Woke up in California, Part 1

As you may or may not know, I live in southern Florida, so to be in California, is a very far ways away from home. I woke up in California, more specifically Beverly Hills. Well, I suppose before that, I woke up in an airport in Texas after having to spend the night due to flight delays. The plane leaving Florida was delayed about 3 hours as there was rain in Texas. I sat in a non moving plane for 3 hours, in that tiny uncomfortable seat, wishing the entire time I would have coughed up extra money for the first class seats. Looking back I wish they would have been realistic about the delay so I could have exited the plane for a while. I figured all would be okay since my connecting flight was about a three hour wait once I arrived to the Texas airport, but that plane had already left by the time I arrived, even another plane that was boarding standby passengers, gone. The next flight I was told was not until 7:40 am, and it was not guaranteed I would even get on.

I stood there, all alone, in an airport far away from home, stuck, confused, and worried. I was wondering where my luggage was and if I would even make it to Los Angeles by the morning. I was wondering how I was going to sleep in an airport until some people came by handing out cots and blankets. This would definitely ensure me a comfortable night of sleep. The cot was stained, there was no pillow, and the blanket barely covered the length of my body. My cell phone was nearing death, so I stayed awake to use my laptop to charge it. I needed an alarm to wake me in the morning. I would kick myself if I missed another plane. I also needed to call the hotel and ask them to please not let someone else take my room; luckily they decided to hold it for me, finally, some good news.   

I lay there on the cot, with my laptop looking down at me from the row of chairs near the terminal, where I should have boarded a plane. I look at my phone to see if it is charged enough to wake me in a few hours, it’s almost there. I look up at my laptop again, to see that the battery on this is beginning to die. I notice the wallpaper on my computer, it shows me the entire reason I even got on an airplane to begin with. The picture is of a very talented guitarist who plays for my favorite band. He also has his own band which I adore. The person I am speaking of is Brian Bell. I had only known of him through Weezer, but was excited to hear he had his own project. He has a band called The Relationship. I was not sure how it would sound, how his voice would be, his writing, etc. But when I listened to the album, I was very impressed.

Finally, I felt that my phone would hold a charge long enough to wake me for my potential flight out of Texas. I was slightly worried someone would steal my money, so I stashed it away in my back pocket. I also thought of the worst case scenario, that all my belongings could be gone when I awoke, so I put everything I would need in my back pocket to make it to LA and the show Saturday night. There was no way I sat on a plane going nowhere for 3 hours and then have spent the night in an airport for nothing. I was going to accomplish what I began traveling across the country for.

Now many people may begin to wonder why I would travel so far just to see a show, to see a band that wasn’t even headlining the show. It wasn’t all just for a show; I have always wanted to see California. I haven’t been able to go anywhere or do anything for so long due to college, and have only visited a couple of other states. I won’t lie, being able to hear some new bands, and to have the chance to see The Relationship live was what spurred the entire spontaneous trip. I had seen a posting from the band saying they still had tickets available. After I read this I felt sad, and wished I was able to go. I knew it took them forever just to start playing shows, and knew these shows were more intimate. Then I started thinking of reasons why I couldn’t go, and nothing seemed to be holding me back, long as my boss would so kindly let me have off Friday. I decided that if he approved my time off request, I would go to LA whether anyone would accompany me or not.

I put my request in around 5 in the morning. It was approved no more than an hour later. I took this as a message to get the plane ticket, so I did. I asked several of my friends if they were up for something spontaneous. One friend would have gone, but didn’t want to spend the money on a plane ticket, and the rest called me crazy. Finally, a friend out in Virginia decided they would meet me there. I was happy to not go to LA all alone, although I would have.

All I could think about for the next week and a half was my trip. I told my friend that I would come back with my Relationship album signed by Brian Bell himself, and also a picture of me with him. They still asked if it was worth the trip. I didn’t hesitate and told them yes, only to be again told how nuts I am. Not many of my friends really understand my love for music. They know I play drums, but they don’t really know how much I enjoy it, or that I write and constantly work on my vocals and am very seriously trying to learn guitar. I would give anything to have the opportunity to be in a place where others shared my passion. I would give anything to have the chance to show what I’ve got, to perform on even the smallest stage. I just love music. It’s hard to come across a band in which you click with, in which you can relate to and understand their lyrics and the sound of the music. It’s rare to be able to see something someone wrote coming from their deepest emotions.  Everything is so processed and emotionless on the radio today. That is why I would travel so far, to have the experience.

The day had come, it was Friday morning. I had just gotten off my Thursday shift, which started Thursday, but ended early Friday morning, just as the sun had begun to rise. I see an e-mail from the airline telling me I can check in. I open the screen and see the final step to click confirm. I look at this, eyes tired and burning, ready for sleep, yet excited and happy at the same time, and then click okay. After this I fall asleep to catch my plane that evening.

I arrived at LAX around 10 am Saturday, the day of the show. I had planned to take a nap before my friend arrived, which was a couple hours later, but this did not happen. My luggage was nowhere to be found. I had to wait for a very long time in line to talk to customer service. Luckily my luggage had arrived before I did, so it was actually locked up and waiting on me. The rental car was luckily still ready for me as well. They didn’t think it would be because of my delay, but I was so relieved it was.  I was also even more relieved that they had GPS available for my car or I would have never found anything. I almost couldn’t even find the hotel with the GPS. 

A sunrise and a plane I hoped to board in Texas Saturday (7/21/12) morning.