Hello, Halo

It’s not even 7am. It’s still dark outside. This is how I start most of my mornings. Sundays I usually work 4-10, or atleast I have been. I’ve grown accustom to sleeping in on Sundays. Not today though. Nope. 5:45. What time will I wake up tomorrow? 5:45. And Tuesday? 5:45. And Wednesday? 5:45. And Thursday? 5:45. And Friday? Well, friday probably not until 9.

Mondays and Wednesdays. Work 8-2 or 8-4. Tuesdays, Thursdays. Class at 8:05. In Ankeny. What a horrible idea. I don’t think I will ever use this schedule again. Ever. Really.

I can’t wait until Thanksgiving break…

Last week was possibley the best week of my fucking life. Not only did I vote in my first presidential election, but my main man Obama totally pwned McCain. I didn’t attend classes because they were cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday, then I was recovering from a MAGNIFICENT show on Thursday. Friday was long, but fucking AWESOME.

Hanson played with Everybody Else and Matt Wertz at the People’s Court in Des Moines on Wednesday, and it was probably the best show I’ve seen yet. It’s a small venue, and only about 500 people were there. Danielle, Tk and I were right up on the stage. It blew my fucking mind. Thursday we recovered, then worked in the evening. Friday morning Tk and I left Ames at 6:30 to head to Urbandale to pick up Jenna and April. We then drove 7 hours to Wichita where we took The Walk with Hanson and about 200 other people. It was a really good one, too. We did two miles around the campus of Wichita State University instead of the normal one mile walk, which means they made twice as much money. Woo! That night Tk and I sold merch at the show for Everybody Else. It was a cool venue. For those of you that live/lived in Davenport, the venue was much like Kimberly Pines Skate Park. It was a lot of fun. Hanson’s entire fucking family was there. Mom, Dad, Avery, Jessica, Zoe, Mac, Natalie, Kate, Nikki and all the babies. Momma Hanson is kind of tacky, but I really liked her. Haha. It was cool. A lot of times I tend to get trapped behind the camera, trying to document the entire evening, but since we were selling merch, I was able to just sit back, relax and enjoy. I felt bad for Jenna though.. it’s her last tour so she was a little depressed about it. I think Tk and I are going to try to do a big chunk of tour next year. It’s going to blow my mind.

I’ll post more later, but let it be known that this was the best fucking week of my life!

Last night was awesome! No time to elaborate! Work 4-10 tonight then we head to Wichita tomorrow morning at 6:30! Two shows in three days! Woo!

Dear Friends,

I know it’s only about an hour into election day, and the polls have yet to open, but please get out there and vote today. We all have opinions that differ, and while I would prefer that you vote for Barack Obama, it’s more important that you get out there and vote. With that being said, I’ll leave you with a quote.

Alright guys, I want to get out there and vote. And not because it’s cool, because it’s not. You know what is cool? Smoking. Smoke while you vote.

- JOHN STEWART

I know, I know. I’ve been a neglectful webmaster. Get over it.

Things have been really busy around here. School is going ok… that TOMS speech went well, despite my partners lack of interest. The informative speech went ok, too. I did end up having to do it from memory though, as I forgot all my stuff. I’ve been working a lot lately, too, which I suppose is good. I’ve been studying for my pharmacy technician test and should be receiving my letter that says “Yeah, sure, go ahead and schedule your test now” any day now.

A few weeks ago, Tk and I went to the M-Shop in Ames to see Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers. It was such a good show! We met Boots after the show, where I successfully made an ass of myself. We told him we’re the ones that built the website. He responded with “Oh, yeah! I’m really flattered! It’s so profesh!” I asked him to pass along how cool we are to Kyle. “He’s like, out of sight out of mind. Why don’t you try to get in touch with him, though?” haha. We talked with Stephen and Goose, too, and they were delights. Serena Ryder opened for them, and I suggest you check her out immediatley. She blew my fucking mind. She’s so fucking talented I can’t even stand it.

I also got a sweet message on Myspace about two weeks ago. It was from Sam, the manager for Everybody Else. She wanted to know if I was still interested in selling merchandise at the Wichita show. So, Tk and I are heading to Wichita, KS on Friday for the Hanson show! We’re going with a couple of other girls, one we met at the Madison show last Spring, the other is her friend. I’ve never met her, but any friend of Hanson is a friend of mine.. unless they’re scary. Haha. So, we’re leaving around 7 on Friday and hope to make it in time to do the Walk. Then, since Tk and I won’t really get to watch the show, we were told we can early for soundcheck. Basically, it’s going to blow my mind. We’ll be seeing them in Des Moines on Wednesday, too. It’s basically going to be the best week ever.

I wish I could figure out why my links won’t work. I also wish I could figure out why I feel like ass. Whatever. I’m going to sleep.

God damnt! Why won’t these fucking pages show up where they’re supposed to! ABOUT! GO IN YOUR HOME!

Sorry this website looks like shit. Rebuilding.

I have something I want you to do for me. Imagine not having your iPod. It sucks, but you can do it. Ok, now your computer. Getting suckier as it goes. Now, imagine not having a TV, your car, a phone. Not having shampoo, body wash. Now, imagine having the most basic of posessions. Something we’ve all had since we were babies. Imagine not having shoes.

This past weekend I went to Minneapolis with a friend for a Hanson concert. I’ve seen them three times now, and haven’t been let down. The first time we went was in Chicago at the House of Blues. Admittedly, we didn’t know much about the tour itself, so when people were talking about a ‘Walk’ before the show, we didn’t really know what it meant. Being as we didn’t know, we stayed seated in line. The second time was in Madison, WI. We had done some research on Toms Shoes and the album began to make a little more sense. We took the walk before the show, and it was an experience unlike any other. Of course it was fun to walk and talk with the boys, to find out their thoughts on the project. But it was also so eyeopening to hear people so young get so excited for such a great cause. So many times my generation is so apathetic.

“This isn’t bullshit!”

On Friday, we took the walk again. This time, barefoot.

I got so riled up. It’s sometimes hard to imagine the chaos, sadness and lack of hope in the world. It makes you feel so small, so helpless, and so many times, we choose to look the other way. We decide that if we can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. But the fact is, it does exist, and no matter how small you may feel, you can make a difference. What I like so much about this project is the undeniable fact that you are, indeed, helping someone. Just one person. At first, it was hard for me to grasp this concept. “Ah, well, it’s just one person. One person on the other side of the world. One person who I will never meet. Just one person.”

Try putting a name with that person though. Try giving them a face. Suddenly it becomes real. Suddenly, what you’re doing is important. These shoes aren’t shipped out randomly to place where you’re never quite sure they’re needed. They are taken to these children in need. They are physically placed on their feet. That could be the pair of shoes that I bought. Maybe they aren’t, but who knows? Maybe they are.

I’ve been writing a speech about this organization for a class. I’ve done a some research that is a little more in depth, and I’ve had such a mix of emotions. At first, I was just so happy that it existed. Completely ecstatic. But then I found myself becoming angry. Angry that people are so apathetic about their fellow people. I couldn’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to support this. I couldn’t understand how someone could just sit back and just sort of say “Yeah, well, what is one less person going to matter? If I don’t help, who is really going to miss out?” But what happens when everyone starts feeling this way? I then became incredibley sad. After doing some reading, I started thinking about some these children’s ages. My neices are 5 and 8. I started to think about it. What if it were them who had to live without shoes? What if we were all too poor to buy them? Wouldn’t I want someone to help them?

For a few brief moments, it was too much. I had to walk away from the computer, the speech, the pictures, the videos. I couldn’t handle it.

But then I went back. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.

I know that I have my limitations. I am a twenty-something college student. I don’t have a lot of money to give. But I do have time. I do have ways to get the word out. I have this blog, a myspace, facebook… networks for college kids. I have the ability to host a walk. I have the ability to tell everyone I know. Money isn’t everything.

This isn’t bullshit!

Even if the difference I’m making is small, it’s still a difference.

With that being said.

Isaac Hanson on Toms Shoes

Isaac Hanson on TOMS Shoes from Hannah Ellis on Vimeo.

Sorry about the extreme lack of updates. Work has been good… got some overtime this week, which was nice, even if did mean only getting three hours of sleep on Friday and Saturday. Gross. School is in full swing, and right now I should be working on a speech.. except, it’s not something I am at all interested in. AND it’s a team speech. Which is pretty much the lamest thing I have ever heard of.

Nothing new to report, really. I’m in the process of reconciling a relationship, which is really, really great. I’m so excited about it… It’s been in the works for awhile, but I think things might really end up ok on that front.

Walgreens is going well, though I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be doing this. I like the work, it’s interesting, and my coworkers for the most part are pretty cool (with the exception of a certains someone who looooves irrelevent stories), but I keep fantasizing about other jobs. Ah, I probably won’t quit. It doesn’t seem worth it after I’ve worked so hard to get my raises and (soon to be) promotion. I think I’m just getting board. I am considering applying for a job with the Ankeny School District. I hear they are looking for a color guard coach. And I also hear that I like coaching color guard. Win-win situation. Not sure how Mr. Freundt would handle that… marching seasons takes up quite a bit of time…

I got some good news last week about school. I thought I had really fucked myself in the academic ass, by going to Ambrose for only one semester, then going part time, full time, part time, full time. Last year SCC told me I didn’t have enough credits to transfer to Iowa State and that I had to attend a little over year of community college. I took on a LOT of classes this semester to try to make up for it, so that I wouldn’t have to do summer classes. Well, I ended up signing up for just shy of 20 credit hours. Plus 30+ hours of work… Uh, bad decision. So I went to drop two credits, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to screw myself over any more by doing this. I was told that I have enough credits now to transfer and that I didn’t have to do community college.
…..
I’m going to KILL the advisor at Scott.
Anywho, long story short, assuming I can get my shit together by January, I will be attending a REAL college next semester. One that has lecture halls and dorms. So, that’s good.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got to report on. I bid you adeiu!