Random Stuff

#FBF 10/23/15 (#2)

     Today is full of minute-by-minute flashbacks to one year ago. In fact, one year ago at the very moment I'm writing this, I was probably watching my cat listen to 016. I remember this as being one of the most revolutionary days in my early Monstercat fanhood. I was so excited when I discovered early that morning through Monstercat's Facebook that they were playing every album mix through Twitch that day, and I immediately tuned in. I knew I'd have to do school, of course, but I was determined to get as much out of the 24-hour continuous stream as I possibly could. I remember first tuning in when they were partway through 009, and wanting to listen to just a bit more before math. I vaguely remember checking in for the 010 mix. I remember the 011 mix (which I've listened to since), hearing Harmony for the first time and falling in love (I got so caught up in everything else that day that I forgot to look it up until Podcast 033 slammed it in my face a week or two later). I remember sitting on my bed with my iPad charging while listening to the House -> Skywards -> Reasons sequence in Best of 2012, and being SO happy when Reasons came on...and the whole time it was playing. My mom and I were just going to start reading, so I took my iPad in to show her, exclaiming "They're playing my favorite song!" or something like that. I remember when both the Dawn Mix and the Dusk Mix of 013 came on, setting my iPad on the dining room table and dancing around while getting wrapped up in the vibe of Collide, and cleaning the bathroom to Sweet and Astrocat. I remember planning ahead and knowing I'd have to go to karate that night, but hoping so deeply that I'd get to hear a few select tracks from Outlook first (I didn't get to hear Through the Dark, but I got to hear From the Dust and Motionless so I was happy). I remember knowing that Motionless would be at the beginning of one of the mixes (because I listened to one or both of the mixes a LONG time ago, and I still remember hearing From the Dust for the first time at nighttime...yeah, hugely incredible memory), but I wasn't sure which one. When Reflection came on, my heart sank when I realized it was the other mix and I might have to leave before then. I remember hearing From the Dust, playing the along with To the Stars on the piano, then the other mix coming on right before I left, so I got to hear Motionless and the Collide remix (which I came up with an insane dance for). I remember my cat listening to the 016 mix and purring, and I remember seeing the very old Welcome to the Family sign in the upper left corner (this was before "Monstercat FM" even existed). I remember the Abyss and Zenith album mixes, and checking in for 018 just before bed (according to my screenshots, I stayed up until 11:46 PM for some reason), and the Horizon mix playing (it could've been Here It Comes, or maybe that was just a daydream of mine). I knew the 019 mixes were going to premiere (unless the premiere was on the 21st), and I estimated that they'd be on at 2:00/3:00 AM, so I basically just gave up because I knew I could never stay up that late. But that day has still been the best Throwback Thursday ever to this day, including the unveiling of the 005 art and the Reunited map (I actually did find a cat sometime the next day but it had already been taken xD).
     However, my fondest memory from that day, which I didn't mention, was definitely the 012 mixes, when the fans' fondest memories from a year-and-a-half-old Monstercat showed up on the screen one after another while the music played in the background. I was already mindblown by the Endeavour Week schedule with so many events for the fans to enjoy, and through these mixes, I was not only finding out how much of a family Monstercat is, but I was hearing other fans' stories of how they found that out for themselves. It's amazing even now to see that back when Monstercat was only 1 1/2 years old, the fans felt the exact same way that I do today about the community. That we've grown in more than one way. That we've come so far, and we've done it together. During one of the mixes, I actually found a fan with the same story as my own, how he'd found Monstercat through CaptainSparklez, Stephen Walking, and Top of the World. I screenshotted a bunch of the stories from the very beginning. Part of the time, I was home alone, trying to focus on piano and getting screenshots of every story in between scales (I don't know what I was thinking). I eventually forced myself to shut the iPad down for at least a little bit to finish piano, then I turned it right back on as soon as I was done. I set it on the dining room table, running back and forth between the kitchen (where the WiFi is terrible) and the dining room while making lunch so I wouldn't miss a screenshot (I actually succeeded), then finally realized the album mixes would be on YouTube and I could look at them anytime I wanted (*facepalm*). But still, I'm glad I got those screenshots. I was looking back over them this afternoon, but it wasn't until this evening that I realized I was taking a video with my camera when the 012 mix came on. Thus, I literally have a video of myself taking the very screenshot that's in the media above. This might seem crazy to you, but since I am very sensitive (and also was listening to the Color Source remix of The Girl on MCFM while I realized this), this realization was very emotional. I'd also recorded the moment when Reflection ended and Visionary began, and I got massive chills today when watching the part when Motionless came on. Through my hard drive, I accessed photos I'd taken with my camera that day as well as ones I'd taken with my iPad and since deleted from it. I also looked at some of the album mix tracklist and discovered memories that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. The deeper I dive into this day a year ago, the more memories I get back. Some of these memories are vague now, but the reason I take so many screenshots is to keep these memories, and right now I couldn't be happier that I did. This morning I listened to Monstercat FM during math (90 minutes long) to commemorate this occasion, and I listened some tonight too. It was so much fun. Monstercat streams never fail to make me happy. I can't believe all the things that have happened in the past year, things that have proven to me even more that Monstercat is the only label that's so much of a family it doesn't even deserve to be called a label. Because even though that's what we all say it is, that's not what it feels like anymore to me, and I discovered that very recently. It no longer feels like a label to me. It feels like a family. I think once you reach that point with Monstercat, you're set in with the family forever, no matter what comes. And, like a fan once said, the craziest thing is knowing that there's still more to come. I can't wait to see what's next. Who's up for it, fam?