coachella 2012 photo diary

Here it is, the obligatory Coachella 2012 Photo Diary. Coachella is a unique place where I experience pain, anger, joy and excitement all in one day, for three days in a row. Coachella is full of highs and lows, or as some like to say peaks and valleys.

If you want to see really cool photos of all the bands that performed, you won't find them on this blog... that's what Google is for.

Where my journey began

The temperature is one of those valleys...

I'm melting...

Peak: Frozen lemonade to keep cool

Mazzy Star

The Black Keys with John Foggerty. Initially I thought it was Don Henley and if you are offended by that google a photo of Don Henley, look for the one of him with long-ish hair and he's wearing a red flannel, looks just like the guy in this photograph. They did a tribute to the late Levon Helm.

Peak: Celeb Spotting... this isn't actually a very high peak, but it's cool I guess. That's Alicia Silverstone, husband and the baby she fed bird style.

High Peak: The Sunsets... 

Miike Snow. That's right you unhip people, it's spelled with two "i's."

Feist and her back-up singers that look like sister wives

St. Vincent

Thom Yorke's eye and Radiohead

A literal peak, a snow capped one at that.

I wore my California shirt just for Dre and Snoop 

Valley: $8 Heinekens

Peak: The air-conditioned Heineken tent

Peak: The Girl Talk dance party!

And the wonderful and amazing Florence (and the Machine)

And alas... the 2Pac hologram... which kind of freaked me out a little. This is the best shot I could get of glowing 2Pac on stage.

The Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog performance was incredible and full of guests, Eminem, Whiz Kalifa, Warren G, 50 Cent to name a few.

Other non-photographed events:

- I sat on a fire ant while wearing a skirt and got stung in my thigh-gyna.

- I almost got in a fight with a car full of "youths" while exiting the parking lot.

- I was in pain by day three from blisters and sore feet.

- I spotted this girl whose blog I am kind of obsessed with. She is a popular fashion blogger so naturally I stalk her on all forms of social media and I knew she was at Coachella, then I spotted her right in front of me at the Miike Snow show. I was creeped out like I shouldn't have been able to recognize her. I felt like a true stalker.

ten things i want to nail in my thirties

Nope, not nail as in sex (that would make me a Paraphilia), but nail as in execute well… duh.

1.) Money

I want to be really good at saving money and spending money. I know some people say you’re suppose to have this part already nailed by the time you’re 30-years-old, but those people can suck it. They probably didn’t enjoy living it up in during their twenties courtesy of the credit card.

2.) Relationships

I want to be good at having all types of relationships whether they are romantic relationships, friendships or business. As I approach my thirties I want to make good choices about the people I let in my life and keep around. I also I want to nail being a good friend, girlfriend/wife, and colleague. As I get older I find myself no longer needing a lot of people in my life, only a select few. All relationships require some work and I want to be great at determining what relationships are worth working to keep and which ones I am ok with letting go.

3.) Meeting new people

Because you know, it’s always good to meet new people. I don’t mean meet a lot of people (check #2), but it never hurts to have choices.

4.) Stop being sorry for things that are not actually my fault

I recently read an article that inspired this post called 30 things you should know or have done when you're 30 and I ripped this off that list because I like this one.

5.) Letting go of things you can’t control

Be nonchalant, c’est la vie and all that sh*t.

6.) Being healthy

Eat healthier, exercise more, take better care of my skin and all that jazz.

7.) Being comfortable in my own skin

This means not care if I'm wearing uncool sensible shoes at Coachella (also stop going to Coachella and other music festivals with sweaty twenty-somethings).

8.) Being witty

I don’t know if this is something you get better at or something you’re just born with but it doesn’t hurt to try. We’re setting high goals for ourselves in our thirties.

9.) Being chic

Forget the trendy twenties, I want to become good at being classic and chic when I’m in my thirties. If I add chic on top of numbers 1-8 and I figure I’m golden.

10.) Being a better human being overall… being awesome

Be more compassionate and act on it.

If you happen to like my list and you're in your thirties, let's nail this list together. 

how to avoid writing something mean on someone's facebook status update

I'm sure we all  have friends on Facebook whose status updates annoy us. Most of the time we have enough self-control to brush it off. We say UGH, roll our eyes and move on, but sometimes some people are just begging for a mean smart-ass comment and sometimes you're just in the right mood to be a bitch. Whoever it is that annoys you on your page (why they are your FB friends to begin with is a whole other topic), whether they post too many photos of themselves or their pets, post too many inspirational quotes, brag about exercising, brag about all the sex they're having, etc. In order to resist the urge to comment, call a friend instead and talk about the mean things you want to write like, "You should probably stop talking about how much you love going to the gym every day because people will start to wonder why it's not working" or "How do you get to travel so much without having a job?" Get it out of your system this way. I've been known to write a thing or two on people's page, delete, then have to apologize for it later. So, I've found the key is to have a buddy to call like a Sponsor if you will-- when the strings of smart-ass-ness and meanness start to tug at you.

How do you avoid making these comments?


Next on my series on Social Media: People We Love to Hate-Read

the consequence of social networking

We are at this stage in the history of the world where we are saturated with information like never before. We share a lot of information and we are bombarded with a lot of information about everything -- from breaking news in Sudan to what our friends are up to, who they are hanging out with and what music they're listening to. I fully participate in all of this. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and this blog and I use them all regularly. In the last couple of months I attempted to quit Facebook but failed at it. I have also written several blog posts about the perils of social networking. I am sure I am not the only person who wishes they could quit and to not “need to know” but information is alluring – it is addicting and so is the need to share. For me, 99.9% of the things I share via social network I want someone to read and comment because it makes me feel a little more important that someone has acknowledged me. Sadly, even that little thumbs up “like” button can be satisfying enough-- and that is what keeps me coming back for more. I like getting attention this way. I have enjoyed it for as long as I have had a Facebook account, which is about 4 years. It is crazy to think about what life was like without Facebook (or Youtube, twitter or blogs). However, just like with all types of attention or fame, there are consequences.

The lack of anonymity and mystery

What I mean by this is that everyone you know becomes your friend or follower you start to feel restrained because you begin to think about what your “friends” or followers might think about what you post. I’m sure I have talked about this before. Most—if not all—of us care about what others think of us. We care about what our real life friends, our family and our colleagues think of us and they all can see our social network profile. Every word we write will always be taken to mean more because they know about your life outside of the Internet. I do the same with other people. I would love it if I had a lot of readers of this blog, but only if they are people I don’t know—people who do not know anything about my past, what I’m currently doing or what I’m like in real life.

Mistaken meanings

We’ve all heard stories about Tweets of celebrity deaths that were not true. I’m not talking about miss-information here but more so tone and context. Everything we write on Facebook, Twitter or sometimes a blog is always part of a larger context and I think we forget that. We read something and we make assumptions about it. I do that all the time. I read someone’s post about how they’re having a bad day I assume that it must have something to do with what that person posted earlier about having a terrible boss. This is a fair assumption but I have to remember there is a good possibility I could be wrong. We only get a snippet of something much larger and at least for me, some of the things I write I’ve written in haste because of some emotional break down. This is a problem because we may not realize the affect that could have on other people and often times we don’t really mean what we say in the heat of the moment.

Obsessive behavior

This is pretty self-explanatory. I have become obsessed with sharing (checking in, taking photos, etc.) and I have become obsessed with knowing what other people are up to. This is partly due to the “living vicariously” aspect. We see normal people –not celebrities, whose lives are more exciting and we become obsessed with their lives. All I know is that any obsessive behavior can’t be good.

The Dilemma

I have an unhealthy co-dependent relationship with the social network. It needs me (and you) to survive and I have come to need it for some sort of fulfillment. I will always be an advocate for information and knowledge. To suggest we stop using social networks would be like asking people to go back to the Stone Age. Lately I have found myself more and more conflicted. I’m afraid that some of the things I write or have written may have been misinterpreted and vice versa. Is that something that I just need to accept because that is the risk we take when participating in social networking? Do I share less, blog less, blog less personal things? But I would really hate to be censored that way, although I already feel that way now. I don’t know. I don’t have an answer. 

my thoughts about the gym

I went to the gym for the first time in a very long time. I didn't plan on it since I am not even a member. I asked a friend to have a beer with me, but he was on his way to the gym so he asked me to come along and since I was restless and desperately needed to exercise, I went. I have only been to the gym a handful of times because the thought of exercising that hard with a bunch of other fit people sounds like the most awful thing I could do to myself.

I don't like the gym for the following reasons:

1.) It smells like sweat. I don't mind my own sweat but dozens of other people in close proximity sweating is gross.
2.) It's hot. All of that body heat and energy in the air causes you to sweat the minute you walk in.
3.) No matter what I do or how much money I spend on work out clothes, I will always look terrible in gym clothes unless I have the body of a Victoria Secret model.
4.) I look disgusting sweaty and breathing heavily.
5.) You're surrounded by people who are really into exercising and being fit so they're agile, coordinated, ripped and look great rolling on a ball, while you have a hard time standing on one leg.

I honestly don't know why people love going to the gym besides having access to a wide array of exercise machines and weights. Tonight I have a couple of theories why:

1.) They can be smug and tell their coworkers they went to the gym last night.
2.) They can check-in on various social networking sites to let everyone else know they care about being fit while everyone else reading their status is likely sitting on their asses watching t.v.
3.) They like people watching and they like being watched
4.) They like this overtly sexual exercise machine (which I discovered tonight) where you sit, spread your legs and the seat moves so your hips thrust back and forth as you close and open your legs. you repeat this motion until your butt and inner thighs burn.
5.) It's a good way to meet people. I don't have any personal experience with this but this is what I've heard and I don't understand it. I would imagine the gym would be the worst place to land a date but people must find sweating and breathing hard extremely attractive.

I ended up joining the gym because I am a sucker. I will work hard to go and get the most out of it at least for one month, since it is a monthly membership. The great thing about working out at home is I can watch t.v., I can work out in my PJs or naked and I don't have to smell anyone else's sweat but my own, so I am skeptical I will keep this membership. I have to say I do like going to the gym with a friend.