More Songs

Becky reminded me--he also sang Honesty and It's a Matter of Trust.

Update on Billy Joel

Well, I decided to answer all questions and elaborate on my experience in a new post rather than in the comments. Yes, he can still jump up on the piano! Or, rather, he stepped onto it when it was still below the floor (they had it on a platform that could be raised up to the stage or lowered down under it), and then jumped off once it was all the way up. Then at the end he stepped up onto his chair, and then the keyboard, and then onto the top of the piano, to try to get the tech people to turn his mic back on! Hah. He wanted to talk, and they'd turned it off. And the cool thing with the mic stand was kind of like twirling a baton, only big... he spun it around, and threw it up in the air, and did all sorts of really cool tricks with it.
Here's what I remember for sure that he sang, in the order I remember them (there are probably ones I'm forgetting, but maybe I'll think of them later):

The Entertainer (my fave Joel song EVER, which he sang right after some Philly radio personality came onstage to announce that Billy Joel had performed 46 sold-out concerts in Philly, which was a record, and they'd made him a banner that they hung at the top of the stadium with all the banners for the sports teams, so when he introduced the song, he said that he had no idea any of this was going to happen when he wrote it, and that it would now sound like bullshit)
Allentown (of course, since it was in Philly...)
Ballad of Billy the Kid
River of Dreams
You May Be Right
Still Rock & Roll
Only the Good Die Young
We Didn't Start the Fire
Innocent Man
Italian Restaurant (that has a different title, I think, that I don't remember...)
Goodnight Saigon (there were soldiers on the stage for that one...it was interesting.)
Captain Jack
Pressure
She's Always a Woman
Keeping the Faith
Piano Man (naturally, we knew he couldn't leave the building until he did that one, and of course it was the best finale ever.)

That's all I can remember at the moment, but I know for sure that there were more. The concert went about three hours, with no breaks, so obviously I'm forgetting some things! ;) At any rate, though he looks older, his voice is just as good as it ever was--it was truly amazing to watch him perform, and to hear him actually right there in front of me. Becky and I were almost at the very top of the stadium, nosebleed kind of seats, but we rented binoculars so that we could watch him closer up. His band was also really cool, especially this really energetic black woman who did lots of different stuff--percussion, sax, backup vocals, harmonica..... She was fun to watch, as well.
All in all it was a fantastic concert, and I'm so, so pleased that I finally got to see/hear him in person! That's one more to check off my list of concerts I'm dying to see. :)

Billy Joel Rocks My World.

Dear Billy Joel,

You were AMAZING. I especially loved it when you played The Entertainer, and Allentown, and We Didn't Start the Fire, and when you jumped on the piano, and when you did the cool thing with the microphone stand. You are my hero. More details when I am less tired.

Love,
Rachel

My Weekend In Short

Really, this picture is worth a thousand words about my weekend....

Taken Saturday night at a birthday party for Alex (the super-photogenic one in the red dress) and Crista (not in this picture). I have no idea what was so funny!

Hah....

It's March 20th. The first day of spring! Also, a day on which I would like to reiterate that I am six years younger than Ann Marie. ;)

Happy St. Pat's!

Becky and I went out to Pure, a club we'd gone to once before about a year ago. I'm too tired to give a full run-down, but here are the highlights:

-I got many comments on my skirt, all from men (one was a transvestite...another came over to say his boyfriend wanted to know where I'd gotten it).
-There was a really hot woman wearing at tie and a cool guy who was twirling scarves around over his head.
-Becky got picked up by a probably-35-year-old Chilean man, who was nice, but not really in the right age range.
-I slapped a guy hard across the face when he continued to put his hands on me after I clearly did not want that from him (he was definitely on drugs).

Huzzah for clubs. Now I'm going to sleep, and hope that my pillow doesn't smell like cigarettes tomorrow.

Johari

Tell me what you think about me: Johari Window

Pictures!

I finally managed to get several years' worth of pictures onto Shutterfly! The website for my family pics is www.rachelfamilypictures.shutterfly.com. Check it out!

Just Another Day

Nothing huge to report in this post, I just felt like writing. I finished my FAFSA today, so now I just have to fill out the rest of the Hollins FinAid form and send it in. Taxes, bah! What a pain. But it's finished, and maybe they'll give me lots of money to go there. ;)

I had a pretty good weekend, too, lots of company and dinners wtih friends and things. Unfortunately, two of said friends had just broken up on Wednesday night, and I saw them both seperately over the weekend, so that was a little weird at times. But Alex came to stay over and taught me to play the intro to "Dust in the Wind" on the guitar, which is one of my favorite guitar songs ever in the world, so that was an added bonus. She's officially my musical hero.

I guess that's everything...work tomorrow, bleah! But I'm thinking of taking off Thursday and Friday, because Becky has some unexpected vacation days, and we want to take full advantage of them! Maybe some museum-ing, or shopping, or a wide variety of other things, await me. :)

This is one sleepy-but-content chick, signing off.

I'm In!!

I got a letter from Hollins University today! I'm in! Admitted to the M.A. program in Children's Literature, starting Summer '06. The program is six weeks every summer (early June to mid July) for 3-5 years. So, basically, I can do anything I want along with this! I could work during the year, I could work for one year and then apply to art school and do that at the same time, I could do one of the PhD programs I applied to during the year (if I get into any)... there are so many possibilities! I feel...justified, vindicated, in my pipe dreams for my own future. It's a good day. Now I just have to fill out the financial aid forms.... ;)

A Haiku on the Working World

Why don't I get a
Spring Break? It just isn't fair!
I want a Spring Break!

Another Letter

Got a letter from Brown today.... A small, unenthusiastic letter. Two down, five to go...

Sick Day

Nothing like calling in sick to free up your day.... It's good to have a relaxing afternoon at home. Also, it's spring break at Bryn Mawr, which has brought home to me the fact that I am no longer in school and have not yet received any acceptance letters. Fie on spring break, for stealing away my friends and my will to go back to work on Monday. But yay for sick days.

My Personal DNA?

This is an interesting quiz/website.


My Personal Dna Report

Wilkommen!

Welcome, traveler, to my blog. I was thinking about how easy and addictive it is to keep track of my friends' lives through blog-reading, and was hit with a flash of inspiration: why not do the same with my family?

So, here's my family blog. It might be boring, but then again, it might not. Sometimes I think my life is very fascinating. ;) Feel free to leave comments, especially if you too have a blog that I can link to mine, and widen the family gossip chain.

To begin: today is dull and gray and rainy here, and everyone in the office where I'm currently working (I'm a temp on a 2-week assignment) is either airheaded, pompous or micromanaging. Only the hot chocolate and the promise of $500-a-week paychecks keep me going. On a happier note, I have become addicted to the tv show Lost, and last night's episode was odd and thrilling. Also, I received an email (after over three weeks, I think!) from a woman who requested a commission through my website; she wants me to fix up her design for a t-shirt for her organization. So, in theory, there's some money coming my way, once I figure out how much to charge her for my time. Money coming my way is always a good thing.

That's all for now.... I hope that this idea of mine takes off, and that I will soon be reading about the daily lives of many family members. ;)