Firefly Music Festival 2013

In June I went to the 2nd Firefly Music Festival in Dover Delaware and had a blast! My friends and I went  last year  and were eager to see if the second year would be as awesome.
 

 So much awesomeness!

 

We ran into so much traffic coming in on Friday. That was Problem #1 with doubling the size of attendees.

 Foster the People

 Bad Sunburn.

Japandroids.

 

 Early in the day. Not so many crowds.

 Late at night. Way too many crowds. Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think.

 Super Moon!

 More pictures of crowds and stages. 

Bridge pictures are mandatory, right?

Overall, Firefly year 2 was great. I got to see some awesome bands (Delta Rae, The Last Bison, Tom Petty, etc.), however there were way too many people! An event shouldn't double the number of attendees and expect it to be ok. We waited in ridiculous traffic getting into Delaware, getting a campsite, and at some of the food and drink booths. 

Positives: Much better water stations this year! Great music lineup, even though The Lumineers cancelled, good food choices, the weather, fun new activities like the silent disco and Heinekin Dome. 

Negatives: Lack of working cell phone chargers, crazy overlapping lineups which didn't made you miss the first 15 minutes of almost every set, headliners (they were ok, but not nearly as good as 2012), showers that close at midnight.

We had a lot of fun, got exhausted and some of us got sunburned. Overall consensus: 2012 > 2013, but 2013 was great too.

Wow.

In the last five months my life has drastically changed. SO many things happened that I wasn't even sure where to start blogging and therefore I continued to brush it off and not share anything. Then with google reader closing down, I honestly haven't kept up with my favorite bloggers and it made it even harder to get back into it.


but I miss it. I miss writing. I miss sharing my NYC adventures. I miss not having a log of everything.


So I'm back. I am going to share my summer with you over a few different posts.

1. I went to Europe. It was amazing and I have a bajillion pictures.

2. I went to Firefly Music Festival again. It was a few months ago and my post is way overdated, but I still want to share it with you.

3. I have new roommates, a few new friends, some new favorite bars, and honestly I am still so in love with this crazy city.

4. My everyday life has been pretty rad and I have done some cool things this summer that I want to share.


So that's it. I will resume blogging because I need to. I need a place to vent, chat, and share. I want to have this blog for you and for me.

Music Happened

 Since my last real update in January, I have seen some pretty amazing concerts. First up, was Walk the Moon. They were phenomenal live! The crowd was energized, the lead singer has hips that don't stop, and the show was really fun.

 

The next show was The Lumineers! They were also pretty spectacular and my favorite part of the show is when they brought up a local elementary school chorus and sang a few songs with them. It was great!

The third concert I went to was Imagine Dragons. If you have been following this blog for awhile or you know me in real life, you understand my obsession with this band. I play their album on repeat, my students have been converted because I make them listen to the music, and I saw them 4 times in the last 12 months. This concert did not disappoint either! The band has a lot of attention in the last year and every time I see their show they have upgraded. This show had more lights, effects, and an amazing set!

 Atlas Genius opened for Imagine Dragons and they were fun too. I'll be seeing them again this Summer.

 

 This Summer looks pretty awesome as far as music is concerned!


In May, I will (hopefully) be going to the Great Googa Mooga again with some friends. I'm looking forward to trying some crazy food, listening to some good music, and hanging out with friends all day :)

In June, I have Firefly to look forward too. Camping, Music, and 3 days of sheer awesome!

In July, She & Him are playing a set in Central Park and I plan to be there too!

 I'm sure I'll find other small shows and maybe even some bigger ones to see! I love Summer Festival Season in this city :)

In another world

Let's look at the things that would be awesome excuses for my absence:

I got cast for a TV show that whisked me away to a far away island that had very little internet service.

I met the man of my dreams and have been so busy in love I couldn't write.

I was tragically struck by a yellow cab during rush hour as I helped an old lady cross the road and I have been sitting in a hospital room for two months.

I'm the new bachelorette and my identity had to be kept a secret.

The pope needed a new assistant.

I entered witness protection because I am testifying for a really big case that can change the way drug trafficking happens in the country.

I adopted an orphan and have been nursing them to a better life.

I was walking down the street and Ryan Gosling saved me from being hit by a garbage truck, so I have now spent all my free time trying to find him and thank him.

I'm now the newest member of Iron Chef America.


Really, I have just been busy. but things have happened! and I am going to share them with you! Right after I take a nap. or do my laundry. or grade some papers. or well, I'll try harder.

A four day Weekend

There are few things I love more than a weekend full of fun. One of them is a 3 day weekend full of fun and the other is a four day weekend full of fun. This weekend was technically a 3 day weekend, but I stretched it out because I attended a professional development day on Friday, so i haven't been to work in 4 days!

It has been glorious! I relaxed, I had fun with friends, I ran errands, I got a haircut.


You see I even found time to write this post.

 Me with new hair, no makeup, and a horrid glares on my glasses. 

 

How do you not love a face like that? She took a nap, so I took a nap.

 

 On Friday, I karaokeed. It's Time by Imagine Dragons was my song of choice, but then I chickened out.

Just a random shot of Times Square, because who doesn't love that?

I have a pretty awesome week ahead, let's hope I find a few more minutes to write about it :)

Goals - because it's a new year and it's full of loaded promises.

So, as we do each year, lets talk New Year's Resolutions.

1. Get Healthy - I don't have to lose weight (although I'll take it) I want to be more fit. I am thinking about joining a gym. (Collective Gasp) If you know me in real life, you know this is a rather lofty goal. I hate to exercise, I hate being sweaty, and I don't know how to justify the time. However, I do want to add it to my routine because I know it's the best thing for me and I think it might help me reduce out the stress of teaching middle school.

2. Travel Abroad - This is the year that I will obtain a passport and travel abroad (I'm looking at you Europe!) I have so many friends that have taken trips with tour companies and I am jumping on that bandwagon. I want to see the sights of the world and that involves traveling the world.

3. Ending Bad Habits - Biting My Nails, this is by far my worst habit of all. I am not a person who bites my nails until there is nothing left, but I get them pretty short. I have done it since forever and I would love to be able to go get a manicure and them not comment on the length of my nails.

4. Continue to have fun - Not every resolution has to be something to better yourself. I do a pretty awesome job of exploring the city and having fun and I hope that continues this year. I want to see more Broadway shows, go to concerts, and do some of the things I haven't done yet.

5. Share in happiness. This year I have friends getting married, friends having babies, and I'm sure there are friends who will get engaged. I want to share these moments with them because if they are happy, I am happy.

6. Learn Sign Language - This has been a goal of mine for a while and I have never actually taken a class or anything. I think adding sign language to my life would be really cool and I am slightly inspired by Bloomberg's sign language interpreter.

7. Shop less, Save more - This is tough. I love to shop and it is the biggest reason I had to buy a second dresser for my bedroom. I am ridiculous and I need to stop buying clothes. I am going to aim for spending $50 or less a month on clothes, shoes, and accessories. 

2012- In long worded nonsense

Let's see, this is probably the 1200th post in your blog reader mentioning the end of 2012 and recapping, so if you are tired of hearing about the amazing things people did this year, move forward until next year. If you want to relish my awesome year in NYC, they stick around for a few paragraphs.

 

First, I spent the entire year living in New York City and it was amazing.

Second, I made some pretty awesome friends this year. Friends that share similar ideas on life, careers, and getting married before 30. Friends that I can laugh with, play trivia with, read books with, and watch sports with. Friends who have super awesome jobs that I am jealous of and friends who can rant or rave about their roommates. Friends that challenge me intellectually, but also laugh at "That's What She Said" jokes.  I know that I have some superb friends from childhood and college, but there is something comforting in knowing that I have friends in this city, because I plan in being here awhile.

Thirdly, I explored Broadway a time or two or twelve. I made a goal last year to see three plays and I accomplished that withing weeks of 2012 kicking off. My favorites were Once (so simple and beautiful), Newsies(the dancing was amazing and the entire story fit in with the curriculum I'm teaching my 8th graders), Mary Poppins(the coolest set and the music was whimsical and reminded me of my childhood), and Wicked (seriously, worth the money, but thankfully I won the lottery). I apparently have a thing for musicals.  I also saw a few shows that I could have survived skipping, but I am not going to call them out, because someone might find them awesome.

Fourth, I started my career. This really should be first, but let's be honest, it's not as fun as hanging out with friends or going to broadway, it just makes those things financially possible. I am so excited to be teaching, full-time, in my own classroom! Middle school is challenging at times, but in positive and negative ways. I have really enjoyed learning the curriculum as I plan and I always knew that if I taught older students, I would teach history. The job takes a lot of time, which has left little time to blog, but I really want to get better at this. I love having this little space to keep track of my adventures in the city and I want to be able to look back in ten years and remember these times.

Fifth, I had visitors. This year was full of friends and family who came to visit. I love sharing my favorite spots in the city with those who know me best. I'm hoping to get a few more friends to come in 2013, because I want everyone to experience this city at least once in their lifetime.

Sixth, I know this city. When I moved here, I was worried that I would wind up lost and halfway to New Jersey before I realized I was no where near the Upper East Side. Actually, I couldn't even make that statement because I didn't know where the Upper East Side was. Now I know this city. Sure there are blocks I have never explored and thousands of restaurants that I haven't eaten at, but if I need to get to a location, I no longer have to look up directions on HopStop. I can figure out where something is located because I have figured out how the streets in Manhattan work. I know the subway lines and which lines stop at certain places, I know a lot of the bus routes, I like to think that means I made it.

Lastly, it has been a good year. I unfortunately slacked off on documenting all of the amazing things I did the second half of the year, but it doesn't mean I didn't do great things that I enjoyed. I have settled into a routine, which is nice. I have my grocery store, my nail place, my favorite restaurant. I have routine things like a carpool to work and standing evenings with friends. I also have a good roommate who is always there to drink wine and watch Law and Order: SVU with. I have friends in my apartment building to borrow sugar (or cookie sheets) from. I like it here and I think I'll stay for awhile, unless I change my mind, which sometimes happens.