What this did mean was that I spent the whole Saturday at home. Inside. Sitting down. I thought I was going to die of boredom/heat/exhaustion from doing nothing.
So yesterday, I made SURE to do something exciting.
... that would be biking in Central Park! I figured, if I can't walk, I can at least ride. And guess what? It was a ridiculous workout. I had no idea Central Park was so hilly! I think it was also the slightly suspect bike that I rented (on the cheap) from some un-licensed black guys that made it harder. Let's just say the brakes were ... well, it was just better to coast through the downhills and wait until gravity did its work to stop me.
But my goodness, it was so exhilarating! I absolutely loved it.
It was so peaceful to just be coasting along. (Also, I may have taken the point-and-shoot camera name at face value ... and let me just say kids, don't shoot and ride. It's not good for those pedestrians you almost bowl over and it's not that great for the blurry photos either).
You also find out things you never knew - like that Central Park is incredibly full of people in the summer! (What a surprise. I guess because the last time I was in Central Park, it was a drizzly day in mid-March, that people didn't generally hang out there - but I was wrong). And also - apparently, there's a pool!
And just in case you weren't fully convinced of my awesome multi-tasking skills, I took a selfie ... while riding downhill. Through a traffic light. (Mind you, it was one of those little ones in the park that are more of a suggestion than a method of traffic control). I am clearly boss at this.
After such an adrenaline rush, I decided a more low-key saunter through downtown would be a good idea. And somehow I ended up in the mall. (Surprise?) I then spent the next 45 minutes trying on running shoes and getting my gait analysis. While with a hole in my foot. Who is the brightest of them all? Clearly not me, because my foot started hurting more AND I didn't even buy any shoes because I couldn't decide. That, and buying running shoes while actually unable to run just seemed a little silly.
Now the reason I had to cut it short (because let's face it, if I didn't have a schedule to follow, I would've been indecisive-Anna for the rest of the evening) was that I had evening plans. Because just up the road from Central Park is Lincoln Center ...
Where I enjoyed an evening screening of Il Trovatore on the big screen. And let me tell you, it was PACKED. Holy moly - I arrived early, and I was barely able to snag a somewhat centrally located, not-too-far away seat ... but my friend, whom I was supposed to meet and see this with? Well she and her company arrived about half an hour later and had to just sit on the ground! (Was I a bad friend for not joining her? Whatever, at least my butt was comfortable for 2.5 hours).
Sitting there and enjoying the show just made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to be in New York. I mean, the city is amazing. Here I was, sitting outside, surrounded by all of the gleaming sky scrapers, with their windows full of twinkling lights, and I was listening to opera. For free.
Moments like that really reaffirm that I made the right decision to come here.
In any case, the opera was wonderful (as it started, I actually realized that I had heard it before, but hated it, so I was a bit apprehensive; but this time around, it was somehow much more engaging and had a greater emotional effect on me, even though it was the same production). It's just too bad that this whole watch-opera-for-free-outside thing is ending either on Labour Day or the weekend after.
Now the opera ended at 10:30pm, which as everyone knows, is my bedtime. So it will come as a shock to you that I actually spent time with my friend E and her crew, walking with them uptown and chatting this late at night. I am serious, this is a big deal. And it was great - there was a definite drunk-but-not-actually-drunk atmosphere, where you talk as though you've had a bit, but actually you're all bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Of course that only lasted so long, so I abandoned them once we meandered into Fairway and took the train home. 12PM guys. I am now officially so legit, I'm too legit to quit. Except for tomorrow, when I'm going to bed at 9:30pm to compensate.
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