Sean's trip to New York, Vol. 2 -- Friday, March 18

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I haven't updated in a while. So here's your next installment.

On Friday, Liz and I awoke late although we had planned to do a lot of sight-seeing. We finally got out of Jeremy's apartment and on the subway around 11am or so. The first place we headed to was Lincoln Center, which is right off the A train on the West Side. We wandered around the courtyard, passing by the Juilliard School and several performance venues. We walked into the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts because I wanted to check out the Persichetti collection and see if they had the manuscripts for Shimah b'koli available. We asked the old ladies at the front desk where to find the special collections, and it took them 5 minutes to figure out that we wanted to go the research collections(!), that were on the third floor. The third floor has a coat and bag check, so we stashed our coats and my bag there, and I took in just a notebook and pencil. After we walked through security, I found the Music Collections desk and asked someone there about the manuscripts. Just my luck that when I was finally able to make it to New York, they were "processing the collection" (i.e. re-cataloging) and I couldn't view in it. "Check back in six months," he said. So much for that!

After grabbing our stuff and leaving the library, we wandered over toward the theatres, and saw what was on the Met and they NYC opera billboards. After much deliberation, we decided to see the NYCO's production of Candide that night, and after getting really confused by Ticketmaster on the phone, went inside to the ticket office and got student tickets for $15 a piece! What a deal! Reason one to live in New York -- frequent and very good performances!

Then we decided to head out to do something else, and ended up poking around in the Juilliard Bookstore for a little while (it's very tiny, but has some really great music books and CDs). With Central Park about 3 blocks away, we decided to walk over and take a stroll. On the way we decided we were hungry and grabbed hot dogs and pretzels from a street vendor (yes I'm a bad Catholic!). I really had no idea how large Central Park really was until I stepped into it. We walked quite a ways through the Park and still probably only saw 1/3 of it. This is partially my fault because I was vainly trying to find a subway entrance that was too far away to be found by normal means. So we ended walking from the west side of the park to the east side and caught the subway somewhere down on 5th avenue.

From there we decided to go to the World Trade Center. Finding it was kind of exciting, but ended up not being too hard. It's amazing the destruction that's still visible, even 3 1/2 years later. The pain was palpable, even. Even nearby buildings were still in a state of repair. Here's a few shots I took of the site. Keep in mind that there's a tall fence around the huge hole in the ground, so some of the views are obstructed.





After we had looked around at the destruction -- which you can see poignantly in both of those pics -- we went to find a bathroom. There was a Burger King on the corner, but when I headed for the bathroom, it had a coin lock on the door! Not only that, but you can't just put quarters in it, you have to go to the cashier and get a token. Luckily, there was another place across the way called Panini & Co, so we went in there. Liz got some coffee and a slice of cheesecake while I used the men's room. I too got a cup of coffee and helped her finish the cheesecake. We were pretty tired and it was nearly four o'clock so we decided to take something to eat back to Jeremy's and rest for a while before going back to Lincoln Center for the opera.

Candide. What can I say about Candide. It started out really funny, but quickly seemed to turn into banality. Don't get me wrong -- the music was great, the singing was good, the acting was ok, and the set was fabulous, but there was just something missing. I think the version of the libretto they chose was a poor one, and of course the usual complaints about the show not quite being opera, not quite being Broadway musical. Oh well, it wasn't a bad way to spend our Friday evening, and it was fairly inexpensive too.

There's much more to tell you about New York, but you'll have to wait for my next installment!

Sean's trip to New York, Vol. 1, Part 2 -- Thursday, March 17 (evening)

I woke up from my nap around 6 o'clock. The room where I was sleeping was really warm because Jeremy's apartment has radiant heat and no thermostat or shut-off valve. There was a huge radiator right underneath the headboard of the bed! I opened the window to make it cool off a little bit.

While I was napping, Jeremy's cats Alcatraz and Orson played all over the bed and in and out of the windowsill, making it difficult to sleep. Here's "Traz" and Orson (in order).




Jeremy had decided on a place for us to go to dinner. So thus we embarked on our first outing into Manhattan. The name of the restaurant was Landmarc, a place recommended by a friend of his from work, and it sits in an area of downtown Manhattan called Tribeca. Their point of pride was a wine list of over 400 bottles! When we arrived, they had a 30-45 minute wait, which was short in comparison to some places in Manhattan! We wandered over to the bar and each had a cocktail while we waited. One of the coolest things about this restaurant was the open wood-burning grill which is visible from the bar. Imagine drooling over some of the most appetizing steaks you've ever seen while you wait for a table. Torture!

After we sat down, Jeremy ordered a wonderful bottle of Burgundy which we shared amongst the 3 of us. The wine was bold, but all of its flavors were incredibly subtle and had a soft finish. A very pleasurable thing to drink! For appetizers, Liz and I shared a small bucket of mussels (which I had never eaten before) and Jeremy had a foie gras terrine. For the meal I had the pasta special which was a shell pasta with an herbed alfredo and Italian sausage, Liz had a steak with Bordelaise sauce and Jeremy had a lamb shank. All in all, an excellent meal, and we topped it off with a creme brulee and a lemon tart. The only drawback of this whole thing was the server. She seemed stand-offish and snooty to us, probably because we looked under 30. We tipped her adequately, but man was Jeremy tempted to give her a piece of his mind.

One misconception about New York is that the subway is scary. I'll say for sure that the subway is dirty and has a million different smells to it, some good, some bad, but don't tell me the subway is scary until you've walked through the Bushwick area of Brooklyn at night. It'll make you want to STAY in the subway. Oh, and if you go to NY be sure to get a multi-day unlimited subway pass. It comes in handy BIG TIME.

Sean's trip to New York, Vol. 1, Part 1 -- Thursday, March 17

I'm sure you all are wondering how my trip to New York went. So I've concocted several installments to dispense to you over the week. Here's the first!

Thursday morning, 4:00am CST. I wake up feeling very groggy, especially considering I hadn't gone to bed until 1:00am. Liz had apparently stayed up all night preparing for the trip. Sometimes I don't know how she does it! I finished packing my stuff and we left the apartment by 5:00am for the airport for our 7:30am flight to New York. Things from then on went pretty smoothly with the exception of some overpriced crappy coffee in the airport. At least the blueberry muffin was good. I slept most of the way to New York.

We arrive at LaGuardia on time and find our way to the baggage claim. There was a huge group of young kids there at the baggage claim too. They were collecting musical instruments off the belt and one of them had a PMA sweatshirt. Must have been some band on tour. Anyway, that's all the boring stuff. Here's where the excitement begins!

After dodging/ignoring people who tried to solicit getting us a cab, we make it through the line to the taxi dispatcher. Didn't take but a few minutes to get us a taxi and we loaded our bags into the trunk and jumped in the back, after handing the driver directions to our destination. At this time I called Jeremy (the friend we stayed with over the weekend) and let him know we were in town and in the cab. By the time I finished, the cabbie had already pulled over to one side of the main drive to check out the directions. He said he was trying to find another, shorter way to our destination. We must have waited 15 minutes there in the airport drive while he tried to figure it out. I called Jeremy back and handed the phone to the driver so he could get directions. After finally leaving the airport, the driver wove through Brooklyn and circled around, taking nearly an hour more than we expected! The driver said that we're probably the only yellow cab in Brooklyn and he only comes to this part about once a year! We finally found the apartment and Jeremy met us downstairs.

Yeah, so... Jeremy lives in "the ghetto". He admitted it to me earlier on the phone, but I had no idea! The streets were very dirty, the buildings run down. Jeremy said that the area was called "New Williamsburg" and that a lot of the area was being forcefully renovated so that the "Williamsburg" area of Brooklyn, where a lot of artists live (expensively), could expand. Still, it was a scary looking neighboorhood. Jeremy took us down a couple of blocks to a nearby latino restaurant (of which there must have been twenty), and we got "Cubano" sandwiches for lunch. While we were waiting for our order Jeremy went to the grocery store and got chips and soda to have with our sandwiches.

When we returned to Jeremy's place with our lunch, Jeremy turned on his newest toy, a widescreen LCD projector. He uses this instead of a television. He popped in a DVD of his favorite anime, "Last Exile", and we glanced at it occasionally while munching on our sandwiches and talking.

At this point I was exhausted so I laid down for a nap (about 2pm EST).

Yarr! Dattebayo!

Thanks to hard work, a good attitude and supportive friends, I have been elected captain of my crew in Puzzle Pirates. This won't mean much to many of you, but to my pirate buddies, thanks!

Yes, as you may have seen from Eric's blog, I'm addicted to Naruto. It's quite an interesting and entertaining show. I've just recently finished watching the second season (starting on the third). The second is pretty interesting because you get to see a bunch of different characters get developed. While the first season moved pretty quickly, the second spent all its time on the Chuunin exam (which incidentally started in the last 3 episodes of the first season). The third so far seems to be developing both the external storyline and Naruto's individual struggles. I have to struggle to watch less than 3 episodes a day! AAAH!

Anyway, the clock is ticking until New York! (and Easter and end of semester and wedding...) I'm very excited, but also nervous! Wish me luck.

Rekindle the mystery

One might say that our modern world is lost in the woods. We live in a world of pharisaism, religious fanaticism, political disillusionment, and general loss of innocence.

It is no surprise to me, then, that we are drawn to the world of fantasy. Works like Tolkien's masterpieces Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the less erudite yet still captivating Harry Potter (Yes I mentioned those in the same sentence), role-playing, comics and anime fill a void in our lives. What is that void? It is the absence of mythological significance.

We have in many ways sucked all the mystery out of our lives. Most mundane phenomena can be explained ad nauseum by science. We are consumed with the pursuit of technology and possessions (I am aware of the irony in this statement, but it is unavoidable). We abdicate personal responsibility in favor of tort and blame-shifting.

The characters in these works of fantasy are intriguing to us because they represent what has been lost. They live their lives in accordance with a mythological order. They have purpose and drive because they are fulfilling a role within the cosmological design. They embody qualities that we sorely lack: pursuit of justice, protection of the greater good at all costs, resistance to the temptations of evil, overcoming personal weakness, humility, loyalty, bravery, persistence and love. The hobbits and Harry Potter are excellent examples of how the meek shall rise above. The Fellowship, especially Gandalf and Aragorn, risk their lives for the sake of protecting freedom and goodness. Samwise Gamgee shows loyalty to Frodo even when Frodo rejects him. Harry Potter exhibits bravery even in the face of incredible obstacles. Naruto exceeds his own abilities.

But these traits could be part of anyone! What makes these characters so special, what makes them resonate so much with our inner selves? Theirs is the trial by fire, the descent into darkness, the hero journey. It is the transformation from selfishness into the selflessness of true heroism. Gandalf battles the Balrog to near death and emerges as the white wizard. Aragorn enters the Path of the Dead, overcomes his self-doubt and emerges the true King of Gondor. Frodo endures the temptation of the ring and the horrors of Mordor and emerges as savior of the free world. Harry descends into the depth of Hogwart's, defeats Voldemort and recovers the Sorceror's Stone. Naruto overcomes his self-doubt and saves Iruka-sensei and Kakashi. The sacrifice of self for the sake of greater society is the essence of the hero journey.

Some of you who I hold dear understand the significance of these ideas and their special relevance to me. What I am suggesting is that we must engage the myth of the hero journey in our everyday lives. The antagonists of myths are allegories to the more complex challenges that we face. Our foes and challenges are not like Voldemorts or Saurons or Balrogs or Zabuzas. They are much more subtle and more dangerous. They are hypocrisy, political deceit, injustice, avarice, addiction, apathy and indifference. We must endure the pain of battling them to emerge as greater individuals and a greater society. We must battle them, it is our duty, else we stay in the darkness forever.