COACHILLEN

This past weekend I had one of the most amazing life-experiences to date -- I went to the Coachella Music Festival for the first time. Coachella is an event that I have been aware of and wanting to go to for about 4 or 5 years now, but never managed to make. Our group ranged from 2-20 at any given time, and there were about 18 of us sleeping in one beautiful house. The group was amazing, as always, and we had a splendid time.

I wasn't really sure what to expect of the weekend, but what I didn't expect was to have such a well-rounded experience. The performances ranged from different subcategories of EDM (electronic dance music), indie, rock, and more. I feared that my weekend would be completely filled with EDM and I wouldn't get my indie fix, but it was quite the contrary. Some of the highlight acts for me included The Black Keys, The Rapture, Madeon, Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Shins, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, SBTRKT, Sub Focus, Dr. Dre & Snoop, Justice, Modeselektor, arraabMUZIK, Nero, Minnesota, and Company Flow. Those are just some of the talent that performed over the three-day period at the 5 stages, and I'm sure there are many others I heard and loved, but don't know who they were.

Bon Iver is one of my all-time favorites, and the set did not disappoint! His voice is just as beautiful live as it is on disc, and they put on one hell of a show. "Skinny Love" and "Blood Bank" happen to be two of my three favorite Bon Iver songs of all time, and I was blessed enough to hear them both back-to-back while being held in a sweet, loving embrace. It was such a euphoric moment. I couldn't stop grinning and smiling and thinking, "I am one lucky gal!"

Each act that I saw brought some element of WOW to my life, and left me with such a sense of satisfaction in one way or another. The only downfall of the weekend was the 105*+ weather we faced each day. Drinking water, squirting ourselves with squirt guns, and blasting my face with my $2.99 hand fan could not eliminate the overpowering heat. I have never been so completely drenched by my own sweat in my entire life, or known it was possible to survive such heat. But, when the day started to burn off and the night creep in, the temperature cooled off so nicely, and the wind was warm and inviting.

When I think about the weekend I don't remember the terrible heat and slight bro-overdose, I remember the special and cherished times that I had with some of the most exquisite people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I am unsure if I will return to Coachella next year, but I am so grateful to have been able to experience it once in my life. I suggest that everyone try and attend at least once, it is worthwhile.

Today's Quote: "Live the life you love, like you can't get enough" -"Give Me A Sign"

Mash Me Up

I, like every other person I've ever known, LOVE MUSIC! It is one of the things I can honestly say my life would be lacking, boring, and empty without. Music keeps me alive just as much as food and water, and in most cases, gives me a much bigger dose of energy than any espresso. There is a song for any day, any emotion, any situation, and EVERY moment of your crazy life, and can take you to places you've never gone before. "My Heart Will Go On" takes me back to eighth grade in an instant. It was the year my life improved ten-fold and I finally saw Titanic. When I think about or hear that song I see myself standing in the shower belting out the words thinking I was Celine Dion herself. "Peaches & Cream" takes me back to eighth grade also, but in a very different way. It, on the other, more inappropriate hand, takes me back to winter Church camp with my best friend at the time. I see myself walking around the snow covered camp grounds with my hot pink compact disc player in hand, foam ear piece headphones on blast, Adidas sweatpants and doodled Converse shoes on, rapping to myself and playing the song on repeat so I could memorize every last line. (And yes, if you put it or "Fantasy" by Ludacris on, I will still bust out every word.:) When Benny Benassi's "Come Fly Away" catches my ear, I am suddenly in my best friend's Volvo our sophomore year of college. We're driving around Chico playing the music at an annoyingly high level, and letting our voices soar as we have an all-out car dance session. And now, whenever I hear that dirty, filthy, nasty, and delicious Bassnectar, I am taken back to the football field of the community college in South Shore, Lake Tahoe, during SnowGlobe. I see myself gigging harder than I ever have before, feeling the music course through every ounce of my body, making me move to it, feeling every vibration from the bass and drop of the beat thinking, "I hope I don't break my neck from whipping my head around so hard," and being caught up in the intimate experience he and I were sharing (never mind the thousands of others around).

Yes, music is quite an interesting thing. They say a picture's worth a thousand words, but I think that a song is worth much more. A string of memories, an instant rush of feelings, phrases, dance moves, or conversations shared, yup, music is the key to life my friends. And since I have been blessed with such a strong case of A.D.D., it makes sense that one of my favorite genres is mash-ups. They fit who I am and what I am quite perfectly. They're rarely staying the same for very long, but they're always a blend. Taking songs that are from genres as different as water and absinthe, but putting them together to make something incredible and brilliant. Mash-ups are a great way to describe any life. Different pieces of different people, places, things, ideas, cultures, and styles, that all play an important part in the finished product. Hardly ever boring, and generally unexpected, just like my life. :)

So here's a playlist my roomie and I recently discovered on 8tracks.com. It has some of the best mash-ups I've heard in a while, and is sure to put you in a good mood, and take you down memory lane!

CLICK ME & ENJOY

Today's Quote: "All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it." Jean Cocteau

Blast From The Past

My high school days caught up to me today when in the mail I received a letter. It came incognito, disguised as a letter from my mom, but as soon as I began to carefully open the envelope, it was clear there was more to be discovered than a $9 dividend check from some stock I apparently own.

At first I thought "like mother, like daughter" at the doodles that were drawn on the envelope, but then started to realize that it was a design that I myself had done sometime in the past. I figured that it was a letter I had sent to a friend years before, that hadn't reached them, and was now coming back my way. (And no, it never crossed my mind that it was a little strange that the letter was being returned to the sender years later. Probably should have been my first indication, but hey, that's my life..) But after looking at the to/from sections, I realized that it was something that I had obviously written to myself sometime in the past. How exciting! I truly thought I had gotten some sort of "message-in-a-bottle" / stepped into some sort of time machine. The messages (to myself) on the outside of the envelope said things like, "Ready to remember?" And, "Memories rush back." And the "biggest message" I wanted my 5-years-older-self to consider, "After 5 years, it finally got back. Take a breath, be nostalgic first!" Now considering that I had no idea what had "gotten back to me," I was a little confused to say the least. After I got over my nerves and decided that opening and reading the contents before my work-out would hopefully not make a difference, I proceeded with great caution. Needless to say, I was beyond shocked when what came out was a collection of photos, a piece of binder paper folded hot dog style, and other folded up pieces of paper containing writing.

After a heavy duty case of laughing in solitude at the pictures (and captions I had included on the back), I decided it was time to get down to business and see what the heck was going on. I started by reading the little messages that a teacher, close friends, and boyfriend at the time had written, then made my way to the main attraction of the whole package...a list. The list is 50 life-goals that I made for myself during the beginning of my second semester of my senior year of high school. Some of them included things like the following:

• Quit smoking cigarettes (CHECK, since September 5th, 2010!)
• Avoid major trouble (CHECK!)
• Work hard in college (Eh......)
• Stay positive and bright (CHECK & then some!)
• Get a 6 pack (Uh....jokes are always good in a goal-list, right!?)
• Study abroad (CHHHECK!!)
• Own at least one horse
• Own a cow (Don't laugh, it's still on my list!)
• Go to NY
• Berlin Love Parade (Unfortunately won't ever happen considering that tragedy has resulted in it no longer being an event.)
• Dance on the Great Wall of China (still intend to do so)
• Find a true love
• Decide to get married or not (still deciding.....)
• Be rich enough not to work, and do charity (still my ultimate goal)
• Skydive (Something I didn't realize was a goal back then, but has become one in the last year. Simply because I have an extreme fear of heights.)
• Be more spiritual (always a work in progess)

Some I will never be able to accomplish (ie. going to Pepperdine and the Berlin Love Parade), but I am very proud to say that many I have, and still intend to, check off (ie. spend time in Australia, remain a happy person, go to France, learn how to wake-board, live a satisfying life, and etc.). But in all honesty, reading the goals I wrote out for myself 5 years ago wasn't as entertaining as the side-notes I had left for my older self.

One in particular is a little blurb in which I wrote, "Still crazy? Still the girl that wants to make mistakes and learn from them? Still loving your time on earth? Still smiling at strangers? Hope so!" I was so happy to know that I am, for the most part, still that same person 5 years later. :) I still turn the hole punches of my binder paper into mowhaked men, I still rep "Peace && Love," and I still consider happiness to be one of the only things that matters in this life.

Today's Quote: "A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier." -Tom Stoppard