There is something about the name Jackie Blair that always leads people who have never met me to think I am “someone else.” My boss said that after seeing my resume and before meeting me at my interview he assumed I was an “older black lady.” I get that all the time. My volunteers will meet me and be surprised that I am not as they usually say “old” or “older.”

This happened last weekend when I was at training. I was talking to one of my volunteers for a LONG time then all of the sudden she stops and says “wait are you Jackie Blair.” I said yes. She says “huh, wow, I thought you were an older lady.”

For this I would like to thank my parents. I am just joking – it does not bother me – it is pretty funny. On a positive note, I have only known one other girl, my age, in my life that was named Jackie.

I want to do a top 10 list of the 00’s, but I can’t think of a good subject area. Any REAL suggestions?

I super suck at blogging recently! Things have been really nutso recently at work. Things have calmed down though. I thought of a really great blog idea to other night but I can’t remember.

Now that was a good post! Hope all is well!

Hey folks – if you are invited to any sort of party or event that asks for an RSVP by a certain date.
a. Please do so
b. Do not wait until the day of the event and say you are coming

We party planners hate that! We ask for an RSVP for a reason

Thank you!

So I have lived in Austin for over 5 years now and have never been to ACL (Austin City Limits Music Festival.)  It really has not appealed to me at all.  3 days in the hot blazing sun with expensive water, beer and tickets, nah I’ll pass.  A couple years ago they moved the festival to later in the year so it would not be so hot.  I decided to bite the bullet this year and buy a one day pass.  (Surely I can handle one day of this.)  I have to be able to say that I have been once in my life to call myself.  Dave Matthews Band was on the schedule and I had not seen them in years – so I bought me a one day pass for close to $100.

So a little history – ACL is kind of a big deal here in Austin.  It is probably the biggest one weekend money maker for the city of Austin.  People come in from all over the place to go to this thing.  My sister and her bestie (Lauren) come from Chicago and NYC to go to this festival every year. 

So here is the series of events as they occur:

• Friday – Forecast for Saturday not looking so good – 80% chance of rain – must buy ponchos
• Drive all over Austin trying to find ponchos – everywhere is sold out
• After 3 Dollar general stores I find the last 2 ponchos (some dude kept getting to each Dollar General RIGHT before me and would buy all the ponchos!  Jerkface)
• Wake up Sat – temperate is amazing!  In the low 70’s – I am excited
• Meet Val at her place to catch the city bus – that’s right – the city bus!  (rode the city bus more times this weekend than I ever have!)
• Get on the bus no problems – bus smells of the worse BO ever (should have taken that as a sign from God)
• Get dropped off by the bus only about a mile from the park – that is a sweet deal!  We are excited!
• 2:30 pm Get to the park and it is beautiful.  The city just spent $2.5 million on new grass – this park has been closed off to the public since this time last year in order to get the grass perfect for this weekend.
• Buy an $8 beer
• Go to our first show – Airborne Toxic Event –they were great
• Meet a very nice group of boys that we make friends with
• Go to next show – Citizen Cope  - with our new friends
• Buy next $8 beer
• The rain begins.  “Who cares if it is raining – this is fun!”  dance to Citizen Cope
• Show is over – time for food (still raining)
• Buy food and rush to the one tent trying to keep food dry.  Everyone seems to be under this tent.
• Eat food and meet more new friends – rain starts coming down harder
• Sit there and wait for the rain to stop – it does not – have to pee
• Start walking in the rain – only to realize the wonderful grass the city has planted has now turned to ankle deep mud.  My feet were sticking with every step – it takes a while to get to the porta-potties
• Walk in the rain and mud to the porta-potties – there is a HUGE ass line! Water is running down the hill and you are standing in sludge while waiting
• Wait over 30 min to pee in a porta-potty with no toilet paper.
• Go to the next show in an effort to find our friends Steph and Joey.  I am on a mission and pushing my way through the crowd to get to them – turn around and my friend Val is nowhere in sight – nowhere.  Uh oh!
• I find Steph and Joey no problem 
• Get a text from Val that reads “Dude, you just left me.” Oh shit – she is pissed. 
• Not able to enjoy the show because I am freaking out about not being able to find Val, because if I was the one that had been lost and she made no effort to find me I would be pissed.
• Can’t find Val – she says she is fine – I don’t believe her – I am still freaking out.
• Buy another $8 beer
• Hang with Steph under her giant umbrella (yes it is still raining at this point – pretty much has not stopped the whole time.  Mud everywhere you walk – shoes sticking with every step)
• Go to the next show to try and find Val – she cannot find us
• Crap -Have to pee again – walk to the porta-potties – decide it is pointless to try and walk in my shoes – have to go barefoot in ankle deep much and????? gross
• Wait another 30 min to pee in another porta-potty with no toilet paper.
• Meet up with Val – she is kind of pissed – but more pissed that I tried so hard to find her – really?!  J
• At the point it is 8:00 pm and I have seen 2 bands – neither that I knew.
• Buy another $8!
• Time for Dave Matthews – the show is so packed we end up way in the back.  It has stopped raining at this point – but the ground is soaked and it is about 65 degrees outside so ponchos must stay on.
• Listen to Dave Matthews play for an hour and he only plays one song I know.  I know a LOT of Dave Matthews and I only knew the opening song.  Not happy.  Val is cold, tired, hungry and pissed sitting in her little carry on chair.  I suggest we leave – she readily agrees
• Start walking back to the bus stop where we got dropped off – trying to rush to make the 10:30 pick up time. 
• When we get there – there is no bus stop going south bound – we start walking until we find one. 
• We are walking and walking and walking and walking
• Val is pissed!  (She is not mad at me – just the day) Walking about 12 paces in front of me – I am laughing because it is so awful
• Finally after about 3 miles of walking we see the bus – it stops – drops us off right in front of her apartment about 3 mins later.
• We are starving and covered in mud. 
• By the time I get home it is 11:30 and I am so gross

I have avoided going to ACl all this time because I know me and that is not really my scene and I don’t want to be the person complaining the whole time ruining everyone else’s time.  ( I guess maybe that is why Dylan, Grace and Christi did not want to hang out with me.  They totally ditched me as soon as I found them.)  This was the one year I decide to buck up and go – maybe not the best year.  I did my best to keep my complains to myself though because I did not want to ruin anyone else’s fun, but the weather took care of that for me.

It pretty much was an awful day – but I laugh about it now (Val is not laughing yet.) Would I go again? Only if there were a band I was dying to see.  I am pretty sure I did not get my money’s worth.  It was a good life experience and the story is just funny.

Why is it that every time the batteries want to run low on your smoke detector does it decide to warn you about it in the middle of the night?  Is it just me or does it happen like that for everyone?  I have never had a beeping smoke detector notification happen during the day – it is ALWAYS in the middle of the night. 

Yes this happened to me at 3:15 am this morning, only 2 days after I thought to myself “I can’t remember the last time I changed the batteries in my smoke detectors.”  I guess ultimately it was my fault.

I was standing in the hallway for about 4 min trying to figure out which smoke detector was beeping.  Then I had to take the thing off the wall.  The animals were all thinking it was time to get up.  Um no!

Of course my “sleeps through anything” sister did not even stir in her bed.  I wish I was not such a light sleeper.

This is an actual conversation I had with a volunteer yesterday:

Volunteer: Hi Jackie – my name is……and I would like to attend your Volunteer luncheon tomorrow

Me: Ok that is no problem.  Can you please send me an e-mail and I will put your name on the list?

Volunteer: Yes what is your e-mail

Me:  It is Jackie, J-A-C-K-I-E dot Blair, B-L-A-I-R at foundcom, that is F as in Frank, O-U-N-D-C-O-M dot org

Volunteer: ok that is Jackie, J….

Me: Yes ma’am Jackie J-A-C-K-I-E dot Blair, B-L-A-I-R

Volunteer: J-A-C-K-I-E

Me: Yes ma’am Jackie J-A-C-K-I-E dot Blair, B-L-A-I-R

Volunteer: Blair

Me: Yes ma’am Blair, B-L-A-I-R

Volunteer: B-L-A-I-R

Me: Yes ma’am Blair, B-L-A-I-R at foundcom, that is F as in Frank, O-U-N-D-C-O-M dot org

Volunteer: s-o-u-n-d.com

Me: No ma’am foundcom.org F as in Frank, O-U-N-D-C-O-M dot org

Volunteer: oh found.com

Me: No ma’am – foundcom DOT org

Volunteer: oh found.com.org

Me: No ma’am foundcom DOT org

Volunteer: oh found.org

Me: No ma’am found….com…..DOT org

Volunteer: oh foundorg.com

Me: No ma’am found….com…..DOT org

Volunteer: Oh –foundcom.org

Me: YES ma’am that’s it!

Volunteer: ok thank you

She e-mailed me – I e-mailed her the invitation that stated the event was from 12-1.  She showed up today at 11:15 and asked me why there was no on there yet.