The Long Haul

Hey guys!

As always, I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever, it's been just stupid busy around the office and hectic and crazy and everything that would be a legitimate excuse for not keeping up with a blog.

SO many things have happened that I honestly couldn't catch you up on everything, but the events that have transpired recently I will try to cover. Launch day was this past Wednesday. All the teams and the staff met at Mt. Soledad in San Diego for our epic launch of the Fall 2009 Rescue and Recovery Tour! Some roadies spoke, Jedidiah spoke, Jason Russell spoke, we had free coffee and 1,000 bagels, it was great. All the vans were lined up in the parking lot a little ways down from where we were sitting and eventually we all hopped in our vans and one by one filed out of there to raucous applause, cheering, and overall happiness. Launch day was super fun and awesome, but Mtn. West had work to do. We headed straight back to the office to book some more screenings.

It was a little depressing not being able to launch on launch day, but we started working hard and our contacts started getting back to us and sure enough the screenings came rolling in. It was just us and our good friends the Cal-Pacific Team for 2 days at the office and at the roadie house (there was so much extra food from the other roadies leaving it was awesome!) Eventually, we tied up most of our loose ends and headed out on the road, we launched from the office on September 11th, 2009, it was a touching moment. I thought we were just going to run into the office, say bye and be on our way, but the staff and RM's were super sweet and really nice, everyone gave us hugs and came outside to see us off! It was so great, haha made me super happy.

From there we headed to Lauren's (my teammate) friend's house in Orange County, to spend the night and leave a little bit of extra luggage we had. It was nice to spend a little time there, worked a little bit but it was a beautiful place. You hear about Orange County being snooty, I figured that was a stereotype, but this was the first place where someone legitimately saw me wave to them, looked me in the eye, and did not wave back! Crazy talk! Anyway, stayed in the OC that night and headed out for the "real" road Saturday (today) morning at 8:30. Because she's the only one who's covered by the insurance, Lauren had to drive the whole way from the OC to Salt Lake City today, what a trooper, it was 11 hours!

Today: We got to drive by Death Valley, we stopped at a gas station and when I walked in the sunlight it was the hottest I've ever felt in my life!! I'ts insane! Next we were passing Las Vegas so we decided to hop in for a peek, it was pretty crazy, like Disney World for adults, super flashy. We ate lunch at a really good Thai place in Vegas then got back on the road. While driving from Vegas to SLC, we drove through this insanely cool mountain pass, we think it was a national park, but it was a super cool like canyon where you're literally driving through mountains!

To top all of that off, we're staying with Chad Whitehead in SLC. Chad and his wife Sara are legends among Mtn. West roadies. They're a young married couple that has been housing roadies and bands passing through for years and have like four extra beds just for us!! When we got here (around 9:30pm) Chad cooked us legit Ugandan food, and it was SUPER good. These people are SO nice and sweet and hospitable, it makes me so happy!

So anyway, launch was great, the big one and the little one. The road is treating us well, props to Lauren for braving the 11 hour drive alone, she's a hoss. I hope this is semi-interesting to you guys, I love you all, I'm working hard to rescue these child soldiers! I hope you know!

I love you all so much, and I miss you too.
Andrew Billon

Seepy Timee

I'm not going to write much because I really need to go to bed. I don't mean to be a debbie downer but I'm just not doing too hot right now. I haven't booked ANY screenings, I feel like I'm always treated in a condescending way, there are some people here I'm already tired of.

I don't know, I'm sure I'll be fine soon, I just feel like I'm in High School again and that is the utter oppositte of what I want at all. Ultimately things are still good though, it'll be fine, I need to find my niche I s'pose.

Love you guys, thank you so so much for your support in getting me out here, I'm working really hard.

<3<3<3

Sorry It's Been So Long

Hey Guys,

I've been hesitating to update this blog because it's been so long and I don't know how to recap everything, BUT I just decided something is better than nothing, so I'll just get on and start typing. :)

So this weekend I saw The Flaming Lips at some horse racetrack in San Diego for SIX BUCKS!!

Insane. I know. The show was really awesome, they have crazy cool shows. There were giant balloons, the singer got in a big bubble, a confetti/streamer gun, huge screen and light show- anyway it was so good.

I heard about it from my teammate Lauren, her friend from college lives in San Diego now, so he told us about it and 3 of us took the trolley to meet him and then he drove us to the show, it was really nice of him.

After the show he took us back to the trolley stop and we got back on it to ride it back to the Roadie House. At the trolley stop right before ours, the driver walked through the train and kicked us off because it was 12:00. SO we were stuck on this college campus at midnight, and we had to call an Invisible Children intern, Emily, that lived nearby to bring us home (cuz she has a car)

But all in all, it was great :) I put up an album on Facebook of photos I took that night- here

Another funny thing that happenned recently:

Let me explain. Today was our boss Margie's birthday. We wanted to do something really special because she works really hard for IC and even though she's pretty tough, we all really appreciate her. We heard she likes Michael Jackson, and one of the Roadies-Marshall Bang, a professional dancer- got together a plan to teach all the roadies the dance for the beginning of Thriller the night before and we'd all perform it for her as a surprise while eating and celebrating on the parking garage/roof at the office. So we all spent a few hours outside learning the dance Tuesday night, and this is the video of us performing today, for Margie's Birthday

*I'm in the back right corner, looking awkward but having fun :)

So anyway- Margie loved it, usually she's very composed and sorta strict with us, but she was tearing up and telling us this was the best birthday she's had in a really long time, she loved it! Woo, it was fun.

***

On the less exciting half of life here, booking screenings is SO HARD. I want to think I just have a hard region to book, but alot of other roadies are doing really well with booking- not me. We're supposed to get one per day and I've got none in four days.

Honestly it's really stressing me out that I'm not doing well, but I'm trying to stay positive,i'll start getting screenings eventually.

(p.s. when you book a screening you get to ring a big gong in the office and everyone cheers and it's really fun. I wanna do it.)

It's weird how lonely you can get living with 60 people, not that I don't love living with so many people, it has it's fun moments for sure, but it's hard to get really close with anyone with so many people around- it makes me miss my really good friends.

I've been missing everyone these last couple days, I'm still glad I'm here and all, don't get me wrong. I just miss all those people I love, and there are so many people I love back home.

I'm really tired, and I think this is a good place to close for now, again- sorry this took so long for me to post

I love you all so much, Thank you for everything!

Andypants.

p.s. Dad, I've been meaning to call you, but I forget the time difference and everytime I think to call it's really late. I'm really sorry, thanks for the calls, I love you and I'll call you soon.

First Day of Training

Yahoo! Nine hours of listening to lectures, talk, and mini quizzes!
haha today's the first day of training in the office, it was so long, and soo much information at once. We got to the office around 8:30am and left around 6pm.
Anywho, I gotta run but I'm going to explain these pictures in order from top to bottom real quick-
1. Sunset from the Roadie House balcony tonight
2. This is a picture from the grocery store I walked to tonight, you can see the roadie house though on the hill, basically in the direct center of the photo the big white face of a house in the back porch and balcony of the house.
3.Teammies!! That's Mandi with the glasses, Lauren with the peace sign
4.Dale being super stoked for the Mountain West team!
5.Dale and Mandi on our lunch break

I'll show you guys more later I promise, gotta run, our team is reviewing some "homework" we got in training tonight
love you guys!

wow.

It's the first night in the Roadie House tonight, ridiculous doesn't even really describe it.
Just imagine, ONE HOUSE with 60 people living in it!!
30 guys 30 girls, the guys have ONE shower to share between the 30 of us, hahaha I don't even know how that will be possible! Just in my room, or the one I sleep in, there are 6 bunk beds, that's 12 beds!
It should be fun though, tonight we had a little pre training meeting (training starts tomorrow at 9am) and 2 of the 3 founders of IC Jason Russell and Laren Poole both talked to us a little while, and we watched a documentary about the men who walked on the moon, the talk and the movie were all outside, on the top of the parking garage for the office building, this city is beautiful.
Hearing and seeing Jason and Laren in person was one of the most surreal things about this trip so far. The guys I first saw on the Rough Cut 3 years ago, who inspired me by leaving behind there "normal" lives to do something adventurous and great, it was crazy to be next to them, and apparently I'll meet them personally very soon. I'm not sure I'm fitting in particularly well, but I know I'll be fine, I met my teammates and they seem really nice, I'm stoked for the tour with them.
Anywho, the flight was cool, mountains and sky and clouds yahooo
I sat next to some old ladies so I could have a window seat, so I didn't really make friends this time around...
ok anyway, I need to get to bed, gotta get up at 7 30 and it's already 1!
I'll try and post some pictures soon, I'll make 'em good
I love you all,
andrew

About to leave for the Airport!

Today is my first flight ever! Woohoo! 

I'm just posting this here to appease my mom, so here ya go Carol

ITS MAH BLAWG!

hope I don't crash,

Andrew