Your Weekly Townsend Fix Column 52
Hey Everyone!
So what can I say, the week is finally over. Even though I get
only two days to rest up it's two days of sleeping in. This weekend I
have homework, get to study for finals, go out to ANOTHER chinese
lunch, and type up a resume for an internship. Wild lifestyle I
know...jealous right? Speaking of the word "Jealous" i have been
spelling Jealousy wrong my entire life until I saw the name of the
song. I always spelled it jelousy...haha. Ok the week took forever to
end and I'm a little on edge, I have all these personal projects to
take care of now that the school year is closing up, including
figuring out what I want to do to put some extra change in the pocket
and keep me out of trouble. I am going to a meeting for an internship
on Monday night. I expect that there's going to be a lot of
applicants even though it's a NON-paying internship for college/high
school students. Why do I think that there are going to be a lot of
applicants? Because it's for a radio station. If I don't get it I may
opt for a job at the blood bank (no not taking blood...they're not
crazy there) as a phone recruiter. Get this it pays from $9.50-10.26
an hour...a little extra jingle in my jean pockets wouldn't hurt.
I'm not sure how I"m staying sane while running some of these
arrands. In fact none of them are really for school, I've been taking
care of things I either told people I'd take care of or I get into my
procrastination mode (haha Meg) and need to take care of everything.
In fact in Bio class i made a checklist of things to do....only half
are checked. Bio was one of my worst classes and now it's not all
that bad. I hope I keep my grade up. I have a 90.7 in the class as of
right now and if I slip I fall into the B range...not like I'd have a
problem...at the beginning of the year I was averaging a D...yes
that's right...a D. My dad majored in Biology in college and his
oldest daughter is getting a D.
School is stressful for all of us right now. Especially us in
high school and college. Finals are coming up, scheduling for next
year, and all the end of the year drama that magically likes to pop
up along with all of it. The upside of my school having to eat
outside everyday for the rest of the year has one up...I'm getting a
tan. Yes I'm slowly achieving a deeper Californian tan on my face and
arms. My legs need the help though but I found out that it's against
the rules to roll up your pants and walk around during
lunch...Catholic schooling system. Speaking of the Catholic schooling
system...if any of you are intersted in finding out how strangly my
school works, you need to see the Friday San Francisco Chronicle. It
almost makes me sad that my school has turned to a newspaper for a
giant advertisment for donations for the student life center. We're
builing a "Student Life Center' that's about $16.5 million dollars.
At the same time they've kicked us out of the current gym we use
(along w. caf) to upgrade that as well. Not only have they put out
3,000 some odd kids we also apparently aren't 100% funded yet...smart
huh? Catholic education and it appears that someone somewhere forgot
to do a little math. If you want to experience how strange it is to
get meals served outside and there being only ONE picnic table to eat
at...stop on by at SHC.
My high school is cool it really is. I've escaped Catholic
GRAMMAR school...the place where I hope I never have to teach. I
loved my classmates. We were that "hated" class that all the other
teachers couldn't stand because we were rowdy. I think stepping out
of grammar school and seeing "Team Pretty Boy" just as I was doing
that attributed to a lot of my attitudes towards today. I was talking
to Meg (who is now Mean Meg...haha luv ya chica) and we were
remenicing about the June 2000 concert in oakland. If any of you were
there you know that you got more than your $5 parking fee's worth.
Look how far they've come! I mean in a sense a lot of us have
grown with them. I don't think that any of us were sure how far this
was going to go. Do you have any idea how many people are out there
who WANT to do what the guys are doing NOW? We all started out as a
group of people who saw the guys at concerts and what not and
eventually they went from this smalltown sensation of some good guys,
they went to a Californian+ sensation that no one can really get
enough. How did all of that happen in a matter of a year?
While I had time I watched all the tapes I had of boy bands
and looked at the elements of each group, what was different, what
was in common, and what would be the main ingredients for either
success or disaster. Some of the greatest groups of all time continue
to be what everyone is compared to. It's a priviledge to be told that
your've caused "Beatle Hysteria" and it's an honor to beat out NSync
on TRL. I hope that one day a true book is published about
EVERYTHING. From every vocal chord to every pair of shoes that a
group has ever worn and what the road is, has, and what being in a
group means.
The book should contain testimonies from the members, their
managers, security guards, fans, and friends. But most importantly it
should have testimonies from their families. I think that they are
the people that deserve the Grammy, the AMA award, the Teen Choice
award because they're pretty responsible don't ya think? Most
importantly, they would offer the most insight to the members and who
they are and may have become. If anyone knows them it would be the
mom and dad who fed him and read him bed time stories, the siblings
who they faught with, and the grandparents who babysat them as
toddlers. Think about it you guys, the guys' families have sacrificed
their sons to take on some dream of being famous. It's got to be
hardest for Trina & Peter sometimes being the fact that they live ALL
the way up in Oregon.
I wonder if the book was to be written on Townsend what the
ending of the story would be like you know? I think that's probably
one of the main things I went off on this tangent of what if and what
will. A lot of times I try not to take advantage of the fact that the
guys are always around you know? It's amazing how thing can be taken
away in an instant and sometimes I wonder what things will be like
years from now. What kind of houses are they going to live in, what
kind of girls are they going to marry, are they going to live in a
mansion or a small house in the city? With the loss of Left Eye of
TLC, it just goes to show us that no matter how successful a person
can be, things can change in the blink of an eye. I think all of us
have learned to savor the moments with the guys.
I know we all for one special reason, it's the guys. I know
that I've said that they've come a long way, they've changed and
grown into a mold of a rock star and have taken the shape of a band
but as much as they've grown, there's still a little bit of
hesitation for me to say that they've become a boy band. They're just
not typical. How many groups do you know of where the guys prefer
being off stage talking with fans than performing? How many groups do
you know of where the members will always remember a name, face or
both? How many groups do you know that will EVER be completely
insane? As much as they've become what we think they are, they're
still 5 guys who like spending time with family, 4 of which who's
past time was throwing literally the shirts off their backs to the
crowd who wanted them and drove miles to concerts to set up a tent
only to take it down a couple hours later. Their roots are amazing
and I can't think of one group that started w/ 4 guys from a radio
station who have gone through as much trials and tribulations as set
of tires and one small town boy who became a MTB sensation to join
the 4 to become this super band that still has the same attitude
towards people as if they weren't even in a group. And I can't think
of a band where most of the fans know each other as FRIENDS and not
fellow FANS. I'm thankful every day for the relationships I share
with people like Kaitlyn, Pam, Amber, Amy, Tamara, Meg, Holly,
Melissa, Andrea, Katie, Courtney, Joy, and countless others who have
become family.
All I have to say that refleting on the past has really given
me a perspective on how much they've grown. I wish them so much more
of this luck and can't wait for the next chapter of an unwritten
book. And before i end...remember to some of you...there are NO
special things in the subtext of these columns (haha holly) Until
next time....
Stay Safe & Stay You
Love Always,
Kristen
xoxoxo
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