The Swedish Finale

Note: This is a late post.

Who's gonna save the world tonight? Swedish House Mafia...that's who! The electro dance trio are trotting around the globe for their final tour, aptly called One Last Tour, before they split and do their own thang. For those of you old-timer ravers (think PVD, ATB, Daft Punk scene) who can't keep up anymore of the current glowstick-filled parties, SHM group is composed of Dj's Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso.

 Anyhoo, it's been quite awhile since I've been to a dance music event (last one I've been to was Paul Van Dyk or was it Chicane?! Holy Shawarma, I am old) so I decided to just give it a go. I guess you can say it's only fitting that I'm tipping off my hat to the final days of my 20's by bobbing my head, pumping my fists in the air and mane-smacking everyone in the face with some of my hair strands left on someone else's mouth. Yeah, I rock like that.

Before I spill all the stuff black mail dreams are made of, let me tell you now about the crazy before the real craziness happened. Picture one of the busiest, horrifying freeways in the U.S. versus the person who has lived in the greater LA area for the past 10 years but has never taken the plunge to hell drive on the notorious 10 freeway. And then picture me finding out that I had to drive my sister and myself to downtown, using this said freeway---during rush hour. Let's just say there were some sweaty palms and a couple of Hail Mary's involved.

Now for the fun part!

With every bit of us squished like a pack of sardines, I tried my bestestestestestestest to hold still and take some photos and short videos. Regrettably, I wasn't able to take a lot since the rain was pouring over us and  I was too much of a pussy to risk my camera getting soaked. Oh, and I was busy going crazy just like everyone else was...yea, that too.

Scattered rain + muddy dance floor + Half-naked men/ pretty-much-naked women + about 30,000 people + Otto Knows + Nero + Alesso + SHM = One crazy mutha of a night.

It was my little sister's first rave and she enjoyed it so much despite the wet, cold rain and sardines part!

My poor little camera couldn't take the loud bass that the audio recording is so scratchy! Boo.
Anyhoo, here are some snippets of senseless dancing and jumping around. Dont forget to select HD quality:

Alesso on stage. He's a bit of a cutie.

Lose My Mind

Dont You Worry Child - FYI, there is a woman cussing in this video and it ain't me. Mmmmk?

Their final song for the night, Save The World...and some random girl's pits. Ha!

Like what I say about going to concerts and events, it always pays to prepare. Since this was an outdoor rave event, it only means that the weather may well be your friend or your worst enemy and you're bound to ruin your outfit one way or another. Always check for the weather forecast, it'll pretty much dictate on what you should and shouldn't wear. I wanted to dress to the nines but there's no way in hell that I was going to risk ruining my premium stuff so off I went to the mall to find cheap alternatives.

In my case, I needed a cheap  pair of boots to stand on the muddy ground and a cross body bag/clutch that was big enough to keep the essentials like tickets, cash, driver's license, wet wipes, lipstick and a compact camera. I survived the rave but needless to say, there were definitely some casualties...

The clutch couldn't withstand all the jumping that one of the straps detached in the middle of the show and ended up on the muddy ground...See that little leather piece hanging with the chain? Yep, it ripped right off. I got it for cheap at H&M so my heart isn't bleeding. It's a bad photo of the bag but it's actually pretty cute with the tassel detail (you can see it peeking through on the lower left) and the little chain strap.

Not realizing that I was clutching a muddy purse all throughout the last half of the show, I got home and saw this...

* Is it me or does this angle make me look like I have a bulge where I'm not supposed to...Ha!* I really love the black shirt I have underneath. It reads, "BAD DREAMS ARE MADE OF ME"

Thanks for screwing up this picture, Mr. Fat Fingers.

SHM threw a spectacular and overwhelming show so it was sad to see them go. Parting is such sweet sorrow...but alas,we must party on...tugsh tugsh tugsh.

Toodles!

This Is 30

It's finally here. The day that I've been dreading, the day that I succumb to the dark side. Okay---not really, Obi Wan. I just turned 30, is all. THIRTY. I tell ya, the first thing I did when I woke up was run to the mirror and check for signs of ageing...let's see...Grey hair? Nope. Wrinkles? Eh, the usual weird ones under my eyes when I smile. Sagging skin? Not really. That's it?! I guess it's not so bad. But then there's the other list of telling signs: Countless wedding, baby shower and baptism invitations, numerous newborn pictures pouring in on Facebook, swapping tequila shots for a glass of sangria, the nerds back in school now ruling the world, having a seemingly non-existent metabolism (bye-bye bacon cheeseburger pizza diet) and a newfound appreciation for platform heels.

It's weird how I'm always in deep thought while I'm in the shower that I was able to experience a myriad of emotions while looking back on the things that I've done (and didn't do) as well as the decisions that have brought me to where I am now. Truth be told, there are things in the past that I would like to amend like attempting to eat leftover mexican food, but in stories such as this, we simply cannot. Hindsight is always 20/20 and having to lament on the shoulda-woulda-coulda's is just a waste of...well, everything. As you all know, I am my worst critic and I can't help but still beat myself up for feeling like I've never really accomplished anything, given that this is supposed to be a significant milestone. But then I realize, that the beauty of celebrating a milestone is that you can look back at everything and be able to celebrate the good, the bad and even the ugly. So what if I'm not tying the knot yet? If I don't have kids of my own yet? If I'm not yet earning 6 or more figures? If I still don't know what I'm supposed to do in life? If I still don't know how to put make-up on without looking like something that Edward Scissorhands spat out? Boy, do I have a looonngg way to go.

I'm dying to turn a new leaf over.
I want to...
- fight for a cause (leaning towards animal rescues, in the name of my Skyler)
- detach myself more from any sort of narcissism.
- be more mindful of the things I say or do...Hey, I only speak the truth. But I know I have to tone it down a bit  :)
- be more discerning with the company I keep. Only offer my friendship to people who truly appreciate it.
- spend more time with my parents and siblings, because they always have my back. Love you guys!
- eat more stuff that's good for me but tastes awful.
- be more adventurous and explore uncharted waters.
- not go chasing waterfalls... and stick to the rivers and the lakes that I'm used to. Hmmm...that sounded way cooler in my head than out loud. Wushoo. I got you hummin' to a tune, didnt I?

So anyway, dramatics and biological clocks aside, I think age is just a state of mind but exfoliating twice a week helps too. Let's not waste this day of celebration, shall we?

It's my birthday and I'll cry, eat and drink and go nuts if I want to...

So to mark a beginning of a new decade, I decided to be a little bit more adventurous with my birthday dinner. And I thought, what better restaurant to fit the bill than The Bazaar by José Andrés.

I'm going to spare you from a pseudo-food critique report and simply say that this has been by far, one of the most interesting and innovative dining experience I've ever had. I mean, they had me at "liquid nitrogen" and "air bread". Here's one of the staff mixing some nitro drinks:

The Interiors

Disclaimer: I apologize for the poor quality of some photos. I transferred all the good ones from my Canon to my PC but my hard drive completely died on me so 50% of the photos here are low res photos from a camera phone! *sob*

The restaurant was a huge space split into four. There's the main dining area "Rojo y Blanca", the bar "Bar Centro", the dessert bar/lounge "The Patisserie" and the hidden dining area, "Saam" for those who prefer the restaurant's most luxurious dining experience.

Rojo y Blanca

Check out the wall filled with back portraits.

Bar Centro

I don't know if this was still considered part of Bar Centro but the chairs were freakin' awesome!

The Patisserie

The Patisserie has a wide variety of items to satisfy your sweet tooth and you can just imagine me all googly-eyed while scanning through all that sugary stuff on display.

El Baño - Totally making this up..can't resist to show the nice ladies' room, though! hahaha.

On to the food!

For those of you who haven't tried this place out, be reminded that they serve everything tapas-style...meaning: it's impossible not to order several plates to satisfy your hippo appetite.

This was the air bread. It's pretty much a best-seller here.

I think this is the Sauteed shrimp and behind it is the Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks. I'm bad with names.

The caprese salad called Not Your Ordinary Caprese Salad. The mozzarella is at a liquid state but it only bursts into cheesy goodness in your mouth.

Oops sorry forgot what this was. Tee-hee.

Jicama Wrapped Guacamole.

Eggplant Tempura - Oh my yum!

Sweet Potato Chips.

Overall, the ambiance and food were all very much worth it. I wouldn't suggest though coming here if you've got a growling appetite 'coz you'll end up re-ordering food just like we did and that can easily run the bill to the hundreds.

So, this is 30. Feels like 21, tastes like chicken.

Toodles!