La La La La Lollapolooza 2011

So here it is! Over a month later, highlights from my first full 3-day music festival.  But it's not just about Lolla, it also sums up what this summer has been about - discovering new bands and having fun.  Music is definitely a passion of mine.  I may not be the best singer, dancer, or ukulele player, but I do all of these things because I love music.  Here's some of the notable moments of Lollapolooza 2011.  Enjoy the music!

DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS

Young the Giant

I downloaded their self-titled album after hearing their single "My Body," and I was glad I did.  The energetic, unique sounds of this five-man band required that I head to Grant Park alone in order to make the 1pm show.  I got a decent spot with other Young lovers to catch the opening, "I Got", which immediately pumped up the crowd.  Other favorites: Garands, Cough Syrup, Guns Out.

Foster the people

By now, most of you have probably heard "Pumped Up Kicks".  But I have to say the rest of the album Torches is a must hear.   Each song adds different sections of electronics and they're all upbeat and fun.  While I was a little disappointed in the sound quality, they still put on a great performance and played some of my favorites: Helena Beat, Waste, and Call it What You Want.

Muse

I was a latecomer to the Muse trend, not catching on until their latest album Resistance, 2009, but it wasn't long after that before I acquired their entire discography and fell in love with the complexity of their albums.  Well if you like Muse on album, you will LOVE Muse live.  Rocking hard on all the instruments, cool lighting, they do WAY more than just play the studio track.  They had an amazing set list including  favorites: Starlight, Resistance, Uprising, Undisclosed Desires, Knights of Cydonia, and Butterflies & Hurricanes.  

DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS

Local Natives

Described by some as psych folk, this is a little more chill than Muse, but it was definitely at the top of my Saturday line up after listening to their only album, Gorilla Manor.  They put on an entertaining show by switching up instruments and lead singers on some songs and every second you can tell they were putting their entire heart and soul into the music.  It's amazing how much appreciation you gain for a band by experiencing it live.  For example, Kelcey dedicated the song "Airplanes" to his mother, and "Sun Hands" was a moment where the crowd sang together and the band rocked out in the instrumental section.  The band also announced they were in studios for their next album, which I'm very much looking forward to.  Other favorites: Wide Eyes, Warning Sign.

The Glitch Mob

In between other bands, we would hit up "Perry's" a football size tent where the electronic/DJ artists played.  We happened to catch Glitch Mob, a three man band, which has now become one of my favorite in the electronic arena.  They have a unique electronic sound with multidimensional songs that are sure to get you moving.  Favorite songs all from the Drink the Sea album: Fortune Days, Animus Vox, and Fistful of Silence. 

DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS

Lia Ices

Sunday morning I decided to go see Noah and the Whale on one of the main stages.  On the way I happened to pass a small stage in the trees where a beautiful female voice caught my attention.  I didn't even think twice about missing Noah and the Whale.  I had to hear more.  So I veered into the shade to enjoy 30 minutes of Lia Ices.  The fact that this happens is one best things about Lollapalooza.  Her voice is reminiscent of Fiona Apple or an "upbeat Nora Jones".  Songs to check out: "Half Life" and "Daphne".  

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

The band came out in full NASCAR jumpsuit attire and within the first song stripped into shirts that said "Your Ad Here".  They followed this act with a bubble machine, drum core clad in skeleton masks, a horn and violin section, and jumping performance all around.  Definitely something to check out!  Favorites: Simple Girl, Morning Thought, and Skeletons.

This blog could probably go on for ever.  From seeing Cage the Elephant in rain followed by dancing in mud pits to Damien Marley & NAS, to some big names Eminem, The Cars, Foo Fighters, and Kid Cudi, and plenty of others, Lollapolooza 2011 made for a great 3 days!  I highly recommend people hit up some music festivals next season.  Learn about the bands that will be there, have an idea of what you want to see, but don't be afraid to make some impromptu decisions and be open and let the music rock you.  That's all for now.

peace & love.

- C.

A Busy Bee is a Happy Me!

Hello blog world!  Please forgive my long period of absence!

Recently, I have learned that I am much happier when I stay busy.  I get to antsy just sitting around knowing there's so much to do and see in the world... I have to be feeding my brain knowledge, filling my soul with life, and just plain "doing" in order to get that sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.  

Thus, I have taken to filling my day with activities (not all work!) and learned to live on less sleep. In fact, somehow, I wake up easier and more upbeat in the morning with less sleep than I used to need. Not sure if it’s the sunshine, my new-found motivation, or what... in any case, I’m really enjoying it!

But… with the busy schedule, my blog took a backseat. So I wanted to take a minute to update y'all on what I have been up to!

1. "Temping." I work full-time at a local (but not small) greeting card company. Specifically, the unit that fills USPS Post Offices with greeting cards and ReadyPost shipping supplies (like cute colorful packages, boxes, and packing tape). I’m enjoying learning about the retail business and the logistics in inventory control for 15,000 offices.  I’m responsible for completing a handful of monthly and weekly reports for my bosses. I do special projects, such as analyzing how certain office demographics and promotions correlate to sales.  Plus, our cards cost me just 50 cents!   ...But while I enjoy this job, I’m looking for that extra challenge, variety, and excitement of public accounting (Yes. I said excitement… I swear it is!). That’s where the next step comes in.

2. Coffee shops. Studying for the CPA Exam. This stands Certified Public Accountant. It’s a four part exam. Fully computerized. 60% multiple choice. 40% fill-in-the-blank journal entry, concept, and research. Each test 3-4 hours long. It ain’t no joke (No. English isn’t tested). Most people study 8-5 like a full time job, but I don’t have that luxury (or curse, I’m not sure which). Gotta make dat money!  **Note about coffee shops, next time you're in one, order a "Chaicoffski". This is a local fad so you'll have to give the barrista the recipe: 50% chai +50% coffee = 100% yumz!

3. "Freelancing." = Random stuff I do to make extra money.  Before I got my greeting card job. I took up a part-time project of bookkeeping for a Homeowner’s Association. So now I put in a couple hours a week to keep that going. This has really tested my knowledge of “real-life” accounting, so I'm glad about that... I am also known for my frequent role as a stay-in pet and house sitter, which I do about once a month for a couple different families.  I watch children too.

4. Extra-curriculars. Jogging, cycling, socializing, and most notably, African dance. It’s difficult to put into words how amazing African Dance is, but I’m going to try anyway...  The setting: A “Master Drummer” from the Ivory Coast plays at the front of the class with his ensemble of 4-6 men. (Women can play too!! But for class, we dance! Oh and men can dance too!  Yay equal opportunity!).  Our master drummer has been performing around the world since his teens, so we are honored to be in his presence, listening to the music and lyric that comes out of his drum… His wife, an American (who btw, can move like an African native), teaches the class tribal dances from different parts of Africa.  Like Congolese [lots of hip shaking!], Zaouli [fast footwork to mimic the drums], and Aluku [a tribute to the most beautiful dancer in the tribe, one of my faves], to name a few.

Before class ends, you have a chance for a solo and dance one-on-one with the drummers, who play to your movements.  It's not about pleasing the circle of folks around you but about expressing yourself.   And at the very end, we thank the drums for their music, then the drummers, and then each other... Something about the atmosphere and experiencing a different culture is very fulfilling.  Even though there are certain moves and steps, you can kind of interpret it to how you feel and just let go, which is great after a stressful day!  So (I realized I've been very hippie through all of this), but basically, I highly recommend researching to find an African drum & dance group in your area.  It's great fun, a great workout, and a unique experience that I think everyone should have!


So glad I fit blogging into my schedule tonight!  Now everyone's updated!  I think I'll have to add it to my list as #5!  ....Enjoy your week everyone! 

-- peace & love --

A Wine and Dine Evening (mostly just wine)

Red Wine.  Vino Tinto.   Vinno Rosso.  Vin Rouge.

Friday, I attended the Big Red Wine Festival and rediscovered my love and appreciation for red wine.  If you've never been to one, it is wine tasting to the EXTREME!  In two hours, people imbibe a plethora of wine, and leave feeling fine (three sheets to the wind)...  Most festivals have a flat entrance fee.  People tend to get their monies worth.

But apart from that aspect, I enjoyed talking to the distributors.  Hearing what makes their wines unique.  How the wine came to be.  And of course tasting for myself!  So from this fun experience, I compiled a list of some noteworthy wines:

1.  Frog's Leap Winery, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvingnon

     Totally organic and delicious.  I'm told it's a beautiful winery with butterflies and no pesticides!  A typical cab, very flavorful, and you can taste the purity of it.

 2.  Trivento Winery, Argentina, Amado Sur

      A Malbec (73%) blended with Bonarda (15%) and Syrah (12%).  Very smooth and unique because there aren't too many blended Malbecs.  Amado Sur means love of the south and this wine exudes the Argentine pride for the Malbec grape. 

 3.  Errazuriz Winery, Chile, Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvingnon

      Yum.  I know I'm being partial to the cabs, but this was absolutely delicious.  Bold flavors, I tasted the oak. Apparently they use a new oak barrel each time (possibly wasteful, but delicious nonetheless).

4.  Cline, Sonoma, Ancient Vines Zinfandel

     These vines are 100 years old and at the prime of their taste/flavor.  This Zin is smooth and flavorful.  At $14 it's a $6 price increase on the on the regular-aged vine zin, but so worth it (I tried both to compare)

5.  Cline, Sonoma, Cashmere 

     While at the Cline table, an older gentleman came up and told me the story of how this wine got it's name.  Here's roughly what happened:  A female in the original winery family (last name Jacuzzi) made up her own blend of grapes into this delicious wine.  At first, being that it was the olden days and woman weren't really respected, they didn't sell this on the market.  Until... she brought it to one of her husbands parties.  A man their liked it and asked its name, at which point she, as she was big into knitting, replied on the spot Cashmere.  And thus it was named (fittingly it is a very light, yet bold, smooth wine), marketed, and soon became a top seller! Women power!

6.  Uppercut, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon  

     I'm running out of ways to describe how wine tastes.  But this is a delicious typical cab!

7.  Tarrica, Paso Robles, Cabernet Sauvognon and Pinot Noir

8.  Cupcake, Red Velvet

9.  Charles Smith, Velvet Devil Merlot

Disclaimer: These last few may or may not be as good as I remember... I tried them toward the end of the two hour tasting spree...  Drink at your own risk.   (Also, I don't own any images above.  No copyright infringement is intended.)

That sums up my wine fest experience.  If your into red wine but get overwhelmed in the big winery section at the grocery, I hope this helps.  I noticed most of these were 2007.  So aging 4 years seemed about right!  Enjoy!!  p.s. Thanks, Mel, for giving me this blog post idea :)

peace & love

my blog is born!

Hello and welcome to my first blog ever!  First, I'd like to say I'm really looking forward to this blog...  like really excited.  I spent the last few days (with the help of my amazing friends) thinking up a name and well...I couldn't wait any longer, so I picked one and now here I am at nearly 1 in the morning starting my blog!!

The main reason I'm blogging is because some of my best friends and I were forced apart by a thing called graduating, and I hate not keeping in touch with them, so here was my solution.  These girls are like my family, so I can't live without knowing what's going on in their worlds and I think they'd like to know what's going on in my world too!  Especially because my life's a little crazy (cra) right now. 

And that's why I chose the gypsy title for my blog.  I don't have my own apartment (nor a full time job.. yet!) so I  pretty much roam around visiting different family and friends who graciously give me a place to sleep.  Unlike gypsies however, I don't steal... much ;).  My family is very good to me (rent free!) and I am thankful for that, so I may take their food and electricity (and my mother's sanity at times), but I try to give back to them as much as I can.

So that's a bit about me and how this blog came to be.  But now I think it's time for this baby blogger to hit the hay.   

peace & love