Okay, I must have exhausted every social network resource I can think of, but in case you didn't know, my photo is on Pioneer Woman's website today!!!! I feel so happy. Be sure to check out comment number 11. I didn't hire her. I don't even KNOW her! (But I do know comment number 69...thanks Alison!)
The call was to upload your favorite portrait. I uploaded a few, thinking I had no chance as there were already close to 6,000 uploaded. But I am a dreamer of dreams!! And it paid off!
This is Nzingo. She is one of four children of the host family that I lived with for the last two months. Grayson, my awesome roommate, brought ring pops and Nzingo never stopped licking that thing, I swear. In fact, morning day I stepped on a sticky ring and I thought I'd put it in the trash so was very confused when I saw Nzingo sucking on it a little while later. That's when I freaked out and ACTUALLY threw it in the trash. But she sure did love it.
Two of my favorite things colliding...Africa and Pioneer Woman. Oh, what a beautiful day!
Here it is. Every single picture I took while I was in Nairobi on one website PLUS bonus video! If you are bored and looking to pass the time, this is the way to go.
One day, a long time ago, I fell in love with a band. I don't remember how it happened, but it was instant. Everyone in my family knew, but only a few close friends new. I felt a little ashamed. Oh boy, am I about to dish some secrets.
I have a large imagination and when I was younger I was in a completely different world most of the time. I felt like if I invited certain friends over and they saw the Hanson and Babysitters Club posters on my wall, they'd somehow be transported into the world that I imagined everyday and then I'd be a complete outcast from society.
Sooo...that's about the time the Internet was becoming accessible to me. I remember I used to run home from school before my parents get home, log on, and hit up all my favorite Hanson websites. Then I'd talk to the three friends I met in a Hanson fan Yahoo group (Amy, who I met eventually at a concert but lost touch with, Kelly, who was also a huge Jane Austen fan, who I also lost touch with, and Amber, who's real name turned out to be Mikkele, who is my facebook friend - hi Mikkele). Finally, ugh, I'm cringing...finally...finally....I would print off as many pictures as I could before I heard my parents come home. I used up so much ink and paper. I felt convicted of it often. Such a bad person. Such a terrible thing to hide. But I kept doing it. And I have proof. Two large bins of my...collection...are in the attic of our house.
Mom, please don't throw them away?
But aside from my crazy, this band had some good impacts on me. Thankfully, they were influenced by some great legendary artists that I found myself researching out of curiosity. Jackson 5, James Taylor, Chuck Berry, and so on. And then I started writing music. And I started writing stories, and drawing pictures. And over the years I realized that music was where my life was headed. It was the one thing I never grew tired of. So now, twelve years later, I'm still a Hanson fan. And I really think their music helped put me on a path that has lead to me being here in New York, working in the music business.
So imagine how I felt when I got a call on a Friday afternoon - that I almost didn't even answer because we were about to close up - from Hanson's lawyer, saying that Hanson was going to come in for a meeting with my boss the following week.
Well I spent the next few days hyperventilating a little bit, just to get it out. Celebrities really don't make me nervous anymore but COME ON!!!!!!! I had to do my best to suppress every little thought that went through my head between the ages of twelve and twenty three sixteen years old. I had to keep my composure. I had to not throw up, which was definitely what I felt like I was going to do.
They came in and my boss told me to go out and greet them. So I did. I shook their hands and introduced myself, like a good executive assistant, and then I lost it. I started crying. Whimpering, even. I grabbed the closest brother to me and held on for dear life because for goodness sake THIS WAS MY CHANCE!!!!
Good story, right?
Alright, I lied. All I said was, "It's so nice to meet you, I'm a huge fan." And then it was like I mattered, and they looked interested and genuinely thankful and Isaac laughed and said, "Well you have terrible taste in music, but thanks!" And then he asked where the bathroom was. I make such an impression.
And then I shook hand with their dad. And then Taylor went directly to the piano and got in a zone and started playing. And then I just kind of stood around and watched and tried to be normal, then realized I was looking like a freak, so I went back to my desk. Then they followed me and went into my boss's office and I tried to pay attention to what was going on with my emails. Then they moved around the corner and played some new music that they brought in and I was dying to go in there and swipe it away, it was so good.
I did go in there, though, at my boss's request. I went to offer them water bottles. And this is where I really did feel like a FREAK as I stood in the middle of the room and offered water to a bunch of confused looking faces, which I didn't understand, until I saw that everyone was already holding water bottles. And then I did the Linus walk back to my desk.
They left two hours later. I was happy. And I crossed something huge off my list. There are a lot more details, but I'll spare you. I have a lot more insight into what this means, but I'll spare you that, also.
They look like this now. Don't say I didn't tell you so:
And they are all married. The oldest has two kids, the youngest has one kid, and the middle:
By the way, want to know why I'm still such a huge fan? Because of their passion for Africa. What they are doing to raise awareness inspires me. And it makes me wonder what I can do to share with the world the impact that Africa has had on my life.
