Rock Fest 2012 Part 1

I just got back from my second annual trip out to Cadott for the highly anticipated Rock Fest, and while I'm really bummed that the weekend quickly came to an end, it's nice to be home.

There's so much about Rock Fest, so many amazing stories and details crammed into four days, I don't know where to begin. I'll jump right into it, and I'm probably going to be all over the place. So keep up.

Man Friend and me waiting for a show to start

This was the 19th year for the four day fest, and according to my uncle who has gone every year, not very much has changed from year to year. It's an outdoor music fest out in the middle of nowhere on a gigantic plot of open land that used to be a pig farm. There's tons and tons of camping space, where you see every kind of camping (or not very camping) imaginable. From people who drive in on their motorcycles with barely anything with them to small tents to huge tents to pop-ups to massive RVs, the Rock Fest grounds has seen it all. And of course, the important part: the concert area. The stage is at the bottom of a grassy hill where you can bring in your own chairs and leave them to save a spot for the day if you'd like. Right before the stage is also VIP seating for the people willing to pay the big bucks. Up on the hill can be kind of hard to see the band, but whatever you can't see on stage you can definitely make out on the big screens they have on either side of the stage.

In my opinion, the line up this year wasn't quite as impressive as last year's, but it was more than worth the tickets. I was the most eager to see Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch and Halestorm, with Papa Roach, Buckcherry, and Black Stone Cherry coming in closely behind. I was pleasantly surprised the most by Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden.

FFDP

Shinedown

Shinedown and FFDP are two of my top favorite bands, and I was so eager to see them live. It was my first time seeing FFDP and second for Shinedown, but that was years ago and before I really listened to a lot of their music. Both shows I knew nearly every song the bands played, and couldn't have enjoyed their shows anymore.They had incredible energy, great lighting and actively engaged the crowd. FFDP even brought about 10 kids in the first few rows up on stage for a song or two and rocked out with the "next generation of rock music" as lead singer Ivan Moody put it.

Lizzy Hale

Even though I'm a new fan of Halestorm, I've liked everything I've heard by them so far and found out they certainly do not disappoint live either. Lizzy Hale is a phenomenally talented woman on lead vocals, guitar and even piano on some songs. She has great stage energy and it's so cool seeing a woman as the front line of a band. It is so rare to see a woman in a mostly male band, especially a harder rock band like theirs, and I love it.

I'm not a huge 80s hairband/metal fan, but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper. Maiden was the headliner for Saturday night, and actually played for about two hours instead of the typically allotted hour or occasional hour and a half. I only recognized one or two songs, but their entertainment value was so great, I stayed for about 3/4 of the show. They had great lights, so many background banner changes, film clips and pyrotechnics that it was hard to not enjoy watching them perform.   Alice Cooper was also wildly entertaining, and added bonus, I actually knew some of his songs. He had outfit/costume changes after nearly every song, little skits acted out to songs and was just all over the stage.

I was sadly disappointed by Buckcherry, and even more so by Godsmack. I really like Buckcherry as a band, so to see them do a mediocre job live was such a let-down. They had a decent amount of energy, but I felt the only crowd-interaction they had was when the lead singer used the crowd as a sounding board to vent his life story. The only time it made sense to include some ranting in between songs was when he talked about his drug experience before the song "Cocaine." If I didn't know any of their songs, I probably would not have enjoyed the show much.

Godsmack was just absolutely boring to watch. I'm not a huge fan, but do enjoy some of the songs I've heard on the radio throughout the years. At the beginning of the show, the singer said "I don't have much to say tonight, so I'm just gunna play a bunch of songs for you guys." And he wasn't kidding. He just played song after song with faked enthusiasm for about 3/4 of the show. Finally, the second to last song before the encore, he started telling the crowd to "wake up," which is a pretty clear indication that everyone else was as bored as I was. I recognized the first song, and then not any again until that second to last song. The next three were the more popular ones that have come out in the last couple of years. Why you would lump all your biggest hits together at the end of your set is beyond me. If the whole show was like the last 15 minutes, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. But it wasn't. So I didn't.

More to come about the campsite and the rest of the vacation in the next post.

Oh, The Places You'll Go

I have a pretty extensive bucket list; there's a lot of things I want to do with my life. There are so many things I want to accomplish, things I want to eat and so many places I want to visit. Since so many of my life plans revolve around travel, I figured I'd make a list of all the places I want to visit.

In no particular order:

• Hawaii (again)
• Mexico
• New York City (again)
• Seneca Falls, New York
• Vegas
• Austin, Texas (because I would love to visit Texas, and my roomie will likely be moving there)
• San Francisco
• Florida, possibly
• anywhere in the South that will help me complete my second Civil Rights Pilgrimage
• Seattle
• Ireland (because Man Friend wants to go after tracing his lineage and I would love to be a part of his discoveries)
• Much more of Europe: France, Italy, Spain, England, Mediterranean Islands
• Boston
• Maine (specifically during Lobster season/festivals)
• Memphis (again, and during the spring or summer this time)
• Sparta, Tennessee (to visit my mom)

Hmm, looks like I better start saving now.

Weekend Camping Adventure

This weekend, a group of six of us went on a camping excursion in Boulder Lake for Man Friend's best friend's birthday. With only a few minor disasters, it was about a 90% success...which is pretty high if you ask me.

The weekend started off a tad on the rocky side. There hadn't been very good communication or organization of the trip until about a day beforehand, which drove my very anal retentive self crazy. I need to know exactly how everything is going and have a borderline unhealthy need to plan things down to the detail. The campground and site weren't even chosen until Friday morning, less than ten hours before Man Friend and I were supposed to leave town.

Well, the site was determined and I started to feel a little more at ease. Not so fast. Nothing ever goes that smoothly. It started pouring and even hailing in some areas. After checking the weather, I found out the area where we were camping was expecting intermittent showers throughout the weekend. Assured Monica very quickly grew into Grouchy Monica. I did not want to spend the weekend cold and miserable and went into the trip expecting the worst...and in a very sour mood.

Alas, the rain ended (for a while) and by the time we reached the campground, skies were mostly clear.

Saturday did have some scattered showers, but luckily for us, it was mostly just sprinkles. The worst part about the weather, though, was that all the wood/logs/sticks were soaked and nearly impossible to start a fire with. Man Friend and his BFF ended up going into town mid afternoon to get more wood. Anyway, the camp ground was really nice and I definitely wouldn't mind going again. Clean, big, no one too rowdy and the grounds had a beach as well. We swam for a while in the afternoon, even though I initially would have rathered sit on the beach reading. I'm not one for water, and by that I mean, I hate swimming, and am scared of it. It took quite a bit of coaxing from Man Friend for me to even get in waist deep. After a while I did manage to have a decent amount of fun with everyone else.

Back at the camp site, we made a little friend with a friendly chipmunk. At first we decided to call him Alvin, you know, from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Man Friend started throwing Reeses Pieces towards him and we very quickly discovered that apparently chippies love them. The little guy was stuffing every one in his mouth, occasionally scampering away to hide it somewhere unknown to us stupid humans. It didn't take long for a game to develop to see how much and/or what he would shove in his mouth. The answer is pretty much anything, which turned into the new name of Theodore, you know, like Alvin's fat brother. Theodore's biggest accomplishment was fitting an entire Carmello square in his mouth and running off with it. He was also particularly fond of green grapes and my pesto noodle salad.

Approximately 5:00 Sunday morning, it started storming. And hard. Rain was pouring down and thunder and lightning started. Storms are loud enough normally, but when only a tent is between you and a storm, it seems about a zillion times louder. I'm typically not scared of storms at all, but the whole being outdoors with next to nothing for shelter changes that. I was pretty scared we could get hurt by the lightning...not to mention paranoid water would get in the tent, leaving me cold, wet and miserable. This was everything I didn't want out of the trip. It took quite a while, but eventually the storm subsided, I was able to chill out and fell back asleep.

Despite the few glitches, it was a really relaxing weekend. It was so nice and, and frankly, much needed, to be away from home for a few days and leave the stress of reality behind. And really, is anything better than having a few cold beers around a fire?

One Fabulous Weekend

This past weekend was one of the best I've had in quite some time. It was one of those "I've barely had time to sit down, but I'm having so much fun it doesn't even matter" times.

My mom was home for my sister's graduation and stayed for the full weekend. I was able to hang out with her and her best friend one night and Man Friend and I took her to Hu Hot on her last night in town. She had never been before and I think she really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun hanging out with her, but I don't think it's really hit me that she won't be home again until Christmas time.

Friday my youngest sister had her graduation/end of the year party with a bunch of friends. I made her BLT dip and embarrassed her in front of her friends. She invited the boy she likes (well, now boyfriend since the party), one more thing I'm not sure how I feel about. As far as I'm concerned, she's too young for a boyfriend (nevermind I had been seeing a boy for a full year at this point in my life) but I'm more than ok with embarrassing her about it.

Saturday during the day was a little uneventful, but after taking Mom out to dinner, Man Friend and I had a bonfire at his place with some of his BFFs. It was the first time he had used the fire pit since moving in to the place, and the previous tenant left it a shithole. Everything from cans, bottles, wires and bolts were in that pit, among the massive amount of ash just sitting in there. After a little TLC, the pit was a little safer, less full and the fire worked much nicer. We sat around the fire drinking, enjoying the warm weather and, of course, talking about a zombie apocalypse. They always talk about what they would do to survive an apocalypse, and recently they've come to the conclusion that they will meet at Man Friend's dad's house in the event of an attack...because that's where the most guns are.

Sunday Man Friend and I spent the afternoon at the Wildlife Sanctuary. It was honestly one of the best dates we've ever had. I wish there were words to explain how much fun I had. It was the perfect day, too. Nice and hot, with a cool breeze, sunny and a mostly clear sky. We walked around for hours feeding the geese and ducks, looking through all the exhibits and walking the trails. We were there for a good two and a half hours, and every single minute of it was wonderful. Getting out of the house and doing something other than watching tv was much needed. Spending time alone and without our cell phones was so relaxing. That's exactly what being in a relationship should be and a reminder of what makes me love him so much.

Graduation and a Day Off

On our sister date last weekend

On Thursday, my baby sister graduated from eighth grade. I realize that ending eighth grade and getting ready for high school isn't exactly "baby sister" territory, but it's a pretty hard transition. For me, anyway...she has no problem heading into this next chapter in her life. Not only am I the big sister, but while my parents worked many long hours at their restaurant, I grew up helping them raise her. Accepting that she's growing up has been quite the task for me, but I'm getting better. It is nice, though, to be able to carry on more adult and meaningful conversations with her.

With both my sisters after the ceremony. The ONE time I don't wear heels.

Anyway, back to graduation. It was a really nice ceremony, though the principal did get a little long winded. She hit the expected topics of how much they've grown up, highlights of the their last three years and high school prep. One thing that did make the ceremony unique was the really personal admissions from her. The principal had been diagnosed with cancer and was out for about seven months. She shared how the students helped her through the chemo and to fight her way through the disease. All of the students and staff had sent her little notes when she was first diagnosed, and she read some of funniest messages to the graduation guests. "I feel really bad for you, even though you aren't a relative," and "get well soon...like a boss" were two that made me LOL so hard I thought I was going to pee myself.

After the ceremony ended, we took a few pictures before my sister scurried off to be with her friends. My middle sister and I went to lunch at Panera and got to spend some time chatting. With her on third shift, me on first and me not living at home, we don't get many opportunities to hang out alone, so it was a really nice spur of the moment decision. I picked up some food for Man Friend and surprised him at work. We got to sit outside together while he was on his lunch break. We've never been able to have lunch together during the week and it made me wish we had more opportunities to do so. Hopefully if I ever get a job in town, we'll be able to do so once in a while.

I was able to spend the rest of the afternoon taking care of Monica. I went on a 2.5 mile walk, hula hooped with my weighted hoop, and finished Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I finished each book in two sittings; they are so phenomenal. Young adult/unrealistic/overly popular novels normally aren't my cup of tea, but these books were actually really well written and very engaging. I couldn't put them down.

Finishing off the day, Man Friend and I met some of our friends out for drinks for a while. It was still nice enough out that we were all able to relax/sit out on the bar's patio. Now that's what summer is all about.

It's days like Thursday that I wish I was able to work four tens. Having that one extra day off during the week is so wonderful. I can get stuff done that I normally can't during working hours, tend to be obnoxiously productive, and feel less stressed about work because I'm only there four days instead of five.

My Before 30 Bucket List

Lately, I've been struggling a lot with the idea of what it means to be successful. Mainly because I don't feel remotely successful at all. I always thought that after graduation, two years to be exact, I'd be so much farther along in life than I am. Still being in a dead-end temp job with no leads in the job search, I feel like I have so much catching up to do, even though I'm not quite 24.

My roommate and I have this discussion a lot, mostly because we're both in the same boat. Neither one of us are where we want to be/where we thought we'd be at this point in our lives. These pity parties for two then develop into the "I'm scared to turn 25 and/or 30" conversation. I've come to the conclusion that the people who have the issue with hitting those dreaded numbers are always the people like us, worried about where their life is headed and why it's not headed there fast enough.

So I've come up with a Bucket List for myself of things I want to accomplish by the time I'm 30. Something to hold myself accountable for not falling into any more of a slump. In no particular order:

• Have at least 1, preferably 2, fiction pieces published
• Work for a non-profit
• Visit my mom in TN as much as possible
• Take at least one big vacation
• Visit at least 6 restaurants in my Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives book (one a year)
• Visit my family out on the East Coast
• Have at least 1,000 views on each blog, or whatever blog I'm working on
• Get married
• Put a significant dent in my student loans

Sucky and Super Not Sunday

Sucky:

•  Over the weekend, Man Friend's mom had to be brought to the ER twice. She developed a pretty severe migraine that just didn't go away. At the hospital, she got an IV for the pain and anti-nausea medication. When the pain didn't subside by the next day, she had to be brought to the hospital by an ambulance. Man Friend found out she recently (in the last year or so) has had 11 mini-strokes. It was really scary, and I know he's been worried about his mom. Watching your mom get hauled off on a stretcher isn't exactly something that you can forget easily. She's been getting a lot of sleep and seems to be feeling a little better. She's also had an appointment with a neurologist, so fingers crossed that they figure something out.
• Monday was the first anniversary of one of my friend's passing. I knew Friend through my sister and is actually how I met Man Friend. Even though I wasn't as close with him as my sister or man friend, it's never easy losing a friend, especially someone as young as 20. The day was pretty difficult for all his friends and family, but a small group of us visited his grave with a little Jack Daniels (his famously favorite drink) and went out to dinner. As much grieving that went on, it's just as helpful to be able to celebrate his life and remember him as more than just sick and/or dead. 

Super:  

• Over the weekend there was a mini crisis at work. Before you ask why a work crisis is listed under the Super category, keep reading. Said crisis involved a massive influx of consumer e-mails. For the first time in the year I've been there, I was put on dedicated e-mail time. I only had to sit on the phones for about two and a half hours the whole day. It was a wonderful and much needed change of pace. Also, I left work not wanted to jump off a cliff. Success.
• I've been doing a lot of volunteering lately, and for the first time Man Friend joined me Saturday. We worked with the Healthy Kids Day put on by the Y to kick off summer. It was one of the most fun events I volunteered for. The free even featured college basketball and soccer players, a bounce house, face painting, a magician, healthy choices tables, MMA demonstrations, hula hooping, a trail mix bar, arts and crafts, rock climbing and a children's run. We served over 8,000 families that day. I helped with he trail mix bar, and holy shit, did we go through a TON of food. Cases of each: goldfish crackers, cheerios, marshmallows, raisins, pretzels, and sunflower seeds.