Rock Fest: Part Two

Aside from the shows, the next best part of Rock Fest is the people there. Whether you're spending your free time at your camp site with friends and/or family, or you're walking around people watching, there is no shortage of interaction in the days at the Fest. This was my third year going with my aunt and uncle and staying with not only them, but their friends. We had a really small group this year: only 9 people total. Even though I really like the party factor of having such a large group to camp with, it was also nice having a small group. Every year there is always at least someone new. This year it was a couple who are friends with one of the other yearly couples. Of the New Couple, the girl had previously been but I had not met her in my previous years. It was her boyfriend's first year entirely. We have a Fest Virgin every year and he was It for us in 2013. Because the group was so small, we got to chat a lot and have some good conversations. I got to know the New Couple pretty well, which I doubt would have happened in a larger group.

One of the greatest reasons why I love camping with my aunt and uncle is how attached I have grown to their group. Every single person has welcomed Man Friend and myself into their Rock Fest family without any questions. I am not just Aunt and Uncle's young niece to them and they treat me the same at 24 that they do their friends in their 40s and 50s. They all fell in love with Man Friend right away and he is only known as Big Red. It's also pretty cool hanging out with Aunt and Uncle at more than just family functions. While it's great catching up at holidays and birthday parties, there's just something extra awesome about rocking out to great music together.

For those who don't know me well, or at all, I am a huge people watcher. I am so fascinated by everyone around me at all times that I cannot help but stare. Sometime I get caught and I have to super awkwardly dart my eyes or quickly turn my head away. Maybe it's because before everything else, I am a writer. Being a writer isn't just about jotting quick words down or coming up with stories. It's not just a profession or an action; it's a feeling. It's an entire way of life. I am this to my core.

Anyway, Rock Fest is one of the greatest places to people watch because there is such a huge variety of attendees. My very favorite person to watch caught my eye at every show. A little girl around 9 or 10 went through the picture line over and over with her dad. She rocked out just as hard as people twice or three times her age without batting an eye. I was in front of her in the picture line for a show at the beginning of the weekend and I overheard her say, "Dad I wish every day was like today!" One of the days they had a little boy with them, presumably her younger brother. She carried him piggy-back through the picture line at least twice during one show. That girl was so awesome and I so badly wanted to high five her dad for being the coolest parent I've ever seen.

Every year, I see people of all ages. This year the youngest child I saw was still in diapers and the oldest was jamming out in her wheel chair. People there were of all races and from all parts of the country. Some even came across the border and joined us from Canada. People dressed up in full KISS attire, in concert tees for every band playing, bikinis and stilettos and Mardi Gras costumes. One show I stood behind a couple obviously new in their relationship or had just met. Their over-the-top amount of playful flirting and teasing eventually turned into full-fledged making out. People were poorly dancing, drunkenly stumbling or barely keeping themselves together. And let's not forget this guy:

He must have a lot of balls shoved into that tutu

In the last three years, if there's anything I've learned from attending Rock Fest, it's this: "you come for the shows, but keep coming back for the people." The four days packed full of concerts is the most fun part, but creating memories with the people you're there with make it even better. I'll leave you with a few more pictures from the weekend.

Sitting in the King Chair

Our custom-painted fire ring. Note the Big Red.

Conversation Hearts

The only way my daily conversations could get any better would be if they actually were printed on heart-shaped pieces of sugar. Here are some little nuggets of life with Mon recently:

Former Roomie: On the bright side he [new roomie] is terrified of me.
Me: niiice.
Former Roomie: Seriously. Yesterday, I was like "I want you to leave." He's like "Why?" I'm like "BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL WELL AND I WANT YOU TO LEAVE!" And he did.
Me: Omg what? Your former roomie would not have reacted the same way.
Former Roomie: lol. True, but my former roomie also didn't annoy the living shit out of me with her gleaming positivity


Friend who recently moved across the country: This is embarrassing but I just saw Leinie's Summer Shandy at Target and almost started bawling because I miss you. Oay. Truth. I cried.
Me: Confession: I cried driving past your old apartment last weekend. And just now.
Friend: Christ we're a mess!
Me: I was just thinking the same thing! But that better be the last time Summer Shandy makes you cry.
Friend: lol deal!
Me: Go figure we still have solid conversations over beer on opposite sides of the country.
Friend: Well I mean we honestly cant be expected to change our ways merely because we're "adults" now.


Coworker (to me):  Instead of you having your own kids, you'll be the one to buy my kids their first drink! As any good auntie should.


Me: Does he ever stop complaining?
Friend: Chip? (a code name for someone we can't stand)
Me: Nailed it.
Friend: Maybe he's never getting nailed and that's why he's always complaining!


Former Roomie's Facebook status: An entire jar of peanut butter for lunch is healthy, right?
Me: SIICK
Former Roomie: DELICIOUS
Friend (from conversation 2): I just heard Monica groan across the country


Little: One time, when I was swimming in the lake with my cousin, I had had to pee. So I climbed on her back and peed on her!
Me: OH MY GOD I AM NEVER SWIMMING WITH YOU EVER!


Me: My Little told me that I'm going to die lonely and alone because I don't want kids!
Coworker (who also does not want kids): But...you'll be happy! And hopefully not poor from  kids sucking you dry.


Cousin: Why is it that I can squish a spider or mosquito with my bare hands, but the second an ear wig comes near me my stomach churns?
Me: Because those motherfuckers are way more disgusting.
Cousin: Fuck yeah.

And this picture I found on Pinterest, which I just couldn't resist sharing:

My "See You Later" Letter To A Close Friend

I'm not entirely sure why I feel so compelled to share this. Perhaps it's because I made a vow to myself earlier this year to start acknowledging my emotions, and in order to deal with them, I need to share them. Perhaps, it's because I don't think anything else could describe my emotions and struggles right now quite so effectively. Perhaps it's because I don't think anything else could describe ME quite so effectively. Nevertheless, I hope you dear readers enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Here's a little nugget of depth into my life (of course altered a little for Friend's privacy).

My dearest Friend,

Since the very first day of sixth grade when I was stunned by your ‘tude about “not coming from Elementary School EITHER,” I knew we were destined to be friends. And basically, we’ve been inseparable ever since.

You are one of the most incredible women I’ve ever met, and one of the best friends I could ever ask for. For the last thirteen and a half years, I have known I could always count on you for whatever I wanted or needed. From the divorce of my parents to break ups, I always had your shoulder to cry on. Likewise, some of my greatest laughs have come from our times spent together. We developed a passion for music together, which started with Backstreet Boys and progressed into pop-punk and eventually grew into wider genres. Part of the reason Blink-182 will forever have such a special place in my heart is because we discovered them together and lost our concert virginity to them and Green Day. You are the only person to send me a Halloween card every year, and every single year is makes my whole day. You have helped fuel the fire that is me becoming a wine-o and are someone who I can always count on to truly enjoy food and swapping any recipe.

I am so very lucky to not only have a friend like you, but to have stayed so close after so many years. We are both such different people from when we first met, and yet, remarkably the same. When so many friends drift apart throughout their lives or lose touch after high school or college, we have grown even closer. And because of this, I know we will forever be inseparable, no matter how much distance physically separates us. We damn well better be 85 years old sharing a glass or three of wine laughing about the past and the present, and maybe making new friends in each other if we’ve forgotten who we are.

When I first found out that your promotion was official, I had a few teeeensy tears. And as I write this, I continue to fight back an ugly cry. I will miss you more than you could ever know and learning to have a long-distance friendship with you will be quite the adjustment. However, despite my tears and selfishly wishing you’d stay, I am so incredibly excited for you and just about to burst with pride. I couldn’t be any happier for you to pursue a career that you are excited about and that you will be just phenomenal at. You are going to rock that account manager job and I am sure that everyone in City will love you. In the few short months that I worked with you in Wisconsin City (which, by the way, was one of my favorite jobs ever. And I’m not just saying that.) I very quickly learned what a hard and dedicated worker you are. You take great pride in your work and hold a respected yet approachable and relatable authority.

Although I am sad to see you leave, I am wicked excited to have a great new place to add to my list of vacation spots. I cannot wait to come see you in City, and I cannot wait to hear how much you’re enjoying yourself. We have a very unique and special friendship that I am confident will survive through any curveball life throws us. Congratulations on your new adventure!

Love,

Mon

I Have Real, Human Emotions

Hello dear readers! I've been struggling to come up with what to write the last few days. I made a vow to myself that I was going to be more active here than I was last year, and I will be damned if I break my promise to myself. Last year, I blogged when I felt like it, and kind of lost touch sometimes. There were months when I only had one post. I've been getting better at making sure to get my weekly post done, but one thing I need to work on is setting a time aside every week for myself and my writing. I had several hours a week set aside for writing for class and homework when I was in college, so why do I have such a hard time making one hour at the exact same time every week now?

Anyway, I find it so much harder to write when I'm struggling with days, myself or life in general. I have so much more to say when things aren't going well, and so much more raw emotions to work with that presents unlimited writing material. The hard stuff is what makes you relatable to others. Not just in writing, but in real life as well. It's what brings people together, and writing about whatever has been on my mind has always been therapeutic for me.

I've definitely had a lot to work with lately. So far, my inkling that 2013 was going to be fabulous has been terribly wrong. I know, I know, it's only two months into the new year. But in those two months, I've had the worst flu/sickness I've had in at least five years, had essentially a week to move out of my house since I was sick for a week, realized how much Former Roomie's friendship meant and how much it hurt having to say "see ya later" (I've cried more in public in the last two weeks than I ever have in my life), found out the majority of my closest friends will be moving across the country, my sister will be joining my mom and moving out of state, winter driving gives me terrible anxiety, I've missed work and have been late to work because of the roads, I lost a friend, lost a family member, had even more stress at work than usual, and am continuously being rejected for job after job.

So what's the problem, you say? Somehow, throwing all my feels out there to the world makes my struggles and emotions so much more real. It's hard to admit I'm not as strong as I'd like to be. It's hard opening up and knocking down that wall of stubborn-ness and independence that I've had guarding my persona. It's so much easier only sharing when things are going well and sharing when I'm having so much fun. After two weeks of public sobbing in preparation of former Roomie moving across the country, I told Man Friend how much I hate crying, especially in front of others. I told him I don't want anyone to see me cry because it makes me vulnerable. He told me to not ever think of crying as leaving myself vulnerable. He said it makes you stronger because you're dealing with your emotions and showing that you care about something. And damnit if that wasn't one of the truest and most profound things I've heard in a while.

So, I'm going to try my best to heed his advice. World, be prepared for some raw and heartfelt posts. That's not to say I'm only going to write when I'm unhappy or only share emotional moments. Hell to the no. I want to share the happy moments, the stupid things that happen in my life and how much fun I have too. I'm just going to try to learn that actually sharing the bad with the good isn't so terrible. I want to be able to share more than just what's stressful. I want to try really hard to delve deeper and actually say WHY I'm stressed or struggling and how it makes me feel. Not just that it's happening. And eventually, it won't be so hard.

I'm feeling better already.

The Ups and Downs of Moving

Hello dear readers! For those of you who know me in real life, this should not come as a shock to you, but I have a really hard time with emotions. I'm an incredibly emotional person, but I have a very difficult time showing my emotions, and an even harder time dealing with and understanding them. I don't like to let too much of my personal feelings and tribulations show on my public space, but here comes a little nugget of seriousness.

I hate moving...mostly because I don't handle change very well. No matter the circumstances of moving, I hate it with every single fiber of my being. However, today's move is hitting me particularly hard. Today is my last day in my house with Roomie. The house has been for sale for a few months now, and plans to sell and/or move have been in the books for well over a year now. But now that it's here and happening, it's way more difficult than I had ever anticipated.

First of all, moving is incredibly stressful. It's tedious, time-consuming, tiresome, expensive, and a lot of physical work. The only positive thing about constantly going up and down stairs, lifting, twisting and carrying is how much exercise it is. However, it leaves you sore and tired, and in constant fear of dropping something fragile or breaking yourself. Packing takes forever, you have to get all kinds of boxes and storage bins, downsize, do lots of laundry and do lots of wrapping of breakables. I have no idea how people do this for a living. They must hate their lives.

There's a lot I'm going to miss from living here. Roomie, for one. We've been friends most of our lives, but living with him for nearly two years made our friendship even closer and stronger than it was before. It'll be an adjustment of not only not being in the same residence, but of him being on the other side of the country as well. I'll miss coming home to someone who likes bitching just as much as I do. Because let's face it, our household consisted of swearing and alcohol. You gotta go witcha strengths. I will miss all the ridiculous things we do together, namely singing terrible songs and talking in movie/tv/comedy/youtube quotes. I'm so excited for him to start his new job in a new city and have a fresh start, particularly because he is so excited. I'm excited to have a new place to visit, but it's going to be a huge change not having him around all the time.

Nuggets for two. When I first moved in, I wouldn't even touch Lucy. I kept her away from me for a solid month by chasing her with the Swiffer. It was my only defense against jumping, scratching, licking, sniffing and general curiosity. And somehow, the little diva found her way under my skin and MADE me fall in love with her. And then we got Snoopy, and I thought I was going to have an aneurysm having two hyperactive dogs in the house with me. Somehow, he figured out how to make me love him too. It's the damn beagle eyes. They pathetically just look up at you, begging you to love them and before you know it, the sneaky bastards have weasled their way into your heart. I don't even like animals, but damnit if I didn't sob sitting in an empty kitchen saying goodbye to them.

I bet you're already won over. 

I will definitely miss all the parties we've had at our house. We were the party house for my group of friends for a significant amount of time. We threw two Memorial Day parties that were pretty baller, if I do say so myself. We've had New Years, Packer games, and countless Friday nights in that house and it's going to be so sad and weird without that staple.

However, there is definitely a lot I will not miss. For one, White Trash. White Trash is our kiddy-corner neighbor who we hate. His name should be fairly self-explanatory. We called the cops on him Friday, he was arrested Sunday, and somehow was deemed ok to be released by Tuesday. I will not miss cops constantly on our street or sirens always blaring in the middle of the night. I will not miss the drug house two doors down. I will not miss our judgey, lazy next door neighbors. I will not miss our street never getting plowed properly, if at all. Although I will miss the puppies, I will not miss all pee, poop and vomit that happened all over the house. I will not miss the whining and howling whenever there was any noise outside. The wind would blow wrong and the howling wouldn't stop for five minutes.

Despite the fact that I don't exactly handle change very well, and am really struggling with this transition, I do have a lot to look forward to. To save some monies, Man Friend and I are moving in with his cousin for a year or so, and eventually will be getting a place of our own. I am so incredibly excited to move in with Man Friend and get a start on our lives together. I can't wait to be able to go to bed with him every night instead of just most weekends. He will be the last thing I see every night before drifting off to sleep and his "goodnight" will be the last thing I hear before my dreams. His voice will be the first thing I hear every morning before heading off to work. We won't have to map out our time and figure out when we get to see each other. We will be able to go to sleep when we're tired instead of keeping our eyes open to be able to spend an hour together every night. We can cook and eat meals together on a regular basis. It will be a huge step in our relationship and a giant change for each of us. I've definitely gone over the "what ifs" a thousand times, but I can just feel it in my heart that it will be the right decision for us and will be such a positive move for us as a couple. He's the man I hope to spend the rest of my life with, and probably the only person I would give up having my own room for.