modemgirl

Hey next month I am participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer! The ride goes from Vancouver to Seattle and is a fund raiser, with all proceeds going to fund cancer research by the  BC Cancer society. This is something that I’ve been interested in doing for a while now, being both a cyclist and someone who’s been profoundly impacted by this disease, so when another girl from my work put out the word that she was looking to put together a PEER 1 team I knew this was the year.

So my Surly Long Haul Trucker is going to finally get a chance to do what it was built to do. 227 km in two days, south across the 49th parallel. Me along side thousands of others riding in memory of those we’ve lost and in hope and support of those still fighting the battle. I imagine it’s going to be quite a challenging ride, both physically and emotionally – as I’m assuming the majority of us are not full time long distance cyclists such as the owner of my bike’s brother, IT guru turned renegade tekno cycling nomad. I think most of us are in for a real challenge – Fingers crossed for sunny skies on June 19 and 20th!

I’m sure everyone involved in the ride has their story. Personally, I’ll be riding in honour of my mom, who we lost to pancreatic cancer in January of 1992, when I was 7, as well as her sister who died of lung cancer in 2007, in support of my uncle who is still fighting, and in celebration of a family friend and a loved mentor who have both emerged triumphant from the disease. I’m sure there are countless others in my life who have been affected by this disease, and I’ll be sending love and light to everyone as I peddle down to Seattle next month.

Hey remember back in 2008 when I raised nearly $1000 for chopping all my hair off with a group of girls from my old job? (That’s me in the yellow in case you can’t recognize me in all my business casual glory!) I was overwhelmed by the support from my family and friends that year, and I’m hoping all you wonderful people are still as amazing and generous, because  I have to raise at least $2500 in order to participate in the ride! I still have a long way to go, and I’m counting on support from viewers like you!  Operators are standing by now to take your call…. or you could click on over to my personal fund raising page. Every little bit helps, and there’s an option that allows you to make multiple smaller donations over time which makes donating even easier.

I hope that you’ll all consider sharing this incredible adventure with me by supporting my fund raising efforts.

In advance, I Thank You all SO much for your generosity.

Love and Light,
Serra

i’m going to mutek this year! wow, i’m quite excited at this completely spontaneous decision! i noticed an old, dear friend of mine was going and the next thing i know, thanks to the lovely folks at westjet and their “hey we know you’re all broke so we’ll tantalize you with cheap flights so you’ll spend money you still don’t have” sale, i booked a flight to montreal in time for this year’s installation!

for the past 10 years, mutek has taken place every summer in montreal (with parallel events in mexico, argentina, and chile). the primary focus is on exploration of innovative electronic music and expression / dissemination of new forms of digital art and media, not unlike vancouver’s own new forms festival. featured artists are a diverse representation of renowned international artists such as pheek, alex smoke, deadbeat, sutekh, stephen beaupre, thomas fehlmann, alva nota, apparat, modeselektor, adam marshall, the mole and of course one of my all time favorite producers AKUFEN, to name a few!

mmmmm….. minimal. so much minimal.

bonus: thanks to the rapidfire viral enthusiasm of the internet, mutek 2010 has quickly morphed into what i anticipate will be an awesome reunion as well as a complete and total shitshow. at least 10, but likely closer to 20, of my now grown up old school raver friends will be there! wonderful peeps all the way from vancouver, edmonton, winnipeg and ottawa will be making the journey from our respective lives to reunite for a weekend of dancing,  techno, art, parties, exploring and adventures yet to be conceived!! i can’t wait.

and now for your enjoyment, akufen live from mutek 2001