BEST WEEKEND EVER!
This was my best weekend of the summer by far...it doesn't take much to please me. Just give me some sunshine, free music, and the last installment in the Harry Potter series...and I'm golden.
I cannot recall if I mentioned this earlier but The Village Voice (a free local newspaper in New York that has made its living on being "edgy" and "underground") throws a free music festival every summer on Coney Island called The Siren Music Festival. This year, I went for one band only (although there were many reputable acts in the line-up), and this band is called Dr. Dog. They released their critically-lauded album "We All Belong" in early 2007, and my dear friend Alex (who attends Emerson and is one of the head honchos at their remarkable radio station) introduced me to them. They are wonderful. The Village Voice described them best, and I will post that description as soon as I get back home...because it is quite poetic. Anyway, on Friday, Alex came down from Boston to come to the Dr. Dog show with me. We went over to Brooklyn where we went to his cousin's bar called Bar Sputnik. It is this great lounge-y place with good drinks...they have a website. Google them. Give them some business! I know there are a lot of Conn students in Brooklyn.
We had a lovely night out on the town, and then we woke up early to travel to Coney Island...and we decided that an amazing horror movie could take place on Coney Island because there is this feeling of decay and neglect that surrounds the whole park. The rides are empty, and there are traces of its vaudevillian past that add a gothic air to the park. In short, it is creepy. Like everyone turns into vampires or zombies when the sun goes down. But, I won a free White Stripes poster at a booth and Dr. Dog put on a great show. And I got royally sunburned.
That afternoon I went back home, so I could pick up my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!!! I read night and day and finished Sunday around 4 pm. It was a worthy final chapter in the Harry Potter series, and although there are some disappointments and certain things I wish J.K. Rowling had elaborated on, I did not sink into the deep depression that I feared. I have been a Harry Potter fan from the very beginning, with my first 3 books in the series signed by J.K. Rowling. So, the closing of the Harry Potter series is like the ending of my childhood...which now that I'm going to be a senior in college, is a good thing. I was ready for the books to be over, and to turn this all into a corny metaphor, I'm ready for my future to begin!
Finally, I finally achieved my summer-long goal and saw The White Stripes last night at Madison Square Garden!!!!!!!!!!!! I simply cannot articulate how special and powerful this little band is. Jack and Meg White have this cosmic connect to each other and their chemistry is just amplified when they take the stage. Everything seems electric and spontaneous and living and breathing. They really deserve all the acclaim they get because they are keeping up with tradition and stress the importance of true, live, authentic music...which everyone knows is getting harder and harder to come by. I am still exhilarated by the show, but I am very happy to be back at work again...putting my two feet back on the ground.
This summer has not only been significant in my development as an individual in the working world, but it has also been crucial to my happiness. I have gotten to accomplish and experience certain things that I could only do now...and as I am turning into a more accomplished, happier, prouder person, my relationships with others are strengthening. I have made some good friends at work, and my friendships from home have greatly benefited due to my surge in self-esteem and confidence. My mother told me before this summer started that this was going to be an incredibly important and rewarding time in my life...and she is right. At first, I didn't think that I was changing all that much, but now that my summer is coming to a close...I am seeing all that I have done both externally and internally. I know that there is something I want to do with my life, and I am ready to embrace my senior year (although, admittedly, I am still quite scared to graduate)!
Corny self-actualizing rant complete.