dear people who break into cars in san francisco,

you're a butthole.

love,

me

after over four months of waiting...the fall out boy concert finally came! we left for san francisco saturday morning in my loaded up champagne colored saturn with take this to your grave blasting out of my windows. the sky was grey and the wind was cool and i could have sworn it was going to rain any moment in the middle of september. about thirty minutes down the road the sky turned black and out of no where buckets and buckets of rain poured down on my car. i had my windshield wipers blasting back and forth but soon the lines on the road disappeared and i had to follow the lights on the car in front of me to see. after thirty seconds or so his lights disappeared and i couldn't see a single thing. people were stopping in the middle of the freeway and my heart my racing. i pulled off on the next exit i could make out and crawling at a pace of 15 miles an hour, finally made it safely to a gas station to park. i googled the closest autozone and slowly but surely made my way to buy some new windshield wiper blades, praying the entire time. the guy behind the counter was so helpful and when i asked if i could pay to have him put on my new blades he replied, "hun, i'll do it for free." he went out into the pouring rain and replaced them in a minute flat. finally we were back on the road after stopping off to get some hot vanilla chais.

 the drive there took longer than normal with lots and lots of traffic. but the air was cool and by the time we got closer to the city the rain had stopped completely. 

traffic, traffic lookin' fo my chapstick, feelin' kinda car sick, there's a ford maverick

malibu's most wanted anyone?

the little european inn we stayed at was adorable. our room had two twin beds and the cutest retro/vintage-y decorations. we opened up the windows to let the bay breeze blow in and took our time fixing our hair and makeup for the concert. when it was time to go we hopped in my car and made our way to the pier. the line was kind of ridiculous but the weather was perfect and i was too excited to get bummed out. by the time we were nestled in the front by the stage we were both ready for the music to start. 

(i forgot to take a picture of our room but this was actually the exact room we stayed in. i got it from the website. its so cute!)
the opening band, twenty one pilots, were actually really good. next was panic at the disco and they were absolutely incredible. 100 times better than the first time we saw them when they were just starting out. we sang and danced and shimmied our little booties off. and of course fall out boy was INCREDIBLE. we were the closest to the stage we've ever been and watching them made me feel young again. they played all of our favorite songs and with the city lights as the backdrop i could have died happy. it was such an amazing concert, top five definitely. 

panic! at the disco

patrick on guitar

pete and andy 

one of my favorites parts. when patrick sang what a catch, donnie on piano

i will defend the faith going down swinging. i will save the songs that we can't stop singing

one of my favorite pictures from the whole concert

after the show we hobbled back to the parking garage with our sore feet, grabbed some late night drive-thru food, and found that there is nothing better than a comfy bed after a long day. even if it's a tiny twin bed.

we left the windows open and i fell asleep hard and fast to the sound of car horns, people yelling, and the melody of the city. i woke up too early to the bright sun shining its way into the room and my sleep. we put on some shoes to walk down to my car parked right outside of the hotel to fill up the parking meter.

as soon as we stepped outside i knew something was wrong. i could see my trunk and gas tank were open. when i reached the car i finally saw the glass on the ground and saw my driver window was smashed in. there was glass EVERYWHERE. all the content that were left inside were thrown about the car (and down the street) and covered with glass and the excess chai latte they dumped out. in total they got all the pennies and change i had in my center console, the gift cards i got for my birthday, a peacoat, a winter jacket, a pair of boots, a scarf, two of my college textbooks, all of the contents of my glove box except my car manual and registration, all of my cds, and a bag of chips that were in my backseat. the strange thing is they left one of my text books, a few of my favorite cds, my registration with my current sticker i forgot to put on, and all the car chargers. they also kicked in the small back window on my passenger side.

i swept up as much glass as i could and had to sit on the sun shade that goes in my front window to protect me from the glass. we checked out of the hotel and made our way back home.

stay classy sacramento

to be honest, i was really upset at first. i called my mom sobbing and not knowing what to do. but after a few minutes i wasn't sad anymore, i was determined and motivated. i am a little bummed about the things stolen. i had two brand new jackets and years and years worth of cds. but in the grand scheme of things all of the stuff taken was just that. stuff. it can be replaced. cds can be repurchased. books can be bought again. nothing significant or irreplaceable was taken from me. it's all just material things. 

i am guessing the person or people who did this felt like it was something they needed to do, maybe. and i truly, not sarcastically, hope the jackets and scarves they got will keep them warm. and the snacks they got will help them not feel hungry. and hey, maybe the text books will keep them feeling challenged and entertained. who knows. 

even now that i've had time to think about everything and have shelled out $400 to replace my windows i don't feel angry or sad. people i have told usually respond with, "i would be so pissed right now!" or something along those lines. and normally i would have. but i guess i can say i feel blessed. which sounds crazy i know. but throughout the entire trip i felt God in everything. i made it safely to the auto store to buy new windshield wipers and had the nicest guy help put them on for me. and for anyone who knows me, they know i hate bridges, and 20 minutes before we were to cross the bridges into the city the rain literally stopped and the sky was sunny and warm enough to take off my sweatshirt. our hotel was sweet and private and $175 cheaper than all the other hotels we were looking at. the concert was fun, we were close to the stage, safe, and it didn't even sprinkle a drop when the forecast had predicted rain all night. and even with my car. yes, it sucks, but in the grand scheme of things they could have messed with my engine, broken all the windows, slashed my tires, or even stolen my car. but they didn't. and i am thankful for that. throughout the trip i kept thanking God and even now i still am. 

i made it home safe, was able to enjoy the concert, and thankfully have my financial aid money to help with the cost of the windows for now. all in all im blessed and grateful and know that God was with me every step of the way. it's a strange and weird way to look at things, i know, but God is good even through the really, really, unfortunate stuff that happens.

xo