Coachella

Every year there's an annual tradition in April that MJ and I adhere to: watching Coachella from the comfort of our own homes on Youtube. I like to think I would give anything a fair shot to try it, but Coachella is one thing I just KNOW I would not enjoy, at least as much as it's hyped up to be. Yes, I get it's in Palm Springs near Joshua Tree and goes on for 2 straight weekends (Week one and Week Two!) and it's outside in the desert and there's various stages where so many artists show up to perform that you can get all the music and live entertainment you want...and there's drugs, so many so many drugs, which is apparently a feature, not a bug of the experience. That and paying through the nose for lodgings or sleeping in tents, mass traffic getting into the event, being treated like second class citizens by being seated way at the back if you're not VIP, and for more checkout Reddit "Coachella is awful." I'm sure some people have a good time who like the music and like the vibe of being out in the desert for 3 straight days, it's just not worth it for me. This year, Lady Gaga(!) was the headliner which is really splashy along with a bunch of name-brand artists Post Malone, Ty Dolla Sign, etc., etc., a good place to study up on pop culture trivia for sure. Oh and Bernie Sanders made an appearance, with a speech to vote against President Trump's policies. Kylie Jenner and Timothy Chalamee were there! Paris Hilton and Leonardo DiCaprio were there! All VIP guests in the front row, I presume, and soaking up the fact that they get noticed and everyone else wants be them but can't (no jealousy!) Is it wrong of me to think Timothy Chalamee being one of the hottest stars in Hollywood, can get almost any role he wants, this generation's Leonardo DiCaprio, already Oscar nominated for A Complete Unknown (The Bob Dylan Story) and still not yet 30......can pick a better partner than Kylie Jenner, previously with child and part of the talentless but famous anyway Kardashian/Jenner clan? Maybe their siren song is just strong to attract even the most unattaianble of bachelors. I appreciate Bernie Sanders being out there with the masses instead of giving the vibe like the rest of Congress or the political elite that they're better than normal people. There's a world in which Bernie Sanders wins the 2016 Democratic primary against Hilary Clinton (Feel the Bern!) and gather momentum with the popular vote, taking those away from Trump and the huge populist base he has, wins the election, and the next 8 years are common sense, for-the-people policies that only American's favorite grandpa (and not Joe Biden!) can deliver. He's still clear-headed in 2025! Oh I didn't mention about Coachella that you have to get into a lottery to purchase tickets, it's a whole thing, kind of like trying to chase fame: I hate getting in line to chase after something that everyone wants, and when you finally finally get to the front of the line and ready to see what the commotion is all about, it turns out it isn't even something you like. This has happened to me on numerous occasions of waiting in long lines for food, long lines for nightclubs, long lines in traffic... Life experience has taught me that going against the line for something that not everyone loves but still has great value is the way to go. That and I hate lines. One tradition that I DO miss is reading newspapers with my grandpa in a quiet room, just ourselves, and learning Chinese. I love learning and have loved it from a young age mostly because my grandpa instilled in me a love of learning, so it always felt like a nostalgic practice mixed with intellectual activity mixed with quality bonding time with grandpa to sit in a room and just read. There are no lines to wait in to read, my grandpa was always ready to give me information on Chinese words, to tell me a story about some phrase in the newspaper and why they used that word, some historical context, or a new Internet slang term (my grandpa was born in 1925 and was still learning new slang terms from the Internet!) He would have been 100 years old this year, and if not for his physical body giving out, he would have kept reading and keeping his mind sharp. It's easy to say looking back on it, but you never know when the last time you will do an activity is, and how much you will miss it, no matter how mundane it is. Most of us appreciate reading, but maybe we all need a reading partner, one who keeps us honest by also reading and keeping each other from always checking our phones in this digital age. My grandpa was always game to read and he never owned a smart phone, nor even a cell phone; his life was patterned off of 1940's living of reading and spending time together. Nowadays I can't get anyone to even sit with me for an hour much less days to hang out (kind of a me problem) but still....I guess I didn't appreciate grandpa's willingness to just be there and be willing to drop everything at a moment's notice to teach me something. He didnt' really offer much verbal advice or direct pearl of wisdom on how to live life, but maybe that was his way of giving advice, by showing me his way of life and seeing how appealing the simple life can be: no music, no phones, no distractions, no lining up for 3 hours to get into the other line for 3 hours to buy overpriced alcohol at a music festival.....spend your life doing the things you like to do, not what everyone else wants to do.