Music, Art and Mayhem
I’ve been waiting for this date since I made the date box! My friend Manny and I are going to Artscape!!!! This free event (parking is definitely not free…or easy to find) only happens once a year in downtown Baltimore and it showcases all different forms of Art. It’s AMAZING!!!!!!!
Manny and I have been friends for 14 years, Lonnie, my son’s dad was one of his best friends. After Lonnie passed away the friendship between Manny and I blossomed (but trust me he isn’t a flower you want to smell). Do you have that friend that it doesn’t matter what you are doing or talking with them about you have a smile from ear-to-ear? For me that friend is Manny…whether we’re talking about politics, music, art, family, or reminiscing about our past, I’m always laughing and smiling when he is around. We share a value for finding beauty in even the littlest things, a passion for music and a short thread for stupidity (I wish it was okay to Dinozzo people when they do stupid things….but it’s not so don’t do it). Having a conversation with him is something that you all wish you could do… you’ll learn more about yourself with each encounter (you should try it sometime if he likes you that is).
On our car ride downtown I asked Manny a few “would you rather” questions (not his favorite game we didn’t make it too far). Some of the questions I asked included would you rather be incredibly attractive but exude an extremely bothersome odor OR be hideously unattractive but have a scent that is irresistible (we both would rather be stinky) and would you rather streak naked through your office OR be known as the office farter (I said farter & Manny said why not do both…lol)?
During Artscape the city closes about 10 blocks, so if you are unfamiliar with the area such as myself, figuring out where to park can be a bitch. I also can’t parallel park, like for real I’m the worst ever at it (did you know you don’t have to do that to pass your driver’s test anymore….WTF is that shit). Manny and I drove in a few circles before we paid $10 to this dude holding up a sign to park in an alley behind some business (a little shady… definitely).
We also caught up and talked a bunch about our summer, life, kids, and hobbies. My summer has been a little crazy. I have this amazing internship with this awful commute (but so worth it!!!!!). I always thought corporate comedies were funny but I never realized just how funny Office Space, The Office, Parks and Rec and the rest of them really were until I started my internship. I now have a new appreciation for this kind of comedy. Manny just started a new band called Deathdog. Love it (check them out)! Manny is musically gifted, he can basically play anything he touches yet most of the time he loves to beat the crap out of drums while playing punk music (he reminds me of Animal from the Muppets when he is playing). He is also attempting to teach me to play the guitar, let’s just say Killian is far more musically talented then I am (I can’t keep a beat for shit....plus side I can sing).
When we got to Artscape on Saturday it was raining and there may have been a little bit of thunder and lighting, so fighting a crowd wasn’t our biggest worry (normally that is an issue). We walked through Kidscape and up to the train stain to check up the Art on that side first. We caught an awesome drum circle (which Manny was dying to play in and not just watch). Then we made our why past these moon like structures and fake jungle gyms made of PVC (one year Killian ran to try and climb on them I had explain to him it was fake… hardest conversation ever for a four year old to hear). We made our way to the main stage to watch The Mighty Might Bosstones perform (they have the best outfits & we saw a girl whose Mohawk matched the bands outfits…lol Epic).
I would like to point out that for the first time I met a person who can see the “big picture” not in artist things like Manny but in tasks (maybe in Art we didn't talk about that). I have to say that it is absolutely amazing, almost a relief to final met someone who can imagine & think like me in that sense! I met this person during my internship and she is amazing, a women in the top of her field, a mother, a leader, funny, and independent. It made me feel like, I can do this! I’m not crazy, it really does exist (that career I pictured in my head). It was like talking to someone I have known my whole life. It is hard for me to connect with people in college, the girls in my SNT group are my only friends their and they aren't in my field. It really is amazing to finally met people who have a passion for something that you have in that way (in my field of study... because I do love it, and I think differently then the peeps in college with me).
Manny and I had a blast checking out the Art! We saw this Amish man who craved collapsible baskets that turned into hot pads (I wish I would have bought one they were so cool). My favorite piece of artwork were these amazing ironic photographs! There was one that had a sidewalk ends into a cloud with a dog halfway through a hole in the sidewalk it was fantastic! If I wasn't a broke ass college student/intern/single mother who has to buy school supplies instead of artwork I would have spent the money on that photo (I loved it so, so, so, so, so much)!
You know how your night sometimes doesn't end up the way you plan it to. When I'm with Manny my plans never work out as planned, they always end up better (true story)! After Artscape we ended up at a free concert at Power Plant Live in the inner harbor (had to pay for parking here too...always were they get you. Its never free). This concert was a 90's throwback if there ever was one, headlining Sugar Ray, and making it worth going Everclear (Lit was also there but we showed up as they finished)! Our friends Matt, Jewels, and Joe were at the concert, so we ended up kicking it with them for a while. Matt once told he would only listen to metal and punk music so him being there was fantastic. I had know idea he was such an Everclear fan, especially after a 3 hour bus ride to NYC when the only topic of conversation was Metallica ("You're out of your element").
Matt and Manny were having a conversation at some point during the night and they used a term I wasn't familiar with, so I asked. Boy was that not a great idea since I didn't catch the rest of the conversation. They were using a slang term for vaginia! Jewels & I both didn't know this term so I felt less out of the loop but I did find lots of fun words... check out the beverage slang image I found!
During our date Manny also told me his biggest regret is that he loves everything know matter what people think of him or of the activity but that he only stopped limiting himself because of what others thought about a year ago. He said he will try anything twice and he will never limit himself again. I understand were he is coming from my goal in life is to be happy, to see the world and make a difference. I have a talent, I would like to use that and find a way to make the world a better place. I will not limit my happiness for anyone or anything!
What did we learn here.....
1-Hitting stupid people in the back of the head is not the answer….even if they deserve it.
2- You are not alone, somewhere out there is someone you can relate to!
3- Appreciate the little things & find beauty where you can.
4- Find the type of Art that pulls you in and embrace it! Music, theater, drawing, painting, dance, sculpting, wood working, writing, photography or anything else that lets you express your creativity. Having passion is important!
5- Parking is never FREE!!!!!! They get you every time (This is why this date was the paid one... because I planned for it).
6- PLANS DON'T ALWAY WORK- learn to roll with it...and have fun!
7- Don't limit yourself! Not in your music, activities, at work, in doing things sooner, with anything!!
