Every time I think I'm out... they keep pulling me back in...
After the birth of my son, Quinn, on May 12 of this year, I left Nashville for Maryland's coast to be closer to the Grandparents. After years of struggle on the independent music scene I was badly burned out. I packed up my guitar for what I thought was the last time and put thoughts of Rockstardom out of my mind. It was time to move on. In fact, it had been a couple years since Audra & The Antidote last performed.
A couple months ago I got my very first royalty check. It wasn't for much, but it was a royalty check! "How ironic", I thought - at least in an Alanis Morissette kind of way. Admitedly it sent me into a round of "what ifs" which my partner Mike was displeased to see.
A couple days ago I got an email. It was from a producer at CBS. They are making a series based around INXS's search for a new lead singer. One of the auditions will be in Nashville and he'd gotten a couple recommendations for me so he thought he'd invite me to audition.
At first I blew it off. I had actually read about this whole event on CNN.com. I thought it sounded bizaar. Why would INXS want to do this in this way? Won't it end up as goofy as American Idol? After all, I would have to fly to Nashville and I couldn't possibly put together a band in time.
Still curious I went to the site and read about it. They were only letting you perform with one instrument (no bands) and you were encouraged to perform your own songs since they are looking for a singer/songwriter/front person. It started sounding better...
I imagined myself going to this audition waiting in line, seeing all the other hopefuls. I started to get a bad feeling about it. The date the producer listed as the Nashville date was different from what was on the website. I asked him about it. He said the one listed on the website was for the "cattle call". The one he listed is for appointments only and he'd be happy to set me up one - any time between 8:00am - 4:00pm.
Wow. An invitation and appointment. How could I refuse? What was there to lose? I do have to close a Nashville bank account anyway...
So, I told Jenn (of Jenny's Got A Boyfriend fame), she begged to go, so I bought 2 tickets and we're heading to Nashville for a day and a half in January!
If nothing else I can say I followed all opportunities presented to me and I can look back without regret.
Journal
What I thought then... and what I think now.
US Airways Sucks!
US Airways sucks. I will NEVER fly with them again. I've only flown with them once, and attempted one other time though I had to cancel my flight and got only $25 of my $200 transferred to use within a year with their company. Needless to say I didn't use my $25 on another ticket.
I always fly Southwest. I even have a Southwest Visa where I put all my purchases and rack up enough points through their rapid rewards program that I usually get one free ticket a year. I love it. I've NEVER had a probelm flying Southwest, the people at the company are always friendly, in a good mood, joking around... I've been on a couple different flights where the flight attendants sang a funny song over the intercom once we landed. You call their 800 number to reserve a flight and their hold "music" (which is more just patter) is so hilarious you almost hope no one picks up so you can keep listening. On top of all of this great stuff they are one of the least expensive airlines AND have one of the best safety records.
I had planned to use my rapid rewards ticket to go up to PA to visit my family over the holiday as usual. However, Mike's mom (Mike is my parter - domestic and business) decided she wanted to have Mike home for the holidays so she bought him AND me round trip tickets from Nashville to Selbyville, MD by way of Philadelphia on US Airways. These tickets were purchased were purchased online through a third party. These tickets were also not cheap - about $350 each.
The flight there was thankfully uneventful. I rode a commuter flight for the first time ever. I don't like flying, but interestingly I was less nervous on this flight than on a big plane. Maybe this is because you can see the ground the whole time not that that would matter much if an engine decided to quit working...
We arrived in Selbyville, MD on Dec. 23 and we were both scheduled to fly from Selbyville to Philadelphia on Christmas day at different times. He was going to get a connecting flight back here to Nashville and my parents were going to pick me up in Philly, and I was going to return to Nashville from Philly 5 days later.
Well, my parents decided that they wanted to see Mike while he was up North (my mom hadn't seen him in 10 years or so) and meet his family. Mike and I met almost 15 years ago and our parents had never met. It was time. So, they decided to drive the 2.5 hours from my hometown to Mike's. In other words, I wouldn't be taking the commuter flight from Selbyville to Philly on Christmas day.
I didn't bother to cancel the flight since purchases through third parties are non refundable. Besides, it was a one-way flight. What did it matter? Big mistake.
Dec. 30th I was ready to get back to Nashville. My parents drove me to the Philadelphia airport, said goodbye, and left. I got in line (a very short line) at US Airways and attempted their automatic check-in that didn't work for me the first time I tried it on the flight to Philly. The attendant looked up my ticket and asked me if I had taken the commuter flight on Christmas day.
"No", I said, glad I didn't since Mike's flight that day was cancelled anyway.
"Well," he said, "Because you weren't on that flight and didn't cancel, the rest of your ticket is void."
"What???" I said in disbelief. "This ticket has been paid for. That flight was 5 days ago!!!"
"I'm sorry. That was our contract with you and you broke it."
"But that flight was 5 days ago! How does that have any bearing on today's flight???"
"You didn't cancel. It's your fault." I was stunned not only at the "policy" but at the snide way he said this to me. I was feeling strangly confident though because I had the forethought to bring my Southwest Rapid Reward tickets with me anyway in case something happened. My brother had told me that Southwest had just come into Philly.
"Well, thank GOD I brought my Southwest free ticket with me!" He again told me it was my fault and I rush off unspeakably frustrated and irrated looking for the Southwest check-in.
Well, turned out my brother was wrong. Southwest intends to fly into Philly but won't until February. I was stuck and my phone was almost out of power. I tearily called Mike, he told me there was nothing to cry about, and he got a hold of my parents who were not too far outside of Philly on their way back home.
It wasn't long before they picked me up. They couldn't believe what had happened. Nowhere on my print-out did it mention anything about having to cancel a flight in order to keep the rest of your ticket THAT YOU PAID FOR!!! Once back at my parents' house I went to the computer and emailed my complaint to US Airways knowing full well it would do no good.
That night I called Southwest and reserved a flight for the next day, Dec. 31st, out of Baltimore using my Rapid Rewards Ticket. No problem. They were nice, accomodating, and a pleasure to speak with. I arrived at the airport, flew home, and me and my bags arrived safely (unlike Mike's US Air return flight who lost his bags!!!).
Yesterday I got a reply from US Airway's "customer service". This is what they had to say:
"I understand you decided to change your itinerary by driving to Philadelphia, but in doing so changed your ticket and the rest of the reservation was canceled by our system. In order to retain any value of the ticket you would have needed to contact reservations before December 25 and advise them of your plans and pay the difference in fares and the change fee. Because this was not done your ticket has no remaining value and I cannot honor your request for a refund."
How exactly did my ticket CHANGE??? How does my not physically being in a seat that was PAID FOR change my ticket??? It's not like they were losing money! Not only that why would I call to cancel a one way flight so they can charge me a "change fee"???
It is absolutely amazing that our government has bailed these airlines out. They are going bankrupt because they don't treat their customers with any sort of respect at all!!! They act like it is a privilege to fly with them!!! As Southwest says "there are many choices out there..." Guess who's one of the only profitable airlines?
Needless to say I will NEVER fly US Airways again. From here on out I vow only to fly Southwest. Long Live Southwest!
I always fly Southwest. I even have a Southwest Visa where I put all my purchases and rack up enough points through their rapid rewards program that I usually get one free ticket a year. I love it. I've NEVER had a probelm flying Southwest, the people at the company are always friendly, in a good mood, joking around... I've been on a couple different flights where the flight attendants sang a funny song over the intercom once we landed. You call their 800 number to reserve a flight and their hold "music" (which is more just patter) is so hilarious you almost hope no one picks up so you can keep listening. On top of all of this great stuff they are one of the least expensive airlines AND have one of the best safety records.
I had planned to use my rapid rewards ticket to go up to PA to visit my family over the holiday as usual. However, Mike's mom (Mike is my parter - domestic and business) decided she wanted to have Mike home for the holidays so she bought him AND me round trip tickets from Nashville to Selbyville, MD by way of Philadelphia on US Airways. These tickets were purchased were purchased online through a third party. These tickets were also not cheap - about $350 each.
The flight there was thankfully uneventful. I rode a commuter flight for the first time ever. I don't like flying, but interestingly I was less nervous on this flight than on a big plane. Maybe this is because you can see the ground the whole time not that that would matter much if an engine decided to quit working...
We arrived in Selbyville, MD on Dec. 23 and we were both scheduled to fly from Selbyville to Philadelphia on Christmas day at different times. He was going to get a connecting flight back here to Nashville and my parents were going to pick me up in Philly, and I was going to return to Nashville from Philly 5 days later.
Well, my parents decided that they wanted to see Mike while he was up North (my mom hadn't seen him in 10 years or so) and meet his family. Mike and I met almost 15 years ago and our parents had never met. It was time. So, they decided to drive the 2.5 hours from my hometown to Mike's. In other words, I wouldn't be taking the commuter flight from Selbyville to Philly on Christmas day.
I didn't bother to cancel the flight since purchases through third parties are non refundable. Besides, it was a one-way flight. What did it matter? Big mistake.
Dec. 30th I was ready to get back to Nashville. My parents drove me to the Philadelphia airport, said goodbye, and left. I got in line (a very short line) at US Airways and attempted their automatic check-in that didn't work for me the first time I tried it on the flight to Philly. The attendant looked up my ticket and asked me if I had taken the commuter flight on Christmas day.
"No", I said, glad I didn't since Mike's flight that day was cancelled anyway.
"Well," he said, "Because you weren't on that flight and didn't cancel, the rest of your ticket is void."
"What???" I said in disbelief. "This ticket has been paid for. That flight was 5 days ago!!!"
"I'm sorry. That was our contract with you and you broke it."
"But that flight was 5 days ago! How does that have any bearing on today's flight???"
"You didn't cancel. It's your fault." I was stunned not only at the "policy" but at the snide way he said this to me. I was feeling strangly confident though because I had the forethought to bring my Southwest Rapid Reward tickets with me anyway in case something happened. My brother had told me that Southwest had just come into Philly.
"Well, thank GOD I brought my Southwest free ticket with me!" He again told me it was my fault and I rush off unspeakably frustrated and irrated looking for the Southwest check-in.
Well, turned out my brother was wrong. Southwest intends to fly into Philly but won't until February. I was stuck and my phone was almost out of power. I tearily called Mike, he told me there was nothing to cry about, and he got a hold of my parents who were not too far outside of Philly on their way back home.
It wasn't long before they picked me up. They couldn't believe what had happened. Nowhere on my print-out did it mention anything about having to cancel a flight in order to keep the rest of your ticket THAT YOU PAID FOR!!! Once back at my parents' house I went to the computer and emailed my complaint to US Airways knowing full well it would do no good.
That night I called Southwest and reserved a flight for the next day, Dec. 31st, out of Baltimore using my Rapid Rewards Ticket. No problem. They were nice, accomodating, and a pleasure to speak with. I arrived at the airport, flew home, and me and my bags arrived safely (unlike Mike's US Air return flight who lost his bags!!!).
Yesterday I got a reply from US Airway's "customer service". This is what they had to say:
"I understand you decided to change your itinerary by driving to Philadelphia, but in doing so changed your ticket and the rest of the reservation was canceled by our system. In order to retain any value of the ticket you would have needed to contact reservations before December 25 and advise them of your plans and pay the difference in fares and the change fee. Because this was not done your ticket has no remaining value and I cannot honor your request for a refund."
How exactly did my ticket CHANGE??? How does my not physically being in a seat that was PAID FOR change my ticket??? It's not like they were losing money! Not only that why would I call to cancel a one way flight so they can charge me a "change fee"???
It is absolutely amazing that our government has bailed these airlines out. They are going bankrupt because they don't treat their customers with any sort of respect at all!!! They act like it is a privilege to fly with them!!! As Southwest says "there are many choices out there..." Guess who's one of the only profitable airlines?
Needless to say I will NEVER fly US Airways again. From here on out I vow only to fly Southwest. Long Live Southwest!
In The Blood
I just found out my bloodtype. I've gone through my whole life without knowing - sometimes wondering - and now I know. I'm 0-. That is a special bloodtype that only 7% of the population has. It's also the bloodtype that everybody can take - "the universal donor." It's the blood they give accident victims before they know their bloodtype.
I suddenly feel like I've been completely selfish my entire life. I have never given blood because I saw my friends in highschool passout or have their whole arm bruised for weeks. I convinced myself that I was too thin anyway (though over their 115 pound limit) and that it wouldn't be good for my health.
I could have saved so many lives. Recently I've been thinking about my importance in life. When it comes down to it, I'm not important. No one depends on me; no one really need me. I mean, sure, people would miss me if I were gone, but everything I do can be completed easily by someone else. Only 7% of the population can save as many lives.
The way I understand it, O- is recessive, so both parents have to have this bloodtype for you to have it. That also means that all offspring will have this type also. I have three siblings who apparently all share this rare bloodtype. To my knowledge, neither my parents nor my siblings give blood either. What a waste.
I'm going to do my best to change this. I'm going to start giving blood and I'm going to encourage my siblings and parents to do the same. Our blood is important. Your blood is important too.
I suddenly feel like I've been completely selfish my entire life. I have never given blood because I saw my friends in highschool passout or have their whole arm bruised for weeks. I convinced myself that I was too thin anyway (though over their 115 pound limit) and that it wouldn't be good for my health.
I could have saved so many lives. Recently I've been thinking about my importance in life. When it comes down to it, I'm not important. No one depends on me; no one really need me. I mean, sure, people would miss me if I were gone, but everything I do can be completed easily by someone else. Only 7% of the population can save as many lives.
The way I understand it, O- is recessive, so both parents have to have this bloodtype for you to have it. That also means that all offspring will have this type also. I have three siblings who apparently all share this rare bloodtype. To my knowledge, neither my parents nor my siblings give blood either. What a waste.
I'm going to do my best to change this. I'm going to start giving blood and I'm going to encourage my siblings and parents to do the same. Our blood is important. Your blood is important too.
Impromptu Interview
About a week ago I got a phone call at at 8:00 at night. I didn't recognize the number but it wasn't "unknown name" so I picked it up. The person on the other end said, "Is This Audra?". "Yes", I replied. "This is The Ron and Fezz Radio Show from the D.C. area. Would you agree to an on-air interview?" "Sure." I thought it was a joke at first but it sounded legit.
"So, Audra. You sang the Wendy's commercial 'Up Late With Dan And Amanda, right'".
"Yeah."
"Well, we were hoping you could settle a little bet. Up until tonight I thought the commercial was "Up Late With Ted and Amanda. Did it ever change?"
"No. It's always been Dan and Amanda", I said giggling.
"So it's never been anything else. You never sang another version?"
"Nope. That's the only one. I did hear that they were thinking about re-recording the music so they wouldn't have to pay residuals to us again."
"Is this you?" he asks and plays the music.
"Oh, yeah. That's me.
"OK. Huh. Wow. How did we get you on the line so fast???"
"Oh, I have my phone number on my website... I should probably take that off now..." thinking I didn't need all of the D.C. area calling me on my cell."
"Oh! (laughing) I thought we had a crack research team. So, what else do you do?"
"I have a band, 'Audra & The Antidote'" I was glad to get that in. "Oh yeah? What kind of music do you play?"
"Pop Rock." I said.
"Well... we should get you guys to the studio and play the commercial live!"
"OK." I said still giggling the whole time. He didn't need to know that we didn't play the song on the commercial.
"So, do you have a website?"
"Yeah, it's theantidote.net." REALLY glad he asked that. Otherwise I was wonder how I could get that in.
"Great. Tell it to us one more time."
"The band is Audra & The Antidote and the website is theantidote.net". "Thanks Audra. Thanks for being a sport. Bye."
"You're welcome. Bye."
I quickly came over to the computer and took off my phone number from the site. Mike was watching the logs and we started to get a ton of visitors and more posts to the guestbook. Thanks Ron and Fezz for that impromtu promotion!
"So, Audra. You sang the Wendy's commercial 'Up Late With Dan And Amanda, right'".
"Yeah."
"Well, we were hoping you could settle a little bet. Up until tonight I thought the commercial was "Up Late With Ted and Amanda. Did it ever change?"
"No. It's always been Dan and Amanda", I said giggling.
"So it's never been anything else. You never sang another version?"
"Nope. That's the only one. I did hear that they were thinking about re-recording the music so they wouldn't have to pay residuals to us again."
"Is this you?" he asks and plays the music.
"Oh, yeah. That's me.
"OK. Huh. Wow. How did we get you on the line so fast???"
"Oh, I have my phone number on my website... I should probably take that off now..." thinking I didn't need all of the D.C. area calling me on my cell."
"Oh! (laughing) I thought we had a crack research team. So, what else do you do?"
"I have a band, 'Audra & The Antidote'" I was glad to get that in. "Oh yeah? What kind of music do you play?"
"Pop Rock." I said.
"Well... we should get you guys to the studio and play the commercial live!"
"OK." I said still giggling the whole time. He didn't need to know that we didn't play the song on the commercial.
"So, do you have a website?"
"Yeah, it's theantidote.net." REALLY glad he asked that. Otherwise I was wonder how I could get that in.
"Great. Tell it to us one more time."
"The band is Audra & The Antidote and the website is theantidote.net". "Thanks Audra. Thanks for being a sport. Bye."
"You're welcome. Bye."
I quickly came over to the computer and took off my phone number from the site. Mike was watching the logs and we started to get a ton of visitors and more posts to the guestbook. Thanks Ron and Fezz for that impromtu promotion!
Happiness and Out of Gas
I think I can finally say that I've found happiness. It wasn't something I really found exactly, but it's something that has been creeping up on me. Not too long ago (and I'm sure not coincidental) I decided to stop trying to make life bend to my wishes. Instead, see the future as one big exciting present. You don't know what's in there but you have to open it because it's for you. I guess it's the taoist view of going with the flow or don't try to fit a square peg in a round hole. Cliché, yes, but only because it's universal.
Just today as I was entering the on-ramp to the highway, my car ran out of gas. I was on my way to one of my many jobs. It could have been a stressful disaster but instead I called Mike, called my job, and started walking to the nearest gas station. I hadn't even gotten 10 yards from my car when a police officer spotted me and pulled over to help. He called TDOT, Tennessee's emergency roadside service, and within 5 minutes a kindly gentleman with a gallon of gas came and put it in my empty tank. This is a public service here in Nashville and didn't cost me a thing! From the time my car stopped accelerating to the time I was back on the road was 10 minutes. Can you believe that? A bad situation doesn't have to be bad.
I started writing a song I think is going to turn out really cool. Here's the title so you can start the anticipation: Peter Meter. That's all I'm going to say. :-)
Just today as I was entering the on-ramp to the highway, my car ran out of gas. I was on my way to one of my many jobs. It could have been a stressful disaster but instead I called Mike, called my job, and started walking to the nearest gas station. I hadn't even gotten 10 yards from my car when a police officer spotted me and pulled over to help. He called TDOT, Tennessee's emergency roadside service, and within 5 minutes a kindly gentleman with a gallon of gas came and put it in my empty tank. This is a public service here in Nashville and didn't cost me a thing! From the time my car stopped accelerating to the time I was back on the road was 10 minutes. Can you believe that? A bad situation doesn't have to be bad.
I started writing a song I think is going to turn out really cool. Here's the title so you can start the anticipation: Peter Meter. That's all I'm going to say. :-)
