Shame, Shame

Sometimes I wonder how people my age have social lives. Is it just me or is this whole working full-time from 9 to 5 every day thing exhausting? All I want to do after work is go home and bum around for a few hours before I fall asleep and repeat the process all over again. I rarely have enough energy or motivation to cook anything or be social or do much of anything productive with my free time on weekdays. Which is a shame, because I'm spending all of this money to live in the greatest city in the world and I should be taking more advantage of it.

Wall Street

To commemorate my job's move to their new office on Wall Street, I'd like to be paid the salary of the 1%, please.

Sorry. That was stupid.

In all seriousness though, I'm going to miss working on 150th street. Harlem, I'll miss your personality, your endless amount of bodegas, and your dead cats.

Just Dust

On Friday morning around 1 AM, Andrew and Nicole's Jersey City apartment caught on fire after it spread from a nearby farmer's market. Thankfully they made it out safely by climbing down the fire escape after they woke up to the smell of smoke, but their entire 3rd floor apartment was completely engulfed in flames only 20 minutes later. I was on the phone with Andrew when they first saw flames exploding from their window, and it was so heartbreaking to hear their reactions. They ended up losing everything except the clothes on their back.

I created a fundraiser online to try and raise some money to get them back on their feet, and was completely blown away by everyone's generosity. Within the first 12 hours, the fundraiser was shared over 180 times and a total of $7,000 was raised. A day later, the total was close to $10,000.

I can't even begin to express my gratitude for everyone's generosity and support. We received an outpour of donations from family, friends, colleagues, former classmates, friends of friends, grandmas of friends, and even complete strangers. Countless people offered clothing, furniture, shelter, gifts, and their heartfelt messages as well. Andrew and Nicole are so incredibly thankful, and I appreciate everyone's help in spreading the word! It's truly a beautiful thing when everyone can come together in love and support at times like these.

If you're interested in donating, please visit the fundraiser at http://www.gofundme.com/7vhklc.

Celebrating Nothing

This is my 100th post!

Also, I just found out that I've been accepted to a free 10-week photography class! It's offered by Our Moments, a non-profit that provides free, high-quality photography education. Apparently they received hundreds of applications but only accept 15 people into their program. Too bad I didn't bother to look at a calendar before I applied, since it turns out I have scheduling conflicts with most classes and hence need to forfeit my spot. Ah well, it's still flattering to know I got accepted, right?

Festival

This year's Governor's Ball lineup has officially been announced! To celebrate, I decided to rank the music festivals I've attended over the last few years.

5. Virgin Mobile Freefest 2011

I was lucky enough to swipe some tickets to this free festival back when I lived in Baltimore, and a bunch of us ended up going. It was a lot of fun, but I didn't really see that many artists and I think I was completely sober the whole time.

Artists: Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Okkervil River, and Ghostland Observatory.

4. The Governor's Ball 2011

I went to the inagural Governor's Ball in 2011, where I heard Miami Horror for the first time and where I saw my first and favorite Empire of the Sun performance to date. This was back when the festival was actually on Governor's Island. Definitely a memorable experience, although it only lasted one day.

Artists: Miami Horror, Empire of the Sun, Neon Indian, Reptar, Girl Talk, Big Boi.

3. Governors Ball 2013

This is probably my favorite lineup of any festival I've attended. However, I paid for all three days but only got to experience two days of actual performances due to the torrential downpour that flooded Randall's Island on Friday and turned it into an island of mud. This weekend would've scored higher if the weather wasn't so terrible. Fuck that mud.

Artists: Deerhunter, Portugal. The Man, Cut Copy, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Yeasayer, Japandroids, Paper Diamond, Thievery Company, Kanye West, and Kendrick Lamar.

2. Pitchfork Music Festival 2012 

This was a really fun weekend. It was my first time to Chicago so I got to explore the city and see a lot of great acts as well. Vampire Weekend was unbelievably awesome, Flying Lotus and Hot Chip had me dancing in ways I didn't know possible, and I got to see Beach House for the first time just as the sun was setting, which was a really cool moment.

Artists: Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Hot Chip, Real Estate, Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Cloud Nothings, Grimes, Sleigh Bells, Flying Lotus, and Araabmuzik.

1. Bonnaroo 2013

Paul Fucking McCartney. Do I need to say more? In hindsight, I didn't see as many bands at this festival as I did at other festivals, but the quality of the shows outweighed the quantity. Plus the roadtrip, camping, food, and overall experienced made for an amazing time that I'll never forget. Nothing can compete with Bonnaroo.

Artists: Paul McCartney, Tame Impala, Beach House, DIIV (x2), Purity Ring, Reptar, Wild Nothing, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Empire of the Sun, Local Natives, Weird Al, Tom Petty, Twenty One Pilots, and Holy Ghost!

We Are Explorers

As the year comes to a close, I've decided that my one and only resolution for 2014 is to travel more. I'm not going to be young forever and these are prime years for exploring and adventuring!

I'm not really sure where I want to go yet. Maybe New Orleans? The Grand Canyon? Yellowstone National Park? Las Vegas? Nova Scotia? Book another cruise? Travel to an island somewhere?

My parents are planning a weeklong trip to Disney World in April with Brad, Christine, and the kids, so of course Andrew and I convinced my parents to let us tag along. I haven't been to Disney World in about 18 years, and it's been a few years since our last family vacation, so I'm really excited. Andrew and I will be roadtrippin' down to Florida so I'm looking forward to the drive as well (most people seem to dislike load roadtrips but I've always enjoyed them).

And although I don't think it's going to happen in 2014, I'd eventually like to travel to Australia and Italy too. One day.

Beginnings

Well, it took sixteen months and legal action before I could live in the city, but I'm finally all moved in! A new apartment calls for a new haiku:

A new beginning

Bitch, I'm in the 212

Adios money.

Give Life Back To Music

As you know, I've made a habit of sharing lists of all the concerts I've attended during a given period of time (see "Music Is Happiness" and "Nightmusic"). In keeping with tradition, here's a complete list of the bands I've seen (or will see) over the current year.

2013:

1/11 - Purity Ring & Young Magic (Webster Hall, New York, NY)
1/13 - DIIV (Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY)
1/31 - Hooray For Earth (The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY)
2/19 - Tame Impala (Terminal 5, New York, NY)
3/9 - Archie Pelago (Glasslands Gallery, Brooklyn, NY)
3/20 - Beach Fossils (Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY)
5/5 - Body Language (Glasslands Gallery, Brooklyn, NY)
5/14 - Foxygen (The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY)
6/7 - The Governor's Ball (Governor's Island, New York, NY)
6/13 - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (Great Stage Park, Manchester, TN)
8/1 - Body Language & AVAN LAVA (Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY)
9/18 - Washed Out & HAERTS (Terminal 5, New York, NY)
9/19 - Deerhunter (Webster Hall, New York, NY)
9/26 - Okkervil River (Terminal 5, New York, NY)
9/27 - Portugal. The Man (Terminal 5, New York, NY)
10/1 - Tame Impala & The Flaming Lips (Terminal 5, New York, NY)
10/2 - Miami Horror (Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY)
10/4 - Zeds Dead & Paper Diamond (Terminal 5, New York, NY)
11/18 - Washed Out (Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY)
11/22 - Beach Fossils (285 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY)

By the end of the year, I will have attended 18 concerts and 2 music festivals. Here's hoping for many more!

And, for no reason, here's a list of the bands I've seen the most over the last few years:

Portugal. The Man (6 times)
Tame Impala (4 times)
Body Language (4 times)
DIIV (4 times)
Deerhunter (3 times)
Washed Out (3 times)
Cut Copy (3 times)
Delorean (3 times)
Empire of the Sun (3 times)
Beach Fossils (3 times)
Yeasayer (3 times)
Flying Lotus (3 times)

City Living

Adios, Brooklyn! It's been real. Or maybe it hasn't.

Despite waiting well over a year to move to Brooklyn, Chris and I decided to give up on our apartment since there's still no certificate of occupancy and there's no telling how much longer it would've taken. We're currently fighting for our broker fee back, but I'm optimistic that we'll get it. After looking at a few other apartments, we ended up applying for a place we liked in Upper East Side.

And with that, I'm happy to announce that I'm officially moving to Manhattan on November 1st! Fucking finally.

Big Mouth

Growing up, I was commonly told how I was such a "nice kid." I was courteous, soft-spoken, and non-confrontational.

Oh how things have changed.

I've noticed myself becoming a generally angrier and more aggressive person since I began spending quality time with the big apple. I’ve been more prone to verbally lashing out at people who provoke me, shoving people who blatantly don’t leave space to exit a subway train, etc.

For instance, just this morning I had a confrontation with some middle-aged man at the subway station. I had just swiped my card to enter the turnstile as another man came from the other direction. We were at a standstill. He told me to get out of the way and insisted he was there first, so I responded saying that obviously wasn't the case or we wouldn't be in this predicament. He started yelling at me saying I need to move, so I began to yell back that I already swiped and needed to get through. Upon the realization that he wasn’t going to budge on his own, I pushed my way through the turnstile, shoving him with me. I then proceeded to shout profanities at him and continued on my travels. I must admit that I found it liberating to stand up for myself, even if I was as much of an asshole as he was.

In another incident a few weeks prior, I ended up riding the subway with a crazy woman who was declaring to the whole train how racist she was. She kept going on and on about how another passenger needed to “go back to his own country,” while the other passengers (including the passenger being ridiculed) simply ignored her. I feel like the unspoken rule of the subway, at least in these types of situations, is to remain unspoken. It’s subway etiquette to avoid confronting or acknowledging a lunatic, a rambling homeless person, anyone who plays an instrument, etc. Well, after trying to ignore her for several minutes, I eventually snapped and broke the etiquette. I looked at her and shouted, “nobody cares what you have to say!” My comment garnered some applause as well as a death stare from the crazy woman, and luckily that’s all that came of it.

I don't think the fact that I’ve become a more aggressive individual is directly related to my current job or the actual city itself (because I really do love both). Honestly, I think its just frustration that results from dealing with people so frequently. The city is crowded and everyone is in a rush and nobody seems to really care about anyone but themselves. Obviously that’s quite a generalization, but I think it holds some weight. Anyone who has set foot in the city knows it is not overflowing with common courtesy; not giving a fuck is the New York way. Considering it is already rubbing off on me now, I wonder how bad it'll be when I actually live there.

"Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard." - Mary Schmich

Personally, I'd amend it to say, “live in New York City once, but leave before you get the shit beaten out of you.”