New York
Midtown. NY,NY. 1.20.18
When your dad calls and asks "Hey do you want to go to New York to watch the Gophers play basketball and hockey at Madison Square Garden?" there aren't a lot of justifiable reasons to say no. Thankfully, this weekend was way warmer than my previous experiences in New York, which made for a much more enjoyable time walking around seeing the city. I am always impressed with the length of my brother's strides (he thinks its normal to walk 30 blocks in 30 minutes) as I have to do that awkward jog thing whenever he is really focused on getting somewhere. However, he is amazing to be in any big city with because he is the best tour guide ever. We inherited the gene from our father that allows us to map our surroundings in a grid like form (this is really a thing, I read it in a biopsychology class a few years ago) and since he lived in NYC for four years, he's literally a human app telling me which things are where and what train we need to catch when. The games were fun to attend; it will always give me goosebumps hearing the Minnesota rouser reverberate around an arena.
The coolest event we went to was a train ride away in Brooklyn where one of Derrick's college friends invited us to a sold out concert. We had no idea who the artist was or what we were getting ourselves into, but I swear we were on a magic subway train because we got transported back to the 80's the minute we stepped into the venue hall, located in the back of a vinyl store. The band was called Minute Magic (sounds like a new type of rice or oatmeal brand I know) but they sounded like they made the Star Trek soundtrack. The band had two trumpets, a trombone, a drummer, and a guy on they keyboards making the scene come alive with those wacky tones you only associate with space travel and WALLE and moon rocks. The lead singer was the sassiest performer I have ever seen and her facial expressions and erratic movements absolutely stole the show. Everyone in the audience was the definition of a true hipster, as Brooklyn always boasts to be. These people were dressing in the craziest items all influenced by the corduroy and turtleneck era and didn't seem to care about spilling drinks while they danced hard throughout the night. I have never been to a concert quite like that, but it was an incredible experience that I will not forget soon.
The best part of the weekend was being able to have some good beer over better conversations. I am really enjoying my free time this semester, feeling less anxious and more present without the weight of Division I athletics on my shoulders. This freedom has allowed me to explore some of my passions a little more and has also allowed me to nap probably more than any human should. It is also driving me a bit bonkers because I feel like I am forgetting to do something all the time. I'm trying to lean into this space and allow my body and mind to relax more, we will see where this semester takes me.
2/52