You have no idea how hard it is to just come out and say that to whoever the hell decides to read this blog. I got carried away in the summer by a new, huge group of friends and a brand new social scene, and everything that I was working so hard to become before had changed, and as it turns out, it wasn't for the best. So naturally, when all of that fell away I felt as though I was left with...nothing.
The last few weeks have been nothing short of hard, this semester has been stressful, and anxiety lurks around every corner. Sarah Kay is known for her spoken word poetry, and in case you don't have enough time to watch the TEDtalk, just read this:
"This life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air."
I began this blog a year and a half ago to get out of a rut, and now I'm using it again for that same purpose. But 6 months is a long time to go without letting you all know what I've been up to, so I'd like to remind myself, that despite going through some shit, I've accomplished some pretty awesome things, and experienced even more. Here are all the things I wish I could have been blogging about all along.
Better late than never?
We took Magic Mirror on the road to the NYC Fringe Festival
The pit in our little black box theatre
It was a long week...
...had to carry both my clarinets AND the bass clarinet. Made going through the turnstiles in the NYC subway an epic endeavor.
Stayed with my best friend, who has an awesome view of Manhattan.
The Fringe crew
I had SIX awesome friends help me finally MOVE OUT. Some of them might be questionable, but they're good people. For the most part.
Moved in to my NEW PLACE
This happened...
Had my birthday, two parties, dinner with friends, and a trip to the hookah lounge.
Saw Bonobo
Went to an art show in Maine...
...and stayed in a haunted house.
Drank a beer flight in Portland
Saw the sun rise and set on Block Island
Went to two full days of the Newport Jazz Festival: Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Marcus Miller, Paquito D'Rivera, Joshua Redman, just some highlights.
Day drank on Block Island
Had a gig on George's Island in the Boston Harbor
Had a blast being Legally BOND for Halloween
Performed Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf Quintet with Symphony Nova players in a FORT
Saw James Blake
Saw one of my best friends play a show
Two of my good friends are back in my life.
This.
Had a happy Drunksgiving
I'm still slightly taller than my little brother
Had Korean BBQ in New York City with one of my best friends.
That was hopefully quick and painless.
Now that you're all caught up I've decided to take it easy this month, finish up the semester, hopefully do something awesome for Christmas, and who knows? January first will be my first 30 day challenge after over half a year, so I've gotta come up with something great.
My goal is to use up the rest of this month to try to get back to where I was. Inspired, reading, running, and living life by my rules, and doing what I want to do.
I'm already getting more excited about music, I just bought a new mouthpiece so I sound good, and I got to coach a sectional with my old youth orchestra today. I downloaded a book onto my Kindle, and although it's not the most uplifting book, I'm looking forward to the read and perspective. It's entitled The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, about Nikki Sixx, from Motley Crue. I'm afraid to go running since it just snowed and it's super icy out, but I did go for a super long walk, where I did a lot of thinking, and decided to put the blog back up.
This is where I did a lot of reflection today.
The inspiration really came when I decided to warm up in a sushi restaurant. Craving something alcoholic, yet warm, I decided to try hot sake for the first time ever (I know...It's taken me this long)...and feeling ambitious, ordered a chefs selection of sushi...and honestly, I can only identify about half of what I ate, but it was super good. Life is about living and trying new things, blah blah blah...living it to the fullest.
Then I warmed up with hot sake and sushi.
Oh and one quick thing. Going back and reading some of my older posts, I realized I've become a completely different person, and I'm okay with that.
So that's where things are at this point. My only option is to see where this year takes me, and to see where the heck I'll end up when I graduate. It'll be a wild and slightly terrifying ride, but that's what makes life exciting.
Mozart opera rehearsals and performances, meandering around Boston at all hours of the night, hanging out with great company, telling jokes, and frequenting the Faneuil Hall area of downtown Boston is basically a summary of awesomeness that's been happening. So far, this has been one of the best summer vacations I've had (since I was a kid, when I didn't have to work and actually got to go on vacation).
Let's start with Haymarket.
Haymarket is a huge outdoor market place located just steps away from Faneuil Hall, the market itself is centuries old, and around the corner there are tons of historic pubs. It's open only on Fridays and Saturdays, with the specific hours of "from dawn 'til dusk", and it's usually crowded with people from all walks of life. They sell produce at rock bottom prices, and there are little specialty shops selling cheese, meat, fish, and spices among the many stands that are set up.
Walking through, I wouldn't have to tell you that most vendors are Italian, from the north end, and clearly have been there for generations. Yelling to each other in thick Italian-Boston accents really adds to the...Boston-ness of this whole outdoor produce party.
The thing about it is that Haymarket is sometimes hit or miss. I went with $20 and bought an entire weeks supply of produce. However, sometimes you get what you pay for. Grapes, being sold for $1 a bag...most of them were good but a few were a little sour, bought a delicious melon, weird plums that were delish, 4 peppers, a pound of cherries, kiwis, nectarines, peaches, asparagus, an onion, 2 bags of baby carrots, and some blueberries. Shopping at haymarket is fun, but it's an art:
First, do a walk through of all the stands and when you find good looking produce, go for it. The vendors usually let you pick your own, but sometimes they just fill a bag with what you want. (If it's between $2/lb of cherries, and $1/lb, splurge those 100 extra pennies.)
Second, if you get to pick out your own, don't just assume it's market quality. I once bought two melons for a dollar each, and when I got home realized that one melon was completely gross and covered with mold. The other was totally fine, and was delicious...and still, I only paid $2 for a good melon, which is less than what you would find at Shaws.
Third, it's really easy to get carried away. I definitely bought more than I could comfortably carry this time, but totally worth it when I got home. It's good to go with a list of things you need, rather than just buying large quantities of everything.
Fourth, if you're a girl, you will get hit on by the Italians. Just accept that it's going to happen, and run away.
Fifth, enjoy your purchase!
Haymarket next to Bell in Hand, historic building, old tavern, huge tourist attraction.
And this is only about a third of the market.
Mucho produce
yum city
And when I'm not ambling around markets (which I usually do alone), I enjoy spending time with friends and Mr. Mozart. This past weekend I saw this glorious movie:
Adorable monsters and great story aside, it was hilarious and paid tribute to just about every college movie ever made. Then we went to Tasty Burger (popcorn was my breakfast, burgers were my lunch...I don't usually eat like this, but I've made my six year old self very happy). Then we had to stop into J.P. Licks, a Boston ice cream favorite. I even had dairy free ice cream (chocolate coconut, thank you very much, not the usual vanilla, that's usually all they have). Then we went shopping in the pru (Prudential building) and there might have been a very good sale at J. Crew. Didn't go crazy, but got a couple nice things for once.
Then the evening started. I was able to hang out by a fire pit, and took part in an awesome after-hours dance party in Somerville that was held at a venue very similar to Rise (I have cool friends). When we left around 6am, we decided to head over to the IHOP in Harvard Square for breakfast, then I was able to get about 3 hours of sleep before it was time to get ready for the opera.
Christopher Columbus Park, our outdoor outreach opera concert venue.
The opera performances were all so amazing. Performing in Faneuil Hall was a new thing for me, as I have oddly enough performed some new music in Christopher Columbus Park before. We had a great audience turn out, I made some great new friends, reconnected with some old, and had a wonderful time being out and about in downtown Boston with my clarinets.
After our final performance, the other clarinetist and I began our night of adventure...except we didn't know it was about to be a night of adventure. We helped ourselves to some appetizers and sangria and a nearby Legal Seafoods, then we went across the street to wait for some friends who were meeting us for drinks at Boston Harbor Cruises of all places, which has a nice outdoor bar area. Then we decided to take a nice walk around the harbor. We told funny stories, jokes, made some really great and some really terrible puns, and then we happened upon a tent. It was right on the water and was empty, it looked like maybe it was a tent that was used for some sort of outdoor reception. We went inside, where the acoustics were amazing, and we had our clarinets, so why not serenade ourselves with Mozart? We also unintentionally serenaded this dude who was outside fishing, who caught a 24-inch striped bass. We were a little hesitant to pull out our clarinets at first, since we weren't sure if we would be found and kicked out, but what's the worst that could happen? They tell us crazy hooligans playing classical music to leave. We walked around forever, caught the last T, and played Mario Kart well into the night.
Summer is great, this city is great, and I'm so glad I get two more months of this awesomeness.
I'm also super excited to be watching this movie very soon:
My first thought emerging from the T was "oh no...did I do it again?" There were no tents in sight, and I thought I had arrived again on the wrong farmers market day (it's already happened once). I worked in Kendall Square for a year, at a seafood restaurant and I remembered the farmers market being right there. Luckily, I have a smart phone and looked up the location, just to make sure. Well, turns out, the Kendall Square Farmers Market had moved to a different location this year, and soon I was on my way to some awesome food.
The new location is so much better. Actually, Kendall Square is so much better. Over the past couple of years, they've put in new restaurants, kayaking stands, a small river walk, a farmers market, and lots of new things happening in front of the Marriott Hotel (it looked like they were setting up for an outdoor concert when I walked by earlier). Before, it was surrounded by office buildings belonging to MIT and labs..."buildings we can't go into", a friend said once.
Kendall's Galaxy: Earth Sphere Fountain
So, what a location.
As I approached the street that the market is located on, I noticed a walkway along the river. What? Since when is this a thing? How did I work in this area for a year, and never gone beyond the walls of the restaurant and nearby bars? (Actually, it's pretty easy). So, with my newfound curiosity of exploring the city, and my new motto to live life to the absolute fullest, I stumbled upon this awesome little area today, a year late. The market is nestled in a little area between greenery and cool looking buildings, right on this little body of water that leads right into the Charles.
The farmers market is located along the Broad Canal Walk.
Before entering the farmers market, I had to follow this little walkway to see where it went.
Note: it doesn't go far, but it's a relaxing walk.
View from the walkway. Here we have a view of the canal, the walkway, the redline, the statehouse, and the Boston city skyline from Cambridge...just a hop, skip, and a jump across the river.
I found a kayaking place!
Since I'm planning on doing a big haymarket thing in the next few days, I wanted to save myself (and my budget) for the produce. I began this morning with a 7 am run over to the Charles (slightly short of 4.5 miles), and so by the time noon rolled around I was starving...which isn't the best state to be in when buying food. There was a small line forming at the Swiss Bakers, so I went to see what that was all about. Specializing in Swiss food, notably Swiss bread, and even more notably, Swiss pastries, I was sold. I had a sandwich on a pretzel baguette. Who knew such an amazing concoction existed? I also may have purchased a raspberry Berliner that I may have devoured shortly before writing this post.
Enjoying a lovely afternoon by the water, despite the clouds.
Then things got a little nutty. That...is a terrible pun. I've seen Fastachi stands around the other farmers markets before, so today I decided to take a closer look. Most of their delicious looking bags of trail-mix type snacks had cashews in them, which is wonderful!...if you're not allergic to them. So I decided to try a small bag of cinnamon glazed almonds. I figured it will make a decent afternoon snack (a handful, not the whole bag).
I also noticed on my way out, a stand that had the name Sharp Foods: Energy for the mind and body. Okay...and there's a twice baked granola seed and nut mix. Let's check that out. Sounds healthy, and I'm into that...well mainly anything with carbs and protein to have before and after I run. Well, it's sweetened naturally with honey...and contains whole grain oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and a touch of cinnamon. They offered a sample of the granola and oh, yes. That's where it's at. We had a little conversation about chia seeds, since I recently found out how totally awesome they are, and left with a bag of my own. So yeah, that's the Kendall Square farmers market for you. Small, simple, local, by the water, and full of awesome people and food.
So now comes the time when I apologize for yet again missing about a week and a half between posts. Here's what else has been going on. Besides working.
I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day in Lenox, Massachusetts with my mom where I ran a clarinet masterclass at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute...
I spent many a summer at BUTI, and nothing beats warming up outside.
The Berkshires <3
We got lost for over an hour, but with this scenery, what is there to complain about?
Firefly. My favorite restaurant. Besides Betty's Pizza...It was the first day of summer, a Friday, and the longest day of the year. I definitely think I made the most of it. It was a day to certainly live life to the fullest, and one that I will remember for a long time.
The next day I got quite the unfortunate sunburn at the local beach...But hey, I got to spend another day with my mom relaxing, surrounded by beautiful Rhode Island beach.
We celebrated by Grandma's 93d birthday!
And most recently, I've been preparing for our first performance of Cosi fan Tutte, happing tonight and tomorrow night, so if you're in Boston, come to Faneuil Hall. I'm performing with NEMPAC (North End Music and Performing Arts Center). Beautiful music, in a beautiful place.
Waitress by day, musician by night.
Oh yeah. I got to Cosi rehearsal early one day, to find the entire BSO Brass Section and newly appointed music director Andris Nelsons outside ready to play. It was a short concert, because he had to go throw the first pitch at a Red Sox game (not a big deal at all), but not before I was able to shake his hand and tell him I was really excited for this season at Symphony Hall, casually mentioning that I am also a musician. By the way...he has really soft hands.
Last but not least, as you can see, I'm helping out a friend store her mattress for the summer. My bed is now complete. I'm just glad she left a step stool for me.
So yes, I've been busy, busy, busy...but so far this summer has been awesome, awesome, awesome. I'm probably going to be bombarding you with posts about farmers markets all weekend, since I have performances at night, and time during the day...and also since this month is coming to an end quicker than I imagined.
So for next month, will I continue the farmers market excursions, or should we do something else? I guess you'll find out...when I decide :)
Have a good day, and come to my performance!
p.s....
I should also add two movies that I highly recommend. Let's just say that if Farinelli was around today I would marry him, and if Meryl Streep ever runs for Prime Minister, she gets my vote.
Farinelli, a movie for the musicians and music lovers. Great music, and probably highly romanticized story, but so good, nonetheless. And of course, nothing like a movie about Margaret Thatcher, who died just a few months ago. I was curious to see this movie before, mainly because Meryl Streep is the best, and it was definitely worth it.
