eventually got everything torn down and set up.

There were big screens set up around the stage.
I knew that Miley had a habit of rising up out of the stage, and so I was watching the various trapdoors.

***

The crowd:

I'm going to take a break and talk about the crowd.

Over all, the crowd was great.
They sang, they screamed, they provided camera flashes.
But the people next to us, and behind us, were kinda lame.

When I saw Green Day, we stood the entire time. We jumped, we swayed, we didn't sit.

Despite attempts from Trace and Mily to get people out of their seats, our section remained seated.
Oh, I tried to stand. But standing while the people behind you are sitting is rude. Standing while the people next to are sitting is akward.

So I sat through most of the show.
(Oh, and the people on our row got up and down way too many times.)
***

Back to Miss Miley:

The openin song was "Breakout", the title track from her first non-Hannah Montana album.
The big screens featured Earth's temperature dropping and an ice age coming about.

A big glacier rose out of the floor and Miley appeared.
On the word "breakout", she heated up the room and melted the ice.

The roller coaster had begun.


Songs:

As this was a Miley show, and not a Hannah show, there weren't many songs to choose from compared to a more established performer.
She only has two albumbs out, and this last one wasn't a full album, just an EP.
So she sang almost every one of her songs.
The big displays did a good job of showing relevant images.
And of course, I sang along to them all.

Theatrics:

I've been to a number of concerts: Green Day, Transsiberian Orchestra, Ozzfest, The Monkeys, The Go-Go's, Belinda Carlisle, and Savvy & Mandy to name a few.

I've never seen a show like this.

There were lights, and flames, confetti, the afore mentioned screens.

Miley flew over the audience not once, but twice. The second time was in a motorcycle!
She flew over the crowd on a motorcycle!


She asended through trap doors more times than I could count.
She even drove a car.


There was a lot going on.
Plus the dancing and the backup dancers.

She even brought some local cheerleaders up at one point to say thank you for whatever charitable things they had been doing.

It was non-stop.

Until it ended.
9:00 and the show was over.

Or not.

Encore.

The show went on for another 45 minutes or so.
And it somehow managed to get bigger.

Wow.

Wardrobe:

Miley apparently enjoys wardrobe changes.

I tried to watch as much of the stage as I could, which meant I wasn't really watching those big screens.
Plus we weren't right up on the stage.
While the choice in clothes seemed slightly off for such a young audience, I wasn't too bothered.

...until I saw some pics.

O_O

I had no idea what she had been wearing. Or not wearing.
Not cool, Miley. Not cool.
I've been defending Miley for a while now.
I'm not sure what type of audience she's aiming for, but the audience she has started with Hannah Montana.
The little girls that watch Disney Channel were probably expecting a wholesome Hannah concert.
Hannah's clothes are modest.
She wears pants.
I don't think that Miley wore many outfits that went past her knee (and when they did, they were split way up the side).

No wonder my wife was so offended.

The shock comes mostly from the fact that she's a role model to so many girls.
I hope the parents that were there had a talk with their daughters.

Miley seems to be rebelling against her Disney image. Her first album was "Breakout" afterall.
But she's dragging her fans with her.


While I'm still a fan, still love the music, I'm going to have to keep an eye on who she's turning into, what I'm supporting.

Can someone support two different fan bases? Can Miley the actress appeal to little kids while Miley the singer appeals to older generations?

I guess we'll see.

Images courtesty of here, here, here, and here (and of course, my Prē)

Typed on my Palm Prē

Interviews

I just got out of a very akward interview.
During the process, I realized that I don't remember the last time I had such a formal interview.

I had an interview about a month ago.
"So you work at Now?
Here's what we do...
When do you want to start?"

Basically the fact that I worked for Now Courier was all they needed to know.

Hired on the spot.


Interview for Now?
Basically I was informed of what the job was.
It's like the HR lady was trying to scare me, and the fact that I didn't run off meant that I was qualified.

FedEx?
There was no interview.
I just subbited an application and showed up for orientation.
And proved I could lift 70lbs.

Sallie Mae?
I said I worked for Citi Cards.
Manager did too.
We chatted for a bit.

Kroger?
Summer of 2007. That was the last formal interview I had. And I don't remember much about it.


Boy was I unprepared.
Not only that, but I didn't actually know what company I was going to be talking to.
I never applied.
They found my resumé on-line and contacted me.

Turns out they want insurance salesman and managers.

I am not a salseman.
It's just not my style.
I have been a manager--back in 2004/5. I managed 2-3 people.



If I'm going to get a better job, I need to learn what stupid questions are being asked.

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
5 years? I'm just trying to make it to Christmas.

"What's your dream career?"
Not selling insurance.
Do you need a translator?

"How competitive are you?"
I'm more of a laid back kinda guy.

(No, those weren't my answers.)



While I'm rambling, let's toss in some interesting interview stories.

First job ever. Cathy's Wok & Grill.
"So you friend Marc?"
"Yes."
"You Mormon?"
"Yes."
"You like Chinese food?"
"No."
"You're hired. Show up tomorrow after 6."

Yes. That's actually how it went.


Years later at Royalty Auto Care:
"So, you're a friend of Tims."
"Yes."
"And you're LDS?"
"Yes."
"Do you know anything about cars?"
"Not really."
And I got the job.


And then this one time I applied to be a banker.

"So what do you think about the phrase 'The customer is always right.'?"
*chuckle* "Well, they're not."
*shocked look*
"Let me explain.
See, in collections, we just assume that the customer is lying to us.
Like the other day, this lady called and I told her that she was 2 months past due.
She told me that she had just gotten back from outer space..."
"Outer space?" *laugh*
"Yes. And while it's possible that she works for NASA, she probably didn't leave the planet.
So I assume that she's lying, but I work with what she gave me.
'So, you've beem out of town. Now that you're back, let's get this account taken care if.'"

For the rest of the interview, the interviewer couldn't stop laughing about outer space.

I need more stories like that one.

Are you hiring?

Too old to Trick-or-Treat?

All Hallows Eve is a magical night.
You get to play dress-up with the rest of the world.
You get to go up to complete strangers and ask them for candy.

But some people think this is only for the young; and not the young of heart.

Despite the fact that I'm almost 28, I still haven't reached "too old".


I'm the oldest child in my house.
My youngest brother is 15 years younger than I am.

That means when I was 15, I was Trick or Treating with a 10yo, 5yo, and a baby.

As long as you have those younger siblings with you, people don't complain.
"Oh what a cute baby! Have some candy."

Of course the baby can't eat the candy, but that's not the point.

And when I wasn't walking around with a baby?
My youth group used to go Trick or Treating for cans.
We'd dress up and go door-to-door asking for canned goods. We'd explain that we're collecting them for the local food bank.
It works out great. People are already planning on being home, answeing their door, and giving stuff away--migt as well do it for a good cause.
And then they insist that we take some candy as well.

And latley?

My siblings have grown up, I'm not in a youth group. What now?

I have two children of my own.
I'll be taking a 1yo and an almost 3yo around the neighborhood.

Yup. I'm still going strong.

What Google Voice means to Sprint users (verses everyone else)

A while back, Google realsed Google Voice. In fact, they're still releasing it.

While I admit that it looks cool, the biggest "wow" factor was having all of your phones ring at once.

For someone like my mother-in-law, who is a realestate broker, that would be fantastic.
You give out ONE number, and no matter if you're home, at the office, or at a showing, you're able to be reached.

For someone like me who has ONE phone, there's not much of a point.

Yes, yes, I know all about the e-mail voicemail. I don't get that many messages.



Even more recently, Sprint rolled out a new program: Unlimited calling to ANY mobile number (US only).

Sweet. No "top 10" or "fav 5", you can call any of the hundreds of cell phones in this country for free.

So with my 1500 minute plan, I've got to actually hunt for landlines to call.

Unless I use Google Voice.

While I haven't looked at my phone bill yet, Sprint Customer Service claims that a GV number is considered a landline.

Now let me back up.

GV works like this.
Google gives you a new phone number. When someone calls that number, you actually get a incoming call from *your GV number*.
When you make a call, you dial *your GV number*.

Your call history will to to and from the same number (as far as the phone company is concerned).


So yes, *every* call I make/receive will be to a landline, and will cost me minutes.
Suddenly that whole unlimited mobile calling seems rather lame.


What if I don't use Sprint?

Check this out.
If your wireless provider lets you select a landline in your "fav 5" or "top 10", all you have to do is include your GV number, and all of a sudden, ALL of your calls are free.
It doesn't matter who you call, as long as you call them through GV.


Pretty nifty if you ask me.

-----------------
As of this morning, I am able to make my Prē send all TXTs and calls through GV by default.
As far as the user (that's me) is concerned, I'm using my phone like normal. All of the work is in the background.
As neat as that is, I'll have to pass for now. 

I need your help!

I need y'all's help winning a contest.

If you have a MySpace account, I need you to request to be friends with the band Savvy & Mandy.

If you don't have a MySpace account, you should sign-up for one.

When (not if) you make the request, I need you to put "referred by naHQun http://www.myspace.com/naHQun" in the 'send message' section.

This will help them keep track of the referrals.

Once I refer the most people between now and the 31st, I'll WIN!

Official Contest Rules.

Kellogs Star Trek Promotion Part 2

As I mentioned in Part 1 (http://nahqun.blogspot.com/2009/08/kellogs-star-trek-promotion-part-1.html), I ordered (well, Dalyn ordered) every promotional item available from the Kellog's/Star Trek catalog.
Sadly, not much more has shown up since the last post.

A few weeks ago, or maybe it's been a month now, I got a postcard from Kellog's. Basically is says that they sold out of T-shirts, but they're ordering more and I should expect my shirt in November.
And while I hate to wait, I'm surprised that they're doing this.
Accorsing to the rules (which are standard), they have the right to substitute a different item.
They could pretty much send me anything in their wharehouse that has the same value. Anything.
But instead, they're actually having a second run of shirts made.

Amazing.

A week later, Dalyn got a similar notice.
But her's offered her a chance at a refund.

A refund? Really? Also against insustry standards.

I'm quite proud of Kellog's for handing this so well.
Not only are they spending money to keep us all informed, but they're making sure we have the chance to get the right item, or a refund.

And then not too long after that, Dalyn got two letters from Kellog's.
It ended up being the one free item we ordered--the movie tickets.

Not only do we get to see a movie for free (well, for the price of a stamp), but it claims to work on "no pass" shows too.

DATE NIGHT!!!

We'll see how late into November we have to wait.

And then there's the USB drive and waffle plate..

----
Lack of pictures due to blogging on the go, and the fact that they'd be boring anyway.

What the heck are you listening to?

As some of you may have noticed, my status updates have been filled
with song quotes and references to what I'm listening to.
Even back on Wednesday when all of my updates where in Klingon, I was
playfully translating lyrics.

But what in the world am I listening to?

Way back in the day, Dad and I downloaded a whole lot of .mp3s onto
the family PC.

A lot. Trust me.

So many, in fact, that we crashed it. (Well there were DS9 episodes too...)

So My Mother bought some blank CD-Rs and burnt all of the .mp3s to disk.
That's right, not as music CDs, but as straight .mp3 files.

I happened to get my hands on these CDs the other day, and as my car
CD player accepts .mp3s, I've been listening to them.
I'd say there's between 145 and 200 songs on each disk. And there are
at least 20 disks.

That's at least 2,900 songs. (yes, I did pull out the calculator...)

Now, like I said, there were two people involved in the downloads.
(which were perfectly legal at the time, thank you very much).
So I've been skipping the weird stuff that my dad listens to, and
focusing on my music.

Now, the files were burnt mostly in alphabetical order by file name.
So, we have 3,000 songs mostly listed alphabetically by artist
spanning over SEVERAL decades.
That makes for some funny transitions.

Rob Zombie and Rod Stewart for example.
Godsmack to God's Army Soundtrack.

and so on...

And I'll go back to my eclectic music collection now.