10 Things: Summer Style

ITS SUMMER!!!!

yeah I know we're in the middle of it now but in California it really just barely feels like it's begun. Even on the 4th we were cold! And work is finally slowing down to where I can take a day or two off and book a vacay.  vacation! that's all I can think about. Funny enough, my best friend just popped the question to of "what should we do for new years?" are you joking?! ook! well here's my top 10 fabulous summer plans. They're not listed in order of importance but I guess in somewhat sequential order.... here we go!

mel and i at our KoL show #1

10. Kings of Leon... yep, just happened but I still have to talk about it. my summer kick off, first road trip, tailgate, sweat-it-out summer show. Played some new tunes, now I'm re-obsessed and I want to go to like... the rest of their tour. yep, all of it. 

9. 311... three eleven, three three eleven. come on, this is me and if I wasn't going to a couple 311 shows in the summer something's wrong. So our schedule is up north (maybe...depends on #8) and then OC and San Diego. Same two venues I saw KoL, ha! their setlists have been pretty ridiculous this summer so I'm excited. I am always happy to see them. 

8. Rage Against the Machine @ the Palladium....what?!?! yeah. Might have a visitor and might try to go. IF I can find tickets. :::crossingfingers::::

7. Girls Weekend... I am jealous of everyone with a summer birthday. THREE of my favorite gals have birthdays this weekend, ridiculous. So I'm heading up to Solvang for my friend Ana's birthday for sunning, wine tasting and some healthy goss. I can't wait, I love a little weekend getaway. We might stay at the hotel from Sideways!

6. Lollapalooza... yes, I am making the trek for the 3rd year to one of my favorite cities, to be with some of my favorite people and take in one of my favorite festivals. I'm going to bounce around and just take in a variety of acts... it's just fun to go. Highlights: Metric, Gaga, The Black Keys, Dirty Projectors, MGMT, Arcade Fire. 

5. Outside Lands... well I have been dying to go up north and Melissa and I are just nutty enough to do it, trek up to San Fran to take in another festival and another Kings of Leon show. Yep, going there! Highlights: The Strokes (since I may skip them to see Gaga at Lolla) My Morning Jacket, Edward Sharpe.

4. Lady Gaga... Gaga is coming to LA!!!!! I am going to go with my girls, have a couple drinks and dance my face off. 'nuff said. 

3. John Mayer..... oh the JM! He was a highlight of our summer last year... we got super up close and personal to John, the tunes, and the abs. I love him. His music means so much to me and I love going with my sister and my best friend. Can't go wrong.

2. RX Bandits.... to cap off the summer, going to see the RXB 3 full album shows at the end of September. Saw them in NYC and it was ridiculous. I'm going to be on the hunt for more tickets so I can drag friends. PLUS, Dexter comes back on the Sunday, so I get to go home to that. I couldn't be happier.

1. Beach, baseball games, pool days, warm nights, happy hours, road trips, bbq..... Looking forward to more of this. Really happy right now and excited about what's to come. I love summer and I am embracing it! 

10 things of the week

I worry that...

10 ...I won't ever be able to control my diet or get into a healthy work out routine. 

9 ...I'll never be comfortable with my body...

8 ...I'm not doing the right thing...

7 ....I'm not a good friend.

6 ...maybe I'm not a good person. 

5 ...I drink too much...

4 ...I'll lose everyone I care about.

3 ...I'm wasting time in regret. 

2 ....maybe I'm never good enough.

1 ...I'll never find love again. 

List is self explanatory this week. I am having a bit of a quarter life crisis. I am back in LA, rehired full time at DC, yet most of my things are still in the apartment back East. What am I doing? I don't know. But I'm going to take the summer to figure it out. Life is really weird and confusing right now. I really love and miss NYC but I really don't think it's a good time for me to be there. And as far as being in a relationship, that is on hold for now too. I don't know what the right thing to do is. I am very unhappy, very conflicted... I need some time to figure me out again. Mind and body... I am in a really bad place. I just want to get into a stable and healthy place with work and myself and cuddle with my dog. Of course I miss Eric and crave his love, but I don't know if I am being fair. So we're going to do the cliche thing and revisit us in a couple months. It's scary but it's what needs to happen. 

This is my 100th blog post. Thanks for reading. I will try to be more present, and you bet your ass I'm going to just be brutally honest from here on out. And a little more fun too, I promise. 

I just want to ask one thing, how do I get motivated to eat right and work out every day? I am getting there but it's hard to get up in the morning. Seriously. Help.

10 Things: An RX Bandits Version

Today's 10 things is a little different. I just wanted to share my love for a band that I've been talking a lot about lately. I know I annoyed my sister, I turned my best friend on to them and peeked my other best friend's curiousity by talking about them non-stop! 

So here's my 10 things RXB style. 

1. I've heard about RX Bandits for years... even had CD's gifted to me that I never ever listened to. I was very very set and proud of my hate. 

2. Grew up about 20 minutes from them... they are Long Beach locals and my parents live across the bridge in Lomita. I love/appreciate how proud the guys are of their hometown because I feel the same way. 

3. I was dragged to my first show. Went socially to my second... skipped the third and fell in love at my fourth. Here I decided to tell the lead singer (Matt Embree) how much I hated them... and how awesome they are that they could completely change my mind. He actually appreciated it and didn't punch me in the face.

4. Matt sings in Spanish. Be still my heart... seriously... eeeeeeeee... rockin' psychedelic hardcore but still a samba-stylish dance party. I don't think I could appreciate any band any more than that. 

5. ...And The Battle Begun. Such a romantic, desire filled, haunting love letter. It starts off with the sweetest yet stuttering, stalkerish note of "Am I cra... am I cra... am I crazy because I want to touch your skin?" and it plays on a struggle with drugs, pills, longing, temptation and loneliness. I feel like this album (and the next) are going to define a bit of the next few months of my life. I've already not been able to listen to any other artist... so it's not hard to imagine. 

6. Mandala. For some silly reason I thought to myself (and said to my friends) that I didn't know and/or like this album so much... boy WAS I KIDDING! It starts fast and furious and just keeps going and going. You cannot help but sing along with the first track, my effing spanish track is on here... "White Lies" has Matt playing keys and mesmerizing you... and "Bring Our Children Home" is a strong, political, meaningful anthem. This album doesn't ever stop playing in my head. 

7. These guys are so smart. SO SMART and so versatile. Most of the members play multiple instruments, split time between multiple projects... Matt's "Love You Moon" has him experimenting with a variety of instruments, including a beat boxing melody. Drummer Christopher Tsagakis has a similar one-man-band... Steve Choi goes from guitar to keys and back like nobody's business. 

8. They fly under the radar. They have been around for more than 15 years yet they still play clubs, they still hang out and drink with fans. It boggles my mind that they are still so approachable and humble and so grateful to their fans. 

9. Only For the Night. Not much to say other than this is probably my favorite song (and live song) ever. The lyrics, the music, the energy... completely uncomparable. Click ME for my youtube of the song from the Glasshouse show in April. (not to mention how damn cute the singer is when he dances around to it...ahhhh)

10. FULL ALBUM SHOWS! Who does that? oh yeah, the RX Bandits do. They record their albums in live format and they also have taken full album sets to Florida, Boston and 3 consecutive nights in NYC and now Los Angeles. For any music fan, seeing your favorite songs and favorite albums in their entirety is a rare treat. You have to respect and appreciate that... and get your ass out to check them out!! 

I know I have a lot of readers in Europe... please get out there and check out RX Bandits! They are touring your land as I type. I am insanely jealous and want you to see them! I hope that everyone else was a little enlightened... or furthermore annoyed with my new obsession. Please do me (and yourself!) a little favor though and check them out. 

10 things...Thursday

This week I missed my Tuesday deadline... I've luckily had a busy week so Monday was spent working with my friend Laura at her booth at a stationary trade show, it was very exciting, many good things to come. Tuesday I had a second interview/trial workday at a new job and then straight over to Gramercy to see Stone Temple Pilots. So here is my 10 thing list for the week. I am thinking of also turning it part into a bucket list a la MTV's The Buried Life. We'll see how I feel next week :) Lots of stuff going on.... stay tuned.

1. I made my dad wait in line for a rollercoaster for more than an hour then was too scared to go on. 

2. I've recorded at 311's studio.

3. I've been in an ambulance twice. 

4. I got my dog on 3/11/05. 

5. I sat onstage during an STP club show.

6. I crashed a snowmobile in the backwoods of Colorado. 

7. I have a sixth sense when it comes to judging character. 

8. I've traveled to another state, alone, to see 311. (and Incubus.)

9.  Michael Vartan once parked next to met at a grocery store lot. He met his fiance the same way.


10. I've climbed the Pyramid of the Sun & Moon outside of Mexico City.

Back on the east side

I was gone for 3 and a half weeks! I got back really early this morning and slept most of the day. Went for sushi dinner and then into the city for an interview. It's for a new company and I'm really excited. It went well so I hope I got it. Anyway, it's Tuesday...so here we go!

1. I went to the 1984 Olympics. 

2. I was once on The Hills. 

3. I met all of Kings of Leon before I knew who they were.

4. I'm afraid of the ocean. 

5. I got paid to see Simon and Garfunkel.

6. ...and Muse... and Red Hot Chili Peppers... and The Police...

7. I've flown alone more times than with someone else. 

8. I once babysat for Scott Weiland's children. 

9. I went to Catholic School for 4 years. 

10. I engineered $4,400 earrings. 

10 Things Tuesday

So in my 25 years of life, I have actually been able to do some really crazy, random/awesome things along the way. I sometimes forget or don't think of them often so I want to start making a little list for myself so that I can hold onto these memories and maybe do something with them one day. I've been really lucky, really blessed... and the one reason why I want to write about it is like I said, so I can remember them... and sharing can be taken two ways, it's really a positive thing not to be taken as bragging at all. So please, if you're going to comment, be polite! I'm only going to write my list of 10 and if anyone wants to know the crazy backstory, I can do that either in the comments or another post, so just ask! I think it's fun to be able to do all the things you have access to in this world and it's also exciting to be able to relive and share these adventures. 

Enjoy :)

1. My first concert was an Alanis Morrisette radio contest. 

2. ...but my first concert was supposed to be No Doubt :(

3. I fell in love with Colorado and lived there for about a year.

4. ...I moved back (to LA) because I was invited to Stone Temple Pilot's reunion show in 2008.

5. I've seen 311 live in more than 10 states. 

6. ...I met my boyfriend in Memphis when we were both in town for a show.

7. I once held hands with Mark McGrath. 

8. I snuck into my first Coachella in 2004...

9. ...and I skipped Radiohead's set for a tent set.

10. I was once locked into a venue after it closed.

...wanna know how? Just ask! I'll add another 10 next week. Tune in :)