fiery, incandescent & sweltry

Yes, I went to thesaurus.com and looked up synonyms for hot and chose my favorites to name this post. This is what happens when I don't have any schoolwork to be tackled as I sit at my desk at work [ because why yes, I do sit on my tush for eight hours each shift at a place of employment where my boss encourages me to "exercise my brain" and do homework...all the while getting paid... ]. Even as I bask in the climate-controlled heaven, the sun has now started to stream into the gigantor windows that make up 1/3 of my "cubicle" and I'm starting to doubt my decision to wear black.

I know I've mentioned a time or two about how very warm our house gets due to its lack of A/C, but I really had no idea what I was talking about then. In fact, I laugh at my past self, writing those posts. This week has been ridiculous, as anyone who isn't living under a rock and ventures outdoors would confirm. Last night, we reached a recordbreaking 89°F inside our home, no breeze from outside to be found. In fact, it got so bad that I was standing in the bathroom, innocently brushing my teeth, when [ advanced apologies for the sheer gross factor of the rest of this story ] I felt a drop sliding down on my leg. Yes, I was literally dripping sweat just from lifting an arm in attempt to do the simple act of brushing my teeth. Horrific. I still don't know how we managed to fall asleep. Aaaaand then this morning, I turned on the oven to do some baking and cooking, just because I was that crazy determined. How sad / ironic / funny...in the winter months, I moan and groan all the good long day about wearing three pairs of pants, two sweatshirts and four pairs of socks to bed to counter the looming threat of frostbite, just dreaming of warm and sunny days. Now, in the throes of summer, I want to just sell my soul for even a hint of cold air in the house...

As my good friend Krissy would say, Toughen up, Potter Rieth.

In other news, I had a lovely mini-getaway this past weekend with my bestest girlfriend in the whole wide world. It involved plenty of good talks, indulgently unhealthy food, outlet shopping deals, and most importantly, the one and only Mr. Josh Groban.

Now, to be completely honest, I must confess that I do not usually obsess over famous people. If I were to pass some well-known celebrity on the street, most likely I would do just that - pass them by. However, I have one downfall, and his name is Josh Groban. I've explained this hundreds of times to Justin - it's only Josh's voice that completely wins me over. I've even met the man in person [ back in high school when I was part of the backup choir for "You Raise Me Up" during his 2004 Closer tour...no joke, I have pictures to prove it ] and I can truthfully say the only thing that gets to me is his voice. Justin would most likely argue against that claim, considering the night of the concert I excitedly texted him, saying, "I just touched him on his arm!"

I just think he's a great singer / entertainer, okay?
Don't hate.

Thanks to Sarah and her mad ticket-buying skills, we scored floor seats, 22 rows from the front, and just two away from the aisle. Lucky for us, he also had a smaller stage smack dab in the middle of the floor just a few rows further from where we were seated. He switched up where he would perform, running back and forth between the main stage and the smaller platform, passing us in the process [ thus allowing me to reach across the elderly couple seated to my right in order to poke Josh as he chatted it up with the woman across the aisle mid-run ].

I won't go into detail about the concert, since I'm sure it would be nothing but utterly boring for the vast majority of the population. For some reason, it felt like we were completely surrounded by middle-aged to elderly women who dragged their spouses to the event. I noted a handful of other girls our age, 50% of whom somehow convinced their significant others to join them [ one word: whipped ]. However, I will say that this was by far the most interactive concert I've been to. Audience members were able to text him beforehand, and later he read a few and granted a couple of wishes, such as allowing a couple to get engaged onstage, singing the national anthem with his biggest three year-old fan and bringing people onstage to serenade them.

I'd include pictures of the big event, but my camera pooped out literally the moment I took it out to snap a few shots. Sarah took over as photographer for the night, but she *ahem* has yet to email them to me... I'll be sure to include them upon receipt, since I'm betting you're all dying to see them, right?

Right.

NPR