1.13.11 - Minneapolis/Chicago

It's about 11:00pm right now. I've spent all day in my hotel room today, except for a trip to Trader Joe's to pick up some groceries. Each day we are given a Per Diem, which is probably Latin or something, but it's a stack of cash to get us through meals for each day, since I no longer have the luxury of the Snyder/Phillips cafeteria. I bought food enough to last me until the end of the week, using less than half of one day's Per Diem. Being a stingy college student definitely has it's benefits in the real world. Here's a neat picture of my neat groceries:

 

Speaking of my hotel room, this place is nuts! I honestly walked in the door last night, dropped my things, and exclaimed joyous callings to the higher powers. I've never stayed in a place like this in my life. Here's some pics:

I kept discovering little treats in the room. Found this TV embedded near the jacuzzi!

My living room. There were magazines in the coffee table. Heck to have a coffee table in the first place is just stupid. And yeah, Colbert is on the television.

This is the view from my window. I'm on the 8th floor, and there's some buildings out there I guess. I've only been to Chicago a couple times, so I still have no idea what I'm looking at.

Pre-stocked fridge. I think that little Tripocana Orange Juice down there is like $7.00.

Snacks on snacks.

The lovely housekeeping staff folded my dirty laundry for me! I was in my room literally ALL DAY today until around 8:30pm, and they somehow knew when I left. When I came back, they had tidied up the place. Amazing service!

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a treat. I was dropped off at my hometown venue to meet up with everyone, and those I met in Grand Rapids seemed happy to see me. Each person I've met since has been super nice. I was even offered a beer at one point. I shot the concert like I did previously, only this time dad was there taking pictures, too. He works as a photographer for the local newspaper in St. Paul, MN. We got to cover an event together for the first time, so that was actually pretty boss to share that.

 

Ozzy slappin' hands. Rich snappin' pics.

After the show I was notified I had 15 minutes to pack everything and get to the van. Fifteen minutes is longer than I once thought, as I was the first person with everything ready to go and ended up waiting for the rest of the band to get ready. I rode in a van with the band, an audio engineer, and the assistant tour manager, while the other van had Ozzy, his personal assistant, and the tour manager. The guys in the band welcomed me with a toast (a few had beers), and proceeded to congratulate each other on a great show (which it was).

We got to the airport and headed out onto the private plane. We all share the main cabin, so Ozzy was literally ten feet away from me. I spent some of my time playing Angry Birds and other iPad games with keyboardist, Adam Wakeman. This thing is like a limo in the sky, I tell ya! The flight was only an hour long, but we were still offered a meal complete with appetizer, main dish (pizza), and dessert. Yes, I took advantage of all free food available. Here's my catered meal from the Target Center:

Salad and junk. Carrot things. Pasta stuff.

Today's day has been spent exclusively in my hotel room editing. The video should be online tomorrow morning (Friday), so be on the lookout for that. Until then, stay tuned!