Mika & Mystery Illness / Epiphany version deux
Now that I have your attention, I have much to report, obviously.
It's all under the two cuts! The two major things that all ye have missed out on in the past month! (Including full-sized pics!!)
I was very, very quiet about this, but I think in early February I found out (on myspace) that Mika was playing in Canada! Now, I'm not usually one to pay a lot of money to fly out and see a band (ignore Q+PR from last year!), and I thought, "you know, I am stressed and I want to see him live. I am going to this." I bought a ticket about a week before they sold out and convinced my parents that I needed a "dry run" before Australia, so that they could trust me flying alone, since I've never done it before. Obviously they agreed!
So Wednesday morning I flew out to Toronto by myself (Kevin Martin, the Edmonton-born curling captain was on my plane! How cool is that? I guess only if you appreciate curling... Never mind.) And got to my Holiday Inn hotel in downtown Toronto by 4:30pm. I checked in and called my friend Lana and met up with her in front of the Mod Club Theatre at 5pm. And so we waited. It was such an amazing time!! As the day progressed, more people showed up and we just had such fun killing time because doors opened at 8! However, at around 6 a certain tall, brown-eyed, curly-haired gentleman walked by us in the line to do a soundcheck! He signed some people's CDs... I made an awkward joke which he didn't notice and went in. That was my first encounter! But not the last for sure!
By 8, everyone was cold and ready to go in (I was actually OK, because Alberta weather sucks and my feet were actually the only really cold things coz I had my Chucks on). As soon as the doors opened, Lana, her friend Chris and I marched inside the Mod Club, greeted with a balloon sword with a heart on the end and a high-five from a clown on stilts! Lollipops were available and there was licorice too! I went straight to the stage. I WAS AT THE FRONT, IN FRONT OF THE MIKE. AT CROTCH-LEVEL, as the girls behind us pointed out!
Mr. Mika didn't come out until 9:30pm, decked out in a zippie with Michelangelo's "Birth of Man". We made a lot of new friends around us: Leah, the tiny girl who drank about 4-5 beers and was hammered by the end of the concert, which will come into play later; Leah's friend Justin; Sam, who at the Much Music session from the night before gave Mika a sign that said "Mika, you are as delicious as fresh-baked falafel!"; and these two girls behind us with funny dance moves, I can't remember either of their names but one of them was incredibly tall and they both adored David Bowie!
Mika was incredible. Holy animal costumes and bubbles for the closing song, Lollipop!! He played almost everything from the album except Happy Ending and Any Other World, and had a new song called Holy Johnny. His best song was by far Love Today, as it got everybody singing and dancing along! He is a wonderful performer, although at times he sang to his guitarist (Lana, the girls behind us, Chris and I think they may have something between them! =( Sad!). But by the end of the show his talent shone through. The accoustics were all right - for Stuck in the Middle the guitar overpowered him and I think we could only hear him because we were right at the front. Other than that, I have no complaints. Yes, his voice is as amazing live as it is on the album! Absolutely incredible! I was very pleased! A friend of mine had recorded a bunch of the songs, if you want to check out YouTube it's all here.
Now after the show is something to talk about! We immediately headed outside because Lana thought he was coming outside. We waited in the front and checked the back of the club, which was dark and gritty so we decided to go back to the front. Then I suggested he might be coming out inside, so we headed back. Leah at this point was shouting to the roadies onstage. There was this one Irish guy who kept making fun of her and she had no idea because she was so smashed! His band was mingling with the crowd and I told them all good job, but as to where Mika was we didn't know yet! Finally, a large man said, "follow me" and led a bunch of us upstairs to this smooozing party scene.
Somebody then led a small group of us to the side bar where they told us Mika would come in a moment. We waited about 10 minutes and Leah went off to find him. About a minute later I had enough and made us go to the smoozing scene. Chris looks over to the "VIP section" and there's Leah with Mika! We all head in and I go to the man. It will be far easier to read if I do a script version of the dialogue:
Mika is with Leah, signing her ticket. Leah is rambling and drunkedly mumbling.
[Mika and I make eye contact]
Me: She (Leah)'s really drunk!"
[He finishes up with people and comes towards me. I stick out my hand]
Me: Julia. [hand shake]
Mika: Hi, Julia. How're you?
Me: Good. I'm good. [pause] Good show tonight. Love Today was very well done.
Mika: Thank you.
Lana: She came from Alberta!
Mika: Alberta?
Lana: That's like 3 provinces away!
[Mika's eyes widen a bit]
Me: Yeah.. [pause] Could you perhaps sign my ticket?
Mika: Sure! [signs]
Me: And a picture. But let's make it artistic! (I didn't want one of those fan/celebrity pictures. I can edit that myself!)
Mika: Artistic? Ok.
[picture is taken]
Me: Thanks!
Mika: No problem, see ya! [goes to other fans, passes Lana on the way] Hey, how're you.
Lana: Good thanks. [puzzled]
Girls: Can you sign the balloon?
Mika: Sure! Lana, hold this. [gives Lana balloon]
Lana: OK... (??)
Leah: Hi!
Mika: It's you again?
Leah: [drunken slur] Can you sign this CD? Coz you signed the ticket but you wrote 'to Leah and Justin' and I wanted something to have just 'to Leah' on it.
Mika: [smiles] You are one persistent motherfucker!
Leah: Fuck you!
Justin: [shrieking] THAT'S MY CD! SHE DOESN'T EVEN OWN YOUR CD!!
Leah: Fuck you, Justin!
Mika: OK FINE! 'To Princess Leah, this is NOT your fucking CD!'
[laughter, Mika leaves]
Lana: Hey, we want a picture too! [we three follow him to the next room]
Girls: Mika! Picture! [to Chris] Can you take it for us?
Chris: I will take your picture as long as we get one after. That's my condition! [takes picture]
Mika: Ok! [comes towards me and starts to put his arm around me]
Me: No, you already did me back there! It's them! [I point to Lana and Chris]
Mika: Oh, that's right! Julie, is it?
Me: Juli-A. JULIA!
Mika: Oh yeah, sorry! [starts to put arms around Lana and Chris]
Me: Right, and you're... Mike, is it?
Mika: [smiling and leans forward] No, it's John!!
Me: Right! John! [smack head] [picture is taken*] [I give camera back to Chris]
[we all stand for a second. Mika is looking downward ATMYCHEST]
[Mika picks up my green beads slightly and drops them]
Lana: Give them to him!
Me: No, these aren't Mardi Gras beads!
Mika: What??
Me: Oh, she said give you the beads and I said no they're not Mardi Gras beads.
Mika: Oh, I don't want them.
Me: Oh, I know.
Mika: Coz you gotta flash for Mardi Gras beads.
Me: There will be no flashing here unless you want to see these! [gesture toward my chest]
At this point I can't remember how Mika left us, I think other fans started to bug him. We decided to leave, and as we did so I hit his arm and said "Good show, g'bye!"
Lana gave me a ride to my hotel. It was such an amazing night! I'm still not over it, 5 days later. Next day I checked out and went to eat breakfast at the Soho. I actually saw Mika's guitarist walking around, which was cool! No Mika, though. He probably slept in, because I seem to remember him not being a morning person.
*I posted that second photo up mainly because I thought I remembered capturing the little smirk he made after my joke.. But I dunno if it is, after all. Also, Lana's camera is broken which explains that dark splotch on her face. Please note she does not actually have a splotch on her face.
Wow, that was long! But I just had to write it out so I have it forever to cherish and remember. He touched my beads! Yes!
Major Event #2
So the week of the 5th to the 9th, something odd happened. Odd but good, I think, in the grand scheme of things. Monday I went to school like normal, but I was skipping because I was studying for my Wednesday Chem midterm. I started feeling really achey and tired, so I decided to go home. On the bus, my neck was very very itchy. I thought nothing of it and scratched, thinking I should probably just shower when I got home.
When I got home, however, Cathee noticed that I had red blotches all over my neck and back. Hives. I am not allergic to anything, and hadn't done anything out of the ordinary... So I went and studied in bed. As the day progressed, my face swelled (swole?) up. Agatha kept calling me "Elephant Man", at which point I finally gave in to my parents orders and went to a clinic.
I got 2 shots: one in my arm and one in my butt. The latter made me very dizzy and I went to bed. The next day my hives were still there and I felt OK, so I went to my lab. In bio, though, I started feeling sick, and it wasn't just due to finding out that the average for the midterm was 54%. I decided that I felt like too much shit to do an organic chem lab. I went to see a doctor immediately and she couldn't decide what it was. The hives were coming back and I felt awful. She gave me steroids for the hives and I got my blood taken to see if it was an allergic reaction. I studied the best I could for the rest of the night and went to bed.
Next morning, I felt like shit, but decided I should try and stick it out for the midterm. I got in and Sarah and Jordan said I physically looked sick. My hives were all over the place and I felt achey and weak. In the middle of the midterm I decided this wasn't worth screwing up 12.5%... I left and deferred the exam (weight is transferred). I went to the University clinic sleeping on the bed trying to get through the headache and resisting the urge to scratch!
When I got home I slept in front of TV, watching the recorded Oscars I missed for Wolfmother. In the dead of night I felt better, so I prepped myself for my makeup lab and then plucked up the courage to check my Bio mark. I had gotten below average. I freaked out. Then I thought about it: I loved this course, I can do well, I just have too much going on. It took a lot, but then and there I decided to drop Bio 108 and retake it while I could still have some money refunded!
Next day I did my lab (barely) and I went to a doctors appointment. I got more steroids and test results back telling me they still didn't know what it was. I got another blood test just to make sure that the shots I had on Monday hadn't had an effect on the blood test on Tuesday (got a huge cortisone injection), and then went straight to BioSci and dropped the course.
Friday I had an ultrasound scheduled to check my spleen for damage. I was feeling better and had to go to school to finish my Stats lab that was due later that night. Jordan and Derek were very helpful, aka gave me answers, and I went home and relaxed.
The whole illness, as mysterious as it was, made me realize how stressed out I was. I thought about how much pressure I put on myself: Med, work, etc. I've decided to take it one step at a time. I'm going for the degree now and maybe instead will continue my Bio studies abroad, like look for a graduate school in Europe. I've cut down to two days a week at work, I'm taking a leave for exam time so no stress there. Yeah! Complete change! Yay!
So that's what's been down for the past month. Congrats to you if you managed to read through that monster entry.
Much loves!
XOXO -Juli-A