Scott Chester

WordPress won’t keep these pictures in order so don’t be surprised if you get confused - they aren’t in chronological order.

Yesterday I got the privilege of finally going to another Brad Paisley Concert - the Paisley Party Tour 2008. It was so great I almost wish I had made it for both nights and I totally would have dealt with Coors to see him again. The whole show was great, although I’m still not sure exactly how well Jewel fit the playbill. It seemed like Brad didn’t go as long this year or maybe I just enjoyed it more. He never did take a break and do an acoustic set and he missed quite a few big songs. I totally could have gone with staying there for a few more hours, or until the sun came up and kept the party going! We all (at least Mandi and I) had a great time. Tara and Chris, one of the guys selling security this summer, came along as well and I think they both enjoyed themselves as well.

We had the pleasure of getting to meet Julianne Hough . I really wasn’t too familiar with her before the show and only really knew of her song “Will You Dance With Me?” I was pleased to find out that she has more song and seemed to be quite a good performer and has the potential to be a great entertainer. In any event, she was up first which I can only imagine how hard it must be to walk on stage with a venue that is only a quarter full at best and with people that aren’t drunk enough yet to really be partying. Of course, people like Mandi were there just to see Julianne, so that must be nice too, but hard to know when you’re up there. We stood in line after the show to get a chance to meet her. Just before we got to the front they announced that due to time restrictions we would only have the opportunity to get something signed or take a picture. I let Mandi take a picture and I had Julianne sign a picture for Mandi. Julianne was so friendly though I couldn’t believe it. She gave me a hug and wanted to talk; I don’t think she liked being rushed.

Chuck Wicks was great. Stealing Cinderella is still an amazing song and I just love it. Jewel was good and she even yodeled for us. Brad was amazing and just never stopped or really even slowed down. I’m already looking forward to the next show!

I guess I didn’t do anything interesting the other days. Today went well and we had an excellent sacrament meeting. I was super tired from being up so late, but would do it again tomorrow night if given the opportunity. Things seem to be moving forward with the house, even if slowly.

I got myself up way too early this morning. Actually, I was awake at like 5 and had a hard time staying in bed till 6. I thought about getting up and getting going before 6, but knew it was only going to cause problems somewhere along the line. Chances are, I would have wasted it on facebook or something stupid all morning anyway. Work went well and since I was the first one there, I thought it only fair that I got to be the first one to leave.

I came home early and went for a bike ride. I wasn’t really feeling up to it, but knew I really needed it. I’m still trying to work off the pounds I put on when we were back in Minneapolis last month. I guess that really means I need to stop eating, and that certainly didn’t happen with the slice of cake I had tonight! I did feel much better after the ride, I just need to work on doing them more regularly!

Looks like more of the same tomorrow. I’m taking Thursday off and headed to Disneyland for anyone that wants to join.

P.S. I was watching some of the CMT Country Music Awards while getting ready for bed and I must say I am looking forward to having Brad Paisley back in town soon

Things have still been crazy in the office. I was swamped both yesterday and today. I was able to make it out last night for Keith Urban (& Carrie Underwood) though. The seats were much better than I was expecting and while they weren’t like front row or anything they really weren’t that bad. We were just off stage right and in the third row of the 4th section, so other than being up high, the view was good. They did some interesting stuff with the lights, and kept moving some of the above stage trusses in and out during songs.

I liked Carrie’s seriously portrait video screens that she used during the show, but Keith’s huge video screen was pretty cool as well. I think Lauren had the time of her life, although is probably deaf now and might not have much of a voice left either.

As we were leaving I was reminded of how much I hate Coors. At Honda we were able to walk to the car in a few minutes and then were on the freeway just a few minutes later. The only waiting was at a red light! Anaheim really has this stuff down, I must admit.

I got home way too late this morning which didn’t help at the office today. We got a lot done though and are making progress. We’ve ordered a lot of stuff and had to scramble to get the shop and shape and get all the new stuff prepped. i guess when it rains it pours!

And now I just realized that tomorrow is Becky’s reception. I don’t think I’m going to make it to the branch’s bikeride and beach trip tomorrow with everything that is going on. I’ll probably be lucky to get to sleep in. I must be up by 10 so I can hit pay some more convenience fees to Ticketmaster for Brad Paisley who is coming to town again soon! I actually already got tickets for one night presale, but I’m going to try for more tomorrow when they actually go on sale.

Brad is coming back in June. I’m already signed up! I suggest you do too…

Facebook | iLike | Brad Paisley

Friday, June 13 at Coors - Ticketmaster / BradPaisley.com

Saturday, June 14 at Verizon (Irvine)  - Ticketmaster / BradPaisley.com

My tickets for Salt Lake are online now as well. I really want to see Brad Paisley, Chuck Wicks and Rodney Atkins, but I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next time they come to town. Help spread the word and fin someone to buy my tickets for me…
Brad Paisley Salt Lake 2 Sec 6 Tickets Thur 1/24 - eBay (item 270206040981 end time Jan-23-08 15:55:47 PST)

Today was a much needed change from the past week. I slept until almost noon - after getting home at 2 this morning - caught up on some computer stuff, opened the mail and took my sweet time doing nothing. I was thinking about going for a bikeride, but decided that my car really needed a cleaning and since it was basically her birthday, I decided she deserved some attention. I think I will have spent more time and money on her than myself because she’ll be getting new tires next week as well!

We were going to do baptisms at the temple tonight, but it sounds like the temple was booked with other groups. I went down on my own to the 7:30 endowment session. I was amazed with how many other people were there because before when I’ve been there late on a Saturday there has been no one around. Maybe with it being closed the last two weeks and everyone having stake conference last weekend, it motivated more people to come. It was good, I had a great time and it was probably exactly what I needed. I ran into Zach in the parking lot as I was leaving, I guess we should have met up and carpooled.

I swung by Krispy Kreme to make sure I got another filling of pumpkin spice before they disappear for nine months. I think I have another week left before they are gone because the Valentine’s doughnuts come out on the 29th.

On the subject of food, I decided to have a mint dark chocolate caramel dove square before going into the temple. I opened a new bag after struggling with it to find the message not very inspiring inside: “Be a best friend. Surrender your chocolate.” Me? Give up my chocolate? Are you crazy? I thought about it for a while driving home and decided maybe it was right, so I took my bag to Maegan.

I put my tickets for Wednesday (Brad Paisley - Idaho Center) on eBay today, and have started getting bids, so I guess Shelly and I won’t be going! I still haven’t figured out anything for Thursday, but I’m thinking at this point I should probably just sell those as well and wait for another show. I thought about the Vegas show as I was driving home from Vista and it appears there are still good seats left. Maybe I’ll sell the Salt Lake tickets and go to Vegas instead.

NAMM yesterday was tiring. I guess I just wasn’t into it this year. We got a late start because we were dealing with some things at the office so i missed a few of the sessions at the idea center I wanted to sit in on. I got some good brainstorming/thinking in during the one hour MBA session I sat in on. I’m hoping I can start putting some things into action this year. Christa and I decided we had had enough around 2 and headed to Disneyland where we met Bouse. We rode Tower of Terror and Screaming before heading off to Cheesecake.

We drove Teal crazy again, ate way too much food, had some Godiva Cheesecake and then proceeded back to Disneyland for a few more rides. We wanted to hit Tower and Screaming again in the dark, but ended up with only enough time for Tower. In Disneyland we hit Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Indiana Jones, the boats next to Indiana and Space Mountain. We were all talking about making it a quick trip and being out by 10, but we were still there when the park closed at 11. It was past 11:30 when we finally hit the road after shuffling people and stuff to different vehicles. I tried to stop at Krispy Kreme on the way home, but the one in OC wasn’t open 24 hours like I thought it was. It felt really good to sleep last night!

I probably could have something more thoughtful to say, but my brain is shutting down, so I’ll have to try again tomorrow.