Everything was melon and orange.

I've hit 100 followers! THANKS READERS!

Here are three photos of Jesse and I - well, actually it's the same photo, but an example of running it through some iPhone filters via CameraBag. The first is the original, the second is using the 1974 filter, and the last demonic version is the 1962 filter. We were watching the Patriots game versus the Browns, so perhaps it was just unveiling my inner frustration? There's an app for that!

'Cause you're the storm that I've been needing.

A picture from the fun times in Coney Island this summer; the weather's since turned cooler.

This week marks the calm before the storm. A good storm, mind you.

On Friday, Jesse flies in from the Best Tour Ever for an evening at Pee Wee Herman's live Broadway show. He was lovely enough to get us front row tickets!

Saturday morning we jet to Chicago for two evenings of the Best Tour Ever, as well as hang time for me and some of my favourite friends! Not to mention the husband, who has been truckin' away on this tour for a good three weeks. I can't wait to see some Valencia, Say Anything, and Saves the Day - and Motion City Soundtrack!! Given that it's the Halloween show and Chicago contains some of their most awesome fans, there will be some traditional MCS dressing up, though I've not been privy to the plans yet. I do have a costume of my own I'll be packing...

I'll be back in time for the work week on Monday, but Monday also signifies the beginning of November. And I've got BIG PLANS this November! I'll be participating in my first ever NaNoWriMo - which means "National Novel Writing Month." I'll be writing nearly 1700 words every single day in the hopes of reaching at least 50,000 words by November 30th...50,000 words of a NOVEL. If you're embarking on this quest as well, feel free to friend me on the website, my username (as always) is jessicaxmaria.

You could be hearing right now a gleam of the near future's SENSATION! The top of the bestseller lists! The instant-classic yet to be written! Or, not. Most likely not. But at least I'll have something to work with after November. Something malleable, something to edit. I'm quite excited and motivated.

My blog posts in the month of November may be short and sweet, as you can probably understand. Though I may do plenty of updates from the road - updates from the Best Tour Ever - as I'll be sure to have my computer handy for plane and train writing! I wish I had a light, sleek MacBook Air just for this month! But, it cannot be at the moment. No worries, my November means traveling, seeing my dude, hanging with friends, and writing - four of the best things in my life.

I aim to have an adventurous month! Anybody goes to the MCS shows? Participating in NaNoWriMo?

PS Stay tuned tomorrow for a fun contest with prizes!!

I wander aimless, leering at strangers.

It's about that time again. Yes, we're a week and one day into my separation from Jesse, and no, the stagnant heated arms of the obliterating humidity aren't replacing Jesse's as I fall asleep. It happens this way. There's much to do, but my mind wanders like it sees a bright, shiny object to the west, and that would be my husband. So I drift into silences sometimes, staring out a window like I'm in a Sofia Coppola movie - pensive muteness, great soundtrack - and I think about him. We'll be together soon, but it's kind of one of those recurring and familiar feelings when he's gone away. It's not horrible, but I find myself sighing a lot.

The swell part is that he's there when I reach out for him - not physically, of course, but somewhere there. Invisible lines stretching until our voices or words connect. He's always there.

Pursue the sound and lock the door.

Thanks for all the kind comments regarding my new blog layout! I have had a pile of these formspring questions piling up in my inbox, so here we go -

Hola Jessica! Someone may have asked you this already, but do you ever go out on tour with Jesse? If you do, what's tour life like? - L.B.

Yes, I've flown out to visit Jesse on tour occasionally. Comes with the territory! I've blogged a lot about my time out visiting Jesse in the past - just not in the past year, considering that they didn't tour for most of 2009. The first time I flew out was in 2007, roughly five months into Jesse and I dating. I've gone countless other times, and they're in the ol' archives.

Tour life is fun and funny. And I promise you, it's not glamourous. There's a routine to the day from everybody slowly getting up from their bunks to bus call late at night/early morning. Buses can get cramped; it's easy to get stir-crazy. I'm a pretty deep sleeper, so I rarely had issues falling asleep in my "guest" bunk on a moving bus, but for others it might be hard to get used to. There's not a lot of room to cuddle up in a bunk, so it's not like Jesse and I sleep together. The first time I was on a bus, back in July 2007 I was SO awkward about the bunks and waking up - should I get up? Did Jesse get up? Do I get dressed in my bunk horizontally or make a run for the bathroom? (Don't get me started on the itty bitty bathroom...)

However, other than the BUS, tour life can all depend on where you are. When the bus stops and parks you could be on a Chicago city street, or in Florida's panhandle next to a dilapidated Days Inn for a day off. It's what you make of it, of course. I've been to so many cities since I started dating Jesse, and I love getting to experience all of them - from the beautiful Portland, Oregon to the rural Council Bluffs, Iowa. It's fun for me, since I'm on vacation and I get to spend a lot of time with Jesse.

Oh, and: there's not a lot of the craziness some people associate with tour buses - Motion City does not equal Motley Crue. I'm not going to lie, they are mostly a nerdy bunch and there's rarely alcohol on the bus, and definitely no random ladies.

Hello! Since you live in the city, I was wondering if you ever find the time to go to any Broadway or off-Broadway shows. If so, what are your favorite shows? As a Theatre major I was just interested to see. I also wanted to tell you that your blog has encouraged me to rediscover my joy of reading. Thank you! -Lurker from Jersey
 
Hey! Glad you rediscovered your love of reading! That's awesome. I have been to a few Broadway shows since living in New York, and I love the theater - however, I usually only go if it has a real draw for me. For instance, any time Kevin Spacey is in a play (The Iceman Cometh in 1997 was my first Broadway play ever, and I saw him again a couple of years ago in Moon for the Misbegotten). I think he's brilliant. I also really loved Spamalot and Spring Awakening. And anything Shakespeare.

Fact: for years when I visited New York as a poor college student my friend Kelly and I would try to get the raffle/cheap tickets to Rent and we never won. Kelly definitely made it in once when I wasn't with her, but I have never seen that musical staged. And after seeing the movie version, I don't think I want to.

How amazing was MCS on Jimmy? lol their performance has made me even more excited to see them live next month! lol.
 
Yay! I loved them on Jimmy! Glad you're excited to see them - I think their tour is so awesome this year because they now know all their old songs so they're switching up the set list each night! I think they're having a lot of fun with it, too.

What do you absolutely LOVE?
 
Absolutely, hm? Nice hands, great performances, perfect wordplay, witnessing accomplishment on a grand scale, a song that complements my mood to the tee, acts of kindness, and knowing looks/locking eyes.

I love the key necklace you wear. Where is it from? It reminds me of my grandmother and how when I was little she would buy me and my sister themed gifts. My sister got apples (apple of her eye) and I got keys (key to her heart).

The necklace was a gift from Jesse. He has the lock, and I have the key. I believe he bought the necklaces in Japan. I'm sure you've noticed that I rarely take it off - he doesn't either. They've definitely become an intimate symbol to us in our relationship, and the only time I've taken mine off in the past two and a half years was on our wedding day. Literally, here's a picture of my mom taking it off while I'm about to head to the ceremony. It was promptly back around my neck the following day! I truly love it.

I've always been a fan of keys - and it was due to my grandmother, as well! She had a huge wall in her house that was covered in antique keys. I loved looking at them every time I visited.