ALL TIME LOW & WWIM x2

Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day from Brighton! I started the morning exploring unfamiliar parts of Brighton with Savannah and Katie. We popped into a random teashop where I had a piece of carrot cake and a pot of tea for breakfast, which was pretty solid. 

Afterwards, we walked towards the pier and too our surprise the sky and pier had a nice haze, it was pretty sweet (of course I took pictures but that’s no surprise). Afterwards, we met up with Eric and McLaren with the plan of heading to a pub but since it was starting to get a bit chilly, we headed home to grab coats but we headed right back to the city centre to join everyone else for the night. 

Before heading to the pub, a few of us hopped off the bus to head to the Level (and some background on The Level aka a park, we had always passed it on the way to the city centre and I always mentioned how fun it’d be at night when no one else is around; so that night, we went for it). We then headed to the main street of pubs that we knew would have things going on the evening and a few of us were able to score a few free things like a sweet gear and even a few of my mates got their face painted.

The following day it just so happened to be a chill day. I took that day to catch up on some photo editing, shared a box of mac & cheese with Katie, skyped several different people and to do some laundry. College and studying abroad made me really appreciate social inventions such as Skype because it gives me the chance to chat with people overseas and I think it is so amazing that we are able to do that. Like, can you imagine? People back then had pigeons and people on horses to deliver letters, CRAZY! Speaking of deliveries, I got a package from my mom with some knickknacks, chocolate, goldfish, sriracha sauce, letters from a few friends, and clothes that I ordered online. I am mentioning that I received package because it is crazy to me that it is my last one I will get until I am back at home!!! HOME AKA WASHINGTON. AHHH, I don’t want to think about that yet though.

Any who, let me tell you about something really quick… ALL TIME FREAKIN LOW!! So they had a show this week that was at Wembley Arena in London and I have wanted tickets since summer but sadly, they sold out super quick! My friend Jordan from California was going to be in London for it and I was dying to go even more because I’ve been wanting to meet her since forever. Long story short about the tickets, I would probably check once a week on stubhub to see the prices and they were all overpriced… so one day I desperately tweeted how I wanted a GA ticket for their show and a week before their show I got a handful of tweets and I found one for FACE VALUE! Of course I bought it and the day had finally come: it was the day of the show! I hopped on the train that morning to head to Buckingham Palace to meet up with Jordan but it was not easy to find her. I needed to top-up my phone and I had no way of contacting her. I walked to the closest shop with wifi and I finally found her!!! 

We did a few stops for sight seeing but then it was time to head to Wembley via tube. We got there several hours early and we were both itching to get inside. We both planned to some how find each other in the crowd since Jordan had meet & greet and I had to go to a completely separate queue but keep in mind that this show is sold out and there are over 12,000 people.

I was determined, but lost a little hope when I saw how long the basic general admission queue was. It was finally doors open; I rushed inside and got merch and ran to the area for floor seating. No sign of Jordan but Real Friends came on stage. During their set, I met some rad people in the crowd and we all jammed together but I lost them because I was trying to cram to the front because I knew that was where Jordan would be. Still no sign and the next band, Neck Deep, came on and midway through their set I met some other awesome individuals who I stuck around for a bit (sadly I can’t remember their names) but then I FINALLY FOUND JORDAN! 

She was right at the barricade, but I decided to stay back to let the people who were there have their spots because I would be mad if someone just swiped where I was if I waited in line for ages; I was about three people away from the barricade so I was content. Finally intermission happened then ATL’s intro and the crowd went ballistic. Long amazing story short: the concert was filled with rad vibes, good tunes, awesome effects, new friends, and sweaty people. Besides the fact I felt like I broke my foot, the show was so bloody good and I didn’t get kicked in the face from crowd surfers so that’s great. 

It is so awesome being a fan of a band for so long that I literally grew up with them. Seeing them for the first time ever in a small venue in Seattle then now in a sold out arena show in London! I am so proud of those guys even though I don’t actually knew them personally. After the show, Jordan and I were starving, and I haven’t eaten since 10 that morning and it was about midnight. We headed to the only thing open which happened to be McDonalds. We waited in the queue and I have never been so happy to get my large Fanta and nuggs. We than hurried over to the tubes, we said our good byes and went to our separate stops. I ran and caught the last train at the London-Victoria station with three minutes to spare. 

I finally got to Brighton Station but with the construction on the train tracks, I had to hop on a bus that would take me to Falmer Station which TOOK FOREVER. I didn’t get back to my room until about four in the morning. I almost forgot to mention that the entire concert was filmed for a DVD that they will be releasing this summer and I popped up on the screen a few times so maybe I will be in it!! We’ll see. :)

It seriously felt like my eyes just closed when my alarm rang the next morning at 6 AM. It was time to head to London, again! This time for the Socality-Worldwide Instameet. There I met up with another new friend, Katya, who is also a photographer for Local Wolves. We then headed to the meet up spot which was the Millennium Bridge, which happens to be the bridge that was in Harry Potter that the dementor destroyed (which I thought was sick).

 Any who, it was a really awesome meeting fellow instagrammers from all over (like LA, England, Australia, and more)! Being able to hang out with individuals who share the same interests as you is awesome and refreshing, as well as getting to know their dreams and just chattin in general. I had to leave the meet early for a shoot I had set up for Local Wolves. At this point of the day I was crashing hardcore due to the fact I was running on 1.5 hours of sleep but I luckily pushed through the shoot! The day was full of constant moving and photo-taking so that helped as well. It was finally time to head home after a long day and I got home and plopped into bed because I honestly could not keep my eyelids open any longer but the week festivities don’t end there.

@fordamanda95 aka name twin aka Amanda one of the lovely individuals I met at the WWIM in London

The next day, was the WWIM in Brighton and I had Katie to join me. It was really nice meeting fellow photographers in the city that I lived in and making new friends. Since I was so tired and my foot hurt… Katie and I dipped out early and I just chillaxed back at home. It was a nice end to the long but excting  weekend.

taken by Katie Busch

Although it was a busy busy busy week, it was well worth losing sleep and sore feet. That just means for the next week I got to use it to catch up on sleep and relax before Spring Break. Here goes nothing!!!

TACO NIGHT - Flat Dinner. x

Cheers!!!

Amanda

#nowplaying: Kids in the Dark – All Time Low

These events were between the lovely days of the 17/3/2015 to 22/3/2015.