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| quote: | Originally posted by StereoPrincess
I am using this thread sort of as my Miami memoir so don't mind the random posts.
Margaret's Advice for WMC goers:
1. Don't time things to the hour. In Miami, hours disappear like air. If you think you can get somewhere by a certain time, you are DEAD wrong. This goes from the moment you land to the moment you leave.
2. Do not drink too much at night. The bars are open all night and therefore once you start drinking, nothing is there to stop you, you will continue to drink until you pass out or get kick out of a bar or find a cab home and have no way of paying for it.
3. Eat. You will not last a day if you don't eat. Food can be cheap or expensive. Your choice. Try different foods that you don't usually get to have.
4. Get cheap sunglasses. Lots of them. Sales for 5$ sunglasses are on every corner. They are cheaper than a drink.
5. Bring a sweater EVERYWHERE. Like they say, "if you don't like the weather in Miami, wait 5 minutes". This goes both ways, good weather to bad weather and vice versa. A sweater can be used for many different things so it's not that big of a deal to bring it with you.
6. FOR GIRLS. Do not think that you can spend 2 hours getting ready to go out. Only care about the basics - tinted mosturizer, mascara, lipgloss. Everyone looks hot after a few hours in Miami from the glow of the sun. Hair - if you can put it up, do it, wear a hat, whatever. You don't want people to be waiting for you, you don't want to be occupying a bathroom too long.
7. Go to the beach. Don't spend all you time at events and clubs. You don't want to be coming back to winter and saying that you never even stepped foot on south beach. (this is acheived a bit by going to Nikki Beach).
8. GO TO NIKKI BEACH. Can't stress this enough. It's a place you don't want to miss EVER. Preferrably a day party that they hold there. AND HAVE A MOJITO, dammit. You don't want to go to Nikki Beach and not have a mojito.
9. Take a lot of pictures. Tons and tons and tons and tons. If you camera takes video, do it! You won't regret looking at the shit after. I think I will be looking at photos for the rest of the year.
10. Drugs. If you like to participate in this activity, KNOW you own limits. Don't think that you can do as much as you normally do. Start very very very slow. If you over do it in the first 3 days, you miss the last 4 days. Also, at one time, if you think you can do a certain dose, you are WRONG. There are elements that come into play that you don't have an idea how it will affect you. Get health insurance, it costs a lot to go to the hospital.
11. Book time off after your return. At least 3 days of work would have been good for me. I had one day off but the other two days, I was a mess at work.
12. Mental health. When you return, you will be fucked up, it's guaranteed. The combination of leaving such a nice place and the mental drain of it, will cause you to have feelings like you never had before. Prepare, and most often, keep your mouth shut for the next 5 days. This was most important for me. After training so long, nothing prepares you for the sketchfest that is your brain after WMC.
13. Go to Ultra. Your first time, you must go to Ultra. Go early, as soon as gates open. If you don't, you won't get in. And a lot of good acts play during the day. When you get there, take the time to get comfortable with all the areas so you know the quick ways of getting from one place to another. This way you minimize the time you spend between acts searching for things. Eat a big breakfast before Ultra because food and drinks are very expensive there. BRING A SWEATER.
14. Earplugs. Bring them, use them, DO IT. Space is SOOOOOO loud that your ears will bleed. You need the earplugs to keep the blood in your head.
15. Space tickets (others may differ). Do not pre-purchase Space tickets for the later nights. There will be sketchbags all over the place trying to get rid of their ticket. Offer them the price they paid. Also Space is just like any other super club, don't go there every night, pick one night and stay the whole time. You will get to see those DJs back home anyways. Go to Space to experience Space not the music (unless it's Sasha and Digweed).
16. Have cash on you. Your credit card may not work. Your debit card probably won't work. At Space, you need a credit card and ID, make sure that your name matches exactly on both (ran into this problem).
17. Plan for at least 400 dollar phone bill when you return to Canada. That way you won't be shocked when it arrives. Do as much as possible to get certain plan changes to your phone done before you leave. Add text messages (doesn't make a difference for roaming), add long distance minutes. Talk to your cell phone provider, they will help you.
18. SUNSCREEN. Apply sunscreen like it's your job. Even the very last day you are there. Reapply after rain or swimming. Keep applying because there are always spots you miss. Don't worry about getting a tan, it will happen.
19. Take the bus at least once. It's really fun seeing the locals and talking to the locals. They all have cool stories.
20. Make sure that at any moment you have a place to go back and sleep at. If you are sharing a hotel, make sure you have access to it at all times. Sometimes the two hours of sleep you catch a day is the most important thing.
21. Don't be dragged around by everyone else and what they are doing. Do what you want to do.
22. Plan parties for months before. Always know what's going on at what time and where it is. I spend hours looking at parties and looking for DJs to check out.
23. Every year there are must see DJs but until the following DJs stop spinning, make a point to see them just once, even if it is at Ultra and for 15 minutes: Danny Tenaglia, Carl Cox, Sasha and/or Digweed, Pete Tong, Sander K, and Deep Dish. These guys will infuse you with the spirit of WMC. Seeing Danny Tenaglia step from behind the decks and do what can only be described as the Deltron Shuffle is unforgettable and I could have left Miami. |
Someone DEFINITELY misses Miami....
Great post, Marg.
I predict this thread will go on until May.
Where are Del's posts? 
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"When I die, I want to be buried under the dancefloor"- Frankie Madgenta
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