I wrote this early this morning, but the internet hasn’t been working – will update more later!
Hi 
This week has gone by SO. FAST. I’m trying to wrap my mind around the fact that i’ll be leaving for my third one-week job tomorrow. Hard to do.
Being a rock star is going well. Here’s a run-down of the past few days:
Some things just come easy
On Wednesday, we rocked out. Somewhere around 2:30pm, we all ended up at the basement (Juice’s practice space), and started loading equipment into the truck. The truck turned out to be smaller than expected, so we had to rely on Phil’s Tetrus-esque genius to make as many items fit as possible. It was hot and sort of tension-filled, but we got through it. We ended up putting some items in cars, and we were on our way.
After we packed everything and got to the venue, we had to unpack the truck, haha. That was a lot faster. A lot of people helped us set up for the show, which took about two hours. It was VERY hot, though i was mostly unaffected, being from Texas. The dangerous bit about the heat is that Juice’s performance attire is all black: Black shirt, black pants, black shoes. Black. Blackblackblack. In nearly 100-degree weather. I’ll say it again: dangerous.
Setting up before the show!
Collin’s laptop was needed for one of the pieces, but it was so hot that his laptop overheated. We ended up having to cut the song from the set list. The show began at 6:30pm, and it was awesome. It was a different, exciting experience to watch the group display their skill on a stage in front of a big audience, as opposed to in that tiny basement. They looked like…like rock stars (Glad i’m not overusing these two words), actually. As for me, I got to play the gong and the cymbals. I wasn’t too bad! (<– HUMILITY 
) The show ended after an hour, and we had to hurry to pull everything off stage for the next act. It was really hectic, but as usual, we got the job done efficiently. We packed the truck, went back to the basement, and unloaded the truck. We were all so tired we didn’t bother to organize it all.
Some of the crew gearing up before the performance.
Thursday was another Tuesday. Not much went on because again, everyone was doing their jobs, making that money for the Juice! The night ended with wedding talk (a few of the members are engaged) and a Harry Potter film.
Today brings another show, but this one’s a little different. Juice does what they call “outreach” shows, where they perform for free in support of a good cause. These shows are a little smaller and a little shorter, but with just as much energy. Tonight, they’ll be supporting the Stewardship Network, an “organization working to protect, restore, and manage Michigan’s natural lands and waters.” A few of the members work for this organization, so this event is personal for them.
I want to give some of you out there a break, so I will end here – my shortest post ever! Stay tuned for my Rock Star wrap-up. I’ll surely miss Ann Arbor when I leave tomorrow evening. These wonderful people have already become good friends of mine.
-M
“I write to understand as much to be understood.”
ELIE WIESEL