Theresa Andersson (and oh yeah, Day 1 at GEOINT!)

Time is really limited right now to blog since I forgot to shutdown my laptop and my battery is quite low. No charger either since it’s back at the podium in the exhibit hall.

First off, I have never been so ecstatic to start blogging. Not because it was a great day at GEOINT or anything, but because I had witnessed probably the most (*as i pause here to think of the right words to even start describing this experience…*) unique and stunning musical show ever, and it only lasted around half an hour, if that. The phenomenal, Theresa Andersson. I’m not really one to buy a cd nor devote a majority of a blog post to a musician, not because no one was deserving, but because no one had ever really moved me as much as her. After her first song/performance and getting non-stop chills listening to her sing, I was completely sold. Her music is not only beautiful, but impressive to watch her perform. I cannot even begin to describe the awe I was in when seeing her use her own voice as backup singers using some recor…

*and that’s when my battery died…listening to her cd now as I try to retrace this thought three days later*

Ahh yes, the backup singers whom she called “the Kitchenettes.” (Her cd cover states that she records her music in her kitchen.) First thing she says to the audience after her soundcheck is, “Hey guys, make yourselves feel like you’re in my kitchen.” How strange, right? First thing I thought was, hmm this is kinda hippy-like. This could be either really weird or really good.

She starts to strum and sing the first few notes of the song on her violin as she pushes down one of several pedals to record herself. Then she moves over to her drums to create a beat and once again records this. But all the while, music has continued to flow so smoothly from the previous recordings that continue to loop. Next thing you know, you hear a softer familiar voice in the background but no other singers are present on stage. She belts out meaningful lyrics to these catchy beats. A beautiful New Orleans-influenced song has just been created in front of your very eyes.

One of my favorites from the night is this song called, “Hi-Low,” which has a Hawaiian feel to it. It’s soo amazing to watch her perform this one because she makes two distinct voices immediately after one another in two different microphones as if she did have a background singer right there with her.

It’s difficult to describe Theresa’s music in comparison to others, as she composes music so uniquely and beautifully. Her genre of music (according to her Facebook profile!) is Indie Soul. When I think of folk, I think of the also very talented Jack Johnson, but she really does kick it up a notch, or two or five or ten! I would say she has this fusion of soul and folk and kind of has a less poppy “Natasha Bedingfield-meets-Norah Jones” sound. Her tunes are simple, yet you wouldn’t be able to tell how complex the composition of the song really was without seeing her live. She has to deal with accurate timing and synchronization of the several recordings, when to turn them off and when to join them, and singing and playing of course. It is truly fascinating to watch her dance and hop around barefoot as she switches pedals and instruments, from guitar to violin to drums to even just clapping or beat boxing to create a maelstrom of such cool sounds!! In one word, Theresa Andersson is “effervescent,” as described by the bar owner when he outro’d her.

It is clear that the mellow, yet very appreciative crowd had a united sense of respect for her as they listened so attentively and were nearly silent in between her setup for the next song. I actually found myself whispering to my friend Evan, “AMAZING!” as he “shhhh’d!” me back. Under normal circumstances, I would have been absolutely disappointed that I forgot my camera that night to share this experience with y’all, but there was just too much to take in that it would have taken away from the moment. Instead, check her out on this YouTube video, in her very own kitchen:

So that was the highlight of my trip to Nashville! I could not have been exposed to this experience without reuniting with my friend and high school classmate, Evan Goodberry. He introduced me to this very cool dive bar, the Basement, where we got this unexpected musical treat — for free too!! I knew Nashville was a music city before I arrived, but I had no idea I would get this blown away. THANKS SO MUCH, EVAN!

All this music talk, and where’s the geoint?! Well Day 1 was fairly exhausting being that it was the first taste of booth duty. That is, standing on and off talking to potential customers and demo’ing for about 7 hours. Oh yeah, and having to compete with the Johnny Cash look-a-like and Wii station at the NetApp booth across the aisle. The day ended well though…you know, with a Yuengling later (I’ve made it a point to drink it whenever I can. Thank you Tennessee for finally bringing this beer outside of the northeast!)

Updates on Days 2 and 3 to follow, which were MUCH MORE EVENTFUL! I’m starting to get the sniffles. Not cool since I have to fly back to San Diego in about 8 hours. Perhaps I can make it to a Waffle House before my flight! “Like my waffle house hash browns…” with jalepenos!!!! Oh yessss!!!

Signing off till San Diego…

Happy Halloween everyone! Rock on and be safe!

Day 0.1 at GEOINT

All I can say is: wake up, go to Exhibit Hall, see if I can start setting up my booth, get told to come back later, help out in the private demo room, return to hotel room to nap. Rinse and repeat every 45 minutes.

What a day. The Exhibit Hall pretty much looked like RIT’s Career Fair on crack. There were a TON of signs and cool furniture. Many companies had interactive flat screens and leather couches. The floor was adorned with lots of lush green plants with large signs of each company hanging above their respective sections.

Glad the day is finally over now though. We did get a chance to attend the Welcome Reception in the Grand Ole Opry. After a shockingly cold walk (to the shuttle), we warmed up with free beer/well drinks/wine and hors’duerves. It was pretty sweet getting to roam around on stage and backstage too, as seen below:

Finished the night off with a bottle of Yuengling with a co-worker (I was so ecstatic when I saw that the bar right by my room had Yuengling!! in the SOUTH! it’s unheard of!). The night has ended well.

In less than 12 hours, it will be show time. The booths open up and the talks/demos begin. Let’s get this show started!

This May Call for a Proper Introduction…

Alas, the major update has finally arrived…four months into the journey!  As most of you already know, I am yet another east-to-west-coast convert.  If you couldn’t tell from the ridiculously hilarious yet very real road sign, I’m in America’s Finest City — San Diego, CA!  And that’s no exaggeration, it actually is nicknamed that and completely lives up to it.  Don’t let the fleeing Mexicans fool you.    In fact, being so close to the border is one of the best perks of San Diego.

Most everyone only knows of San Diego as a city with fantastic weather all year-round, but that is only the tip of the sunshine (no mentioning of icebergs, or anything cold for the matter, allowed in my blog!).  A major misconception (especially by east coasters) is that everyone thinks you can just hop over from San Diego to San Francisco to L.A.  Fact #1: California is HUGE!  I guess it’s the same kind of misconception where when I tell west coast people I’m from NY, they immediately get all wide-eyed and fascinated that I’m from the “big city.”  I go on to tell them I’m from UPSTATE NY and they think Westchester.  *sigh*  It’s no use, so I just go with it sometimes. 

For my east coasters back home, here’s a little crash course of San Diego:

• the most Southwesterly major city before crossing into Tijuana, Mexico (hello, underage drinking)
• for frame of reference, SD is also ~2.5 hrs from LA, ~5 hrs from Vegas, ~8 hrs from SF
• we don’t say “hella” here — that’s a NorCal thang; although “right on” is fairly common
• a California burrito contains french fries; fish tacos are also a regular menu item; Cholula or Tapatio is the Red Hot of the west coast and also my new best friend
• a carne asada plate *MIGHT* be comparable to a Nick Tahou’s garbage plate after a long night of drinking and partying
• the average speed limit adopted by San Diegans is 80 mph
• the male population is almost entirely in the military or working in a defense-related field
• au contraire to my statement above regarding people not knowing the geography of NY, there is actually a very large amount of east coast transplants like myself; come to think of it…hardly anyone is ORIGINALLY from San Diego!
• surfing out here is as common as playing hockey back at RIT — it’s serious business!
• for my fellow YuengLing addicts, sad news but you won’t be able to find anything even remotely close to it out here…but there are plenty of local microbreweries to make up for it!  Karl Strauss, Ballast Point, and Gordon Biersch just to name a few
• on the topic of alcohol, we can purchase all the way up until midnight!  no blue laws apply
• San Diego is a major stop for many tours and shows (who doesn’t want to stop in SD?!) whether it’s ComicCon, Red Bull Air Races, U.S. Open Sand Castle Competition, or famous celebrities performing free shows/autograph signings

So there’s no doubt about it…I’m enjoying life, but that’s nothing new!  Getting to this point hasn’t been easy though, from not having a single person in CA to put down as an emergency contact (quite a depressing thought) to making my first friend: an 84-year old woman.   You may wonder why it has taken four months to finally get this post out, other than the fact that I’ve become SUPER lazy after graduating from college!  I can tell you that moving coast-to-coast has a lot of unforeseen overhead.  Dealing with different laws and updating all your information.  Getting set up with insurance for everything…renter’s, car insurance, health insurance..etc, etc, etc.  But once it’s all cleared and finished, I can’t even begin to describe the rewarding feeling of independence.  Picking out my apartment of choice and furnishing it the way I want has been a long dream of mine and it is finally done!  (Pictures coming soon in Flickr.) Stepping into my own apartment and just looking around knowing that everything in there is a product of my own labor is an incredible feeling.

I’ve been on my own completely before during my internships, but moving permanently to a new city is quite different.  It’s now my new home, so I no longer feel the need to jam-pack my time with sightseeing everything possible before the summer is over.  The touristy stuff will still be there.
There’s still much, much more to learn about living on my own.  Aside from the San Diego updates, I’m hoping to revamp the blog a bit and also shine some light on some interesting work that I’m doing for BAE Systems.  As always, stay tuned and…