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I started this weekend off with front row seats to face-melting fireworks in the city. Thousands of people were in the streets, and even though the spectrum of the crowd included all ages and cultures, everyone was connected by these explosions in the sky. Nothing but joy and happiness and neighborly love. Then I went to a house party with a college friend and life as I know it started to change. First, I walk in to see tanks & tanks of reptiles...
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Then we ventured into the basement where I was introduced to 6 new people, all of whom would soon turn out to be game-changers. Jay was my first introduction, owner of the house. What an excellent guy- honest, hilarious, and cool as can be. Within two hours of meeting, we already had our own handshake. When we listened to old school rap he said it was perfect "pancake-making music." Obviously the man. Joe was next- thickest Boston accent I've ever heard in person and was rocking a black windsor cap like a boss. He took over my ipod to dj the party and later put on his own. I immediately knew I was going to get along with him, because I observed him listening to music like I do... like you're in love with it. I fell in love with the 100s+ vinyl collection right away and after we all clouded the room, they put on Led Zeppelin. It was my first LZ experience. Now I realize I've been missing out on a genre.
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Then we listened to more rock, hiphop, jazz and even Adele. Grown men, belting out the words to Melt My Heart To Stone. It was glorious, so much respect for that. Later, I heard a phenomenal rap track on rotation and liked everything about it (beat, rhymes, melody, genre fusion). When I asked which artist this song belonged to? Joe and his friends. They write and record rap music together... AND IT'S REALLY GOOD. I asked if they had these tracks online so people can hear more about them and was told that they are good at what they do but too lazy to promote themselves.
Well that's about to change. People need to hear this music, and after writing my bucket list I felt really ambitious about making a documentary/story about people and the creation of songs (and the groups that write them). I told Joe to email the tracks & in my email this morning were 6 new songs to listen to. He told me I can come to the studio next time to meet everyone and listen in. In the meantime I'm going to be spending lots of free time developing a strategy to get these guys out there because they're really talented, we need more local artists, and I know for a fact other people are going to want this on their mp3 players. Project mixtape here I come.
Some people just bring such a palpable presence to a room. Danica is such a person. When she walked downstairs, everyone could feel the positive vibes fill the space. The music carousel had the group on an awesome ride of genres, and she treated each song as a familiar friend. Singing, dancing, laughing so naturally that I couldn't help but wonder if that's how life is meant to be lived. Then when she turned down a cigarette saying she was trying to quit, the guys tried to give her a hard time about it. I told her "I don't usually say this to people I just met, but I really believe you can do it. I'm 100% sure you can quit smoking if you want to, mostly because I can sense you have a lot of strength in you. Don't listen to them you got this." She just looks at me and says "Wow. Thank you so much. No one has ever said that to me before." WHY?! Why do people not tell each other- hey, I believe in you and I want you to succeed in all that you desire to do. People need to know that. Later in the night she came up to me and said "did anyone ever tell you that you would make a great motivational speaker? because you would. and you should." Cool compliment, I'll take it. At the end of the night we did the typical handshake and she also said "thanks for dappin' me properly, people seem to have a rough time with that." Daps.
Throughout the night I also met a man who looks just like Mac Miller (and wishes he could be a vocalist), a tattooed girl that was more chill than the sorbet in my freezer (it's Mango btw) and a guy with a stellar fro (and a love for underground hiphop). To top off the night beautifully, I also got to spend time with two of the best- Lisa & Nic. Nic recommended some amazing music for me (intrigued by a group called "Streetlight Manifesto", reviews TBD) and then had we had conversations on various topics of life. The best part about those conversations is that I gained fresh perspective through someone else's eyes. Listening skills have skyrocketed, and it definitely changes things.
The next day I spoke to an incredible woman who helps me see things in a different light. Instead of being bummed out that someone is no longer in my life, she told me the key is to accept that people come into our lives for "a reason, a season or a lifetime." It reminds me of this quote I found on the first blog I ever followed on the daily (RIP goodmorning&goodnight).
Some people come into our lives to shake things up, then you either evolve together or grow apart. I spent a long time talking to someone and learning an astronomical amount about the world, how people interact, and even more cool- I learned a lot about myself. Now I know more about what I want, what I don't want, my negative traits (working on them), my maturity levels (all about balance), my passion(s), and how to stay happy by letting go of attachment. So you could be upset by how a connection grows and then grows apart, or you could accept it for what it is and appreciate what it was. Non je ne regrette rien, oui?
Then I took a train west to a small town cafe where I did some proactive career-planning. The delicious chai latte & blueberry muffin only amplified the excitement. During my morning there, I also overheard two coed sets of teenagers having conversations. One looked like brand new teens and the others were recent high school graduates. The interesting part to me was that the 13 year olds were having an epic intelligent conversation about science being applied to our everyday lives, and the 18 year olds were arguing about how awkward it would be if they all went to a beach house together because certain people in their group don't get along, yada yada. It was further confirmation for me that the "age is nothing but a number" theory is true. In the words of the late Amy Winehouse- "it's where you at, not where you been" (Help Yourself, 2003). Your wisdom and outlook on life has everything to do with your mindset/experiences and not how many candles you blew out on your last cake. I spent the rest of the day at a lake I stumbled upon and got in for free. I laid in the grass and started reading a section of a book called "Wanderlust, A History of Walking." Reading about the history & cultural implications of strolling around a city was one of the coolest things my brain has experienced in days. The analogies are amazing, I highly recommend it (both the book and metropolitan promenades in general).
Later that night I made dinner with my friends I met couchsurfing this past Spring and we went to another house party in Mission Park. It was a surprise party for a popular guy- complete with jungle juice, Ciroc jello shots, a piñata full of condoms, and a killer soundtrack. Doesn't get much more 'college party' than that. I had a wonderful string of conversations with new people and was again living in the moment. We went to a bar/club in downtown Boston afterwards where I finally got to dance, be an outgoing dork, and observe people. I spoke Spanish, got offered an indecent proposal, and ended up spending a lot of time with a really cool guy with excellent life stories. Overall the night was a win.
Last night I went to the gated Coast Guard base with Lisa and we met some amazing international sailors. Uniform + accent = starstruck. They gave us a tour of their war ship (which was in Normandy on D-day) where I got to explore the entire blueprint and even sit in the Captain's chair (which is how I imagine Star Trek to be).
We went to a pub to dance and I ran into the most handsome man I've ever met eyes with. Crisp white suit, subtle French accent, and looked like a royal. He smiled and asked me to dance. Now, again let me make it clear that I like to observe people. Spending most of my life surrounded by girls has given me a lot of insight on facial expressions and body language cues. Here jealousy was in the air. Girls in the club, girls on the street, all looking at me in a way that says 'what the hell is that girl doing with that guy, I would rip out her vocal cords to switch places, lucky bitch'. Ladies, he's just a guy. Yes he's a sexy foreign military man with an charming personality, but he's just a person like you or me. Jealousy isn't pretty, and please don't hurt my vocal cords. Although, they might have just wanted to wear the sailor hat... in which case I would totally understand. I'd be jealous of the hat too. Regardless, I had a good time. A royal midnight stroll on the waterfront was the finishing touch on another winning night.
Today I went to Hampton Beach with an old friend from high school named Brandi. We met twice on the same day by complete accident and she's been one of my best friends ever since. Some of the craziest adventures I've ever had in my life have happened in Brandi's company and we trade music every time we hang out. Friendship ftw. Her and two teenage boys she works with came to pick me up and we road-tripped to the beach. We caught some waves, caught some rays, and basically people-watched all day long. Women's bodies were discussed almost all day because, well, they're teenage boys. But Brandi sure attracts some quality people, because these weren't your typical hoodlum high schoolers. These guys were clever and conscious and more mature than most of the guys I knew in college. Another example of age stereotypes shattered. They also told me I would make a great camp counselor which I liked more than any other compliment this weekend. We drove back during sunset & had an Italian-style picnic back in my neighborhood to finish off the day. What else could you ask for?
Now here I am, writing this ridiculously long weekend update that no one should ever be bored enough to read. Promise these won't be happening frequently. Doing this just helps me remember everything. It's a technique I picked up last year in Spain with Moleskin notebooks, but with my bad memory and fast typing time... it makes sense to have this blog. So here we are. I look forward to showing you some cool stuff in the future, and in the meantime- here's one of my favorite songs of all time.
I enjoyed this :]
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