A Year Later...

So apparently I've completely abandoned this blog. I pretty much forgot that I even had it... I guess I've come back to it in need of a place to rant, and a place where I can just blurt out my thoughts. and because not many people actually read this blog, other than myself, it's kind of like a safe haven for me. Okay, I have no clue what I'm saying... my brain is not working this week.

Basically, this year has been pretty insane. I did this thing called moving to London, UK. I found a job here, went to a bazillion festivals (yes, I went to Tomorrowland again this year!), lived in two different places (both West and East London), and now after travelling with my parents to France and Spain over the holiday season, I'm about to move to another place... I've had the shittiest luck with landlords and flats/houses and I feel like I'm ALWAYS moving house.

This time around, our landlords were doing some dodgey shit (just like the last place)... I don't know the details but they've basically fled, and some other dude has taken over. I'm not sure what's going on, but everyone in the building has to move out. And people are PISSED. On Sunday, someone from the upstairs flat on top of us decided it was a wonderful idea to BREAK THE WATER PIPE and then water started GUSHING into our apartment bathroom.... Basically, our flat was flooding. We even had to call the fire department, and we started packing in panic. We've moved most of our things and went to our friends' place.

Anyway, I won't bore myself by repeating everything that has happened. But this month has been a struggle, to say the least. On top of working full time, I have had the pleasure of flathunting for the THIRD time in London. Flathunting one time in London is hard enough... but THREE TIMES. Oh yeah, and my flat flooded. That happened.

But yea.. we did find a place to move in to... it's an actual house with a BIG kitchen, a living room and even a dining table. It's so hard to find a place like that in London, it's ridiculous. It's slightly more far out (zone 3) then I would like, but it's still close enough to central yet a much "cleaner" and nicer area, as well as a bit cheaper.

Nothing is settled yet though... We are still waiting for the agency to approve everything and we NEED to move out this weekend. Like we will be homeless if this agency does not give us the keys to this house by tomorrow.

Joys of living in London.

The struggle continues...

Tomorrowland 2014 Tips & Tricks

So you want to go to Tomorrowland? But you have a million questions and you don’t know where to start… Well, hopefully this blog post will be helpful to you. Ever since I put up my Tomorrowland 2013 After Movie, I’ve been getting many questions regarding the ever-so-popular festival on my YouTube page. I decided to make a blog post, as I figure there are probably many more people who are searching for the same answers.

 It also will get me in the mood for Tomorrowland 2014, as I will be attending once again this year!!! WOOT! (note: I am in no way a Tomorrowland expert, nor am I affiliated with Tomorrowland for that matter. Please take what I say with a grain of salt and do further research on your own. Feel free to ask me questions but I am just a fellow festival goer!)

 How to get tickets:

This is probably the most commonly asked question among everyone wanting to go to Tomorrowland. The fact of the matter is there are only 180,000 tickets available (I believe) and literally millions of people around the world that are trying to get tickets. Out of the 180,000 tickets, Belgians will claim 100,000 of them (they go on sale a week or so before world-wide ticket sales), leaving only 80,000 for the rest of the world to fight over. So you do the math.

 One of the good things about Tomorrowland 2014 is that it is the 10 year anniversary of the festival, and they will be holding it over TWO WEEKENDS. This gives you two times the chance of getting tickets. The problem is that there are still not enough tickets.

 So how did I get tickets in 2013? I did it the more expensive way. I bought a Global Journey Hotel Package. Global Journey Packages are the official Tomorrowland travel packages that go on sale usually a few weeks before regular individual tickets go on sale. This is a genius move on their part, because it allows people to buy pre-packaged deals ahead of time giving them a higher chance of getting tickets. It also makes the process easier because everything is planned out for you and all you have to do is show up! The down side? It’s much more expensive than buying individual tickets.

 There are 3 different types of packages that you could get: hotel, train or flight. Hotel packages are just that: hotel packages. They include ticket to the festival, a hotel room, transportation to and from the festival and hotel and some other little things like the Tomorrowland Newsletter. The train and flight packages include everything above but also transportation from different cities around the world. You can check out the prices and see what is still available here:
http://www.tomorrowland.com/globaljourney

 In my opinion, it is worth paying the premium and getting things booked through Global Journey. If you’re kinda sorta wanting to go to Tomorrowland and money is a huge issue for you, then you can risk it and try to go for individual tickets. However, if you are dying to go and you are able to and willing to pay the extra money in order to get there, I highly recommend buying a Global Journey package and saving yourself the trouble of trying to get individual tickets. My friend and I debated for a while whether to get the Global Journey packages for 2013 or not, and I’m thankful we chose to do so, because our other friends who tried to get individual tickets failed. I mean ALL OF THEM failed. So is it impossible to get tickets? No. But it’s going to be a close call.

Few things to keep in mind: 

• Make sure your credit card limit is high enough - If you’re unsure if your card will work or not, RESEARCH – I’ve heard of some peoples’ cards not working when they were trying to check out
• If you don’t get tickets through the Tomorrowland site, be VERY CAREFUL where you buy your tickets (lots of scammers out there) 
• If you decide to buy individual tickets, you must pre-register on the Tomorrowland website and use the link that they give you in the email on the day of the ticket sales. 
• There are two different types of Tomorrowland tickets – Full Madness Pass and Full Madness Comfort Pass. They will both get you into the festival, but the comfort pass is basically the VIP pass which will let you access the VIP areas. I just had the regular pass last year. If you have the money and don’t like crowds, maybe the Comfort Pass is for you. 

 Accommodation:

If you are lucky enough to get tickets to Tomorrowland, you will either be staying at Dreamville or a different form of accommodation. Dreamville is the official campsite for Tomorrowland which is located right beside the festival, so you can go back and forth as you please.

 Last year, I stayed at a hotel in Brussels as part of the hotel package I purchased through Global Journey. There are definitely some pros and cons of staying at a hotel versus staying in Dreamville.

 Hotel > Dreamville 

1. A hot shower after returning from the festival - mind you, we’ve just spent HOURS dancing, sweating, getting rained on, and getting squished in the crowd… I’ve never been so appreciative of a shower in my life… of course, you can shower at Dreamville. But remember that it’s a campsite so it will definitely not be as comfortable or easy to use, and I do believe each shower costs money. 
2. The comfort of a bed – Not sure about you. But I’m a few years past the age of 18 and now I find myself wanting to pay a premium just for that extra bit of comfort. Roughing it out is fun but after a fun filed but exhausting day, nothing is sweeter than having a warm, cozy bed. 
3. Breakfast included – Although this would depend on the hotel, I presume. 
4. Weather-proof – Last year, it rained on day one and two. It was nice to not have to deal with it when we wanted to go to bed. My friend and I snuck into Dreamville after the last day of the festival (shhhh) and some parts of the ground was SUPER muddy and not so pleasant. 
5. Extra security 
6. Electricity, mirror, clean bathroom, etc… - especially if you’re a girl, you will highly appreciate these amenities! 

 Dreamville > Hotel 

1. The Fun Factor – Since Dreamville is the official campsite for Tomorrowland, it’s like another huge party of its own. At the Dreamville Gathering, you can meet loads of new people and become part of an even bigger experience. If you are staying at a hotel, the fun pretty much begins and ends at Tomorrowland. This is the main reason why we chose to do Dreamville this year again, instead of a hotel. 
2. Proximity to the festival – Another huge pro for choosing Dreamville over Hotel. Unless you can get a hotel in Boom, which is where Tomorrowland is held, the location of Dreamville is a HUGE advantage. Since Dreamville is right by the festival, you can technically come and go as you please. No waiting around in huge lines for a shuttle bus, no leaving early to make sure you catch the shuttle bus in time, no one-hour long bus ride to the festival, etc… 
3. Bring your own food/booze – For those of you wanting to save money, this might be a plus for you. As far as I know, there are no restrictions on how much food and booze to bring with you to Dreamville. I know that some people will probably choose to book their own hotel, stay at a youth hostel, etc… If you do decide to book your own accommodation separately, just make sure you book it as fast as possible, and also make sure that you have some form of transportation.

This is really all I can think of for now! This is a very last minute post, as the tickets go on sale in a few days! Let me know if you have any questions :) 

Quarter Century Old

It happened. I tried to avoid it but I couldn't. I turned 25 on Monday, October 7th. The fact of the matter is, I don't feel different at all. It went by just like any other birthday. But when I actually sit and think about the fact that I've been on this Earth for 25 years now, it does freak me out a little. A friend of mine texted me the other day saying that we are 15 years away from being 40. 15 YEARS AWAY FROM BEING 40!!! I almost lashed out at him because the thought of it made me angry. WHY, GOD, WHY?? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME????

This makes me realize how obsessed I am with age and time. This constant fear and obsession of wanting to be younger, wanting more time on this planet. As if with each breath, with each day, with each year, I become less of a person.

The truth is that there is really no point of constantly being fixated with how old I am or how old I will be in however many years. It's actually quite detrimental to think this way. We have expectations of where we should be, how we should behave, and what we should do, all dependent on how old we are. Although some of it does make some sense (for example, having a baby at 13 is probably not such a good idea), we shouldn't allowe these societal expectations dictate the way we live our lives. By doing this, we are trapping ourselves and it ironically makes the aging process even more depressing.

Of course, it's going to be hard to completely break free of the societal pressures, but I'm going to try my best. I'm going to try my best not to make excuses for not doing things I want to do, just because of how old I am. There may be many reasons why I might not do something I want to do, but I will not allow AGE to be the sole reason. There are still SO many things I want to do, and I hope that even at the age of 60 or 70, that will still be the case.

After all, life's too short.

I Need Inspiration

There's something about me that keeps yearning for more. I don't know exactly what it is but I feel like there's so much more to life than just working at a mediocre job just to pay the bills and go on vacation a couple of times a year. Today, I was browsing on Thought Catalog again, and I came across this quote from an article:

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape.” – Seth Godin

This is exactly what I'm looking for. I need to figure out how to create a life where I don't constantly look for ways to escape it. Where I don't constantly feel like I need a vacation.

After every vacation, it's like the only thing I look forward to is the next vacation. All I do throughout the work week is to wait desperately for the weekend. Wouldn't it be nice to have a life where I wasn't constantly looking forward to things, but where I was satisfied with life in general? A job or a career where I felt inspired every day to go into work? A life where I genuinely feel like I am learning something new every day and where every day is a new adventure?

I keep telling myself that I should just stop complaining and just accept life for what it is. But that little voice inside my head keeps telling me that there is more that I'm looking for. And that little voice keeps saying that I won't be able to find it here, where I am at now.

So should I move somewhere? If so, where?? Should I be saving up money first and look for a job first, before moving? Or should I do the spontaneous thing and just pack up a suitcase and go?

My mind is full of so many thoughts... and I don't know how to organize them. I really need inspiration to figure out what I want in life. Am I supposed to have things figured out by now? SOMEONE ANSWER ME!!

The Time Keeper

“Try to imagine a life without timekeeping.
You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week.
There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car.
You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie.
Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late.
A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays.
Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour.
And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.
A fear of time running out.”

― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

Fear of Death?

It’s a Friday, which means I don’t feel like being a productive member of society and I feel like reading random blogs about random things. Today I went on Thought Catalog, one of my sites I like to visit when I want to read something insightful or just something entertaining. One of the posts I read was probably the most intriguing of all that I’ve seen on Thought Catalog:

50 People On "What Eases Your Thoughts On Death?"

If you have time, I really do recommend at least skimming through this post. I found it reassuring and almost therapeutic.

My grandmother passed away this summer. About a few days before I was supposed to leave for Europe on my three-week trip. She always had health issues and she’s had a couple of close calls before. Even then, her sudden death was unexpected. The worst part of it all was that we didn’t get to say goodbye. Most of my relatives live in Korea, while my immediate family and I are in Canada. We go to Korea once every few years (although my parents have been visiting every year for the past few years due to my grandmother’s worsening health).

I hadn’t seen my grandma in 2 years and the last time I saw her, I distinctly remember her saying, “I wonder if I’ll see you one more time before I go”. Unfortunately, we never saw each other and those words still haunt me.

This was one of the saddest moments of my life (quite possibly the saddest). I cried constantly for a few days. I don’t think I’ve ever cried like that in my life. I didn’t think it was physically possible for me to be that miserable. When I heard that she was in critical condition, when I heard that she was probably not going to make it, and of course when I heard she was gone. Just the thought of never seeing her again terrified me. The feeling of regret and remorse was overwhelming. I was never very close with my grandmother or had many conversations with her. Even when I visited Korea, I didn’t spend much time with her. All of this came back to me when I realized she was not going to make it.

I even considered cancelling my trip to Europe. Like I said, this happened literally DAYS before I was supposed to get on that plane to London. I was so excited for it and I had been planning it for months. But right at that moment, I couldn’t even imagine having fun. Just the thought of sending my mother to Korea alone, with no one to hold her on the plane, was just devastating. When I sent her off at the airport, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I felt responsible, like I should be there for her. And of course, I wanted to pay respects to my grandmother.

But of course, when I landed in Europe and met up with friends, I came to realize that this is all a part of life. Of course I was going to be sad and I was regretful that I wasn’t there at the funeral to pay my respects. But she was gone already. She knew when she was alive that I loved her, even though I didn’t get to see her very often and we didn’t spend as much time together as I may have wanted.

I’ve come to the realization that fear of death only exists up to the actual moment of death (which, depending on your circumstances, you probably won’t even realize it at the moment). The knowledge of death is scarier than death itself. Once you’re dead, you don’t even realize you’re dead. Does that make sense?

For instance, I’ve had an incident on my 19th birthday (which I am quite ashamed of) where I drank way too much and ended up passing out cold. My parents, embarrassingly enough, had to take me to the emergency room because they were afraid that I had alcohol poisoning and that I was hypothermic (it was in October and I had spent too much time outside not wearing a proper jacket). Luckily for me, I ended up waking up in the waiting room in the middle of the night with a blanket wrapped all around me and my displeased parents at my side.

So I basically blacked out that night. I don’t remember any of the events that happened. I didn’t even know I was passed out. All I remember is taking shots at the bar, and then waking up in the emergency room. So what if I never woke up? I could’ve easily died of alcohol overdose, but luckily enough, I woke up. But the thing is that I would’ve never known if I didn’t wake up. It would be like I just fell asleep. It wouldn’t be devastating or tragic for myself (although it would be for my loved ones), as I wouldn’t have known that I died.

Since I’m not religious or believe in any afterlife, I do believe that when we die, we just cease to exist. Almost like that moment when I blacked out and did not realize I was blacked out. It was like I didn’t exist. My organs could’ve easily stopped working and I would’ve never known.

I’m not sure if this thought is terrifying or reassuring. In a way, it’s doing both for me. It’s terrifying just thinking about NOT EXISTING. Just the thought of not having a mind, not having thoughts or memories and not being able to WAKE UP is pretty scary. But on the other hand, I’ve been doing a pretty good job of non-existence for the billions of years before my birth. So I’m pretty sure I’d do a pretty good job of not existing after my death as well.

The fact that I don’t believe in life after death does not devalue the lives of the people that were once alive. Our constant obsession with the “afterlife” is parallel with our constant fear of the idea of an end. We don’t remember how we began therefore, we feel as though we’ve existed forever. We can’t imagine the end of our lives because we never knew our non-existence. But I do believe that the lives we live are important and valuable. After all, we only get one, right? Think about the impact that your loved ones made on your lives. The amount of sadness that my family and I felt at the passing of my grandmother really shows the value of her life. I’ll always have her in my mind until the moment I die, which is when someone else will have me in their minds. It goes on like this, and that is how I believe our lives and our “souls” are carried on.

So basically the point is this. We humans have the advantage and also the great disadvantage of the knowledge of our mortality. In a way, the knowledge of death traps us and forces us to live in the constant fear of the unknown; the constant fear of non-existence. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to try to let go of that fear. As hard as it may be, being afraid of it doesn’t make it any less real. Like I said, the fear of death is scarier than death itself. So let’s take advantage of the fact that we know we are going to die one day. The best thing to do is to not be imprisoned by the fear and try to live every day to the fullest. Cherish the moments you have with your loved ones, travel the world and do more things that make you happy. After all, what makes your life special is the knowledge that you won’t have it forever.

Spinning Around Europe

I have a very severe addiction where I am obsessed with making travel videos. Every time I travel, I basically annoy everyone around me by whipping out my camera every chance I get. In the end, I like to believe it's all worth it. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.

When I went to Europe this summer for three weeks, I wanted to make some type of travel montage of me in different cities and monuments. So I decided (for some odd reason) to do a video montage of me spinning around different areas in Europe.

Please take the time to watch this video of me spinning around Europe. That's basically the gist of it.