No, by “The Launch” I am NOT referring to the band Providence and their imaginary spaceship.* I’m referring to the Call FM launch concerts that took place in Naples and Ft. Myers over the weekend. Anybody in the mood for a recap of our launch concert adventures? That’s what I thought!  For the next three days I will be posting blogs that recap each day of our Ft. Myers/Naples getaway, so keep checking back here for more! If for some reason you happen to be totally illiterate, there will be videos of our Launch Weekend posted every day! (Hmmm, I just realized that if you are indeed illiterate, you weren’t able to read any of the super-exciting info I just gave you. Or this sentence. Or…OK, on to the recap. Because why the heck would you be visiting a blog if you can’t read?! Sorry, waaaaay too much caffeine in me right now.)

THURSDAY: We got completely drenched packing the car during a ferocious thunderstorm, so we traveled most of the way to Ft. Myers very wet and kinda cold. We stopped along the way so that Julio could try to find an alligator to wrestle, but ended up wrestling a bunch of mosquitoes instead (even ferocious alligators are scared to approach him with all that creepy facial hair! The mosquitoes, however, were less intimidated).

I’m still hoping I didn’t somehow contract West Nile virus during this little escapade, but I’m not sure. We drove into Southwest Florida around 9:30, and were super stoked to hear CALL FM on my car radio from Naples all the way to Ft. Myers. We arrived safe and sound in Ft. M just in time to watch Michael Phelps win his eleventy-billionth gold medal! Wahooooo!

Yesterday afternoon the band Nevertheless stopped by the Call FM studio to hang out with Julio and I for a while. We had a great time chatting with the guys and even got to enjoy a short acoustic performance. They neglected to make me pancakes like they did at some other stops along their radio tour, nevertheless, I forgave them (tee, hee. couldn’t resist). If you missed any of the interview, click on the links below to check it out! And scroll down to watch a YouTube video of Nevertheless performing their new single “Sleeping In” in the Call FM Studio. (Also take note of Julio’s giant ‘fro in the picture above. We are on day 93 of his refusal to groom himself. Pretty soon those curls will take over the studio, a la that crazy plant in The Little Shop of Horrors. Yikes!)

Nevertheless 1
Nevertheless 2
Nevertheless 2

If you tuned into the show this morning, you know Julio and I had a crazy experience at the ballpark last night. First, I was boo-ed by 14,000 people for not kissing when the “kiss cam” put me up on the jumbotron. Then Marlins catcher John Baker let go of his bat, and it came flying directly at us in the stands. It missed my skull by inches, and cracked open the seat in front of us. The following is our evening in pictures:

Here I am, refusing to kiss on the “Kiss Cam”

This is what we looked like as we watched the giant bat hurtling toward our faces:

This is Julio running away and leaving me for dead:

This is the seat right in front of us after it got cracked by the flying bat:

On April 27th, Julio vowed not to shave or cut his hair for an entire year, in support of Call FM reaching its Fund Drive goal. We are at day 71, folks, and things are getting a little out of hand. Soon Julio will be able house a family of mice in that furry mess…it’s not pretty, guys, but it’s the reality in which we live:

As the icing on the cake of your fourth of July weekend, here are a few Call FM videos to enjoy:

1. Julio decides to celebrate Independence Day early by setting off fireworks in the Call FM parking lot. (And no, I had nothing to do with this video. Do you see my face? I don’t think so.)

2. A local film student has decided to document life at Call FM through short video diaries. Here is episode one: