Sin Bin: Redecorating Edition
Last night, as my head hit the pillow after too many cocktails with friends, I thought about how I’m too old for a 2:30 am bedtime on a school night. I mentally scolded myself, promised to drink only smoothies, exercise and go to bed at 9 pm the next day. But right before I turned over to pass out, I checked my Twitter feed and saw a tweet from John Mayer that he was playing an impromptu 3 am show at a tiny bar close to my apartment.
Pete was dog-sitting at his boss’s apartment and asleep already, so I sat there rationalizing with myself. This is ridiculous. I can’t get up and go to a rogue show in the middle of the night. I mean, I have wet hair from showering. I can’t go to a bar alone – and even if I did, it’s probably already packed. There’s no way I can get enough makeup on in time to make him fall in love with me. And I have a 9 am conference call! Turn over and go to bed.
And then I sat straight up and said, “I’m going” out loud. I threw on my Converses and jeans and ran out into the street still wearing my pajama shirt, letting my damp hair get damper from a residual downpour.
When I got to the bar, a handful of people were closing out their drunken nights. Couples were stumbling up the stairs, groups of friends were finishing their drinks and the tables were virtually empty. I paid the $10 cover and the waitress told me I could sit anywhere, so I chose a table up against the stage and ordered a beer.
About 15 minutes later, John Mayer walked in, said hi to me as he hopped on stage and then proceeded to play a two and a half hour show approximately 6 inches from my head.
John would say, “What do you want to hear?,” I would say a song, AND THEN HE WOULD PLAY IT. The bar started filling up throughout the show, but even at capacity, maybe 80 people were there. He did some stand-up in between songs and heckled me when he heard the “ding” of my phone getting a text. He wanted to see it, but after a quick game of verbal tug of war, my squealy texts to Kate remained unviewed. He played his acoustic guitar with old shoelaces tied on it, intertwining Fleetwood Mac, the Police, Jay-Z, and Tom Petty with his songs, and I sang every word.
I sat there alone, watching one of my favorite musicians play a show that I know I will remember for the rest of my life. Fifty years from now, when one of his songs comes on an oldies station, I will tell my grandchildren about the time I got out of bed to go see John Mayer play at a basement bar in the Village.
When the show was over, I told him thank you and I meant it. I pushed through the heavy doors and saw for the first time what the city looks like covered in the breaking light of dawn. My hair was dry and I walked home past early runners and shop owners pulling up their grates.
Only here. I love New York.
I don’t want Kate to go back to San Francisco.
this is me and genna in a flea market mirror.
Last night was my first Pommes Frites experience.
But since I gave up french fries four years ago for Lent and haven’t had one since, I chewed on some Trident. Some people have alcohol problems, other people have french fry problems. IDONTWANTTOTALKABOUTIT.
What? You don’t chase your dog around the backside of a driving range barefoot?
SPF Zero
Tumblr.
Obviously.
this is a scene from an EPIC tumblr meetup.
i told everyone to make tiger faces AND THEY DID.
The Lake By The Numbers
0: Amount of sunscreen Kate and I put on the first day
2nd: Degree sunburns we experienced as a result
1: Indian friend who made fun of her “two dumbass white friends” for the rest of the vacation
4: Noodles that were stolen from children at the pool so that we could do water aerobics
2: Parents that got drunk on the booze cruise and gave relationship advice
17: Times a Justin Bieber song was played
1: Pair of Ray Bans that have a new home at the bottom of the lake
1: Ray Ban rescue mission that was quickly abandoned for sweet potato fries and Diet Cokes by the pool
99: Amount of problems my dad said he had, but that a bitch was all of them
All: Dignity that was lost when I lost my balance and flipped my kayak during a heated race
2-3 lbs: Goal weight loss for the weekend
0 lbs: Actual weight loss for the weekend
12: Bud Light Golden Wheats and Blue Moons consumed (unrelated to above)
1: Game of “What would your last words be if you got capped?” initiated by Shruti
1: Times Kate asked what “capped” meant.
2: Tubing-related neck and back injuries
3: Pairs of goggles worn by 26 year-olds while playing underwater games in a pool
I spent the past week with my toes (and entire body) in the lake with two of my best friends, my parents and my dog.
Last night, as I rolled my suitcase down my quiet street at midnight, I breathed in the city, letting it replace the mountain air lingering in my lungs. I searched for my keys, digging past my bathing suit that was still damp from a morning spent on a boat 600 miles away, and I realized that I may have finally found my place – contentedly straddling the line between country mouse and city mouse.
Born and raised in the South. Currently growing up in New York City.
My boyfriend and I live in a 300 square foot Sin Bin, my job is the Internet, and one day I hope to turn into my mother.
