Wednesday, February 23, 2011

MLL #23 Skinny Dip

I added “Go Skinny Dipping” to my life list because I thought it would be fun. And I was right.
It was June 2007 when it happened. I was at the Jersey shore with my boyfriend’s family. We were staying in a motel room with two of our friends, Amber and Nique. Our motel happened to be only a block away from the beach. It was late, our first night there. My boyfriend’s parents and little sisters were in their motel room. I had been talking about going skinny dipping all day but they all thought I was joking. But I finally talked them into it. So we put on our bathing suits and headed out. It was dark, except for a few street lights. On the beach though there were no lights, it was pitch dark. When we got a few feet away from the ocean we all stripped off our suits and waded into the water. There was no one in sight but the moon. We squealed at the coldness of the water and the realization of what we were doing. We couldn’t stop laughing.

After almost 15 minutes Nique, who was the most skeptical about our adventure, swore she heard voices other than our own. Being completely paranoid she dashed from the water, onto the beach, grabbed her things, wrapped herself in a towel and sprinted for the motel… where my boyfriend’s parents were now sitting outside on their balcony. They watched Nique run, butt naked, wrapped in a towel, down the street to our motel and into our room.

Back on the beach, the three of us emerged from the water. When we reached our pile of things I realized that in Nique’s hastiness she grabbed my swim suit.
Good times.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

MLL #5 See John Mayer Live

I’ve been a fan of his since I was 17 years old. I remember the initial attraction was his voice, I thought it was the sexiest sound on Earth. I used to listen to his records without really understanding what he was saying, just getting lost in the sound. For my 19th birthday my boyfriend at the time had gotten me tickets to John Mayer’s Continuum tour. We broke up before the concert and since he had the tickets I never got to go. I had been dying to see him live ever since.

Everyone has someone. Someone who makes you smile even when you don’t want to. Someone who makes all the bad day’s worth it. Someone who just makes you feel like everything is going to be ok. For me, John Mayer is that someone. I want to justify what most people call an ‘obsession’. I love John Mayer, not only because his music is good but because as I got older and I actually started listening to his lyrics and grasping what he was saying, I found someone who understood. But at the end of the day, I guess I am obsessed.
I added “See John Mayer Live” to my Life List because I needed to see him with my own eyes, in the flesh. I didn’t know why. I needed to know that he was as good as he seemed. I needed to know that he was real. Also, I just needed to be near him, in the same space, breathing the same air.


I remember cutting my Anthropology class the morning ‘Battle Studies’ came out so I could download it off iTunes. Not long after, the tour dates were released. And February 21st 2010, my friend, Hinga and I went to the Wachovia Center in south Philly to see John Mayer. It felt like a first date. I felt as though I knew this man, inside and out, and we were finally taking that next step in our relationship. And I knew the moment I walked into the arena that this show was going to be a hit or miss. Like when you cross the line with someone who’s always been just a friend, you think, this will either be the best decision of my life or it’s gonna go up in smoke and either way there is no turning back. I was nervous. What if he sucked live? Would I be able to still love him the same? We were on the right side of the stage, kind of in the nose bleed area. Then the lights went out. Strobe lights came on and I could make him out walking on the stage & for a moment I couldn’t breathe. He was real. In a zip-up hoody, guitar in hand, ‘Heartbreak Warfare’ started to play and I knew in an instant, it was the best decision of my life. It was an amazing show. And the first of many Mayer shows I would attend.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

MLL#26 See A Shooting Star

When I was a kid, for about 6 consecutive years my family would spend the last week of August, right before school started, at the Jersey shore. Wildwood to be exact, at a motel called The Brittany. It was the highlight of my year, every single year. Even to this day, it’s one of my favorite places on the planet.

Then one year we stopped going, just like that. Then a couple of years later, we tried it again. It wasn’t the whole family like it used to be, but just a few of us. Even worse, we weren’t at The Brittany. We were at a smaller, less quaint motel called The Lollipop. I was devastated because (1) this motel was further from the boardwalk than The Brittany, (2) they had no pinball machine in their lobby, (3) the slide to the pool that was in the brochure didn’t actually exist and (4) I found a spider in the bathroom. Most of all, I didn’t like the fact that things had changed.

Late one night I expressed my displeasure aloud while we all sat on the front balcony of our room. My mom yelled at me, said I was being ungrateful, and other things. Then she and my dad retired to our room to watch TV. My sister escaped to the boardwalk to go-cart with a cute Puerto Rican boy who was staying on the third floor. My aunt and uncle took my cousin to an ice cream parlor. I was left alone on the front balcony (not so much a balcony as we were on the first floor) with the sting of humiliation from a public scolding. I looked up at the sky and started to cry. There were stars up there, stars you don’t see in the city. After only a few seconds I saw something very bright streak across the darkness and vanish. It was so abrupt I jumped, and so quick I had to think whether I actually saw it or not. I had never seen a shooting star before but I knew that that’s what it must’ve been. I don’t remember if I made a wish on it or not. I think I was so surprised to see it that making a wish didn’t cross my mind.

I just starred at the spot it had appeared, eyes still wet. “This vacation isn’t all that bad,” I thought.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

MLL #27 Go to a Drive-In Movie

When I think of a drive-in movie my mind automatically jumps to ‘Grease’. I think of dark nights, large bright screens, lined up cars, couples making out, popcorn and John Travolta in tight jeans. But just like poodle skirts, I thought drive-in movies had gone out with the seventies. But I added “Go to a Drive-in Movie” to my life list anyway. I thought there was something very romantic about them. And I was right. During the summer of 2008 my boyfriend invited me to come out to a drive-in movie with his family one Friday night. I didn’t know there were any drive-in movies in Philly, and there aren’t. This one was in Jersey. “What time does the movie start?” I asked, and they answered simply, “When the sun sets.” I remember sitting in the backseat of the SUV with my boyfriend, his little brother and three little sisters, his parents in the front. I recognized the route as the same one my best friend and I take to the shore. The movie was not near the shore but I swore I could smell salt water in the air.

When we arrived cars were lined up to pay. Once we paid and drove inside the sandlot area I saw cars lined up spaciously in front of a large white screen, just like in the movies. We found a spot we liked and unpacked the car. We had chairs and blankets and sandwiches. Unlike the movies, no one sat inside their cars, everyone laid out next to their cars on blankets or in fold out chairs. At the concession stand my boyfriend bought me some chocolate covered pineapples, which I immediately swapped for popcorn after just one taste.

Soon, the sun had set and the big white screen came to life. It was a double feature. The first film would be ‘Hancock’ which had just come out that day, followed by ‘Don’t Mess With the Zohan’. As I laid back in my boyfriend’s arms I noticed that it was a clear night and the stars were watching with us. I fell asleep during ‘Zohan’. No, I didn’t see Danny Zucco wailing dramatically, or Rizzo stomping pass our car, but it was still very magical. Trust me, there’s nothing like seeing a movie under the stars.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

MLL #12 Run A Charity Run

In October 2009 I had raised money for the AIDS Fund and was signed up to run the annual 5K. The morning of the race I stayed in bed under my blankets. I didn’t think it mattered because I had already raised and turned in my money. Which it didn’t. Not to the organization anyway. But as time went on I realized that it mattered to me. I said I was going to do something and then I didn’t do it. So I put ‘Run A Charity Run’ on My Life List because even if the Fund didn’t mind, I felt like I owed it to the universe.




So in October 2010 I raised money again for the AIDS Fund, then on the cool morning of the 5K I got out of bed, with a sore leg and made my way down to the Art Museum with my friend, Riyad. He held my things as I stood at the start line with tons of other Philadelphians. And we took off. It was great. I finished in about 32 minutes. My leg didn’t break in half. Riyad was waiting for me at the finish line with a Gatorade. I felt as though the universe and I were even. For now.

Monday, January 10, 2011

MLL #8 Quit My Job

Talk about dead end jobs. I started working at Kohls towards the end of my senior year in high school. It was just supposed to be a summer job, but it ended up lasting four years. It wasn’t a bad job in the beginning, I was content. But I didn’t notice myself getting comfortable. Too comfortable. After 3 years I was working under an entirely new management team; a very chaotic and provocative management team. My contentment turned to misery but I was comfortable. Sometimes when you get too comfortable in a situation you settle for a life you never bargained for.

I added “Quit My Job” to My Life List about two years ago. Not because I felt like I was too good for the job, that wasn’t it. Not because the managers had no sense of respect, though they didn’t. Not because the pay was low and benefits few, though that was indeed the case. Not because almost all of my high school classmates shop there, see me and ask, “You still work here?”, though that did kill my self-respect a little each time. I’m lying actually. I added this to My Life List for all of these reasons and more.

In August (2010) I called the store to call out and my least favorite manager answered my call. When I told him that I wasn’t coming in he kind of threatened me. He threatened my job anyway. Then he put me on hold. And this was the sign, the hold music was ‘Say’ by John Mayer. So when my manager got back on the line I did as John Mayer instructed and I said everything I needed to say. My manager was taken aback and told me, “I think you’re going to regret this.” And I said, “I’ll take my chances.” It’s been 5 months since I quit and the only thing I regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. For a while I was broker than my usual broke but I got back a part of myself I had forgotten existed. And that’s priceless.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

MLL #24 Go Parasailing

Everytime I think of parasailing I think of that Jurassic Park movie. You know the one, where the boy is parasailing over the island and the harness comes loose and he goes flying off and gets lost on the island. Well, I added “Go Parasailing” to my life list anyway. Despite the disaster of it, it still looked fun.

June 2009 I was in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with two friends, Jessica and Sherre when we decided to go parasailing. I wasn’t afraid; I thought it was going to be a blast. I couldn’t wait to feel the wind in my hair. I remembered a banana boat ride I had taken in Freeport, Bahamas back in 2003. That banana boat had been the most fun I had ever had and I was sure parasailing was going to top it. We sat in the speed boat putting on our life jackets as we raced towards the middle of the crystal blue ocean. Soon we were strapped into harnesses, all three of us. Jessica and I side by side and Sherre, being the smallest, in the front. Then little by little we were raised into the air.


Looking down it seemed as though the boat had stopped. It didn’t appear to be moving and we sat suspended in the air almost still, only moving with the wind. Had the boat been moving I think I would’ve had the speed to excite me. But sitting practically still I had the feeling that we were going to drop at any second. So I kept looking down at the surface of the water. It was a long way down. I saw patches of seaweed that my mind tricked me into thinking were shark silhouettes. So first I’m thinking how bad it’ll hurt when we plunge and hit the surface of the water, then how I’m gonna defend myself against a deadly shark. After about 5 minutes of “Oooohing” and “Aaahhhing” at the beautiful view of the resort in the distance, I turned my attention and energy to trying not to shit myself.

Once I was safely back in the speed boat I concluded that the banana boat in the Bahamas was still the most fun I had ever had in my life.