So this past weekend I went to my first massive in LA. I had heard about these west-coast raves back when I was at MIT going to the “dinky” 1,000-person events in New England, so I was really excited and I didn’t know what to expect. It was everything I thought it would be and more! I have no idea how many people were there, but it had to be at least 10,000+. The music was great (I really enjoyed Infected Mushroom’s set, and surprisingly, I really enjoyed Ferry Corsten’s set as well. I thought I was all burned out on progressive trance but he really managed to rock the decks and throw down a thrilling set).

I ended up going with Caustik (homepage), Brian, and Christine (fun, cute chick from Bavaria)–all folks who work for DivX. The carnival was interesting…lots of free carnival rides, various carnie foods, fire, booths vending all things music related, and of course, lots of rad music, eye candy, and colorfully dressed people. I think we danced for about six hours straight, although it was pretty hot at times. Brian and Caustik got to go back stage and meet one of the DJ’s as well. The atmosphere at the place reminded me at times of my trip to Ibiza. It was a hella good time.

More pics at Brian’s website! Brian gets all the photo credits for this post. Thanks man!

Puuuuure Energy.

Brian: “Scandalous!”
Those of you who know my usual dress: “omg he’s wearing pants!”

Pana planned a wonderful trip to Yosemite. It was my first time to Yosemite that I can remember, and it was my first time doing “real” camping for anything longer than one night. I was a little bit worried, as my bedtime ritual involves lots of running water–I don’t think I can remember the last time I went to bed without showering. However, HB and Pana got me an air mattress for my tent (best idea ever), and every morning we got up and took a swim in the lake. I’ve discovered that four days without soap and a dip in a glacier run-off lake every morning does wonders for your hair. It’s been a long time since my hair felt so soft and was so manageable. I guess all these hair conditioners and detanglers are required only because the water in some cities is so hard it damages hair. I also developed a new appreciation for toilet paper. I fortunately brought my own roll on the trip, and I was very glad because the TP provided at the campsite toilets was terrible and it ran out all the time. Pana also introduced me to the concept of efficient but excellent cooking while camping. I have seen gourmet camp cooking that was just impractical, and I have done the spaghetti-o’s over an open flame thing as well. Pana somehow managed to produce delicious comfort food on the campsite while requiring almost no preparation and creating few dirty dishes. I took notes and learned.

At any rate, Yosemite itself was beautiful, and very rugged. I enjoyed the waterfalls, which apparently were very active due to the warm weather and the recent heavy snows. We also saw some wildlife and did a bit of hiking, and every night we settled around the campfire and chilled out. I also made some new friends and learned a little Estonian culture (and two phrases: “abme menya” and “vestas menya”. Don’t ask me what they mean). It was great hanging out with everyone!

Check out these cutie patooties. Karin and Cade have such cute kids!

Oooh, Hybrid, one of my favorite electronic music groups (they do breaks), is coming to the US for a show in LA at the Avalon on June 11. Any buds in the SoCal area, if you’re interested in going, drop me a line. It’ll be great!