BLOGTEMBER Day Two: Imaginary Adventure

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

So since this prompt is all about breaking the rules of real life, I'm gonna kinda break the rules of this post and say what I would do wouldn't be anything in the world, but rather out of this world!  

If I could take a break from real life and do anything i would travel to the moon!!

I would run & jump soooooo far in the lessened gravity

I would collect moon rocks to give to people back home -and leave a few earth rocks to not upset the moon's orbit ;)

I would trace Neil Armstrong's steps (walking next to and not on top of, of course)

 

I would take pictures of earth (posing to make it look like I was Atlas, holding it up)

I would have a lunar picnic a la Wallace & Gromit

I would take a flashlight & explore the dark side of the moon (and make sure there were no transformers there)


What would you do if you could take a break from real life? Tell me in the comments below or on twitter: @itzbizr

Also, let me know if you like the new format for the title/header! If you like it, it's meh, or you can't read it, or have any suggestions for small edits that would provide big improvements (like watermarking the picture etc.), tell me PLEASE!

Blog Every Day in May: Day Thirty-One

Oh, my goodness! Is May over already? Gosh that was a fun challange, and I only missed a few weekend days (I have a post written to make up for Days 25-27). So here we go with the last entry:

Day 31, Friday: A vivid memory

Conquering the Volcano

So in 2008 I had a wonderfully fantastic adventure when I studies abroad in Santiago, Chile. I even made my first blog about my travels and time there (although there are no entries for the last two months as I stopped making time for the internet cafe cause I was too busy having more adventures, whoops). Anyway the following is an edited version of a post there about climbing my first volcano: Volcán Villarica.

I CONQUERED THIS!

I planned on keeping busy the weekend after my parents left after visiting me, so I wouldn't just be thinking about how they had just left, so when an opportunity to travel to Pucón came up with two of my friends from Australia, Laura and Rowena (Ro), I was excited to go.

We took an overnight bus, a ten-hour ride, down to Pucón on Thursday night since it was a national holiday and none of us had classes on Friday. Also by taking the overnight bus we saved money by not having to pay for a hostel that night. We arrived Friday morning at about 9ish and made our way to Hospedaje Lucia where we were greeted by a very friendly Lucia and then walked a tour of the city and picnic lunched at the shores of Lake Villarica. 

Touring the City:

My new boyfriend!

Laura and Ro

With the view of a snow-capped Volcán Villarica in the distance it seemed like something out of a Disney movie, however climbing that volcano was anything but a ride at Disneyland...

We decided to book a package deal and saved money through the company Sierra Nevada for climbing the volcano on Saturday, the termas (hot springs) Saturday night, and white-water rafting the Rio Trancura Sunday afternoon.

Friday Night concluded with possibly the best falafel Chile has to offer in one of the few Middle Eastern themed restaurants in the country who serve actual Middle Eastern dishes. We also toured the small city and of course had to play on the playground. 

Laura and my Patito on the swings!

As we returned to the hospedaje to get ready for bed in order to prepare to the 6:00am morning, what is on the news but a volcanic explosion…
Down in Chaitén, a couple hundred miles away, a volcano erupted.  There were no fatalities but nevertheless, it’s not the news you want to see when you're planning on climbing up a volcanic summit the very next day.

Climbing the Volcano:

Starting off

Saturday started bright and early as we made our way to the shop to get our gear on and head to the volcano. 

The group was made up of the three of us, a guy from Australia, a couple from Ireland, and two guides. We drove near the base then started the long trek up the volcano through rock and snow. We got to wear crampons to walk better in the snow on the way up and after about 4 hours of walking filled out with 5 breaks or so we made it to the top.

Part of the group at the summit

Laura and Me at the summit!

There wasn't any boiling lava to see but there was plenty of sulfuric gas to breathe (and pathetically make *cough,cough* sounds) as we hiked around the volcanic crater. 

The view was EPIC and fantastic and I took about 50 pictures of a 360degree view at the top and made an AWESOME picture collage out of it that unfortunately got left when I moved out of my college apartment.

One of the most fun things about the trek down that made it even more fun was that we literally slid down snow/ice slides for part of the descent!

The Descent:

Butt-sliding is awesome and you should try it sometime

On the way down, in the snow-covered areas we strapped on a protective “diaper” of sorts then got to slide on our bums down the mountain; I learned quickly how to go fast but wasn't quite as talented at the whole stopping thing, I felt like that character in D2: The Mighty Ducks who could skate real fast but could never brake. At one point I almost ran off a small drop off & narrowly avoided another tour group. Oops!

Our group half-jokingly decided that if a movie were to be made about the hike up the volcano it would be called Volcán Villarica: Remember the Pain.

While meeting new friends (aka the people I almost tumbled into) at the termas while sprinting from pool to pool and water rafting the next morning on sore leg muscles but with boundless enthusiasm from our guide were fun, those are stories for a different post...

Volcán Villiarica: Remember the Pain 2008!

Thanks for traveling with me through my memories.

I hope some newer readers stick around for more Musical Mondays and Foto Fridays! 

"State of the Art" is an Understatement: GOTYE & KIMBRA IN CONCERT!

 

Kimbra joining Gotye for "Somebody That I Used to Know"

"Come into My Head" and "Save Me" cause I might need to "Settle Down" after seeing this "State of the Art" concert with my "Eyes Wide Open", my "Heart's a Mess" with joy and there's no "Easy Way Out"! Gotye and Kimbra, "Thanks for Your Time"! We arrived full of "Good Intent,"  to bask "In Your Light" for just awhile, and we got something way more exciting than a "Bronte" novel.  You see, between us "Love is a Two Way Street" all the way from Kimbra's shimmy-shaking "Limbo" moves and "Cameo Lover" appearance on "Somebody That I Used to Know" to Gotye imploring us to "Learnalilgivinanlovin." "The Only Way" it could have been better was if you had come out to meet us fans after the show (or if you played "The Only Thing I Know," or just more songs)!

Me and my two AWESOME sisters before the concert. 

So I have been looking forward to this concert since an e-mail conversation July 7-10, 2011 WITH GOTYE HIMSELF!  I had just discovered "Somebody That I Used To Know," and bought a copy ASAP from the website.  Unfortunately since I use my older laptop for all my music (this new one is strictly Law School and Photos, I want as little chance of a crash as possible, so far so good), I had issues downloading the song and just so I could stop streaming it online on REPEAT(REPEATREPEAT!) I e-mailed the person in charge of orders. Got a great and quick response, (considering this person was halfway around the world), and after figuring out the issue, this person went out of their way and made sure I got the song, problem solved.

Then I realized that I had no idea how to buy the CD when it would be released August 19, 2011 in Australia so I sent another email a couple days later.  Imagine my shock and complete freeze-up/freak-out when I received this response:

Hi Julia

Thought I'd just answer myself, you can get the my direct experience :)

...

Thanks very much for your support and interest. Where in the States do you live? I hope I'll see you there sometime soon
Looking like I'll be doing some small shows in LA and NY around October

Cheerio

Wally 

I composed myself the best I could and sent out some semi-coherent string of words basically trying to convey how AWESOMELY STAR-STRUCK I WAS without seeming star-struck and being really gracious and praising while staying cool about it (I think it took a good hour before I hit send).  His response the fact I lived in Virginia, and asked him to come to DC was as follows:

Cheers Julia *(I seriously think I swooned at this)

Hope to see Virginia sometime, maybe 2012 is the year! But yes, keep your eye out for NY date and perhaps see you there first

Thanks again for your interest
Wally 

I spent the next few months listening to Making Mirrors, developing my Rock-Opera using the tracks from Like Drawing Blood, following @Gotye, @Kimbramusic, and @timshiel (Gotye's band member) on Twitter and SoundCloud, hyping "Somebody That I Used to Know" on Facebook, and trolling his website for show announcements (Not a creeper, just a super-fan).  Indeed 2012 was the year and as soon as tickets opened mid-December for this date, I dropped everything, got my sisters on board and bought the tickets!  And then couldn't stop smiling FOREVER!

Through this time, I also became a big fan of Kimbra and her music, the way that girl just feels the music and just let's her emotion and spill out her whole body while belting those lyrics is inspirational.  When she announced she would be joining the tour in DC, I probably got another cramp in my jaw from smiling too much.

So my sisters agreed they liked the music and were pumped to go.  I drove up from Richmond and we headed into DC for the concert.  They were awesome-sauce and promised to wait up to 90 minutes after the show so I could try to get an autograph (even though I already had the signed version of the album).  So now here's what you really came for, the concert recap:

Kimbra was a bubbly, bellowing, ball of FANTASTIC frenetic energy!  Not to forget, that girl can SING!  She played her better-known songs as well as 2 I hadn't heard before, never stopping her swirly, spastic, animated dancing.

Kimbra takes the stage to sing "Cameo Lover", her band was TIGHT! Also, check out the drummer's hair, early-90s-SWAGtastic! 

She moves like nothing else, drastically-spastically-WONDERFUL! 

Kimbra and I are BEST FRIENDS, see she took a picture with me! 

I think she might've bruised her arm with how hard she was shaking that tambourine!

Gotye takes the stage to "Eyes Wide Open"

Playing that synthesizer-sampler-button-thing, whatever it's called

Easy Way Out

Let's just pretend that microphone is my face? K, thanks (just kidding (not really!))

Wally got some dance moves too!

Jammin' to "Save Me" He actually got the audience to help sing the "yeah-ee-yeah-ehhhs," and it sounded pretty awesome.  You can catch my amateur tribute to it here

No, really, Thanks for Your Time!

 "Now and then I think of" how GREAT THIS WAS!

Unfortunately, even after skillfully and somewhat forcefully worded request that the audience quiet down for the sad, slow, soft "Bronte"; there were enough people there who seemed to only care to see the song that is an internet sensation, and not at all for enjoying the music (I'm talking to you, stupid drunk girls behind us).  Rather abruptly, Gotye bid us "Cheers" and adieu and left... 

Luckily he came back for a three-song encore!

Sing it, bruthah!

Too excited to even care that I look like a cheezing dweeb, but seriously though it was awesome!

Learnalilgivinanlovin!!!!!!

Look it's Michele and P-Dunc...  we met up after the show and briefly thought of trying to pass him off as Gotye's cousin to get on the bus (apparently he caused a few double-takes before Gotye went onstage)...

This is Ben, he plays the guitar, the electric mandolin, and the "steel-stringed-lap-guitar," I saw him outside the bus and decided we would be friends.  We bonded over a mutual love of mandolins, Appalachia, and the fact that I caught him searching his suitcase for clean undies...

Unfortunately, we also learned from Ben, after waiting with my sharpie and poster and two very tired sisters who had to work the next day and were troopers about my obsession  love for this Belgian-Aussie's music, that Wally took a nap after the show, and had yet to awaken.  It was the only disappointment of an otherwise perfect day! 

Family Visits Violin Shop & A Banjo Dream Comes True

This Christmas my grandpa Tony came to visit, which was awesome in itself, but we also got another adventure out of it, a super-special-spectacular Christmas Eve Adventure!

On Christmas Eve, my family had the wonderful chance to catch up with some extended family who lives super-close.  Tony's 'lil sis, my Great-Aunt Aggie lives in Fredricksburg now, and just a few blocks down the road, my Aunt Elaine (who is really I guess my second-cousin once removed, but who's keeping track of that) lives with her husband Bill.

We had a great lunch together and then went to visit Elaine and Bill's home, which happens to be above his violin shop...

The store-front

where he sells violins... some of which he makes himself, AND WE GOT TO SEE HOW SOME IF IT'S DONE!

Molds for making violins and bridges to go onto them

The equation for making a violin, it's all math and physics, how cool. Also, the quote beneath the drawing is:

"NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP" SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

They throw glitter on partially carved backs and fronts and then place them above a special sound machine where he adjusts the tone.  The vibrations move the glitter and there are pictures of what pattern should emerge to know where more carving or shaping is needed.  Knives, glitter, sound-making-machines, and physics: what more could a girl want?

Partially completed violins with the molds still attached

Bill showing off wood he is carving into a mandolin neck

A mother-of-pearl inlay that will go into the neck of a mandolin

Making/repairing bows

I'm sad because I thought my hair was long, obviously this horse had me beat!

More supply things and a mandolin

Electric guitar in for repairs

Their home was so lovely!

A beautiful flower-piece for old bows

Even the storage room was photogenic for crying out loud!

A teeny violin for the young prodigy 

The corner where banjo, guitar, violin, and mandolin lessons take place

We even got to play some instruments:

A $10,000 Violin, Rah got to pluck a string... apparently the "E" string is gold

Big sis on the mandolin!

We sight-read a couple christmas carols, I feel a new up-and-coming band!

AND A DREAM CAME TRUE: 

Finally I get to play a banjo: dream come true... although unlike in my dream, I'm not very good

Although being horrible is not stopping a smile creep over my face...

In the groove baby! BEST BANJO EVER!

It may be wrong but I judge people based on their ability to appreciate the sound of a banjo.

I'm gonna get really sappy here and say the best part of the whole visit was reconnecting with family over the holidays, I couldn't imagine a better  Christmas Eve Adventure!  than with these people!