Tonight, I went out with some friends in the lovely neighborhood of Canton. Someone there asked my roommate and me where we were visiting from. Clearly, we don't fit in there.
As we were walking the two blocks to Becky's car on the way out, we heard someone scuffling behind us. Suddenly, something hit me in the shoulder, and I looked down on the ground to see a pen. Yes, this guy who had been following us threw a Big Boyz Bail Bonds pen at me, and then turned and walked the other way as we called out to him, "Seriously? Did you just throw a pen at us?"
I'm always skeptical when people tell me that something will change my life or be 'amazing.' I don't really experience things that way. There are no profound spiritual experiences or entirely different perspectives for me. Was my trip to Guatemala a life-changing experience? Well of course it was; every day is a life-changing experience. You can't talk to a street vendor, or climb a mountain, or wake up in the morning and walk away the exact same person you were before. Ipala changes me and Baltimore changes me.
Oh, my city, my best friends, my heart. I am glad to be back. But this was all pretty great too:
Here it is, the latest list of (mostly free) events I may attend this summer. I'll update as necessary.
TBA: camping, 4th of July May Sat, May 1: Kinetic Sculpture Race, Federal Hill to Patterson Park and back Thurs, May 6: First Thursdays, West Mount Vernon Park Sat, May 15 - Mon, May 17: MICA Commencement Exhibitions, MICA campus Sun, May 30: Sowebofest, Hollins Market June Thurs, Jun 3: First Thursdays, West Mount Vernon Park Thurs, Jun 3: Stoop Stories, Centerstage Fri, Jun 4: Caleb Stine, Charles Village Fri, Jun 4 - Sun, Jun 6: Charles Village Festival, Charles Village Sun, Jun 6: Jazz & Blues Festival, Federal Hill Tues, Jun 8: Walk the Line, Wyman Park Dell Fri, Jun 11 - Sun, Jun 13: Honfest, Hampden Sun, Jun 20 - Sat, Jun 26: vacation, Spencer MA Tues, Jun 22: This is Spinal Tap, Wyman Park Dell Thurs, Jun 24 - Mon, Jun 28: Folklife Festival, DC National Mall Tues, Jun 29: The Harder They Come, Wyman Park Dell
July Thurs, Jul 1 - Mon, Jul 5: Folklife Festival, DC National Mall Thurs, Jul 1: First Thursdays, West Mount Vernon Park Thurs, Jul 1: Singin' in the Rain and free entrance to AVAM, AVAM Wed, Jul 7: She & Him (hopefully??), 9:30 DC Thurs, Jul 8 - Sun, Jul 25: Guatemala, Ipala Wed, Jul 14: The Hangover, Fells Point Thurs, Jul 15: The Princess Bride and free entrance to AVAM, AVAM Fri, Jul 16 - Sun, Jul 18: Artscape, Mount Royal Wed, Jul 21: The Hurt Locker, Fells Point Wed, Jul 28: Avatar, Fells Point Thurs, Jul 29: King Kong (1933) and free entrance to AVAM, AVAM
August Wed, Aug 4: The Blindside, Fells Point Thurs, Aug 5: First Thursdays,West Mount Vernon Park Thurs, Aug 5: A League of Their Own and free entrance to AVAM, AVAM Wed, Aug 11: Twilight: New Moon, Fells Point Thurs, Aug 12: True Stories (?) and free entrance to AVAM, AVAM Wed, Aug 18: The Proposal, Fells Point Wed, Aug 18 - Mon, Aug 23: Jan's wedding weekend, LA area Wed, Aug 25: (500) Days of Summer, Fells Point Fri, Aug 27 - Mon, Sep 6: MD State Fair, Timonium Fairgrounds
Well, I'll be in Guatemala for the next 2ish weeks, supposedly teaching English. Let's hope I get little kids rather than high schoolers, because my repertoire is mostly full of cheesy songs.
Also, I'm avoiding our broken AC by hiding out in Starbucks. The baristas are arguing about pizza. One (New Yorker, pfff) says there is no good pizza in Baltimore. Then the other one says she hears Ledo's is the best. What!? I'm just biting my tongue for now.
I often want to put everything into words, into pictures. I want to capture the memories of my life so I can go back and relive them as often and as vividly as I want. It's that, "I don't have my camera!" syndrome. As if not having any way to make a memory tangible somehow negates it.
That's just silly.
Some of my best stories remain unwritten, because this is just not the place to share them. I look back on a weekend of good experiences, New Experiences, and I just can't write them all. And I shouldn't. Some things need a little space around them for mystery, to remain mine to share when I will and not to be typed for general consumption.
And yet...the capturing need is still there. Here is my compromise, one snippet of a weekend:
I sat with friends under the biggest fireworks I've ever seen, watching the burning embers rain down on the people around me, people who screamed and shielded themselves from the debris and stayed. Stayed because it was a New Experience. And it was good.
