I’m finally catching up on my blogging. There is no reason I didn’t do this earlier other than lack of energy and my issues initiating action. I’ve had an action packed few days. Well, OK, not that action-packed but enough that my body is aching.
On Sunday I went with Fred and his friend Josephine who is visiting from the former Vienna homeland of the SF bay area, to see Vienna Teng, Alex Wong, and Jasmine Jang at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2. This was part of a residency that Alex was doing in association with Keepsake House. Keepsake House is a project of Jasmine and Hailey Savage. Hailey seemed so familiar; she didn’t recognize me but I’m sure I’ve seen he at shows in New York. There are a lot of people like that.
I wanted to get there early so we could get good seats. We weren’t sure if Josephine would be able to sit with us, she was handing out goodie bags, and if she couldn’t we’d sit in the Statler and Waldorf seats. There are only two of these comfy chairs so getting their early is a necessity. The show was at 8 and I figured I should get there an hour early, half an hour before doors. I got there a little late, 7:05 but that was fine. There was no line out front. It’s hard to judge these things in the age of COVID-19. Then I saw there were people inside. Doors were open! I went in and discovered this was for the earlier show. Vienna and company went on at 9, doors were at 8:30. Luckily Amy Correia whom I love and haven’t seen in something like then years was in Rockwood 1. I just recently reconnected with her to get her new album to play on Gord’s Gold. I didn’t know about the show, so this was pure serendipity. She has not only not lost a step, she’s even better. I loved it. I felt bad when I look out the window and saw that Fred and Josephine were there, so I had to cut out early. I did seem most of Amy’s set. She rarely plays New York, but no way I’m missing her next time. I’m back to being the real me, two shows in one night!
I’m a fan of Vienna but Fred and Josephine are megafans, collectively the megafana. Was the megafauna joke forced? This was another gathering of the tribe, but this time not my tribe. Vienna has gone from being a full-time musician to being a full-time environmental activist that does music on the side. Her shows are very rare, so each is a big deal. Big enough that Fred has flown to the West Coast and Josephine to the East to see her.
I had a great time, especially Vienna’s songs. It’s not just the music, they are such fun people. I love tribal vibes. They performed in the round with Hailey doing a Q & A with each artist each round. One round the audience asked the questions. There were also the aforementioned goodie bags. Mine had sweet rolls inside. There was a meet and greet after the show but as it was an hour later than I planned we didn’t stay long. I made good time but still didn’t get home until 12:30
On Monday it was raining, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to take my walk. I had two goals, getting COVID-19 tested and shopping at Aldi which are in different directions. The rain let up in the late afternoon though it was still damp and threatening. I knew the rain was predicted to come back, the Met game that night was already canceled. I figured I’d walk to the COVID-19 test, walk a few blocks further to Dunkin’ Donuts, and then come right home before it rained. In the ten minutes it took me to walk to North Bronx Central Hospital for the test the skies cleared up and it became sunny and beautiful. I got my test, it was negative, went to DD, and came home. I then got my shopping cart and headed out to Aldi. I got most of though not everything that I needed. As I walked home the wind picked up and the sky turned threatening. This was just as I got to the base of the big hill. I was feeling a bit sore and tired and decided to take the bus. I had to run to catch it, but I did. From there it takes two buses to get home. By the time I got to Grand Concourse and had to change buses it had cleared up. There was a nine minute wait for the bus, so I decided to walk the rest of the way. After walking a few stops, I was so tired that I decided to catch the next bus. By now it was just a four-minute wait. I ended up walking the majority of the way home but not up the huge hill. That was a nice compromise. I ended up walking 6.6 miles.
Yesterday I had a job interview at 1:30 and what was now a Mets doubleheader because of the rainout. I thought it was a zoom interview so got dressed in a shirt and tie. Then when I went to look for the zoom link, I saw it was on the phone. I wore a tie for nothing! At least I didn’t put in pants. I wore the linen pants I had planned for the Met game. The interview went well. My interviews usually do. I don’t know how or when it happened, but I gained social skills. It’s bizarre as I still self-identify as a freak.
Then it was off to the Met game. That’s a long trip. I had to miss the start of the game, I arrived in the second inning. That’s not too bad considering it was a double header. Alan was working and didn’t arrive until after the third. The Mets faced a top pitcher in the first game and thanks to injuries they planned a bullpen game. So, what happened? The bullpen pitched great, and the Mets won 3-1. The second game which I expected to win they lost 4-3 but it came down to the final at bat. It got cold and thanks to the wind I was not dressed warmly enough so for the first time I watched from the Jim Beam club. It’s designed poorly, you can’t see the batter’s box unless you lean all the way forward and even then, you can’t see the catcher. It needed to be two feet higher. Maybe the Mets new owner will put in a riser so we can sit and watch the game from the club. It was nice and warm. I’ll have to remember that for the future. I didn’t know it, but we also have access to the Piazza club one level down. I’ll have to try that.
This morning I woke up to a sore back and hip. I couldn’t drag myself out of bed for a while. That’s’ why I’m writing this so late. It didn’t help that I once again got home after midnight. I was sneezing my head off last night. My allergies will do that now and then. This morning in addition to the aches and pains my nose was stuffed. That doesn’t normally happen with my allergies. I’m going out with Dan tonight, so I was extra careful and just took an at-home rapid antigen test. I was negative. As I am back to going out often, I have to be extra careful about masks and testing.
I have an extra special Gord’s Gold this week on abortion. I better contact the artists I’m playing and prepare the promotion before I go out. Before that I’ll apply ice to my back and hip.
Wise Madness 