my tribute to rocket star

Dear Rocketstar,

I was there the day you opened. I remember I was incredibly happy when Bill and Dan asked me to work for them. I liked how they set up the place, I liked the atmosphere they were going for and they seemed like awesome people to work for.
I remember the first day I worked and how nervous I was that I would screw up, Bill would realize he made a bad choice and tell me not to come back (and then I'd have to go work at Ali Baba's again).

I remember when Dave B. put in the glass between the smoking and non-smoking rooms and how paranoid I was about breaking it.

I remember when this room was clean.

I remember working many midnight to 6 AM shifts and only seeing Scott (who always kept me laughing and had some sort of obsession at times. Does anyone remember when he would say "touche" to everything?), Mischa (who drew really interesting things in the Rocket Log and scared off creepy dudes for me) and Radiohead Dave (no explanation needed).

and then many 6 AM to noon shifts, where I saw Ms. McKenna a lot, but was too intimidated to talk to her.

I remember when a helicopter landed across the street.

And when Dan dropped a box or two of China Cola.

Dan also once told me that I had to own a moped and be a member of the Moped Army to continue working at Rocketstar, so I got this:

(hahaha. Just kidding. I got it cause mopeds are awesome, duh.)
I remember one day I got a special message on the sign outside.

And I remember when 2 of the 3 Hanson brothers were hanging out, drinking coffee in Rocket Star. And when Bill was convinced that Edward Norton came in, but was in ~disguise~.

I've met many people because of Rocket Star.

Erin M.


Miss Kim

Dan

Chris!!

Joeybearrrrr

Bill (I think this was during his dance off with Mikey O)

Mikey Ohio (winning the dance off)


Emily!
Beth.

Lauren (Petro's in that pic too, but I already knew him!) I believe this picture was taken at an 80s night. Ugh, I miss those! They were so fun!
Franta

Jordan

DVG
Abe and Kyle. (Abe once recorded a version of Elvis Costello's "Alison" for my birthday. It was awesome and I still have it.)

Chad
Dave B

Amanda.
Some of them I'm still very close with, a lot of them came to our wedding, but (sadly) some of them I don't talk to much or at all for various reasons. A lot of us are now living in different places, some I see when I go back to Kalamazoo and hopefully I'll see some of them within the next year.
BUT
We had lots of fun together! LOTS. I have a lot of good memories both inside and out of Rocket Star.















With lots of love and memories, (and sad I couldn't see you as Rocket Star one last time)

Alison

**There are a lot of people I don't have pictures of on my computer (like Miguel, Clay, Mike, April, Neil, Mary, etc., to name a few) that I got to know through Rocketstar. Also, I didn't take all of these pictures posted, but I'm glad that somebody captured the moment.

would you like some cheese with that whine?

It's kind of disappointing when a group of people that you have known and considered friends at one point in your life are within 50 miles of where you live for a weekend and don't even come for a visit. Or call just to say hi. Oh well. Could I really expect anything different? Nah. I'm not really surprised. I'm more surprised that I don't care as much as I would've a year ago. Progress does occur.
But. It is disappointing that I write letters and only get a few back. I miss getting mail. Thanks to Megan and Julia for the cards/letters. And to mom for the care package (chocolate and coffee! yes!). Speaking of mail... Amanda, have you gotten recipes from your recipe tree? I've gotten one so far! It was very exciting. I hope everyone I sent mine off to sent one to you!

Yesterday I did something that I haven't done in a long time: finish a whole book (315 pages!) in one day. Little Children is pretty darn good; now I want to see the movie.

Three more days left. I don't have much to do this week. Tomorrow: review. Wednesday and Thursday: Test, presentations, turn in projects. Then... we are done with Julius Caesar-- thank god!
For spring break? Read all the books I got out of the library and some that have been waiting on the shelf. Explore WMBG. Finish #2 issue of zine.

quick notes

4 more days. Then I have Friday without students and a whole week to myself. Amazing!
Right now, we are watching Babel. I'm not sure if I'm enjoying it or just watching it to say I finally saw it.
I found out today that one of my students is pregnant. It was really surprising, but I'm pretty certain she'll be okay. She's incredibly intelligent, strong, kind, etc. I bet she will be a fantastic mother. I was really surprised she told me, but also flattered. It's nice when kids trust you enough to let you in on what's going on with them. They don't need to, it's not a requirement, so it's always flattering when a student shares something that's a part of their life outside of school.
I've been entertaining the idea of getting a fancy phone, like the t-mobile sidekick. I have no idea why, the idea just kinda popped in my head and stuck. David suggested saving up for it (it'd be about $200), but it's just a passing fancy, really. I don't need it, it's just something that seems cool. I probably wouldn't use it that much anyway.
Megan comes for the summer on May 10th. That's 41 days away. I'm excited. She's already got an interview set up (they called her about 30 minutes after I turned in her application she left here!), which is why Virginia is awesome. I've been thinking about getting a part time job. I'd probably apply at Barnes & Noble so I could get a discount on books or Plan 9 so I could finally work in a music store (cross that off the list of things to do before I die! haha) and fulfill my Empire Records dreams. It'd be useful to have some extra money to either pay off debt or save up for our next move. It'd also give me something to do and a chance at meeting some WMBG folk.
Warm weather makes me miss Michigan, things I used to do once it warmed up again and people that I knew there. I miss Natalie, Katy, Krista, Amanda, Chris, Cherie... the list goes on. I just saw Amanda, but it felt so quick! I like VA, but this week I've been really nostalgic for some reason. I've missed knowing every crack in the sidewalk on my walks, having somewhere to walk to even, having a coffeeshop to go and hang out in, having people to just sit around with. Maybe some day...