WOAH!

Well, after 3 days of extreme heat (including almost 100 degrees yesterday), the heat wave finally just broke...

At 9:30pm, the temperature outside was 89 degrees. EIGHTY NINE! At almost 10pm!

Just around 8 or 8:30, Dad and I were leaving the mall and I noticed it was eerily quiet outside. WAY too quiet. No breeze, no birds chirping. Nothing. It sounded like we were in a sound-proof booth. And way off in the distance, we could see faint lighting.

By the time I got home and got on the phone with my boyfriend, the lightning was still way off but it was becoming very frequent. And I could hear the first few rumblings of thunder. And then the wind picked up... He was on his way back from near Sandy Hook (fishing) but I was glad he was in the car already. We got off the phone and I grabbed my dinner and attempted to sit outside to watch the oncoming storm, but in the couple minutes I was out there, it started going CRAZY! The wind went wild, things started flying, lightning was non-stop. So I went back inside.

And checked the radar (of course) and this is what I found:
YOWZERS! Purple?? Fuchsia?? What is that about?? And we were right in its path! I don't know (or can't remember) seeing that color for the severity of a storm in a long time. And then the warnings came...hail, 70mph winds, rain, cloud-to-ground lighting, the whole slew!

Luna was in the bedroom (with the A/C on) and was crying by the time I walked in. The storm got so severe that I actually got a bag ready to put her in in case we had to rush down to the basement or into an interior room. The lighting was so intense - non-stop for a while there. The thunder was incredible. A couple of thunders actually sounded like bombs. And my poor baby girl got so scared. I tried holding her to comfort her, but it got so bad that she freaked out and ended up scratching me to get down. As soon as I put her down, she retreated to her "safe" spot under the bed.


The storm lasted a little while - maybe a good 20 minutes or so for the worst of it. And then it passed. But while it lasted, it was incredible. My boyfriend (who was driving up the Garden State Parkway into rain and could see the lightning off in the distance) said that on the other side of the highway, it even looked like trees or something off the highway was on fire! I'd be willing to bet that was the result of cloud-to-ground lightning! He said the same thing.

Its now 10:45pm and the storm has been gone for a little while now. But you know what?? The temperature is down to 70. SEVENTY! It dropped almost 20 degrees in just about an hour. That's insane!

But let me tell you, the A/C is off and the windows are open for the first time in 4 days....and I'm loving it!

The morning after...

Yes, to quote that sappy Carpenter's song (I think it was them), "there's got to be a morning after..."

DMB was last night! DAVE! WOOT!! And let me tell you, the concert ROCKED!! It was AWESOME! I really forgot how much I really enjoy hearing music played LIVE!!

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us bring cameras into the concert (even though it seemed that everyone else was able to smuggle theirs in), so since I got no photos, I've recreated Dave for ya....

He wore a pale blue shirt and everything - so I'd say my drawing, though quite rough, its pretty accurate! Picasso watch out!

Show was rockin'. Loved it. They played all the songs I like and left me wanting for more! There were a few songs I wish they'd played, but hey, that's my excuse for seeing them perform next time!

Here are the interesting NON-DMB points from the night:

• We had lawn seats which meant we plopped down wherever on the grass. We chose a nook near the wall so we'd be out of the way, but it turns out we chose to sit near the corner where all the drunkies (girls included) decided to go to pee rather than wait for the bathroom line. Made for an interesting experience. Although it got to be fun to watch security show up and flash their flashlights on the pee-ers!
  
• Later in the evening, when it started raining - YES RAINING - people tried to get out of the open area and several people SAT in the pee corner mentioned above not knowing it! I seriously hope they went home and showered in turpentine and used a brillo pad. EEEEEW!!!
• Evidently the "thing" to do now when you're in college is to go to a concert and get exceedingly drunk (ok, that's nothing new) but then not pay attention to the concert, and instead, either A-make out with your "other" (or whomever you can grab) or B-text and spend the time having a photo shoot with friends, but NOT even photograph the stage. Figure that one out! :-D
• They wouldn't let me bring my camera in, but they evidently DID allow (or "happen to miss") the weeeeeed that some peeps smuggled in. I got a whiff of the good stuff every once in a while. So, cameras bad, weed good? I guess so!

None of that was BAD per se, it was just interesting! I think next time, though, I'll opt for the more expensive (read: dry, under the roof and away from the pee-ers) seats!! Other than that....DAVE MATTHEWS BAND WAS EVERYTHING I HOPED FOR AND THEN SOME!! So what if I only got three hours sleep last night...it was SO worth it! ;)

Tonight! Tonight! Won't be just any night...

To borrow some more lyrics from West Side Story's "Tonight"...

Today the minutes seem like hours.
The hours go so slowly,
And still the sky is light.
Oh moon, grow bright,
And make this endless day endless night...

Yes folks - tonight is FINALLY the Dave Matthews Band concert!! And I can't wait!

And in the spirit of DMB and his well-known environmentality...I got a great compliment this morning!

Long story short, my co-worker's plant got infested by no-see-ems (you know, those pesty bugs that fly in your face). Well, he sprayed chemicals to be rid of them, but it seems some migrated to my plant. Since I didn't want to use chemicals, I took my plant home, washed the roots, removed all the dirt, and replanted it completely - well, DAD did - and I helped him! Upon bringing it back to work today, another co-worker told me (when I told her what I did)..."wow, Claudia, you really are green!"

That just made my day! And DMB will totally make my night!!

Pics tomorrow (unless my brain isn't functioning!!)