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Encallion
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Name: Michael
Country: United States
State: Alabama
Metro: Montgomery
Gender: Male
Interests: Well, I like music, reading, hopefully traveling all around the world someday, thinking, philosophy, politics, history, learning about what I want to learn about, procrastinating, awesome quotes, being absolutely meticulous to the point of annoyance, and so much more. Oh yeah, I almost forgot a very important one: making money.
Expertise: Procrastinating, being a grammatical perfectionist, being meticulous, correcting people's grammar, being sarcastic
Occupation: Office Assistant
Industry: Legal
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
MSN: encallion@gmail.com
AIM:  encallion
Yahoo:  encallion
Member Since:
9/1/2005
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| I have officially been to my first real concert, and after a week of recuperation, I have to write about it.
It all happened on Monday, 18 May 2009. It was a Coldplay concert. That's right. Coldplay.
Earlier that day, I had to go see Rich at the office to tell him the good news.
Daniel and I had to leave the house around 4:30 to be there in Birmingham on time. We listened to Coldplay all the way up of course.
When we got there, we decided it would be best if got us something to eat before the show. We ate at Burger King.
We then made our way back to the school, where we were informed by Andrew that a certain female had our tickets and that he and Jenn were still at the restaurant. The group at the school then waited for one last arrival to show. She was to be our ride, and her name was Peggy. After she got there, we left for the show. Traffic was horrible as expected, and we even got a bit mixed up as to where we were supposed to park and how we were supposed to get there.
When we did get to the Verizon Wireless Music Center, the air was thumping with excitement. We got in alright, but much to our disappointment and surprise, we had seats all the way in the very back row. I had thought that we were going to get slightly better seats, but it turned out to be just fine. For the record, I sat in Section 303, Row HH, and Seat 29. Oh, and Brit was there also.
The opening act of Howling Bells was doing their thing when we got there. They were pretty good. Not too bad. Pete Yorn wasn't all that bad either. I did like Howling Bells better though. I also had to visit the bathroom, which was quite an experience. We couldn't figure out how to turn on the water for the sink, but then someone finally discovered the secret. Jenn also decided that it was now her job to play matchmaker and proceded with scouting for suitable females.
The weather was quite suitable. It was a bit chilly though. Maybe I shouldn't have worn shorts and a t-shirt (my Coldplay t-shirt, of course). It didn't rain though, which was a major plus.
Then, around 9:20, I heard a song that was familiar to me. Yep, Coldplay was coming.
The very first song they played or had played was Life in Technicolor, a instrumental solo.
Then they broke out with Violet Hill. Awesome way to break the tension.
An all-time favorite and big hit, Clocks, was next.
In My Place was after that.
After that, Yellow. Of course, all the lights turned yellow and they even released some big yellow balloons to the crowd. Chris made sure that we the crowd made some noise before he even started to play the song though.
Next was Glass of Water.
Then Cemeteries of London.
Then 42.
After all these, they played one of my absolute favorites, Fix You. They tributed this song to the people all the way in the back. Of course, we had to sing the last lines all by ourselves.
They then played Strawberry Swing.
After this, they left the main stage, and went to a rather small stage on our right. Here, they a techno-remix version of God Put a Smile upon Your Face.
They also continued this remix theme with a rendition of Talk.
After this, Chris told us a story of how he was at a Bruce Springsteen concert as a learning experience of sorts, and the fans greeted Bruce by saying "BRUCE!" in a very aggressive manner, making Chris think that they were all saying "BOO!" He then made us all salute Mr. Springsteen in this manner.
He then followed this with The Hardest Part. The funny thing is that he messed up right in the middle of the song, and admitted it, but started up right again.
This was followed by Postcards from Far Away, another intrumental piano solo. Chris is actually a pretty good piano player.
After this Chris made his way off the B-stage and onto the main stage to the intro of Viva la Vida. Amazing performance. He made us all do the backing vocals of "OOOOOOHHHHHAAAAHHHHHH". He even made us do a record volume high in Birmingham on a Monday night. At the end of the song, he pretended to shoot himself and fell flat on the stage and acted like he was dying with the moan of "OOOOOOHHHHHAAAAHHHHHH". Hilarious.
That didn't last long though as Lost! was next. I came to the realization that Chris does sweat a lot during a show. Golly. His shirt was almost completely soaked.
Then they made their way to a third stage, which was to our left. The started on this stage playing Green Eyes.
Then Chris took a break from singing and let Will take a turn with Death Will Never Conquer.
At the end of this song, Chris made us do a cell phone wave. We all got our cell phoes out and made the screens shine. We then did a wave a couple of times with this method. Very cool.
They then did I'm a Believer. At the end, Chris asked each of the band members if they were in love. He made some amusing comments before he asked though. To Will, he made the comment that he was the ugliest member of the band and responsible for scaring away all the fans under the age of seven. Hilarious. To Guy, he made the comment that he was responsible for attracting all the teenage girls to their fanbase due to his dashing good looks, making it possible for the band to play horrible music just so long as the posters looked good. To Johnny, he made the comment that he was the member who least liked the idea of playing in front of a large group of strangers. When Johnny replied, he used a low-pitched "oooohhhh" to everyone's amusement. He then asked different sections of the audience to which we replied "oooohhhh". After this, they left that stage, and for a minute, I thought the band was going to pass by us all the way in the back. That would have been awesome, but they didn't. Darn.
When they did get back to the main stage, they started out with Politik. The amount of energy in that song is amazing.
After this, they continued with Lovers in Japan. During this song, they released confetti everywhere.
Then, Death and All His Friends was played. I love that song. It's one of my favorites.
After this, Chris took a moment to tell us all how the band only had two more songs. He also told us all about the free, live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft the band was giving away at the end of the show. He made a comment that people could take it or not take it. He then said that people might not take it because they thought that Coldplay's music was bad and that such audience thought that they were going to see Celine Dion. Hilarious once again.
Then, he started on the piano again with the ballad of The Scientist. Awesome choice.
After this, they did their final song of the show, Life in Technicolor ii. Another awesome choice, though our vehicle did begin to leave the ampitheater during the song.
At the end, they all four bowed and left the stage.
We then made our way very slowly out through the crowd. I made sure I got my physical copy of LeftRightLeftRightLeft. The show was now over at around 11 PM.
On a side note, Chris did make a few comments to how some audience were wishing that they were at home watching Desperate Housewives. Hilarious once again.
All in all, it was a great and wonderful experience. It was a totally awesome show. Coldplay really is a great act. The music was awesome, the light show was amazing, Chris was both amazing and hilarious, and all the other eye candy was wonderful. The whole direction of everything was astounding and incredible.
When we did finally get back to our car, we did have to wait for maybe twenty minutes to get out due to the large number of cars in the parking lot. We were entertained by some drunk guys next to us. We were also bothered by some guys trying to sell us some Coldplay t-shirts for $10.
We must have got back to the school around midnight, and after a bathroom break at Walmart, we finally got home around 2 in the morning.
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| A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: Egypt's Great Pyramids Taj Mahal Grand Canyon Panama Canal Empire State Building St. Peter's Basilica China's Great Wall While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many." The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help." The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are: To See  To Hear  To Touch  To Taste  To Feel  To Laugh  and to Love."  The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! A gentle reminder... that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man. | | |
| Burger King wins, end of story. Their burgers are just so good. When I go to Burger King, I usually get a Whopper meal. This cost about $4.30. When I go to McDonald's, I get the Big Mac meal: $5.20. They are both almost the same in size, but BK comes out cheaper. And because I leave everything on the Big Mac, but rather take off the mayo and tomato of the Whopper, the Whopper is probably better for me too.
But the Big Mac sauce is good though.
The point is that my city needs to get a Burger King. Now.
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| SICKNESS AND RELATED LEAVE: We will no longer accept a doctor statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.
SURGERY: Operations are now banned. As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider removing anything. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes as a breach of employment.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE: This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives, or coworkers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend the arrangements. In rare cases, where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early, provided your share of the work is done enough.
YOUR OWN DEATH: This will be accepted as an excuse. However, we require at least two weeks notice as it is your duty to train your own replacement.
RESTROOM USE: Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. In the future, we will follow the practice of going in alphabetical order. For instance, all employees whose names begin with "A" will go from 8:00 to 8:10, employees whose names begin with "B" will go from 8:10 to 8:20, and so on. If you are unable to go at your allotted time, it will be necessary to wait until the next day when your turn comes again. In extreme emergencies employees may swap their time with a coworker. Both employees supervisors in writing must approve this exchange. In addition, there is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, and the stall door will open.
PAYCHECK GUIDE: The following helpful guide has been prepared to help our employees better understand their paychecks.
Item amount gross pay: +$1,222.02
Sales tax: -$153.89
Income tax: -$244.40
Outgo tax: -$45.21
State tax: -$11.61
Interstate tax: -$61.10
County tax: -$6.11
City tax: -$12.22
Rural tax: -$4.44
Back tax: -$1.11
Front tax: -$1.16
Side tax: -$1.61
Up tax: -$1.08
Down tax: -$1.14
Tic-Tacs: -$1.98
Thumbtacks: -$3.93
Carpet tacks: -$0.98
Stadium tax: -$0.69
Flat tax: -$8.32
Tire replacement: -$101.65
Surtax: -$2.23
Ma'am tax: -$1.23
Corporate tax: -$2.60
Parking fee: -$5.00
F.I.C.A.: -$81.88
T.G.I.F. Fund: -$9.95
Life insurance: -$5.85
Health insurance: -$16.23
Dental insurance: -$4.50
Mental insurance: -$4.33
Disability: -$2.50
Ability: -$0.25
Liability: -$3.41
Coffee: -$6.85
Coffee cups: -$66.51
Floor rental: -$16.85
Chair rental: -$0.32
Desk rental: -$4.32
Union dues: -$5.85
Union don'ts: -$3.77
Cash advance: +$0.69
Cash retreats: -$121.35
Overtime: +$1.26
Undertime: -$54.83
Eastern time: -$9.00
Central time: -$8.00
Mountain time: -$7.00
Pacific time: -$6.00
Time out: -$12.21
Oxygen: -$10.02
Water: -$16.54
Heat: -$51.42
Cool air: -$26.83
Hot air: -$20.00
Miscellaneous: -$113.29
Various: -$8.01
Sundry: -$12.09
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Total net take home pay: +$0.02
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternations, or input should be directed elsewhere.
Have a nice week,
The Management | | |
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