Category Archives: Cultured

Shows, Ballets, Museum visits and anything artistic.

Five Things (27)

Posted in Ballet, Crafty, My New York, The Telly, Thoughts by

August was unexpectedly busy?

— Thing One —

My car’s AC died during the first heatwave of the summer. I knew there was a small leak so I expected it, but it came earlier this year than last year. When the mechanic looked over the car they told me that there was a large leak and they would have to dismantle part of the car to fix it. So, I decided to buy a new car.

I have been thinking about buying a new car for quite some time now1 but this AC situation was the tipping point. I crowdsourced people’s experience with buying a car2 and decided to go with a car broker. We spoke about what I wanted and decided to go with a Rav4. This ended up being a stress-free process for me and I would highly recommend using a car broker if you can! The new car was delivered to my driveway five weeks after my AC died, and I didn’t step foot into a dealership. Now I’m ready to drive long distances, and also trying to learn the new tech.

— Thing Two —

Earlier in August I went to see Alvin Ailey in Bryant park. They had a pre-show dance class which I sat out because it was on the other side of the park from our blankets. The show was great, but being there reminded me of all the times my friends and I watched movies in the park during the summer. We’d spread out our blankets and bring our dinners, then we’d hang out together until the sun went down and the movie started, it was an amazing bonding time and I’m sad I let that go3. I think I’ll try to do it once or twice next year, for the experience and for the fellowship.

— Thing Three —

I finished two crocheting projects which means I only have the scarf I’m knitting and the blanket I’m making for my neighbour left to complete.

Last month I finished a headband which took me about four hours to make, and then a blanket which started out as a project to finish some yarn I already had, only to end with me purchasing three more skeins of yarn and taking me 35hrs to finish!

— Thing Four —

Later in August I went to see a documentary following Alex Honnold as he climbed Ingmikortilaq in Greenland. This time, instead of being solo he had some scientists for part of the journey and his rock climbing friends for the rest. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how they shot the documentary, were there drones? Who did the sound? I have so many questions about the production!

Overall it was a great experience, we were on an incline in Central Park and the screen was at the bottom of the incline which created a natural stadium seating so seeing the screen was not a problem! I don’t know why I don’t hang out at Central Park more, it’s really beautiful there4.

— Thing Five —

The rest of August was pretty busy, I think I had more events closer to my home for the first time since I moved. I felt as though I was finally building a community close to home. I hope September carries on with more of the same. Here’s to the fall, the PSLs, the cozy decor and friendships5!

~*~

1. Five years ago my car stalled over a wintry President’s Day weekend and left me stranded for the night (thankfully with friends nearby).
2. Facebook has its uses.
3. It’s really surprising to me at times how much I have to intentionally step out of wanting to be alone.
4. Except for the rats that came out at night while we were walking back to the train.
5. And no more crazy encounters that leave me slightly traumatized.

August slipped away into a moment in time, cause it was never mine…
Wanting was enough… to live for the hope of it all cancel plans just in case you’d call.

Taylor Swift; August

Five Things (24)

Posted in Ballet, Bookish, Cultured by

I’ve had some rough years recently, and because of that, I stepped away from many social events1. I finally feel like being social again so here are five things from June.

— Thing One —

I went to see the ballet! The last time I saw an Alvin Ailey show was b.c.2 so going to see them again, and at BAM, was a treat! They did a selection of performances but my favourite had to be “Are You In Your Feelings?“, the music they chose and the choreography were spectacular. Afterwards, BAM Cafe was hosting Endea Owens, it was free to watch so we hung out for a little while enjoying the jazz. It was a fun night all around and now I want to see more shows!

— Thing Two —

Earlier in the month I invited my cousins over for the Inaugural Cousins’ Lawn Games Day! I hosted and purchased several lawn games, including croquet3, and ordered some BBQ for everyone. While not the first time hosting, nor the first time hosting a large group, because it was a themed day and because I decided to cater instead of going the potluck route, there were a lot more moving pieces to consider. While we didn’t play a single round of croquet – the kids did – we did have a grand time together. I’m hoping next year to expand on the celebrations and make it better – learned a lesson in catering the right amount since wow there was SO MUCH FOOD.

— Thing Three —

I joined a knitting/crochet club. In an attempt to meet more people in my neighbourhood, I decided to sign up for a few clubs and met with the knitting/crochet club folks some days ago. It was a total of five of us, and everyone is so much more advanced than I am so I’m looking forward to learning some new techniques. The first thing I worked on was a lopsided bunny4 and now that that’s finished I’m working on a blanket. Maybe I’ll make everyone presents for the holidays, but I’m trying not to be too ambitious, I still owe a few people scarves from when I took up knitting.

— Thing Four —

I was influenced into purchasing Murdle, a murder mystery puzzle book. I’m trying to support the B&N near my house, especially since I have a B&N membership, so I ordered it for pickup at that location. When I got to the register to pick up my book, two cashiers were excited for me because they both wanted to get the book since they loved the premise, this is one of the reasons I love going to bookstores in person, you get the bookish people who will confirm you made a good purchase. I am looking forward to digging into this for the summer!

— Thing Five —

Sand, it’s nature’s glitter. Going to the beach and dealing with the sand is not my favourite thing in the world, but when my friend suggested we do a beach day for her birthday I had to go. We went to one of the few beaches I enjoy5 and spent almost the entire day there. I thought I’d get a lot of Murdle done because I don’t like going into the water but it turns out that there were quite a few of us who didn’t like the idea of being submerged, so we spent a lot of the time talking and having tons of laughs. I am so thankful for friends and family who lift you up and celebrate with you. I have some of the best people in my life and I am forever grateful for the good times we have together.

~*~

1. And let’s be honest, covid played a big role in not wanting to go out.
2. Before Covid
3. I’ve been fascinated with this game since reading it in stories and seeing pall-mall play out on screen in Bridgerton sparked my curiosity again. I’m lucky to have the space to play it.
4. The pattern isn’t for a lopsided bunny, but with my skill levels that’s the final product. I still love him!
5. The sand is clean and it’s easy enough to find parking.

And I am not afraid of a thousand eyes if they’re above five hundred smiles.

Opportunity, Sia

Museum Mile 2023

Posted in Cultured, Gallery by

I can’t believe that the last time I did the Museum Mile Festival was in 2011, but here we are, twelve years later and I’ve finally made it out once more to the festival.

For a bit of background, there is a stretch of museums that runs along 5th Avenue between 82nd and 110th Street, this stretch was given the name “Museum Mile” and once a year 5th Avenue shuts down as museums along that strip open for free from 6pm – 9pm. I found out about the event in 2010 from a friend and wanted to make a tradition of it, but here we are 12 years later finally visiting the museums again!

The first year I went to the Guggenheim, and the following year I visited the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York. This year my friends wanted to go to the Guggenheim and El Museo del Barrio.

I got to 5th Avenue first so I joined the line for the Guggenheim which wrapped around the block1! At 6pm they started letting people in and it took us 20 minutes to get to the front of the line. Given the layout, it didn’t feel very claustrophobic, but I have visited the museum during regular hours and it was definitely more packed. Along the spiral, they had work from Gego – a Venezuelan visual artist. The photo doesn’t do it justice, but her work was very geometrical and it appealed to my instinctual need for order. There was something genuinely relaxing about observing her work.

We also dipped into the gallery with the Picassos2 and visited the A Year With Children 2023 gallery which had art from public school kids. What an experience that must have been for these kids to see their art in a museum, it was a fun and colourful display.

Later we took a stroll to El Museo del Barrio, passing several DJs and bands along the way. At the museum we took our time walking through the galleries, the block print works were among my favourites, but then I saw this stunning work by Eloy Blanco3, it had tiny stick figures on the red background; I loved it.


The night ended at the Shake Shack, with good laughs and conversations. Let’s see if I do this again next year!

~*~

1. The end of the line for me was Madison and 89th Street!
2. Every time I posted a Picasso from that day online I added “Ok, I like it, Picasso“, and then found it highly hilarious when the Guggenheim liked one of my tweets. What is the internet?
3. Another Venezualean artist!

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

Posted in Cultured, My New York, Opera by

A few weeks after seeing Don Giovani (my first opera experience) I was fortunate enough to see Die Zauberflöte – The Magic Flute. This opera was also written by Mozart, and it’s interesting to hear the differences in the tone of the music. While Don Giovani felt mostly tumultuous, The Magic Flute felt light with hints of shadow. As a person not familiar with operatic music, neither having studied it nor spent much time listening to it, I know that there are tons of things I might have missed or that went over my head, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt, I’m speaking through a limited view.

Like Don Giovanni, the costumes were very modern, but in this case, it felt out of place. I expected fantastical but was given pedestrian. Perhaps it’s the way I imagine fantasy when I read it, or the way it’s depicted on screen, but I wanted flashier costumes. I read somewhere1 that the Met Opera is struggling to bring in younger crowds and had to dip into its endowment to cover its operations cost this year, I don’t have a solution for that, but I don’t think modernizing the costumes is that solution. However, that was the end of my disappointment. The rest of it was magnificent.

The pit was raised to include the musicians in the show – for the bells and flute – there was a foley artist2 providing sound effects and a visual artist who projected his chalk art on the screen in real-time. I read in a review that there was too much going on, but I think there was just enough going on, especially against the stark stage and costuming. The visual artist made it feel a little bit like a silent movie while the foley artist made it feel a little like an early 1900s cartoon; so maybe I can see what that reviewer was hinting at, but I was strangely ok with this mix.

The singers and orchestra were amazing- I adored Stephen Milling’s voice as Sarastro. Overall the experience was enthralling, and again I’m so in awe of the fact that no one is miked! The songs were in German, and I knew the synopsis so the story was easy to follow along3. Of course, The Queen of the Night’s Aria (Der Hölle Rache) was the most recognizable piece of the entire show4 but my favourite was Ach, ich fühl5!

It was a fantastically fun night that I was on a music and good company high for a few days afterwards.

~*~

1. Or maybe I saw it on TikTok?
2. Did I go home and casually look up foley artists after this? Perhaps! It’s quite fascinating.
3. Note that there are subtitles – every chair has a screen that shows subtitles – but mine was broken, so for the first 20 minutes I basically listened to the show instead of reading.
4. I made a joke that it’s funny that this is the only song people will remember when they leave, and on the subway platform, waiting for the train someone was singing that part.
5. Of course I have to like the most dramatic love song.

~*~

If you don’t feel love’s yearning, I shall find peace in death!

Die Zauberflöte (K620), Ach, ich fühl

Five Things (23)

Posted in Opera, Thoughts, Vacations by

May, the month of lofty highs and gut-wrenching lows.

1. I returned from vacation at the beginning of the month, so May kicked off with a feeling of rest, my heart full from the time I spent with friends I haven’t seen in a while. There’s something about being in the presence of good friends, being able to share anything and everything, and generally enjoying each other’s company. May started off spectacularly.

2. Soon afterward the plumber came by to fix the basement pump which meant that the basement is now fully functional! It’s hard to describe the feeling of satisfaction I get when something is fixed and fully functioning. It’s like a dopamine boost and typically I spend the rest of the week looking at the fixed thing and smiling to myself.

3. The upward trajectory continued with me attending my first opera. Attending an opera has been on my bucket list ever since my aunt raved about a performance of Madama Butterfly at the Met Opera, and was recently sparked again after a mezzo-soprano showed up on my TikTok FYP talking about her experience auditioning for opera.

4. Then, death, death, and fire. My friends were facing tragedies of their own and when I offered to send a friend photos of the pages of notes and checklists I made when dealing with the funeral arrangements for mom, the walls of distraction that held the grief at bay came crashing down. Mother’s Day was looming and I had to face the fact that Mom is no longer here. That my friend’s mom was gone. That mom’s good friend had also passed away. Noticeably, I stopped sleeping. That week leading up to Mother’s Day I felt like I couldn’t keep the walls up anymore, the grief was oozing in through the cracks. I tried to distract myself on the day of by completely taking apart my sectional and installing a rug pad under the rug, but I ended the day weeping into my pillow overwhelmed by sadness. Mom’s not here, Dad is sick and there’s no one to call to help me with this new chapter of my life. I’m sure there are people I could call, but I never felt like I was bothering my parents when I asked them questions, not like I feel with anyone else. I know it makes no sense, but my parents were always there whenever I was ready to stop being independent, and I miss having that parental safety to fall back on.

5. The month ended on a higher note with me hanging with friends, hours of “chick time”, attending another opera, and eating good food in a backyard with friends. I hope June is better, but I also know that I need to stop distracting myself from this grief and finally take the time to face it, embrace it, and really start healing.

~*~

The world will fail me left and right, and I will try to run and hide, so come and find me every time.

Plumb, I’m Not Alone