ElectRICK Enlightenment: December 2007

Ok so, over the years, I have given myself the reputaton of being known for never losing stuff, and if anything, I "misplace" things for an undisclosed amount of time. Sad to say, during this last tour, I finally lost something, my iPod. Which is surprising because, it's my ipod AND I have my nike + running gear all hooked up to it, so its practically always attached to me. After some time went by and denial disapeared, I accepted the fact that it was lost and took a trip down to the Apple Store to go get a new one.

I was looking at all the cool new ipods, which keep getting smaller and smaller; cooler and cooler, so I was actually stoked to be getting a new one anyways. As I was deciding which color to get, I stumbled across the Red nanos, and read the literature that was alongside it. And then it clicked in my head, "Why am I even considering any other color besides the red one?!" The red ones donate $ 10 to the Global Fund (which helps financially support health and community programs in Africa). I am fortunate enough to live where I do, fortunate to live somewhere were iPods are even available and can be such a luxury, and fortunate to have my health amongst the plethora of other fortunes, me and millions of other people are blessed with daily.

So I grabbed the red ipod, excited cuz I always look out for oppportunities and ideas to help out, and was stoked to have been given this opportunity when buying an ipod! And if you're reading this, and wanting to get a new ipod, or know someone who does, then check out this website for more ways to get involved and help.... read, learn and become aware!!

http://www.joinred.com

This holiday season, if you're giving someone an Apple iTunes gift certificate, consider giving them the (red) one.

Moral of the story is, there's alot of opportunities all over the place to help out people less fortunate than ourselves, just gotta keep your eyes peeled. Because sometimes it can be just as easy as choosing the right color. And if everyone chose the right color, it could make a big difference in someones life.

Ok, so some Melee news! We had an exciting weekend, after some time off for Thanksgiving. We all met up at LAX, including Gabe, to take a red eye to Fort Myer Florida for WINK Fm's Xmas show with Emerson Hart and Mat Kearney!

So I don't know if anyone reading this has ever flown out of LAX, but it's always a fun time looking out for celebrities at the airport! As we were going through security, we spotted Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Which was awesome, and couldn't have made it more obvious haha. Then as I was exiting security and stumbling around trying to put my shoes and belt back on, I noticed several paparazzi taking pictures, directed right by me. I kept looking around and around and didn't see any famous people. I looked back and forth at the rest of the guys to see if they saw anyone, but we couldn't spot them. Then I realized, the girl right next to me was who they were taking pictures of, but I didn't recognize her, so I thought maybe she's an international celebrity. As I was about to ask her why they're taking pictures of her and if she's famous, I unfortunately realized who she was, and lost my courage of what I was about to do. It was Rachel Bilson from the OC! So I got all nervous and shy'd away haha. SO if anyone see's me looking aloof in a tabloid picture with her in it, you now know why haha.

Anyways! The flight was great, and we were quick to learn the true meaning of a red eye flight, which included me and Ryan watching alot of South Park episodes on my new red ipod nano, which is so small it hurts our eyes haha. Well, we finally got into Florida around 11 am and with a broken gps (misguiding us many miles north of our hotel), got to our hotel. We took a couple hour nap, and went to the venue to play the show! It was at a cool restaurant/bar right on the beach. It was a beautiful view while we played our set, to be able to look out at the ocean as the sun was setting. And we're big Mat Kearney fans, so it was great to play a show with him and listen to his set, as well as Emerson Hart. It was a fun nite since the 5 of us hadn't hung out in about a month, so it was great to get back to the vibe again. It's always a great reminder that what makes this band, and what we do, so much fun, is the friend ship we all share. Moments like this weekend defiinitely proved that.

Well, we left Florida at 11 am on Sunday, and after a 4 hour lay over in Dallas, just got back home. We relax for a bit more, and get ready for some more Melee adventures.

Until then....

peace
love
ricky

PS Here are some pics from the Wink FM xmas event ( From this event they raised 3k dollars to donate to struggling families in the Ft. Myers area)

*I'll be putting some more pictures up here in the next couple of days too!