i'm back. i've been back. but i'm sick and very very busy at the moment. details and updates are forthcoming. SO much to write about. i promise to be mildly brief.
12:46am (barcelona time)
so lets see. the flights were good. leaving LAX was easy. security was a peace of cake. i slept like a baby on the plane but stacey didnt sleep at all. then we got to heathrow and that was alright. immigration was a bit of a bitch but oh well. then we hopped over to gatwick where we encountered the most massive queue ive ever seen at an airport. goddamn. BUT it went relatively fast. we checked in to easyJet and then made our way to the second most massive queue ive ever seen at an airport -- the security line. it went somewhat quickly. then we just sat and ate and waited. we FINALLY got to barcelona after what felt like 2 days of travel even though it really wasnt.
we got to our hostel which was lovely. the man that works there, gabi, is sooo nice. the hostel is sort of like a hotel and its situated in a really nice and central area of barcelona. we didn´t do much when we got in cuz it was late and we were tired. but today we were out in full force. up at 9 and ready to see the sites. it was gaudi day for us....
first we caught the casa batillo which was a structural wonder. all the curves. all the colors. goddamn. gaudi was crazy and i love him for it. we also saw park guell which is a park done up by gaudi as well. that was so nice to just sort of leisurely walk around and take it all in. we went to the la sagrada familla which was supposed to be THE site to see if you could only see one thing while you were here. and while i thought it was an arcitectual wonder, i wasnt super impressed. probably because it was under some massive construction. so there was scaffolding up the ass and cranes cluttering the sky. oh well...i saw the sphinx like that too. so i mean i guess all things need renovation...
interspersed with the sites we took in a bit of shopping. didnt find much but had a fun time looking around. we have determined that it likes to rain here once a day around 7pm for about 10 min. when we got in last nite it was the same way. and again today. if it happens tomorrow we are stating this as a fact.
we had amazing tapas for dinner tonight....at 11pm!!! yessir. we did it like the spaniards do and took a siesta before dinner. we went to this really damn good tapas place that gabi recommended and it was delicious. there was even a wait when we left the place around midnight. so u know its a good spot. now we are doing internet before deciding what else to do.
tomorrow we have a lot more to pack in. the trip is whirlwind but its damn good.
OH and before i forget. i found a loophole in the no liquids thing for planes. DUTY FREE!! if u buy something duty free at the airport you can have it on the plane. including lotions, perfumes, etc. so i bought some lipgloss before my flight out of LAX and didnt have chapped lips at all. woo! and stacey and i used some sample body shop lotion at the airport which did us well for the entire flight. good shit.
well this is it. the day stacey and i have been waiting for for over half a year! we are leavng for spain and england. WOOFUCKINGHOO!!! i will miss everyone but i'll be having fun...the reading tickets are sorting themselves out brilliantly and i have stopped worrying. i hope to blog when i get over there at some point but we shall see. time may not permit. if so there will be much to say when i return on the 28th. bye!
WOOHOO! the girl wrote back. we are on. she and matt just have to find a place and time to meet but they are set. contact has been made on both parts. im so excited and glad. i was telling byron that it would be hilarious and awesome if the two of them met and fell in love. like a movie. goddamn that would be one hell of a story. "mom and dad. how did you guys meet?" well....
hahahaha too good. ok now i can focus on other matters. like getting to spain in one piece and on time. woohoo!
so i'm gearing up. i haven't used chapstick since this morning. it's hard but i'm doing it. my damn lips are so used to moisture. this sucks. same with my hands....its so shitty. i hope i just fall asleep on the plane so i won't even have to think about it. i hope i hope. i HATE flying and now this. jeez.
but i'm excited. i'm confident that this is all going to work out. even if something happens with this girl meeting up with matt i will find another person. it will be ok. ill just check my email more often for quick times to make sure. and i have their phone numbers and we have our mobile phone. so i mean it will work. the other girl we bought from who was so nice said she'd refund our money when she got the chance (since she's on holiday). and i have a guy who i work with looking into tickets for me via his contacts to these two really large agencies in the UK. so i mean shit, out of all this something has got to work. i am confident. yes yes yes. the panic has subsided thankfully. i don't like being that stressed out. i know i bring it on myself but when things get out of my hands i freak. it's just how i am.
WOW. that was the most panicked i've been in ages i swear. but i finally got an email from andrew and it had a phone number so i called it. and it was matt's number. and i talked to matt. and he's such a sweetheart. willing to meet the girl and all. spot me the cash in advance. etc etc. so i think it's going to be fine. a ton of people emailed back with tickets but i chose this one girl who was from the bay area living in the UK. i was sweating bullets though i swear. people just don't understand what this means to me. i mean shit, ever since i was a teen i started reading Q magazine and i would see the pictures of the reading festival and glastonbury and i soooo wanted to go. mud and all. and now i was finally getting that chance with someone who has wanted to go for just as long as i have. and to have that dream nearly shattered because of fucked up bullshit. hell no! i wasn't having it. and i was panicking that i was losing control of the situation. so people telling me it's not the end of the world and it's going to be ok. yes i know the world isn't ending over this. BUT i also know that if i don't get to go to reading fest this year i will be VERY disappointed. it wasn't the whole trip but it was a very large part. we planned the whole trip around reading. and if that sounds crazy well maybe it was. but i didn't realize the fucking promoters wouldn't send the tickets in advance. i mean shit, who does that? waits til the week of to send tickets. that's absurd. anyway, i *think* all is well. i swear when i got off the phone with matt and then called stacey i wanted to cry a little. because somehow i felt like the whole mess was resolved. despite even having the tickets. when i step foot at reading it will be a glorious glorious night. and i think i'll join the brits in a carling. yes, that sounds fantastic!
PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ummm....yea.....
READING.....
here is my fucked up tale and why i could seriously shit a brick soon. i swear to god.
ok so back in april stacey and i got ready to buy tickets from seetickets.com which is like ticketmaster sort of. when we got around to it the fucking festival was sold out. so we were like "oh shit. what are we going to do??!?!" so we bought tickets from ebay because we didnt want to chance it. and by that i mean, the promoters decided they would try and get the capacity of the event increased so they could sell more tickets. and if they did, they would release said tickets to those on a special list. we got on that list. but when it came time we decided to forego it cuz we had already bought tickets from this girl on ebay named jodie. she seemed really nice. she gave me her phone number and everything in case we had questions about the tickets or just the festival in general. so time passed and no tickets came. but it was months away. so finally around the end of july i emailed her asking what was up. she said she hadn't received the tickets. but hoped they would come soon. so we waited a bit. still no tickets. finally it got to be about 2 wks ago and we came up with a plan B. she said that she would try and buy tickets for us from someone on ebay who had them in hand to sell. cuz some people have their tickets in hand since they bought from the local HMV or whatever. so thats what we did. she bought tickets from this guy online who said he would send them to her last thursday. well she never got the tickets. and she is leaving the UK for her holiday. which is why we couldn't just wait for her original tickets to come. so.....
1) we are out money for those tickets unless she refunds us which i think in the end she will refund us at least half cuz she's been so nice and knows that basically we are both fucked.
2) we are frantically emailing a slew of people on this craigslist type site asking if they have tickets to sell if they could either send to our hostel OR
3) if andrew (who is in the UK right now) is willing to help me out big time and get the tickets from one of these people and either send to our hostel or leave with matt in the UK then do that
regardless i am panicked with good reason and basically had NO idea this was going to happen. i mean first of all even if we had got our tickets from the main source we'd have been fucked cuz they wouldnt have come in time. so either way we were screwed. who fucking knew this was going to be SOOOOO motherfucking hard.
we can't really go to the venue in person and try and get tickets cuz if we do and we can't get weekend ones we have no way to camp out. so yea. we are fucked. unless andrew comes through. at this point he's one of the only options left. if he's not willing to help then the only other thing i can think of if any of these people could meet us outside the venue with the tickets and thats how we do it. but i dunno. that's LAST resort....
UGH!!!! =(
so i'm sure most people by now are aware of the attempted b_ombings (the underscore is so that someone doesn't think i'm a threat or something. u know the whole "ACT" that was passed) at london's heathrow airport. first of all, what a shame. i mean what is this world coming to? it's fucking insane. one day we are going to just lock ourselves in our little vaults cuz we wont be able to go outside. everything will be done via telecommunication or something. jesus. secondly, with the advanced technology out there, it seems like ANYTHING can be a b_omb (from here on out called "bmb") now. i mean first it was monitoring for ex_plos_ives with swabbing down the bags. then it was the whole shoe incident so everyone has to take their shoes off now. then it was the air puffer machine which i'm not sure what it actually does but i know that it blows air on you and i think checks for ex_plos_ives. i'm not sure. now liquids. basically u can't bring anything on a plane now. literally, NO carry-ons. no cell phones. no mp3 players. only the essentials. cash, ID, plane tickets. no bags, purses, nothing. it's crazy. soon they will find a way to make "bmbs" disguised in money or IDs or something. then i dunno what we'll do. it's a scary scary world we live in and i swear to god the more this shit happens, the less it makes me want to have kids. why put my own flesh and blood through all this bullshit?
ok so how this all affects me. well i am leaving for UK/spain in less than a week. i was planning on bringing a separate bag for my cams and stuff but methinks i'll have to replan my entire packing process. i can't bring ANYTHING on the plane so i can't really have said cam bag. i also plan to buy a decent amount of cds at the end of my trip, some of which i assumed i'd transport via carry-on. but now i can't. so i got a larger duffle bag which will scrunch up and i'll bring my shit back in that. all the things i buy. in that and my backpack. it will all be very interesting. you can't bring lotion or toothpaste on the plane. this flight is LONG. no brushing of the teeth! jesus!!! i'm calling the airline on monday to see what i can and can't bring. considering the biggest concern is UK to US transit right now, maybe on my way over i can bring more things. currently in the UK it looks like this:
people with their possessions in clear plastic bags. the poor baby holding it's formula in a bag!!! i mean that's sad. and it looks like a chaotic mess. people EVERYWERE. i mean granted it shouldn't be as bad next week. but look at this. i mean thank fucking god they caught the people. can u imagine. 10 planes. TEN!!!! i don't even want to think about it. the only good to come of this is that shit is gonna be so tight i will feel safer. i guess....
deep breath.
DEEP BREATHS....
i was in a panic over the reading festival tickets. and just everything for the trip in general. but i think it's going to be ok. i got an email from the girl who has been helping me out. she said the guy she bought the tickets from is sending them tomorrow. so she'll receive them friday for sure. that's what the guy said. i read his fwded email. so now she has to send them to me. and i was panicking about them not getting here in time. but i think if she sends friday or even monday via international next day fedex it should get to me. so i think it will be ok. i think. i hope. we'll see. cross your fingers for me. when we see the gates of the reading festival i might even shed a slight tear for all the trouble this has been and how i'll FINALLY be there....
on another less dramatic note, alex's dinner was lovely. so tasty. a bit spicier than we would have wanted but very good. i was very happy seeing him cook for me as i plugged away at my mounds of work. such a darling he is. =)
gah!!! so much shit to do. i can't wait for my trip but til then i think i might be tired as hell. so much shit to do!!!
but aside from the hellish amount of tedious things i must finish before i leave, alex is making me dinner tonight. WOO! i hope it's tasty. it's the thought that counts but i mean if it tastes like dirt, it'll still be hard to eat, thought or no thought....
omg. joe's back!!! and he sent me this photo of him out in the field...
sorry joe, it was TOO good to pass up.
the weekend was good. not exciting but good. i'm getting very pumped and stressed about our trip. all these last minute things. gah!! but i think it's all going to work out nicely in the end. this time next week i'll be SUPER pumped. we leave on wednesday. WOO!!!
so the weekend....
friday i went with 2 coworkers to get massages at the thai massage place. goddamn that woman did a number on my right shoulder. just how i wanted her to. it was awesome!! i love that place and recommend it to anyone who likes harsh massages. this place is not really meant for the weak. i mean they can go easy but inherently a thai massage is meant to work out the kinks. stretch things that maybe don't normally get stretched. etc etc etc. i love it. after that laurel and i went on operation "wedding night." ie, i had to get my garter belt for my thigh money belt contraption and she needed to get a slip for the dress she made. so we did that. then i met up with alex and his friend, peter, who is visiting but will soon be living here. we went to mountain bar to scout out for alex's potential birthday night plans. i ran into my brother there! good times.
saturday was the lovely dim sum adventure. so much good good food. we were all stuffed for $10 each with tax and tip. SO tasty!!! then i did a bunch of errands and work. alex, peter, lawrence, sami and i then went to see talladega nights which was good. some really fucking hilarious moments. i don't want to ruin it but let's just say that in the preview they show the knife in leg part. well that whole scene is mofo hilarious. it had my favorite line in the whole movie.
sunday alex, peter, and i got tacos at the good taco truck alex and i found with byron a few weeks ago. then we went to the ghetty. the view was great as always. then i did some more errands and work and closed out the night like that.
this week is HECTIC trying to tie up loose ends and get shit done for the trip. alex is goign to make me dinner this week too. he was going to make it for me last week but we couldn't get all the ingredients. he's making chicken saag and we didn't go to an indian market beforehand so we were missing a bunch of crucial stuff. so this week he's going to make it. yay! i know he's going to miss me while i'm gone. i mean i'll miss him too but i'll be out having tons of fun so i'll be preoccupied for sure. it's like last winter andrew went to aspen for xmas and new years and i was home alone. i missed him so much. i think alex will miss me like that. he's so sweet. he cares so much and i don't want him to feel bad but i mean there isn't much i can do. he'll be fine. and when i get back he'll be happy to see me! so it will be fine.
so they are filming transformers where i work. they film a lot here cuz it's so industrial. it's crazy. so many big ass trucks and stuff. all that will "transform" with CGI magic. cool stuff.
me and two coworkers are getting massages tonight. oh man i can't wait to zone out and get beat up. it will be awesome. i need it. my back needs it.
i've got a lot on tap this weekend. workwise and socially. dim sum tomorrow morning!!! i can't wait. we've got a big group going. i'm excited. yessir.
mission reading tickets is in full swing. the girl was AMAZING and she bought tickets for me from the dude and will fedex them to me asap once she receives them monday or tuesday. i'm so thankful for her help.
first up, i'm ridiculously tired. jesus christ almighty. it's not warm today either it seems which is a pleasant change but i didn't bring a sweater. gah! oh well. at least we've having chinese food for one girl's bday in the office today. that'll be fun. then laurel and i are running to the fabric store to get some stuff for our crafts. i'm altering a leg money belt and she needs more materials for this dress she's making. oh yes, we are crafty kids. i might go to din din with alex and his friend peter. peter is visiting for the weekend but will be moving here soon to start grad school at my rival uni. he's already starting off on the wrong foot with me....haha
unrelated, kyla's last day of work was yesterday. she ships off to NYC at the end of the month. but this means no more chatty chatty with her at work. sad. it made work so fun. just sending links back and forth. shootin the shit. no more of that. she has to "study" and "go to class." gah!!! what will i do? she's moving so far. grrrr....i will go visit her this fall/winter. yes yes yes. if i fall in love, i'm moving. i love my friends but i'm sick of LA really. and i've even gotten used to LA. i mean i've found my niche and all. but i'm sorta feeling stagnant. something has got to give. either i stay a bit longer and i delve deep into more exciting freelance or i move. something. shits starting to blur and that's not a good sign. when that happens you blink and you're 30 and saying "what the fuck happened to my 20's?" i DON'T want that!!!
food food food.
so last nite alex was going to cook me chicken saag to prove to me that he can cook. but then we couldn't get most of the ingredients so it will have to wait til we can get to the indian market. so instead he cooked baked ziti. it was tasty enough. i want the chicken saag though!!!
then today at lunch i got byron to review chanos for his taco blog. oh man i haven't been to chanos in years!! good ole chanos. it was weird to back in usc area. but chanos is still the same. good as always. and the man that works the window is still the same. i wonder how hot it gets in that little stand? i mean they are cooking right there. i imagine it gets pretty hot.
ok so the reading situation continues....
i have determined that the tickets will most likely NOT reach the girl before she or i leave for our holidays. goddamn the man. this both worries and relieves me all at once. worries because well, we need our fucking tickets. relieves because if stacey and i had bought tickets through the regular processes, we would have been really really fucked. so i'm sorta glad that this turned out this way. because we wouldn't have been able to get a refund on those tickets whereas this girl will kindly refund us. so that's good. also, i found a couple people on ebay who have their tickets IN HAND. so if they will post to the US i will buy from them directly and have the other girl refund the money to me. if they won't, i'll have the other girl buy them from that other seller, i'll pay her the difference, she'll receive them and post them off to me immediately. so either way this will work. yes we are paying more but at this point it's that or nothing. paying regular price clearly wouldn't have worked anyway. so yea. it was ebay or nothing which is why i'm sort of relieved that we didn't get thru in time to buy from the promoter. or else we'd be paying out the ass for this. NO GOOD!
on a related note...travelodge UK is starting to test out these portable hotel rooms for festivals and outdoor events.
[courtesy of the cool hunter]
it's called the "travelpod" and it comes complete with a double bed, bedside tables, lights, duvet, pillows, a dressing table, mirror, chair and toilet. all for £26/night. ie, only available in the UK. gah!! they are doing a soft launch now and hoping to have them available for next year's festivals. goddamnit. if they had them NOW stacey and i could have rented one! how amazing would that have been. wow. yea totally rad.
so i'm not officially worried about reading festival. as it turns out, the motherfucking promoters send out the tickets like 1-2 wks in advance. so the problem is that the tickets i bought from the girl off of ebay (bless her soulm she's been fantastic) haven't arrived yet. and it seems as though MOST people haven't received theirs from what i am reading online in forums and whatnot. so this is a problem. cuz stacey and i leave for our trip on august 16th. if we don't get tickets before that we are going to have to buy scalped at the venue. GAH!!!! the girl i bought from is going to be on holiday which is why i can't pick them up from her in person. unless she could leave with a friend. another option is for her to refund and we buy from someone who has them in hand. another option might be to have her send to someone else in england that i know. gah. so many variables. i have faith we will get there. but i'm worried about how it's going to go down and how much it's going to cost. motherfucking promoters. why do they do this?!?!? ugh!!
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