Boston Calling 2014: Day 3

Sunday: Day 3
Walking around Boston, a bunch of irrelevant bands, Bastille, and Modest Mouse

Sunday was the last day of the music festival, sadly. The main highlight of the day would be Bastille, for sure. I've been hooked on Bastille for many, many months now. I requested their album last Christmas and know almost all their songs by heart. LOVE them. (Especially Dan.)

We woke up around 8, I think, and then packed up all of our things so we could check out that morning. After saying our goodbyes to our lovely hotel room, we left and checked our bags into their storage area for the time that we would be out and about.

Since the actual bands that we wanted to see were all in the late afternoon/night, we decided that we had more than enough time to explore Boston, have a nice brunch, and then go to City Hall. Thus, we tried to find a really good breakfast joint around Boston, and ended up choosing Mike & Patty's, supposedly this hole-in-the-wall type restaurant that specialized in breakfast. It took us quite a while to get there...we had to go through the financial district, through Chinatown, and then some before we finally found it.

It was definitely a very small, local place and smelled delicious; however, the line was way out the door when we got there. Our tummies immediately vetoed the thought of waiting for food, so we turned around and tried for something else.

After going through Chinatown again to South Station, we ended up going to South Street Diner (funny, because Westborough also has a South Street Diner). It was a cute little restaurant with a very retro vibe that I loved, and we waited around 10 minutes before getting seats at the bar. We were both starving, so Edlyn got the Deluxe Special (french toast, toast, home fries, eggs, and bacon) and I got an omelette with olives, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese, with toast, grapefruit juice, and home fries.

It was very relaxing and casual to watch the cooks prepare each order right in front of us. In a way, I would love to see each of my meals prepared. It just gives you a much better sense of what you're eating, where everything came from, what they did to achieve certain tastes....I'm definitely rambling on about this as a result of just watching the documentary Food, Inc. with my parents. The mind is definitely 100% on food right now, my friends. Okay, I digress.

After eating, we went to Chinatown for a round of bubble tea. If you know me well, you'll know that I could actually drink bubble tea every single day and be a happy little child for all eternity. It is probably the most amazing thing ever and I've never tired of drinking it; we even have shrink-wrapped boba at home that can be boiled and prepared.

Although there are actually dozens of places to get bubble tea in Boston, especially Chinatown. However, Edlyn pulled me into this Vietnamese place called New Dong Khanh Restaurant and insisted that this was THE place to go...all of her friends swore by this place's bubble tea. So I went with a Lychee Green Tea Boba and it scored very high marks in my book! Mmmm, I want to go back. Why can't the suburbs invest in a bubble tea place, instead of getting 3 froyo joints? Is that really necessary? This girl needs her boba.

Then we walked around quite a bit more...we wanted to see a movie maybe, but none of the times worked out very well, so we went back to the Downtown Crossing area and hit up some stores like T.J. Maxx and H&M. I got a cute top from the Maxx for $7, and then we spent a looong time in H&M cause there were SO many clothes. It was insane...I was shopping for dresses (particularly a senior ball dress, graduation dress, etc.) and kept bumping into more. So, many fitting room trips later, I walked out with a beautiful, simple blue maxi dress (perfect for Cali!!), a perfect little black dress (casual with spaghetti straps...I've been looking for one like this to wear for any occasion! So happy), and a classy white flowery graduation dress! All three were such a good deal and I'm so excited to wear them out for this summer :)

We decided to drop off our shopping bags at Harborside before going back to the concert. They wouldn't let us bring any water into the plaza, so I went off to search for refill stations once we got inside. They had provided stations on Friday, but apparently Saturday and Sunday were different stories. Bummer. I'm paranoid about having water constantly, especially after watching people pass out at concerts, so Edlyn saved our spot at the stage while Kurt Vile and the Violators (who?) were playing and I ran off in search of water.

My search brought me to Quincy Market because they had water fountains there in the bathrooms and I was far too cheap to buy water anywhere...I had spent almost all of my money at H&M so I needed to save that cash for dinner. I spent a lot of this day grabbing whatever free food I could, finding the cheapest foods, and drinking free water like a mofo.

After excruciatingly long lines, I finally returned to the concert with a water bottle full of water. The lady at the re-check line was mean and made me dump out all my water because she was "sure" that there were refill stations inside. Yeah, like I haven't checked.

After I confirmed with volunteers inside that there were no refill stations at all, I left in a different direction and found a Subway. At this point, I needed dinner cause it was around 5 pm and Bastille would go on at like 7, so nourishment would've been helpful. I got a kid's meal there (a 6-inch sandwich, apple slices, and a bottle of milk) and used their bathroom to fill up my water bottle once again.

Leaving once more for the plaza, I tried to re-enter through one of the small little openings where there were people positioned, but they didn't let me back in (I had literally just left through that way a few minutes ago, but whatever. It's cool) and I was forced to go back to the general re-check area, where I confronted the same lady and told her definitively that there were NO sources of free water inside, so she better as hell let me bring my full water bottle inside.

I was tired, pissed, and determined at this point, and I kept arguing with her. I understood that she hadn't made the rules and stuff, but this was absolutely ridiculous. I did NOT have vodka in my bottle. I was just a thirsty little child who also had no money. "I'll let you bring it in just this once." I heard her finally say, and I gratefully surged into the concert to find Edlyn.

After a bit of pushing through the crowd and craning my neck, I found her. We were once again enveloped in the crowd, who were there to see Phosphorescent (another band we were completely oblivious of), Bastille (YEAHHH), and Modest Mouse.

Phosphorescent was...fine. They weren't very exciting and most of their songs sounded very similar. It was okay though. We then listened to Tegan & Sara perform on the other stage while we pushed closer to the front for Bastille. Oh, those long waits in a big crowd. Trying to find a straight, unblocked view of the stage. Listening to the parents of a tween girl in front of us talking about their concert plans. All part of the fun, right?

Okay: BASTILLE TIME. When they came onto the stage, I almost died. Dan was incredible. He was wearing this wolf hoodie and you already know that his voice is pure gold. Not to mention, he's absolutely ADORABLE. Ugh...let me be your best friend, pleaseee? They performed a lot of their songs from Bad Blood, and they sounded perfect live. They also did a few newer songs that haven't been recorded, like "Blame" which I loved.

For "Flaws", Dan actually went through the crowd singing and you should've seen everyone's faces. They were like alert, desperate birds of prey carrying smart phones...their eyes were like, "WHERE IS HE?!?!?" Haha, I was guilty of the same thing, not gonna lie.

All in all, one of the best shows I have seen. Super interactive with the crowd, perfect voices, easy on the eyes, the light show was great, and Dan's British accent...what more could could you ask for? Okay, I'll stop now.

After Bastille finished, I experienced one of the scariest moments of my life. We were trying to get out of the crowd to get some rest and air, but a bunch of people were trying to get to the front for Modest Mouse. This resulted in everyone pushed up against one another, being pushed and shoved one way and the next; it was literally a huge glob of people unable to control their bodies or get anywhere. We were screaming, apologizing profusely to everyone around us, and just unable to get out. It was really scary actually. This continued for like 10 minutes, and we found a few other girls who also were trying to GET OUT. It was weird, because people usually let you leave the crowd, but in this case, we couldn't get ANYWHERE. We were stuck.

Finally, I was done. "We're getting out of here. Now." I said, and clutching Edlyn's hand, I began Red Rover-ing my way through the throng, yelling "We're leaving! Sorry, we're just trying to get out!" It was really hard and my body probably touched about a million other sweaty people, but getting out of the crowd finally felt amazing. Two other girls had followed us out and they thanked us for leading the way. Whew. What a nightmare.

Edlyn and I decided to stretch our legs for a walk, so we went back to Chinatown (lol) for another bubble tea. New Dong Khanh was open until 10:30, so we rested there and gushed over Bastille while we slurped our bubble teas (I tried the taro this time...YUM). After staying there for awhile, we decided to head back to see a little bit of Modest Mouse before it was time to go home with my dad.

I ordered another bubble tea for the walk back (soursop-flavored) and the guy making it was like, "Ooh girl you addicted!" Hah. Tell me something I don't know.

Modest Mouse's show was the most packed one that I had seen all weekend. We stood there for a few minutes listening, then walked back to the Harborside Inn when my dad called and said he was almost there. We grabbed our luggage, then got in the car and headed for home. Wow. What a weekend. I had so much fun and saw so many amazing artists. So happy I got to go, it was definitely an unbelievable grad present. Thanks, Mom & Dad :)

Last day with our mirror :(

Bastille <3

Dan rocking out with the crowd

More Bastille! Photo creds: Edlyn

One of the 3 bubble tea trips we made (taro and mango)

Brunch at South Street in Boston

Finishing off the photos with a Bastille selfie :)

Boston Calling 2014: Day 2

Saturday: Day 2

Magic Man, Walk Off the Earth, the Neighbourhood, and Death Cab for Cutie

On Saturday, Edlyn and I woke up around 9 am. I was rather surprised with myself; I’m a morning person, so I’m almost always up and about by 8 or 8:30 at the latest. Anyways, we got ready and were out the door by around 10 o’clock.

We decided to find some nourishment first before anything else, so we walked over to Quincy Market, which was only a few blocks away. It was crowded, even though it was still so early on in the day…I guess tourists are out and about 24/7.  Edlyn ordered a breakfast burrito with eggs, bacon, and cheese while I tried a Hawaiian style pizza bagel (pineapple, ham, pizza sauce, and cheese on an Asiago cheese bagel) that was utterly delicious. Have you ever tried a pizza bagel? Well you should. It was a true breakfast of champions.  We also each got some passion fruit juice, then went to eat our meal on a bench outside. 

The smells of the desserts and sweets baking in that market were too enticing, so we indulged our sweet teeth as well; I got a slice of decadent Black Forest cake and Edlyn had a Red Velvet Whoopie Pie. We go hard. 

 Afterwards, we headed for the City Hall. The doors hadn’t opened yet, so we waited outside with the rest of the impatient crowd. After finally getting into the concert, we immediately ran for the Red Stage, where Magic Man would be starting off this lovely Saturday. They were to go on around 11:15. A few of the band members were already out there getting equipment and instruments ready.

When they began performing, Magic Man was absolutely amazing! They’re a local band from Boston, and their music is just awesome. It’s so energetic and the lead singer has such a great voice. I of course took a video of “Paris”, my favorite song by them.

The next band that we listened to on the Red Stage was Walk Off the Earth, who put on such an entertaining show. They became famous from their YouTube account where they did a lot of covers, and Edlyn had showed me a few of their original songs when we had done the Walk for Hunger. I really liked their performance; they had a lot of crowd interaction and their singing was also reaaaally good. 

It got super hot and sunny that day, which was both a blessing and a curse. For one thing, we were finally able to feel warm and also get our tan on (jokes, I'm still white as snow). However, it also made the crowd super sweaty and disgusting and that was no fun. 

It was also annoying to have about thirty or forty beach balls from sponsor JetBlue flying around and bonking you on the head at random intervals. There was a puddle right where we were standing, and a bunch of them accumulated there because no one wanted to touch them. It's a sad life for wet beach balls. 

After waiting with much anticipation, we were finally rewarded with the amazing voice and music of Jesse Rutherford and the other Neighbourhood band members. They were honestly so good-- definitely one of my favorite bands there, and we were basically in the front row for their show! Ah...their whole vibe is so unique. It's hard to describe, but I'd say it's rather dark, haunting, rebellious, and sexy. I've been listening to their whole album on repeat ever since. Jesse is such a god. 

After the Neighbourhood finished with a wonderful "Sweater Weather", Edlyn and I BOOKED it out of there...it was so crowded and hot! Plus, we'd been standing for upwards of 5 hours, so we wanted food and shelter and comfy chairs for our sad little legs. It was fun though- there were some friends that we made while standing in the crowd, who were actually impressed with our UCLA/McGill status! Whaaat? We're still so dysfunctional :( 

Let's see...we went to get lunch/dinner back at Quincy Market. It ended up being a huge Hawaiian-style salad (lettuce, pineapple slices, tomatoes, honey BBQ sauce, and other vegetables that our bodies were thankful for after a day of all carbs basically) for both of us. 

It actually started raining really hard on Saturday night; I ran into a Starbucks along with a bunch of other people and got a Chocolate Chai Tea to warm up a bit again. We walked back to our hotel room for awhile because it was so wet and we needed rest. 

After sprawling luxuriously on our bed for awhile, we summoned our strength and saw it wasn't raining anymore when we went back outside. We walked around a bit, then listened to a few minutes Death Cab for Cutie. If you're a die-hard Death Cab fan, you might hate me for this, but it was absolutely packed there, I'm not really familiar with their music, and I really just wanted to be able to say that I saw them. 

So we left the concert and hit up our local Tedeschi shop for some snacks. We picked up sparkling water, Funyuns, Oreos, Nutter Butters, Muddy Buddies, and Honey BBQ Frito's for a relaxing night in with our lovely TV. From there, it was a calming night of Food Network (mainly Cutthroat Kitchen) and fooood :)   

A long day once again, but absolutely worth it; there were a ton of annoying concert-goers that we had to deal with (even moms who stood in the crowd with their children...seriously?) and we had a lot of issues with tall people (I'm so jealous of y'all) standing right in front of us. But I'd do it again any day...anything for you, Jesse. 

Heading out!

I need more Hawaiian Pizza Bagels in my life...

Magic Man

Walk Off the Earth

The Neighbourhood (edited with their signature black and white style)

Jesse Rutherford. Yes. 

The beach ball stash...this is what you get, JetBlue.

We were super close for Death Cab!! (Jokes.)

Our hard-earned feast for the night

Boston Calling 2014: Day 1

Hi friends! How are you all?

So I spent this last weekend at Boston Calling 2014! It's a 3-day music festival and it was so cool to go straight from my last day of school to Boston to listen to Jack Johnson, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and so many more bands just a few hours later. Talk about a BOMB graduation present...thanks, Mom and Dad <3

Just to give you a quick summary of what went down over the weekend, let me divulge what happened on each day in a few posts, just so its not one ridiculously long post:

FRIDAY: Day 1
The Last Day of School, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and Jack Johnson

-The last day of school: filled with pictures taken from my family's nice camera, quick last-minute touch-ups on Hannah and I's last Stats project (and high school project) EVER, and casual chats

-9:45 am: Went outside, signed yearbooks, took more photos, and ate ice cream sandwiches
-Went back home, packed for the weekend, and got picked up by Edlyn's mom around 3:30

-Picked up Edlyn from her internship at Genzyme, then went to Riverside to take the T into Boston
-Got into Boston, made it to our hotel (Harborside Inn) and checked in!
Our room was absolutely awesome- very nautical themed, which I loved. I've attached pictures below!

-Left for the concert! We first got dinner after getting into the plaza, which ended up being Halal (a plate of rice, lettuce, chicken, lamb, and pita bread with garlic and BBQ sauce. It was delicious....) and free appetizers from a T.G.I. Friday's food truck (potato skins and Oreo ice cream & brownie sundaes)

-Listened to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros! They gave a great performance; I wasn't really familiar with their music, but I definitely like them a lot more now and will check them out. They performed "Home" which I did know and like!

-Jack Johnson was next! He was amazing and I do love his happy, chill energy! He was so funny; one of the first things he said was "So this is what you guys call summer, huh? I had to put on shoes today..." Oh, don't mock us Jack...we know Boston's weather is bipolar and sucky sometimes. It's very sad. We know. Banana Pancakes was amazing: he let this girl in the crowd come up and play it on the guitar with him...I would have done anything to be her :(

-We went back to the hotel after escaping through the giant crowds and went to bed around midnight or 1. Great start to an awesome weekend! I've included some of the best photos below:

The lines outside the festival

JACK JOHNSON!!

A shot of my halal dinner :D

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

The hotel lobby

Our hotel room! Not pictured: a massive full length mirror :D

The Last Full Day of High School

Gosh, I'm so torn about all of this. My last real day of school: over.

In one way, I'm feeling really uncertain about the future. It's going to be sad to leave such a familiar lifestyle and setting behind.

For example, I ate my last lunch in the cafeteria today (the usual spring mix salad with cucumbers, sliced almonds, turkey slices, and cranberries). I will never prepare another lunch for myself as a high school student. Of course, I'll still be busy with my mother and father's salads/sandwiches during the next few weeks, so I won't go through complete withdrawal, but it's insanely weird to think about.
I've made it through at least 10 years of school without ever really having my lunches prepared for me. Let's see how college dining goes...no doubt, I'll be happy with our top ranked dining facilities and amazing LA establishments. It's a good four years to be a college foodie :P

Also, I had my last VHS periods in the library...the god-awful technology in that place gave me a proper farewell by making me go through three computers before I could use a functioning "Netbook". I swear that I will never miss those Satanic creations. They shut down on you, give you godforsaken excuses to block you from logging in, take five months and three weeks to load, deleting all your work because of a distorted keyboard...so glad I'm done with that crap. Typing on my old MacBook feels like paradise in comparison <3 It's Apple or die, I'm afraid!

I'll be completely honest; in most cases, I'm a wicked sentimental person. I save all of the letters that people write me, and often take photos of the letters I write people. (Yeah, I write letters to friends. Old-fashioned and proud. I'll conform when I die!)

Thus, it's almost impossible for me to feel no sadness over finishing high school. There's so much that I've been through here. So many memories. So many great times...and so many bad times, too. I'll get into more of those stories when I have time.
Most likely, I'll post a variety of throwbacks in college when I'm feeling all sappy and mushy and emotional about how "the time has flown by so fast and now we're all at different points in our lives and aren't together anymore". We'll see...I'm usually pretty good at being honest to myself. It's both a blessing and a curse.

Anyways, I am definitely happy to be done with high school for now. There have been countless times during these years when I've honestly felt unhappy with the people and environment in which I am surrounded by. I promise, I don't mean to sound unappreciative or careless; it's just that I truly feel like I'm not at all in the same world in which my peers are. It's simultaneously comforting and depressing. Ah, well...I can deal!

When I talk to friends sometimes, I feel disillusioned, like we don't understand each other or we don't mesh the way we used to. It's a terrible feeling, you know? That's reality, though. I still love them and see them as my friends, but we've all changed so much and the distinctions have become so obvious these past few months.

I'm ready for college. I'm so ready for independence, to get thousands of miles away from the bubble of protection that is basically my entire world right now. I've gotten many tastes of an independent life before, and I've loved it every single time. So, I think I'm right to feel completely comfortable and enthusiastic about life at UCLA.

I just wanted to post my thoughts after coming home from my last day of high school, officially. It was nice; filled with cake, food, and casual conversations. Pretty predictable. Anywho, we're wrapping things up here at Westborough High School and are so close now to so many events. The next week or two should be suuuuper exciting and fun. Still so much more to come! I'll continue to give updates! For now, I need to get in some z's, because I've been seriously deprived of those lately. Good night! Peace and love, my friends.

"I Don't Get the Title..."

If you're just a bit confused about the title of my blog (One Girl, Two Coasts), I'd probably assure you that all will be explained in this post, then advise you to use your deductive reasoning skills.The first part of the title isn't hard, I know. As I've said before, I'm a girl. Pretty certain about that at this point. Therefore, our first conclusion can be: one girl = me.

Secondly, two coasts....well, I've lived in the United States for my whole life, and this country does have two coasts, does it not?Yes, the East Coast has been my home up until now. I'm a proud Boston girl who has loved her time in New England thus far. If you laud the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, or Pats near me, you will undoubtedly get on my good side, and the Zhang family trips have frequently included journeys to nearby Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. But that's just one coast.

Well, that's about to change. I'm officially headed for the West Coast in the fall! I'll be a freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), which is still SUCH an exciting thing to say. Goooo Bruins!!!! The mascot actually works out perfectly for me, since I naturally root exclusively for the B's, hockey-wise. Guess I'm a Bruin on multiple levels now :D

Anyways, I hope that clears things up for those of you on my blog who aren't my mother or very close friends. Cheers!

Getting Started: Welcomes & Introductions

Hi there! Welcome to One Girl, Two Coasts! 

Please stop for a drink and a rest here before you continue to journey on to other fun places on the World Wide Web. This is a happy, loving, and accepting environment. Thanks for joining!

My name is Melissa Zhang. I'm 18 years old, I live about a half hour away from Boston, Massachusetts, and I've lived around the Boston area my whole life. 

This is a little creation on the Interwebs that I decided to start at the end of my senior year of high school. It's around this point that everyone is starting to say goodbye and whatnot, and I figured that it would be nice to have ONE place to show my family and friends what I'm up to and what I'm doing. 

I was thinking that people (okay, let's be honest: my mom) would be curious as to what I'll  be doing over the summer during my international and domestic travels...and more importantly, what types of adventures I'll be having once I start my four years of college! 

So, this blog will be a miscellaneous, varied collection of posts about traveling and trips, FOOD, life, college, and much more. I'm not that interesting, but I'd love it if you checked some of my posts out!