Ahhh... ten hours of sleep. LJ and I boarded the subway to the train station at around 11 a.m., and purchased tickets to Asbury Park, NJ. We were then officially left with 3 cents. Unfortunately, the two of us were already in the train before we realized that we only grabbed one of the tickets. It was too late to run back for the other one, but we managed to reach our destination anyway at 1:30 p.m. From the station, we didn't know which way to go, but there were five other people who were headed to the concert. In exchange for directions, we helped one of them get in with a pass (the show was sold out and she didn't have a ticket). What a deal for her! She got in, and bought us each a smoothie. What a deal for us!

Asbury Park was small, dirty, crowded, and muddy. Yuck! We were forced to carry our bags while squeezing between sweaty people for a couple of hours. Rehab just finished their set, and were leaving for Atlanta. We said goodbye, and had no place to leave our luggage. LJ and I decided to walk around the ghost town of Asbury. We used the restroom in a restaurant, where we found people willing to buy us drinks in exchange for the use of two passes. We got them in, but were seen and warned by security. Anyway, soon enough, we found LJ's friend (our ride for that evening) and carried our bags to his car.

At the venue, we watched more bands until I saw Rick Thorne on vert. We ran over and he waved at me from the top of the ramp. We talked for a while, and watched some skaters, including Jon Comer.

Walking around was tiring, so I spent a large part of the day sitting in the airconditioned hotel that served as a backstage area. At 6 p.m., I was determined to watch *Good Charlotte* from the stage. After all, it was their last show, as well as my last day. LJ introduced me to the band's manager, and after some minor begging, I was able to situate myself in the back behind Dusty and beside The Balls of Steel boys.

Look how many people there were, dying to be where I was! That's what made me realize how lucky I had been during the entire trip. And that's also what you should use to imagine how happy I had been. Oh yeah, did I mention that Dusty gave me a drumstick after their set?

Following *GC*'s performance, I couldn't find LJ so I took a walk on the beach with Kevin, the drummer for 10 Times a Day. We had a deep conversation. It was really nice.

When we came back, The Vandals were wrapping the tour up on the main stage. LJ was there with them. I went in the front to take pictures of the band, just as Warren took over lead vocals. He jumped on top of the huge amps, pulled up his shorts, and acted like Warren. To my surprise, he saw me and waved. Pardon the overuse of this phrase, but 'how cool is that?!?' When the show ended, we walked around and ran into the skaters Matt Dove and Jesse Fritsch - having absolutely no idea that it was them. They were really funny...as seen in the picture.

Soon, we headed over to the barbeque and talked to Bryan from the Bouncing Souls, and Nate from Flogging Molly. LJ and her friend walked over with Nate to the Dropkick Murphys' bus, while I hung around the barbeque area. If I had any regrets during the course of the trip, it was because of this part of the night. There were just too many opportunities of which I didn't take advantage. I guess I felt like I had to draw the line somewhere, and it was then that I chose to do so. (Not making sense, huh?)

Well, anyway, soon enough, I decided to head over to the Dropkick Murphys. Al (lead vocals) is SO funny! I signed some autographs for him. We hung out there, watched TV, played cards, etc. until bus call at 2 a.m., and they still weren't trying to kick us out.

I decided to sit "on a chair" outside, where I enjoyed a few unforgettable 'moments' with two certain people. I sat there, breathing deeply. I just HAD to hold everything in, for fear that the whole experience - the grand slam - could somehow escape me. Well, fortunately, it still hasn't. And neither having our car break down at Jersey at 3 a.m., nor being in a towtruck at 4 a.m. was able to bring me down. When we arrived at a gas station, the three of us resumed our positions in the car until someone came to our rescue. I was about to worry about not getting sleep, being dirty, and arriving late on the first day at my new job, but instead, broke out into uncontrollable laughter. Worrying...ha! I scoff at worrying...it sucks everything good out of life.