What I didn't plan on was the fact that it was gonna be so fucking hot outside today. Son of a fucking bitch.
The only reason I put myself through this shit, and even got up early to do it, was because I was going to the Warped tour show today at the Pomona Fairgrounds. Where it was 10 degrees hotter there than where we live Orange County. It was supposed to be Kat, Ian, Chelsey and I, but for reasons we still cannot fathom, her parents made 'family' plans on the same day, knowing full well she has had her tickets for weeks.
Kat was not a happy camper this morning.
The family she had to spend the day with don't even like her, so why they wanted to spend time with her, who knows.
So we texted back and forth with her for awhile, trying to soothe her anger a little. She had basically locked herself in her room by this point.
We were on our way by 9am, only half an hour after our intended start time. Pretty good I think for 3 people running on a collective 6 hours of sleep. Stopped for food, gas, to turn around when Ian realized we were traveling in the wrong direction. Got squared away there, made pretty good time, and arrived at around 10:30am.
Around this time, we get a text from Kat. To make up for the fact that they didn't let her go to Warped tour, her parents bought her tickets to see Disturbed. This made her very happy.
From there, to will call, because I don't trust the post office not to lose my fucking ticket. That took around 20 minutes. Then off to the real line. Great. That was a hike. Whatever, not like I haven't done this a million times before. Chelsey and Ian had not, so I felt a little bad for them. The fact that it was 104 degrees by 11:30 didn't help. We were in that line for a long damn time, or at least it seemed we were.
Because it was ridiculously fucking hot outside.
Did I mention that?
We did manage to keep ourselves amused though, so it was alright. What a relief it was to finally get in there. To the credit of the people running the Warped tour, they allowed people to bring their own water bottles in. They took everything else, the food, sodas and stuff like that, but bring all the water in with you that you want. That, and the fact they were selling it inside for $2, which is almost unheard of. The interesting thing about that is it took about 20 minutes for your water to get hot.
Not warm....hot.
Once inside, we did a lap around the place, so we could figure out where the various stages were located, so we would be able to do the least amount of walking possible. When we had that all figured out, we found a place to sit down. A table with a nice shady umbrella. Next to said table, Kroq (radio station in L.A.) had a small stage for themselves set up, where the were giving free mohawks. We tried to get Ian to do it, but no go. Dammit. What we did manage to accomplish was something that made Chelsey very happy...
The interesting thing about this is the night before, Chelsey had mentioned how she wanted to "find a midget to walk on her back". This was in no way meant to be offensive. As you can see, Chelsey is little herself, anyone else walking on her back would probably crush it. Just so happens this guy works on the morning show at the radio station, and he was pretty stoked himself that Chelsey wanted the picture.
If she didn't love Ian, this would be Chelsey's new boyfriend...LOL
We sat a while longer, then went to see the first band, As I Lay Dying. Had heard of them, but not heard their music before. They were pretty good, but nothing I'd really go out of my way to get. Ian was holding Chelsey on his shoulders when it started, but it only lasted the first song. It was so hot he almost passed out while he was holding her. As you can see, she's not even that big. Just too much for anyone in that heat. We stayed for another song, then headed over to the next stage.
Perfect timing on the arrival, too, as the crowd was clearing from the last band. We got right up to the front, just a little to the left. I was damn excited too, as this was the band I had come to see. I got some kick ass pictures.
Wanna see?
This one is my favorite...
The band? Story of the Year. Live performances for bands make or break some of them in my book.
I love this band more than ever. They were awesome.
About halfway through the set, we had to bow out, as the heat and crowd were too much for our little Chelsey. Ian bought her some shorts, and she got changed, which helped. Then we went back and sat down close to the stage we had just come from. Story of the Year had just finished, and the band Ian wanted to see, Reliant K, was next. We waited.
While we waited, we came to a decision.
The decision to bail.
It was just too much for any of us anymore. The only other band that we really wanted to see was Pennywise, and they weren't playing until 7:30pm. None of us wanted to wait the 4+ hours. I'm lucky, I've already seen them. I told them not to worry, they are always playing shows.
Irrelevent at this point. We are leaving. I text Kat, and ask her if she thinks she can escape for a couple of hours. Why?
We've decided on the only possible course of action at this point.
We're going to the beach.
When Reliant K starts playing, it pretty much cements our decision.
Guys, you need a new sound person. Seriously.
Get back to Kat, and yes, her mom will be aiding in her escape from "the family". Told her we'd let her know when we were back in town, so we could meet up, and go in one car.
Driving back was way quicker, so we told her to meet us at work, because we were going to the one place we knew had an air conditioner.
When it's hot outside, we like going to work. Our restaurant's one redeeming quality is the air conditioner.
Had something to drink, bitched to everyone how hot is was there, but that it was still fun, and that we were headed off to the next place. Kat got there, then off to the beach.
One of Southern California's biggest draws has always heen our beaches. One of the very few things I love here. This was definitely the day to go.
See what I mean? Huntington Beach. Still and always my favorite.
We spent a good couple of hours there, then we all just wanted to go home. Well, except for Kat.
She still had to have dinner with...."the family".
I would tell you all about it, but I'm gonna let Kat do that herself. She be added to the contributor list soon enough.
So Kat dropped us back at work, then Ian and Chelsey took me home. On the way, we stopped off to by some soda and snacks. We had obviously spent way too much time in the sun today. Anyone could tell by our various skin shades, in many hues of red. That, and the fact that our behavior could be described as nothing other than "delirious".
We were far too tired to cause any real trouble, so we got our shit and left. When I got dropped off, I took a shower, which I barely remember doing. The dog saw me come out of the bathroom, came running into my room, and within about 2 minutes we were both out cold.
I woke up about 4 hours later, and started working on this post.
As you can clearly see, the dog decided against the whole waking up deal.
I was only awake for about 3 hours before I decided that sleep was a better option.
So ended my big day outside. Going to the beach on Monday, Venice this time.
I will let you know how that trip goes.
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