Ok, so I'm lazy.   . . . ok, so I'm REALLY lazy.   Here it is almost August and I haven't even written my cornerstone report.  Not that it is a terribly detailed report.  I only picked-up my notebook at night after each full day of activity, or sometimes in the afternoon as my body was begging for a nap.  So there is much that I'll leave out in regards to the little things that make Cornerstone so amazing, but perhaps some will return to me.  It's the details that make for a well-rounded story, right?  Or would you rather me just get to the point?  Well, screw you it's my blog.

WARNING: this is a looong post.  Take it in chunks, unless you are a fast reader like my wife.

Anyway, so we leave a lot later than planned because the rain came down just as we were about to load the car.  But it was all good cause what can Chris do but wait for us at St. Louis airport, and lo and behold, there he was when we arrived at 1:00 am. 
. . .(A word about Chris: he is an unusual guy, to say the least.  He is a 50+ year-old man who is more hardcore than anyone.  By hardcore I simply mean that he loves the heavy music, sports the tats and ear holes and knows how to mosh (safely!).  He has a beautiful heart, and, I'm certain, a fascinating story as to how he has become who he is - but I've tried not to pry - I simply enjoy who he is.  For a job he works at an important-sounding research lab but his passion is working with bands and running sound at a hard music club in the San Fransisco bay area.  His tastes and sensibilities, for the most part, fit well with Heather's and mine, so we were more than open to traveling and camping with him for a second year.)

We arrived at C-stone and took our place in line at 4:30 am Wensday morning.  We were #130 or so in line, not that it mattered once the gates opened at 8:00 am, for therin ensued what I like to call "the advance ticket fiasco."  There were people in front who did not have advance tickets, and so they were not supposed to get in until 3:00 pm, but they didn't want to wait.  Well, their interference held up the line, and cars from both sides of the entrance began cramming-in (and some were jumping the line - jerks), not realizing that there were people up front who needed to turn around.  Eventually, the interlopers were made to pull off the road while the people with the right tickets went around them.  All told, the delay took about two hours!! 

It gets worse, after we find a site (a different site from past years) and begin unpacking, Heather and I realize that our tent does not have poles or stakes!  So I'm gonna try to call my sister (in Chicago) to see if she has them and will grab them before she leaves, and neither my nor Heather's phone will work.  No freakin reception!! 
So, while I crash, Heather, the brilliant innovator that she is (I do not deserve her), rigs-up a rope system using two trees and borrowed stakes to make our tent livable.  And, of couse, when Allison arrives (very late) she DOES NOT bring a table (neither from home nor newly purchased) as she said she probably would.  So, once again Heather saves us by stealing a festival trash can and turning it upside down.  At least now we had a surface on which to cook.  . . . I say "we" as if I ever went near the camp stove - that is Heather's domian and it is better that way.

Oh, I'm going make a seperate post chronicling the shows I saw through-out the week, and in so doing, tell you "the other half" of the story.

Anyway, Alliance World Coffees in AMAZING!  Their frappes saved my life about four times.  While Wenedsday weather was freakin hot, Thursday (1st day of the fest) was better.  We went to some seminars and found that the only one really striking us this year was a seminar called "Poetic Agonies and Ecstasies: The Ying and Yang of Romanticism" by Louis Markos at the imaginarium.  Being an English major, I found this covered ground I already knew (making me feel smart) and anything new it covered I found very interesting.  It might have been boring if not for the speaker's high energy and considerable knowledge. He has a book about C.S. Lewis and postmoderism that sounds interesting.

Our camp site was different this year than past years.  It was in a veritable crossroads of sound.  We could hear the main stage, the Gallery stage, the Underground stage, and even Encore 1 and 2 (if nothing else was playing), but overshadowing all of those was the Rock for Life stage to which we were VERY close.  I took interest in a lot of bands on that stage simply because I could hear them so clearly from our site. 
We had cool (some slightly annoying) neighbors, and pretty scenery and shade - it blocked the sun in the morning but not in the afternoon.

Friday brought the rain.  It woke us up but didn't come down too strong until later in the day.  Which is why we didn't discover, until we tried to go to bed that night, that our tent, jury-rigged as it was, had leaked A LOT.  We evacuated our stuff and spent a very uncomfortable night in the car. 

We had more rain on Saturday, BUT, the girls next door were leaving that night and the one who brough the 8-person tent tells us that her parents have just bought a brand new tent and they don't want her to bring the old one back!!  So, Heather and I have a tent for the night!  (Oh, btw, we had sex twice in middle of 25,000 people.)  Saturday was also fun because we spray-dyed my hair green!  It was like old times!  But, alas it washed-out within a few days.  Such is the tragedy of the balding retail worker.

Sunday was the hottest day of the fest.  The mud had already turned back into dust.  Heather and I had, by this point, spent WAY more than we originally intended.  But we were pleased with most of our purchases.  I put a sign reading "free tent" on the girls old tent because we have no need for an 8-person tent.
Also, we both began to get sick - sore throat and stuffed nose.  By the time As I Lay Dying was over my voice was almost GONE.

This C-Stone felt anti-climatic.  There were no midnight shows other than goth/industrial night - which Heather and I would normally never miss, but we were feeling really crappy and worn-out.  Chris got a ride to St. Louis the next morning to catch a plane, but Heather and I left Sunday night and tried to grab a hotel in St. Louis (but first we went to Wendy's).  There were no vacancies anywhere!!  We drove until 3:30 am before we found a place, and we still paid waay too much.  Freakin fourth of July.
Anyway, we returned in worse shape than I've ever returned from a Cornerstone (except for my first one).  But it was still a great experience.

I think I'm also going to throw-in a post of specific moments or memories, because they are starting to come back to me.  But not now, I'm tired.  I haven't been sleeping well AT ALL.  I'm schedualed for a sleep study at the hospital next week.

Later kids.