A woman of age

There are exactly 100 days from tomorrow until I turn 40. Yes I stated my age on paper and I then posted it on the internet for all to see. I am going to be 40 and I am okay with that! I stated in my first blog of the year that this was my year without a safety net and I wasn’t lying people! So I will scream it from the roof tops! I Jen Nickels will be 40 in May!!!!!!!

My son stated I was a “woman of age” I am not sure whether to ground his sorry ass or commend him for making a gal like me sound so posh. It is better than when he referred to me as being on the “shy side of cougar town”. That did earn a grounding!  I would have him call me an old bag before I let him call me a cougar! I only look, I never claw at the poor younger men for the love of Pete!

Seriously one gets quite reflective before a big birthday. I was having a conversation with a young gal a few weeks ago when I had my hair trimmed. She asked when it was that I felt truly comfortable in my skin. I was floored that a twenty something woman asked me my opinion on this matter. When I asked her why she asked me, she said it was because when I sat in the chair I told her what I wanted I said “Anything you think will look good, it’s just hair.” She said a woman who does that is pretty comfortable with herself. I am thinking that, or she doesn’t give a rat’s ass but I played along!

For every woman there is a different levels of comfort as we age. I felt the first level of comfort with myself between the ages of 25 and 30. I wasn’t a complete basket case before that worrying what everyone else thought of me, I just didn’t really care for myself that much. I had made a lot of mistakes, ones that I couldn’t change which was hard for me to deal with. Not for the affects they had on me but for those they had on others. But I learned from them and they helped to guide me in the direction I needed. I made peace during this first level as many women do. We can’t change what was, we can only make a better what could be. Sounds like a greeting card in the making.

I admit my next level was the one where I became a little too comfortable. I just really let myself go and lived without limitation. This is a level that we should all avoid. Never get so comfortable you stop caring about yourself. Sometime we are all we have, so we need take care of all that. And at 38 I finally did that again. I found a new grove which included eating right, exercising, fabulous shoes and finding new ways to express myself. The me now kind of kicks ass and I like her minus some flaws I hope to change this year. Like using the word ass, in every paragraph, okay cursing in general, former sailor what can I say.

So 100 days left! I plan to do quite a bit in those 100 days I expect each of you to use them as well. Like plan me a big flipping bash so we can party like rock stars! Get busy time is a wasting! ;-)

What I did for the Super Bowl

Aside from answering a total of 347 calls on parking, events, and zip line questions, I was one of the 450 volunteers that had the privilege of working the Madonna Half Time Show for the Super Bowl.

Since I had worked the NFL kick off a few years back, I got an email that asked if I wanted to be part of the crew again. I mean who the hell refuses that opportunity? So the week we all got back from the holidays 500 people went to orientation, 400 were chosen for stage crew and 50 for audio and lighting.

We were all told that Ms. M herself had be rehearsing since the first week of December with her dancers. Right there told me this wasn’t going to be your run of the mill show, she had plans. And of course rumors were flying around about what Madonna’s plans were and they changed daily. All we knew for sure was that we were going to make sure her happy as was on and off the field in the time we were allotted!

Two weeks before the big day we were all gathered along with the stage in the bubble at University of Indianapolis and were divided up into groups. I was place on cart #10 which was one of the back bleachers sections that the dancers and choir used. There were 12 of us a motley crew of people from all walks of life but we all came together like we knew each other for years.

First few rehearsals were terrifying. I had no idea how the hell we were going to be ready to do this in two weeks. Getting 450 people to work together was like trying to put pants on a bag full of cats! But somehow we did it. In three nights we managed to impress our leaders with our abilities!

That weekend we moved to the big house and things started to get real! We were pushing the stage around and the lighting and sound crew was with us this time. There were the added elements of getting the lighting to mesh with the music, and then there was the visual effects that had to be added to the mix. We learned the art of “hurry and wait”.

By that Sunday we were all experts in “hurry and wait”. We got so good at it and putting the stage together, that our rehearsal the following Wednesday was canceled. We were all devastated because that was the day that Madonna herself was going to be there! So some of our posse got to rehearse with her while the rest of us were envious. But that was okay, because we were all getting the scoop from TMZ of what was going down on the show, because we all know they are always right!

Thursday night we all rushed into the stadium not sure if Ms. M would be there or not. Yep she was there on our stage with her dancers in her costume, working her little ass off! We sat and watched her for about an hour before we even got to touch out stage pieces. Whether or not you like Madonna, she is amazing to watch. She is a hard worker, focused and professional. Well not so professional she didn’t flash her ass at us a few times having a good time. And she made sure to let our bosses know that she appreciated all the hard work we were doing.

So I was pretty close to Nicki M, MIA and CeLo, got to meet LMFAO, got some autographs. Nearly plotzed when I saw that Tabitha D’umo was choreographer! I am such a fan of hers I cannot even tell you! If I hadn’t been working, I would have bum rushed her and made her sign my freaking shoe! And that was just rehearsal!

On the big day before we even got on the field we saw Madonna’s kids, Adam Levine, and some saw Ms. Katy Perry! I saw Adam as I was walking out of the Portolet, awkward! But I got over it once the reality of us having less than five minutes to get a stage and all this crap on the field in front of millions of people! But we did it!

And there I stood on the New York End zone watching everything come together and as the oiled up gladiators brought in Ms. M I cried. I helped do this with 449 plus people that were strangers two weeks earlier, and now we join the family of 6000 others who have done the same thing we did. We worked for a sweat shirt, some bagged lunches and soggy pizza but we put on one hell of a show! I did however get a piece of the stage! That is pretty freaking cool!

It was surreal standing there watching the audience’s reactions. No one was sitting they were all on their feet Vogueing and Luvin’. And yes watching MIA flip the bird that was no part of the show I can tell you. Despite MIA’s finger malfunction, the audience didn’t lie, they loved it and it made us feel like a million dollars!

I may not have gotten one of those snazzy Super Bowl scarves but what I have is the knowledge that for ten minutes on February 5, 2012 I was one of the most important people on TV. Five minutes on, five minutes off. Those ten minutes will last a lifetime!