Life lately
It is hard to find the right balance between activity and rest, but this past weekend was nice. Sometimes you spend too much time resting and end up more tired than if you had just gone out and done something. Sometimes your mind is what is tired, and activity ends up being more restful, even if your body takes some coaxing.
Friday night, Jessica and I went to see Over the Rhine play a concert downtown. It was a good show. They had a good band and have good stage presence. The audience was older than I expected. I expected mostly mid/late-twentysomethings with a smattering of older fans in their thirties (the band has been around since the mid 90s after all), you know, an older hipster crowd. Instead, we were on the younger side of their fans. Most of them were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Actually, I swear that my old Biblical studies professor, Elaine Phillips, was there. I stared at her for a long time and couldn't disprove it. I think the nicest thing was that they played in a very small room at Berkley, so it was a very intimate setting with very good sound equipment. The only downside was that they were mostly playing songs off their new album, which I hadn't had time to digest by the time we went to see them. Still, there is no better way to get an appreciation for new songs than to hear them played live.
The next day, Jessica had to take some of her kids from work to a seminar and so I had the day to myself. I took advantage to get myself up to the north shore to see some old Gordon friends. I have to say, every time I go to Beverly I can see why people take so long to leave after graduation. A drive through Hamilton, or along to coast through Manchester or Essex, only seems to confirm my long-held belief that it is one of the most underrated and quaint sections of America. Sure, there are plenty of nostalgic reasons I love it too (not the least of which is that many friends are still around), but I do believe that the North Shore is a very lovely place.
Anyway, I spent the day with some friends doing guy stuff. We sat around, watched some soccer, talked video games and films, got pizza, and went to the movies (we went to watch Suckerpunch, which the trailer seemed to promise would be a trippy sci-fi action romp, but which was more like a sequel to the Babysitters Club with guns and shorter skirts...just terrible). It was great to spend the day with "dudes," doing "dude stuff." I miss male friendships, especially in a group. It is really the only thing that I feel my life in Boston misses in comparison to Spain. Sure, I left an unusually tight group of guys in Madrid, but still. While I have made friends here, most of my new relationships revolve around our church small group, in which I am the only guy my age. Most of my male friends live a decent ride outside the city. Anyway, this was why it was so nice to get away and hang out with the guys. Sometimes you just want to make fun of each other, eat greasy food, and shoot zombies.
Friday night, Jessica and I went to see Over the Rhine play a concert downtown. It was a good show. They had a good band and have good stage presence. The audience was older than I expected. I expected mostly mid/late-twentysomethings with a smattering of older fans in their thirties (the band has been around since the mid 90s after all), you know, an older hipster crowd. Instead, we were on the younger side of their fans. Most of them were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Actually, I swear that my old Biblical studies professor, Elaine Phillips, was there. I stared at her for a long time and couldn't disprove it. I think the nicest thing was that they played in a very small room at Berkley, so it was a very intimate setting with very good sound equipment. The only downside was that they were mostly playing songs off their new album, which I hadn't had time to digest by the time we went to see them. Still, there is no better way to get an appreciation for new songs than to hear them played live.
The next day, Jessica had to take some of her kids from work to a seminar and so I had the day to myself. I took advantage to get myself up to the north shore to see some old Gordon friends. I have to say, every time I go to Beverly I can see why people take so long to leave after graduation. A drive through Hamilton, or along to coast through Manchester or Essex, only seems to confirm my long-held belief that it is one of the most underrated and quaint sections of America. Sure, there are plenty of nostalgic reasons I love it too (not the least of which is that many friends are still around), but I do believe that the North Shore is a very lovely place.
Anyway, I spent the day with some friends doing guy stuff. We sat around, watched some soccer, talked video games and films, got pizza, and went to the movies (we went to watch Suckerpunch, which the trailer seemed to promise would be a trippy sci-fi action romp, but which was more like a sequel to the Babysitters Club with guns and shorter skirts...just terrible). It was great to spend the day with "dudes," doing "dude stuff." I miss male friendships, especially in a group. It is really the only thing that I feel my life in Boston misses in comparison to Spain. Sure, I left an unusually tight group of guys in Madrid, but still. While I have made friends here, most of my new relationships revolve around our church small group, in which I am the only guy my age. Most of my male friends live a decent ride outside the city. Anyway, this was why it was so nice to get away and hang out with the guys. Sometimes you just want to make fun of each other, eat greasy food, and shoot zombies.
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