Church Youth Group Can be Painful
J was asked this weekend to play guitar at a youth group show. It was superhero themed. Because apparently God is is the ultimate superhero. Silence. No laughter? Yea. Silence. That's what I thought. Okay, I mean the theme was cute, but really the people that benefited most were the grown men leading the youth group that got to purchase and wear elaborate hero costumes.
Anyway, so J said that event would be short and that he'd play about an hour in. He picked me up at 6 p.m. and we headed out to Sugar Land's Something Something Cristina - Bilingual Christian Church/School. The band that J was playing with is the band from his parents' church that he played with for years.
We didn't leave until like 10:30 p.m. hours after we'd thought we'd be home. The event was pretty well attended and the kids for the most part participated in the theme. It was, however, one of those moments that I felt REALLY old because I was clearly NOT ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS and NO ONE talked to me. Poor me. There was a lot of standing against a wall that I did at this event.
Anyway, the reason I share all of this is that there was a costume contest for the six or so kids that chose to dress up. But it wasn't just a costume contest. They also had to individually perform the full length of a hit pop song karaoke style. I cannot tell you how painfully awkward this was. These kids are not singers. It was painful for me as I watched them struggle through the songs looking not at all happy and painful for the audience of high school kids who were watching their friends be awkward. And somehow these songs went on and on. Ugh. Still reliving those painful memories. Anyway. I was also very tired, so the horror of this show may have been amplified by my sleep deprivation.
Raise Your Hand if You're a White Person!
A few days before the weekend, J sent me a G-chat asking if I knew who Marc Anthony was. I didn't. He then sent me an email saying that his company had suite tickets up for grabs to the Marc Anthony concert at the Toyota Center.
I don't like concerts. I've told J this. And it makes him have the Big Sad. But I go because he really likes them and I hope that someday I'll like the loud noise, sweaty crowds and fog machines. But I do like being treated really well. That never gets old. So the suite was right up my alley.
Also, I have this theory that if someone offers you something for free and it's a new (non harmful) experience, take it. If nothing else, it broadens your horizons as a learning experience.
The concert was on Saturday night. It was a nice to cap to a super eventful day including a church meeting and birthday dinner. Parking passes were included in the Marc Anthony package, so getting in was a breeze.
We walked right into the venue and into our suite. J and I had skipped dinner in preparation to gorge ourselves on the free foods promised. Well, we won't do that again. The only food that was available to us was wilted fried chicken strips, mystery meet on soggy crackers and a marshmallow cake (not as good as it sounds - though I did eat an entire giant slice). Not to mention the beverage options were super lacking.
J and I went into this evening knowing that Marc A. sang in Spanish, so it wasn't a big surprise that there was not a lot of ethnic diversity to the crowd. It was kind of nice being the minority for once.
The concert was opened by this Puerto Rican comedian that was really quite funny. He had all the people from different countries raise their hands and then made a point of asking if there were any white people in the house. Wooohooo! That was us. We cheered. For being white. That might be the one and only time I've done that.
It turns out I know a few Marc Anthony songs. And you probably do to.
"Tell me Baby Girl Because I need to Know" is one of them.