Robert LeBlanc, my guitar player, makes all my songs gorgeous. We threw together a sample of my song, Downpour, because someone asked me for it. It's super rough, but you can hear the beautiful guitar he's so generously added.

Downpour- Virginia Tingley (feat. Robert Leblanc) (with outtakes)

(Special note: I wrote this song, and thus named it, long before I cared about anything Panic related. Funny song name coincidence.)

We also recorded another version of Quiet People (Are Better In Bed), with two guitars and a little bit more funk.

Quiet People (Are Better In Bed)- Virginia Tingley (feat. Robert Leblanc)

So let me know what you think of both of those, if you will.

I had a really fun jam night tonight. We're getting songs ready to record the demo mid-August, and we've actually got some studio musicians who are adding things, such as drums to everything and piano to Quiet People.

I'm trying to get this all done before I ship off to the Caribbean.

(PS, because of The Ballad of Jensen and Jared, I have over 4000 plays on last.fm. This makes me grin like an insane woman.)

Brendon Urie: Can we just skip the vibe, and go straight to us laughing about this?
Ryan Ross: Yeah, okay.
Brendon Urie: Because I can see by your face you want to get into it.
Ryan Ross: (  How can you tell? I'm just one of the out-of-focus guys! )

(and then, Virginia runs in and snatches the t-shirt.)

(this shirt lets Ryan Ross say everything he wants to say.)

(AHAHAHA, mornings make me too giddy.)

There are those pictures of Brendon at the opening of the Wasted Space Rock Club, and while a very large part of fandom is focusing on the gorgeous image that him with a cigarette conjures, I can only think about how frickin' adorable it is that he brought the boyfriend along. Shane is his plus one, how much more obvious could they possibly be?

I've now seen The Dark Knight twice. It's very good, you know.

Yesterday I went to four different pawn shops to help my brother find a guitar. I'm pleased to report that now about 50% of the guitars for sale in all those pawn shops combined are now tuned. I tuned so many guitars during our hunt, it was ridiculous. Oh well, it'll be good for whoever looks at them next.

There's a girl on my msn list who's more of a casual acquaintance than a friend, and her name right now says "exosted". Seconded, my friend casual acquaintance.

I missed Jared's birthday because I was off drinking gallivanting all weekend. ♥ As a point of interest.

It's ridiculous how close I was yesterday to saying fuck it and driving at 12 hours to Montreal for today's Warped Tour date. If someone who was over legal drinking age had wanted to come with me, I'd still be there. With the Butcher. And Gabe. And William. And Sisky. And RYLAND. And it would have been awesome, I definitely regret not going. I am growing lamer in my old age.

Dark Knight: Holy fucking god. I mean, I guess not enough people have said it yet or something, but I can't help it, because... wow.

So I got home at 3:30, and right now it's 7:14, and I'm trying to get ready for work, except I can't keep my eyes open. At all. This is gonna be one hell of a day. Ugh.

But it's okay, because seeing Heath Ledger give a performance like that? So totally worth it.

ETA: Ryan Ross is actually hilarious. He should be this way more often. I love how Brendon absolutely loses it when he says it, and at the same time, you can see that he's just thinking, Ryan you are such a hilarious dick. If it were Jon who were with him in the interview, you know that he'd be doubled over with laughter, too. "No, I'm taller than him now." BAHAHA.

Work is being excruciating today, ugh. I wanted to take the kids to the Waterfowl Park, because there are lots of ducklings, but four year olds walk annoyingly slow, and I only had an hour before the eight year olds had to be back for tennis, and so we got like, halfway across the boardwalk and had to turn around. We only saw like, fifteen ducks, and none of them were babies.

There should be spn_oscars for Best Original Song and like, other musical things. Because that would be fun!

I hear Supernatural got nominated for a sound editing Emmy! It's a start!

I really wany a Cobra shirt, so I've been shopping around. I don't just want any old one. Any suggestions? I really wanted one of those "kiss my sass" ones, but of course they're nowhere. Anyone been to Warped and notice any really cool ones?

Me and Ed Westwick are in love, just so you know. We've shut ourselves in our shitty little apartment, and we're not coming out for the next few days. Don't worry, though, we've got our guitars.

"Yeah. Most of my friends are not famous people, and it's hard for me to talk my way into getting them into the clubs. So it's more fun to make our own club."
- Pete Wentz in Newsweek

This is awesome and so incredibly true. Because I have no idea what Ryan Ross and say, Gabe Saporta would do with like, Hyde or Butter something. Well actually. I don't know what those places would do with them. Because Gabe would absolutely fuck shit up, and Ryan would, like, stand in the corner, but he'd be RYAN ROSS, and he'd look like Ryan, so everyone would be incredibly confused. And yeah. The real "clubs" are just not ready for our boys. They are so above that scene, it's ridiculous.

And the funny thing is, Ryan Ross and company would be like, shit, I don't even want to be here at all, let's go hotbox the hotel bathroom. Where Gabe and company would be like, hells yes, let's go fuck Lindsay Lohan! But they're all welcome at, say, Angels and Kings, and they are all VIP there, and Pete would rather be there, or anywhere with them, than with the most famous people in the entire would. Even if those people would actually spare him a second glance.

Question: So you don't miss making out with guys?

Pete Wentz: This is what is going to be put on my tombstone, 'cause I said it, like, one time. But no, I will not miss it.

That's because you haven't stopped, Pete, you adorable little thing, you.

(This icon is appropriate on so many levels.)

John Mayer covers Free Fallin' on his new dvd. Covers of this song usually annoy me. But here, it's Mayer, and he's so good, and I am totally sold. I'm so easy.

Had to trade my truck in for a new (to me) car, and I miss it already. Well, it's not gone far, really, I just gave it back to my father, but that's as good as gone, because he's a hoarder.

I've been reading But Not This Song, by ignipes and emilyray, and it is awesome. It might not be some people's thing, but it is awesome. It reminds me of the good old Star Wars fandom days of Mind-Wiped Pleasure Slave AUs. Should I be embarrassed to admit to reading these things? Probably. Am I? Not to you guys, not at all.

Spaghetti day at the daycare. A bunch of pre-schoolers throwing things around, sitting in spaghetti and touching their tomatoe-y hands all over everything ever. I manage to get away without getting any stains on my white shirt.

And then, it's my lunch break, and I eat some, and drop it down the front of me. There is not enough *headdesk* in the world.

In the LEAST COOL THING TO EVER HAPPEN EVER, October 24th, Boston, The Who. And Virginia will be off cruising.

I AM HEARTBROKEN. DESPAIR.

PEEEEEEEEEETE. ROGER. Ngh!

I've just had a rather adult epiphany concerning what a 'job' is and what a 'career' is and the reconciliation of the two and which one I want and so on and so on and so on. I'm still sort of making sense of it, but I felt it was worth mentioning. It's not as mature as you're thinking, though, trust me, but it is contemplative and gives me a new respect for my father.

Pete Wentz's comments this morning still awesome? Oh, yep. Yep they are. THANK GOD FOR TEXT MESSAGING. THANK GOD. SO THAT HE CAN CONTACT RYRO. *hands*

Lunch break really isn't anywhere near long enough.

Pete Wentz, shut you stupid, ADORABLE, AMAZING FACE.

"thank god for the invention of the text message when ryan ross is in europe."

BECAUSE THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS. And it is AWESOME. And we know Pete's like, "RYAN, I feel displaced and emotional and like I don't belong in this world" and Ryan's like, "come save me from walking off a window sill, or I'll sleep in the rain", and Pete's like, "I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN". Only all of that wouldn't be spelled as nicely. I love love love that our text messaging fanon is canon. ♥

In other musical news, Elton John is coming in September. And I can't even go, because guess when I'm off to the Caribbean? IN SEPTEMBER. Man, this job is gonna be such a test. Here is a list of the things I'm gonna miss:
- a hypothetical fall Panic tour
- Elton John in September
- Backstreet Boys in September (this one is less important, but it woulda been fun for the nostalgia).
- Christmas, don't even get me started

I'm thinking of making a blog for my travels, but it would be more for my real life people, so they can be updated on the newz. I'd obviously still be attached to my lj like it were air. Or maybe in lieu of said blog, a email newsletter. We'll see.

My car tunes at the moment are Led Zeppelin III, Sublime's Gold collection and The Academy Is...'s Almost Here. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to choose every time I get into the car? I'm like, oh shit, dilemma! I'd almost rather stay home.

But honestly, Pete Wentz, STOP BEING AMAZING, I'M SUPPOSED TO DISLIKE YOU MUCHLY. (Let's pretend I haven't had a hard-on for you since December.) (My spell-check wants me to change "muchly" to "mutely", but that doesn't make sense, because back in my dark days, when I disliked Pete Wentz [I was young and naive, alright?!], it wasn't anywhere near mutely. It was very, very vocally. I am ashamed.)

lara - workin hard for the monies says:
spencer smith is unattractive
Virginia. says:
thats okay that you think that
Virginia. says:
he's actually amazingly gorgeous
Virginia. says:
but you cant see it at first

Teeeeeeeeheeeeeee

I'd like to say that: I am so drunk that I was sure I could never code or even type an entry, and I was thinking of just going to bed, but then I saw that thedailyband artist today was Jackson Browne and I had some major fangirling to do. See, there was this time when I used to listen to The Load Out/Stay (A Little Bit Longer) on repeat, and my roomie at the time was like, "Virginia, this song is awful. It has awful lyrics." And I was like, SHUT IT, Jackson Browne is amazing. And me and my Dad were always obsessed with this song, so we would always call the radio station and request it. They would always say no, since it wasn't on their rotation. But then one day, they had this charity thing where if you donated ten dollars you could have any song you wanted, any song at all, so we gave our money and requested it, and they played it, and it was glorious. And NOW, somehow, it's on their rotation, because I hear them play it a few times a week. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that I had every intention of going to bed until I click onto this link from thedailyband and it made me cry.

But I tried to update earlier to say that I was at a friend's house party, and I was going through her itunes, because, well, duh. And I searched for "Panic at the Disco", and she had about six songs, including I Write Sins and Lying and Nine in the Afternoon... basically singles. Except she had one labelled "It's Time to Dance". And it wasn't the actual album version of Time to Dance, it was the demo. And it made me laugh so hard, because hahaha. There is someone out there who's not even a Panic fan who has that demo and that is IT of that song. HAHA. Boys will be boys, baby.

Also, something else that should be keeping me from sleep but isn't, but is still interesting to note, is that there is an escaped convict. Now, you may be thinking, why does that concern you, Virginia, many convicts esacape from prison. Well, many of you may not know this, but I live next to a prison. Like, literally two houses away.


(Red X = my house.)

So, we get telephone calls when inmates escape. And an inmate has escaped. And we do not lock our doors. And we leave our keys in our cars. And we are friendly, non-threatened, naive people. And I should be scared, in this big empty house all by myself while my parents are at the beach commune and there's an escaped convict. But instead, I'm not, and I'm treating it like interesting facts to tell you lj people while I get my QaF marathon ready.


We got Richard Pryor on the video...

I went shopping last night, and let me tell you. Bandom makes me buy, or at least consider buying, some pretty stupid shit. For instance, I bought a scarf. Which, okay, I have purchased a few scarves in my time. But I very seldom wear them. Yet, I bought a new one, and I suspect it's because my head went, ooh, Ryan Ross would buy this scarf! And then there was this t-shirt, which was kinda pretty, and it said on it "Chicago | Disco", and I was like, YES, THE BOYS MEET JON AND IT'S AWESOME. It also said "dance" somewhere on it (as in TIME TO). I was halfway to the cash when I stopped, and kinda went, wait. I don't want this really. I do, but really, I don't. So I had to make myself put it back.

And I went and saw Hancock, which I liked a lot better than I thought I would. I knew practically nothing about it, and I was pleasantly blindsided by Jason Bateman, because I didn't know he was in it. My brothers had been begging me to take them all evening, and if they had just said, "hey, but, Jason Bateman!" I would have jumped on board. And obviously Will Smith is fabulous.

Friiiiiiiiday.

Virginia: *calls her dad*
Dad: *has an entire hour-long coversation*
Virginia: Okay, well, bye! Talk to you soon, love ya.
Dad: Oh wait!
Virginia: yeah?
Dad: I'm getting married on the 26th! You have to come, your brother too!
Virginia: 0_o

Okay, to be fair, I knew he was getting married... but I thought it'd be in like, September at the earliest. Not NEXT WEEK. He then proceeded to tell me about the family wars he's now started, because he didn't invite his mother or sister or anyone besides Irene (the bride), Lynnsy (my new step sister), Alex and I. Good move, father.

I have absolutely nothing to offer you right now, in the way of either real life or fandom, so I give you music.

Sunny Days- The (motherfucking) Johnstones. (It's kinda poppy-ska-reggae-acoustic whatever.)
Hey, Hey- Dispatch. (Acoustic college rock. Totally a genre, shut it.)
Back in the New York Groove- Ace Frehley. (ROCK, because it's a Kiss member, but very poppy. Very Queen-ish.)
Motorcycle Song- Serena Ryder. (Bluesy-Janis-type pop.)
Redemption Song (live)- Ziggy Marley featuring Lauren Hill. (I ripped this off YouTube and left the intro in, because I love it so much.)

- I'm writing a new song called Me and the Sea which is inspired both by fic (you know which one, don't even pretend to not know exactly which one) and the ridiculous amounts of Sublime I've been pumping into my veins in the last few weeks. Maybe I'll throw something rough at you soon, but right now it's just me and my guitar, and some scribbled lyrics. Writing is my favorite; there's this time when you're like YES, THIS IS AWESOME, because you like it, but as soon as you show someone else, you don't like it anymore, and I don't wanna lose this affection I have for this song right now. This is my song.

- WHY DOES NOBODY TELL ME OF AWESOME SHIT LIKE THIS? Hendrix! STILLS, TOO, THOUGH. This could be SO GOOD.

Ahaha, Pete Wentz, I think posting this just made you my favorite person ever. And possibly Ryan Ross' least favorite. Also, this was posted along with the caption, "arent you glad i was there from the very start with a camera in hand at all times. these are really some of my best friends on the planet", which just makes it even more awesome.

ETA: If you're looking for some summer pick-me-up music, I highly recomend Great Big Sea's latest, Fortune's Favour. This is the first single, Walk on the Moon, which you may or may not like, but don't stop there. There are other tunes like this, heavy on the sugary inspirational messages, and then there are a few sea shanties, as per usual. Feel good summer music, all the way through. The best, though, are the hilarious liner notes, ( that I have decided to type up for you. )

So, hi there. It's been a few days. Some long, blissful days filled with sunshine and beaches and you know the drill. The forecast is looking stellar for today, too: 32°C today and 33°C tomorrow. I dunno what that is in wacky old Fahrenheit, but it's pretty warm.

All my buddies went on vacation. And by buddies, I mean coworkers. Because there are three of us that teach the kids (and then there is another person who watches the babies), and for the next two weeks, instead of three, there is just me. And so that means that some of the younger kids have to pretend to be babies, and the cook and the boss have to pretend to be teachers or something and then everything will be fine. I can feel my headache coming already.

Things I Love About Brendon Urie Include: his vibrato and his love for Sublime songs. Know what else is funny about him? The way he is the front man, and yet fandom likes to paint Brendon as the one the others all roll their eyes at. But he's the front man, so a billion people love him and just him, so he's just like, yeah, I'm ridiculous, and it's awesome. And then he like, dances in meet and greet videos and tattoos flowers onto his arms. NEVER STOP, BRENDON URIE. NEVER.