Eureka Springs

So I have been in Arkansas about 3 weeks now and am thoroughly enjoying it!! Cute towns, hot weather, nice people. Yesterday we took a spontaneous trip about one hour out to Eureka Springs. It was a super adorable little town, with winding, hairpin turns, cobblestone streets, little shops and boutique restaurants. It was so quaint!!

Are You Ready?!

Since we left Vegas and I realized that EDC (Electronic Daisy Carnival) was actually over all I can seem to do is put my headphones in and listen to all the live sets that I experienced and those that I didn't get to see.

I think I'm stuck in some post-festival depression. And being in a new place with no job (yet), no friends (yet) and no car to get away from the hotel room...I find myself in this little world all alone...and I love it!

It's so cool listening to these sets and know I was there! I was in that crowd! I remember the way it felt, the energy, the screaming, the singing, the fireworks, the way the crowd vibrated, the lights, it was the most intense weekend of my life. And I can't wait to go back.

Here are some pictures from professional sites (I can't post mine until we move into the new apartment on July 15th because I can't use my lap top) and here are some of my favorite sets!

Circuit Grounds

Circuit Grounds: This was probably my favorite stage, but the main stage was pretty ridiculous too. It was inside a partial dome, the stage you can see in the very center (yeah, that little ball of light under that centre diamond..). The VIP area (my friends and I had VIP passes) is that raised area off to the left there, wit the white fences. It was awesome, the view was incredible, there were private air conditioned bathrooms and bars too! Way worth it! The best thing about this stage (besides it had the best bathrooms) was that those hanging diamonds...moved. It was incredible to experience! 

Artists I saw here: R3hab, Dirty South, Thomas Gold, Laidback Luke, Arty, (last part of) Krewlla and more

Artists I missed here: Bassjackers, Gareth Emery, Fatboy Slim, Madeon, Wolfgang Gartner, Bingo Players, Clockwork and more.

Kinetic Field, from behind the stage looking into the crowd.

Kinetic Field, Mainstage

Kinetic Field, Mainstage: This was such an epic space. That owl moved and made faces. There were light up creatures surfing through the crowd (you can see an octopus in the crowd). Fire works, flames, lights, the biggest speakers I've ever seen. It was incredible. In the first picture, looking at the crowd, you can see the VIP area in the back, where the white tents are. There is also a VIP ferris wheel which we rode right as Tiesto was going on...it was amazing. The VIP area had it's own entrance, those tents were air conditioned, private bathrooms, bar, great people and the BEST view of the stage. 

Artists I saw here: Dyro, Porter Robinson, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Hardwell, Calvin Harris and more
Artists I missed here: Avicii, Zeds Dead, Dada Life, Nicky Romero, Afrojack, Dash Berlin, Above and Beyond, Steve Angelo and more.

Bass Pod

BassPod: This stage played more dubstep/harder stuff, which I enjoy half of the time these days. We saw some great sets here though. There wasn't a VIP area here so we usually staked out to the right in the picture, by the fence. You can't see it in this picture, BUT, this stage used a lot of flames. It was awesome! The bass coming from here was almost heart stopping.

Artists I saw here: Datsik, Mt Eden, Foreign Beggars, Carnage, Terrevita, Flosstradaus (part of), Delta Heavy

Artists I missed here: 12th Planet, Crizzly and more (that I don't know)

Cosmic Meadow

Cosmis Meadow: We didn't spend a lot of time here, a majority of the artists we all wanted to see where at the three first stages. But we did see a few good ones here. This stage was the first thing you saw when you walked down the steps into the Motor Speedway. It was such a great view! This stage didn't have a VIP area either.

Artists I saw here: Knife Party and Kill the Noise

Artists I missed here/wish I saw: Empire of the Sun, Major Lazer, Dog Blood, Boys Noise, Rusko, Araabmusik

BassCon

BassCon: We didn't see anything here. It wasn't playing the type of music any of us enjoyed long enough to hang out, really heavy bass and drums. But the stage itself was epic looking. I mean, how cool is this stage?!

Neon Garden

Neon Garden: We didn't come here at all either, mostly walked through it. It was the more chill, trance area. It seemed to be the place to find a spot to sit down and relax for a while. It was really pretty inside too.

Map

Overall, it was a incredible three nights. I look back and think "man that's all I saw?!" But you have to count in rest breaks, wandering around, rides, bathrooms, and just plain walking to and from stages. There were so, so many people! Everywhere you looked there were people dancing and laughing and taking pictures. It was awesome. Watching the sun come up every morning was amazing. 

If I could spend every night at a place like this, I would.
I would go back in a heart beat.

There's No Place Like Home.

Well, guys, I'm happy to say that I made it! I made it to Arkansas, made it through EDC and Vegas and am really enjoying my new life!

I will begin by admitting something...Arkansas isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I spent the past few months anxiously awaiting the time when I would see what Arkansas was really all about. I imagined this:

But so far, it's nothing like that!

I have been seriously surprised at the experiences I've had over the past 5 days. People are ridiculously friendly...I'm even going to say that they're nicer then Canadians! We did know a couple from Connecticut that moved down here about a year and a half ago and they've realy been awesome about introducing us to other young professionals, as well as showing us some sweet spots. 

Last night, Jake and I ventured into Fayetteville for the first time. Fayetteville is where we will be moving into when our apartment opens up on July 15th. I am so in love with the bar scene. It's a lot of college centered bars with cheap, good drinks and great atmospheres. There seems to be a bar for all types of people and most of them have really good patios. Our apartment is a 10-15 minute walk from the bar strip and I'm really looking forward to that. 

So I can say that I'm going to be really happy here. It seems that it's getting easier and easier to settle in, make friends and feel comfortable. I love and will miss Toronto and all the people that I spent my time with up there, but I'm really looking forward to Arkansas.

Welcome home, I guess!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!

No matter where I move, how far I go, how early or late it is, he'll always be there for me.

I love and miss you dad!

Still Counting Down.

If you knew anything about me, you'd know I love a good countdown.

6 days

15 hours

45 minutes

until...

6 days

22 hours

45 minutes

until...

11 days

23 hours

13 minutes

until...

And just for fun...

Countdown.

I'm legitimately down to counting hours right now. Next Thursday, Jake and I will board a plane to Las Vegas for the Electronic Daisy Carnival for 5 days. From Vegas, we'll jump on a plane and, after bouncing to around, will land in Joplin, MI and continue our journey by car to Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Working on a tutu for EDC!

I'm actually getting really excited. Last week it was a little rough, I was finishing work, had to say good bye to the kids and kind of come to terms with leaving. See, for someone who moves a lot, I am so horrible at good byes. I rather like high five you and say "see ya!" then give you a meaningful hug and tear up. When I left Oregon and my entire family (okay entire family of 4 but still!) I refused to cry. I remember walking away, down the ramp to my terminal, counting my steps, my breath, anything to think about the people who were watching my back. They all wrote me letters before I left. Those letters sat in my purse, staring up at me during the flight. I didn't cry, but I also didn't read those letter till about a week later when I was alone at my new apartment, in a new city, living with a guy I had never lived with before. Then I let myself cry.

But now the sad is over. We have exactly 9 days until we move. So 8 days until we pack (or I guess I should say a company packs us...I just get to sit around and direct people...and yes, it's as amazing as it sounds!), and 7 days till my absolute last day of work at Annex Dance Academy. 

Jake and I found out last night that we got our first pick for houses for Fayetteville. We'll be living in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with an additional loft dwelling. It's 1,600 square feet with a balcony and washer/dryer unit. It's a little older, as in appliances and such, but I love the space and the lay out. I'm excited to have a spare room, that means NO EXCUSES for visits! It's supposedly really close to downtown, which I've seen pictures of and it's adorable. It's going to be cheaper to live there, which is another thing I'm looking forward to.

So for the next 9 days, I'm applying for jobs, working on my EDC costumes, organizing our apartment into piles, checking things off lists and day dreaming about Fayetteville. 

Oh and another bonus, we know some people there! What could be better?!

Trying on the snorkel I got Jake for one of his EDC costumes!

But for now, I'm going to listen to the entire discography of The Postal Service to get ready for their concert tonight!

Reality.

The past couple weeks have been a complete whirlwind. I just realized it's June 3rd and I have 16 days to get my life in order before it's turned upside down again. It's a little stressful.

We had our recital at my studio over the weekend. It was such a strange day for me. I have always loved watching those girls perform, they are all so good and so much fun to watch. But I was so irrationally emotional that day. I didn't cry, even though I wanted to, honestly. It's been a long time since I've been home, been somewhere where I know people, know where I am and have felt completely stable. So the fact that I did get comfortable here, that I like it here and feel like I have a nice support system was really hard to handle. I mean it still is.

So today begins the transfer. After cleaning my poor apartment and doing the ginormous pile of laundry that's gathered at the foot of our bed, I'll be sorting our belongings into piles to be packed up into boxes by a moving company and shipped exactly 1,799 km. Luckily, 90% of what I own has been in storage since July 10, 2012 so it'll be like Christmas, getting all my things back. I'm looking forward to our couch and knowing what was in the box I randomly had to pick and throw into storage because we went over our shipping weight last summer. That and my standing KitchenAid mixer.

Driving back from the movies last night, I had some ridiculous flash backs to when we first arrived in Toronto. I think for as long as I live, there will be no experience more bizarre then the day you leave one home and arrive in another. It's the weirdest feeling. While liberating on one hand, it's really disorientating on the other. I think I'm having a hard time processing all of this. I think if I just focus on packing and organizing and cleaning, I'll be okay, those things usually distract me...

There are some things that I'm excited for int he next 16 days, however. This weekend, Jake's flying to Arkansas to get us a place to live, June 11th we're going to see the Postal Service, or the band that got me through high school, I get a last bash with my friends AND we have EDC to look forward to!

I think I need to remember that I'm lucky to get to see all the places that I do. That I'm lucky that I get to travel and meet all these amazing people. While I'm not around for a long period of time, I do hope the people that I will always remember and the people that make a difference in my life will remember me too.