I plan. I carry a calendar with me most of the time. Like an open it up, write down the activity, calendar…I don’t trust technology to keep track of my outings. I have plans already scheduled for Christmas! Speaking of Christmas, I should probably go ahead and start talking about when the 4th Annual Ornament Exchange is going to be. Anyways, up until Friday at noon, I had no Memorial Day plans. And I was fine with that until all the Facebook status and tweets from friends stating that they were southbound for the beach. And then it hit me. I was going to be left in Atlanta…alone, while they walked up and down the white sandy beaches of Florida (okay, maybe it was Panama City) hand in hand with their special someone, or special someone for the weekend, in matching airbrushed t-shirts drinking long island iced teas. And I was jealous. Jealous of adult spring breaks and lazy beach days.

And then sometime during the 1 o’clock hour at work on Friday I was given the Golden ticket that changed the course of my Memorial Day. In my hand I held 4 tickets to see James Taylor at Chastain. Row B. James Taylor is the one guy in my concert bucket list that I had not yet crossed off. Red Rocks. Done. They Ryman. Done. James Taylor at Chastain…pending! As I frantically called and texted friends, I realized that in fact I was the only person left in Atlanta. I contemplated going to the show by myself because I didn’t want the tickets, or this opportunity to go to waste. I even scrolled through a list of old beaus contemplating whether or not it was worth it to reinvite those individuals into my life. At the end of the day, my sweet Dad came through, along with two of my favorite people in the whole wide world, Penny and Roger, and we soft rocked all night to James Taylor. It was, without question, the best concert I have ever been too. James (he will be addressed as James going forward in this blog, and in life) started playing right at 8. He small talked and told stories in between songs. He told jokes, and had the cutest most awkward white man dance moves, and I’m pretty sure I left part of my heart with him that night. During the break of his set list, he jumped down into the pit and signed autographs and posed for pictures. Who does that?! Not to mention that people just don’t make music like James does, that clearly don’t make musicians like him either. As the sun set, and the flickering of little tea candles started to pop up, I was reminded of just how amazing Chastain can be for a venue. Add my dad swaying next to me, playing the air drums sometimes…and you have one happy girl.

James Taylor Set List:

Everyday (Buddy Holly Cover)
Something in the Way She Moves
Walking Man
Your Smiling Face
Line Em Up
My Traveling Star
Angry Blues
Carolina in my Mind
Up On the Roof (Little Eva cover)
Country Road
Georgia On My Mind
Western Plain (Lead Belly cover)
Jump Up Behind Me
Copperline
Stop Thinkin About That
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
Steamroller
Sweet Baby James
Fire and Rain
Mexico Shed a Little Light
How Sweet It Is (Marvin Gaye cover)
Shower the People

Encore:
You Can Close Your Eyes

After a lazy Saturday morning, I regrouped and set to attend Brew At The Zoo with my brother and friends. He attended this event last year, and claimed it was the “Second Best Event In Atlanta after Santa Pub Crawl”. What a fantastic event. I haven’t been to the zoo in years, and now am convinced that EVERY event at the zoo should be paired with beer and wine samplings at each of the animal stops. For some reason I only made it through half of the zoo, but that’s okay, because I set up shop on the light up dance floor that was provided. I murdered the floor with my dance moves with the help of Fred from the B52s spinning some solid tunes like, Rock Lobster and Everybody walk the Dinosaur. It was the perfect way to spend the evening with friends, and I highly recommend it if you find yourself in town next Memorial Day.

The weekend was rounded out with pool time at Kevin’s with Jon and Jillian. Some smooth tunes coming through the speakers and a vicious 5 round game of Frisbee Sticks. You haven’t heard of Frisbee Sticks?! Shame on you. Shout out to Paul Puckett and Jesse and Lindsay Miller for giving me the ingredients for the Frisbee Sticks, although I gave our teams too much space between the sticks. That extra space couldn’t save me and Jillian from being clobbered by the boys. They showed no mercy on us. I’m anticipating another round next weekend as we tackle the lake…

Having said all that, not having plans for the weekend turned out to be the best plans for me. Don’t get me wrong, I am envious of all you kids that came back with airbrushed t-shirts from the panhandle. Maybe next year. If you have the dates, I could go ahead and jot them down in my 2012 calendar that I already have…

Also, over the weekend I met the $1000 mark on donations for my mission trip. What a humbling experience this is! Thank you for your encouragement and support of my and my journey! I am forever grateful to you. You can still donate at: my410bridge.org/albrown9802.

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