i went to the arts county fair at ubc last night. it was pretty fun. despite the patchy-rainy conditions. but that’s the rainforest of the west for you. the bands included canadian acts such as swollen members, big wreck, and the tea party. it definitely gave me a greater respect for live acts.

the party was wild with over 15,000 people at thunderbird stadium. i saw a lot of friends i haven’t seen a long while. it was wonderful seeing a mixture of groups at the event, some you see everyday and even those with whom you just have passing encounters. everyone was so friendly and talkative. hmm, i’m thinking the strangely potent canadian beer had something to do with that, though. as my friends started their little sesh at the top of the hill, a stumbling graduate student gave us his advice for the future, after having survived several years as a student at ubc. it was enlightening, to say the least.

of course, with so many students getting rowdy, there were several fights that broke out. security was running all over the venue and drunken frat boys were attempting to hop the fences into the neverending line-up for alcohol. apart from the cider tasting like stanky urine (which i guess i’d have no experience with), the drinks were pretty intoxicating. i’m not much of a drinker. in fact, i’m what you would call a “cheap drunk”. plus, every sip i took made me want to vomit — beer tastes something awful to me.

everytime my friends and i attempted to get into the crowd closest to the stage, we would constantly be squished and pushed around. it got very crowded very fast. it’s quite something, though, to see thousands of people jumping to music at the same time, forming a huge wave-like movement among the bodies.

i had fun. i haven’t had such fun in a long time. it felt good.