Adventures – ASK Musings

Saturday

15

November 2008

Reunion

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

Okay, so finally. What two of you have been waiting for. The reunion debrief.

I met up with Jen and Kelly (and their respective husbands) at Melissa’s house. It was really sweet – her parents opened up their home to a few of us for some pre-reunion drinking. Good times. But it did get awkward pretty quickly – a couple of other who Jen, Kelly and I didn’t really know well (but are friends of Melissa) showed up, and it was a little tense when Jen accidentally called one by the wrong name. Um, so that’s a good tone. Getting annoyed that someone doesn’t know your name ten years after they last thought of you? Yeah, dial it down ladies.

We made it out to the reunion and there was definitely a moment of panic when I walked into the (way too well-lit) room. It was just – ugh. Lots of people I hadn’t seen or thought of in a decade, plus, thankfully, a smattering of people I really, really wanted to see.

It seemed that almost everyone I talked to was doing well. People were nice, friendly, and didn’t seem to be trying hard.

And I say almost – because DAMN. There were two women there who were dressed SO hilariously inappropriately. Like, clothing that would make one say ‘oh ew’ at a club. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t ever judge people, but I do understand that people have different styles and that’s cool – much more interesting than if we all wore clothes from the Gap – but these outfits were just hilarious. And totally perfect for the girl who hasn’t grown up since high school.

There were definitely a few memorable moments. Coming out of a stall in the bathroom to find a group of girls taking swigs from a flask, being asked to join them, and doing it. Introducing myself to someone I apparently knew in high school (oops!). Being one of just three people living it up on the dance floor.

I’m really glad I went – I reconnected with a couple of people I had definitely missed over the years, and saw some people I’d wondered about (and no longer have to wonder about because, y’know, eh). If there’s a 20-year I’ll probably go.

Saturday

1

November 2008

0

COMMENTS

A Busy End to the Fall

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

That’s me as Sarah Palin on Halloween. I figured out how to do my hair like her’s (when she does the half-up thing with just bobby pins). I hope she loses for many reasons, but one is so that I can start doing my hair like that. Seriously, it’s so easy!

Monday night the Trouble Clef kids (name still pending) got together for an abbreviated jam session. It was really fun. We think we’ve got a set list, and now just need to really work on the songs.

Tuesday night I had an Alumni association meeting. Heh. Oh, so, so much better than when this guy who took himself WAY TOO SERIOUSLY was in charge. It’s almost – almost – fun.

Wednesday Herman and I saw “Saw V.” Still gory, but not as creepy as the past ones, I’d say. We’ll see how Saw VI is (they’re casting for it now, I believe in a reality show).

Thursday I attended a really interesting talk about ETA and the Basque country, and how they compare to the IRA and Northern Ireland. I’m not so familiar with that area of the world, but I loves me some northern Irish, so I plan to read the book eventually. I like these academic talks.

Finally, Halloween. I thoroughly enjoyed talking in Palin’s accent all night. There were two other Palins at the party, and all were a little different. Perfect.

But the best part? Ben is back from Africa! It was really great to see him. A surprise for his wife, for sure – he’s back almost a month early.

Happy November!

Sunday

26

October 2008

0

COMMENTS

We’re off the see the Wizard . . .

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

Today I took the Halloween tour of Green-Wood Cemetery. It’s a great, one-square-mile cemetery just about a mile from my apartment. It is 170 years old this year, and is the final resting place for about 560,000. Yup, that’s not a typo.

There were probably about 150 of us on the tour, and it was a perfect day for it. It was sunny, and actually a bit warm (I think almost 65). We met at the 5th avenue entrance, and spent about 2 1/2 hours going through the gorgeous cemetery. We saw a few interesting graves, including that of “Bill the Butcher” – the man on whom the Daniel Day Lewis Character in “Gangs of New York” was loosely based. We saw one of a man who was murdered by a jilted lover, and one of a woman who was buried in a dress that was bequeathed to a friend, who then had to sue the estate to get the value paid to her (the executor wanted to make her exhume the body and physically take the dress).

We also saw where the man who played the Wizard of Oz is buried, as well Jean-Paul Basquiat. Finally, we ended the tour with a special trip into the catacombs. They only open them once a year, I believe. They are just downright creepy.

I took a few pictures – I plan to go back. It’s so close, and unlike Prospect or Central Park, it’s not packed with children. And it’s just lovely and quiet.

Friday

12

September 2008

0

COMMENTS

A fitting way to spend 9/11

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures, Reviews

Tonight, thanks to Eric getting up at 5:30 AM to wait in line for tickets, I got to see an amazing production of Hair. When I was younger I would listen to my parents’ recording (on vinyl) of the soundtrack. I remember thinking then that I was so bummed I’d never get to see a live production of it. Thankfully, the good people at The Public Theatre decided that they should revive it.

I really enjoyed it. And especially tonight, when we’re remembering 9/11 and all of the things that happened that day and following it. We’re fighting a war, sending young people off to die. There isn’t enough love and acceptance of people being different. And that’s something I hope changes soon (go Obama!).

The music was well-done, and the feeling, being outside, with the perfect fall weather, was just amazing. The ending was so powerful.

And after it ended, the curtain call was a reprise both of Hair and Let the Sunshine in, and they invited the audience onstage to dance. I was a bit far up for that, but it was such a fun, loving, peaceful, happy environment to experience.

The show goes to Broadway early next year. I’m not sure if it will translate exactly the same way, but if you get a chance to see it, I hope you take it. It’s beautiful.

Peace. Seriously.

Monday

4

August 2008

0

COMMENTS

Overwhelming

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures, Reviews

Does everyone already know about Buckminster Fuller? Am I a few decades behind the curve? Oh well. I mentioned to Justin that I enjoyed the exhibit I saw at MOMA a couple of weeks ago of manufactured homes. He suggested I’d probably like the Fuller exhibit at the Whitney. He’d mentioned his stuff before, and it sounded cool, but I didn’t really do much with the info.

On Sunday, I checked out the exhibit. Um, yeah. I spent about an hour there, and I was floored. It was really cool. And I wanted to know more about everything I was seeing. Usually when I see art or such things with which I am unfamiliar, I kind of look at it, appreciate what I understand, and move on. But this? It was more. It was inspiring, but I couldn’t really figure out in what way. I’m still not totally sure. But I signed up for a membership at the Whitney so I could go back a few more times, and bought a book on Fuller. I’ve read about 100 pages in the past day, and I’m totally sucked in. It’s really interesting to read about him and his work and the impact he made. And I keep just wanting to learn more.

But, moreover, I just want to talk about these new ideas with people. Not that college, or even graduate school, provided the dialogue and interesting discussions I was hoping to get out of higher education, but I’d love to have the idealized version of that. You know, hang out in a cafe and talk about things I know very little about to try to explore these different ideas. I know I could talk about it all with Justin, but the poor guy probably doesn’t want to spend his evenings explaining concepts like getting four triangles out of one drawn on the ground.

Now that I have a day job and spend my evenings with good friends (and the occasional guitar or ballet lesson), I want to figure out how to incorporate these things into my life. I love the fact that I’ve found success in my career and my friendships. I sometimes can’t believe that I can afford to live on my own in NYC without resorting to eating top ramen every night. But there’s more to think about than just the shelter/food aspect of things. I want to challenge my mind more.

Thursday

10

July 2008

0

COMMENTS

Pop Up

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

The humidity has left the City (for awhile, at least). After work, a couple of friends and I ventured over to the new pop-up park at Pier 1 in Brooklyn. It’s great – they took a pier and paved it, added hills with grass, a big sandbox for the kiddies, threw up probably a dozen tables and added a little bar with some beer, wine and food. From there you can see three of the four waterfalls (allegedly you can see the fourth, but a big chunk of plywood was in the way tonight). There was a nice breeze, bright sun and good friends. If you are in the City, I really suggest you try to visit.

Tuesday

8

July 2008

0

COMMENTS

Wait, that’s a bar chord? Aw crap. No, I’ll try it.

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

I’m trying to take advantage of opportunities that come my way to do something different. Today, after work, I stumbled upon such an opportunity.

As I was leaving work and heading to the train (I chose the A instead of the F because it is 900 degrees out) I ran into four people from the office. One had a guitar, one had a suitcase, and one had a folder full of papers. They claimed they were starting a band, and told me to come along. I kind of – no, really, actually – didn’t believe them. I mean, clearly Chris, with the guitar, was going to play somewhere. But Dave had a suitcase with him, and Nate just generally doesn’t strike me as one to hang out with Chris, Lisa and Dave. Then I looked at the papers and saw they were five packets of a bunch of songs with chords. I figured that if this was some joke they were all simultaneously in on, well, good on them. So I got on the A train going the opposite direction of home.

They reserved a space at a practice / recording studio near Midtown on the west side. This place is great – each room has loads of equipment, including full drum sets and keyboard, mics and amps. I was even able to rent a guitar to play for the session. Of course, I had no clue how to tune it using the tuner they had, so both Chris and Dave had to step in.

At first I was a little apprehensive. I’ve *just* started playing guitar again after about 10 years, and I’ve struggled in the past with picking up on songs quickly. But they were so patient with me. Most of the songs we tried had pretty easy chords, and after Chris correctly called me out on being too worried about looking stupid, I relaxed and just went with it. And it was so worth it. I certainly am nowhere near as good and Chris and Dave – they really know their stuff, and can play complicated melodies and solos – but I kept up for the most part, and had an absolute BLAST the entire time. And Nate was amazing on the keyboard. Seriously, it was this silly two-hour jam session that reminded me of how much fun I have when music is involved.

Hopefully we’ll do it again in a month or so. In the meantime, I can’t wait to get started with my guitar lessons.

Sunday

6

July 2008

0

COMMENTS

National Lampoon’ Tahoe Vacation

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

A whirlwind week of fun with the family.

My trip had a bit of an inauspicious start. I got to the airport on time (after getting up at 4:30 AM), and the plane pushed back early. But we sat. And sat. And sat some more. After about 30 minutes, the captain came on to say that we couldn’t take off because our flight plan wasn’t cleared. He even shut down the engines, which is never a good sign. Then he came back on, sounding really frustrated, and said that the tower couldn’t access flight plans for anyone heading to the Bay Area. Whoops.

It was eventually corrected, and I landed in Oakland about 90 minutes late. We headed to Tahoe, with a couple of quick stops – one at the Jelly Belly Factory (yum!) and one at In-and-Out (yum!).

It was so great to get up to the Lake. I’ve not been there in the summer since before I started my current job, and the four of us haven’t been there in the summer in a decade.

Sunday was a full day of walking around and eating. Seriously. We walked down to the Lake, then went over to Kings Beach for some miniature gold – a family tradition. After checking out the art fair, we played (or, in my case, lost) some money at the slot machines. Then we had a super yummy dinner at The Soule Domain. They even had vegan offerings.

Monday was pool day, followed by dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant with the godparents.

Tuesday was a crazy day. We were supposed to go out on a boat, but it was cancelled. We went down to south shore instead, and took the Heavenly gondolas up about 2,000 feet. Seriously, freaky. It was fine hanging over a nearly vertical mountain face when the gondola was moving, but when we just stopped and hung there? Oh HELL NO. I was not amused. But once we got to the top, it was all worth it. The view was breathtaking.

After traveling up a little further, we came across the zip line – the longest in North America. After sister and I took another ski lift to the very top of the mountain (9,500 feet above sea level, about 3,000 feet above the lake), we were each strapped into a harness dangling from a cable. Then the let us go, and we flew 540 feet over tree tops. It was a once-in-a-lifetime feeling of flying, and it was amazing.

The rest of the week was all about the small town USA fourth of July celebrations. There was a pancake breakfast thrown by the local fire house, a parade (featuring square dancers and boats), a tribute to veterans, and a 1940s USO show. It was so fun, with everyone so into the activities. On the actual 4th of July we walked to the Lake and had dinner at the local hotel, where they were setting aside space on the beach for us to sit. The fireworks were spectacular – and a bit scary when a few went off directly on the barge, lighting it on fire. Whoops.

There were some low points – mostly when we would slip into family bickering mode – but overall it was a really relaxing, wonderful time with the family.

Tuesday

24

June 2008

0

COMMENTS

I’m in!

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures

It’s been a long week, but I made it. I’m in my new digs in the Slope. I love my neighborhood, my street, my building, and my apartment.

The movers arrived right on time, and took about an hour to load everything up. My (now former) roommate was kind and offered to come out to the place with me to help unpack! We got to the apartment a bit before the movers, but then they came and unloaded everything really quickly. Then Michelle and I got to work – she is a master at unpacking. We were done unloading all of the boxes and putting all non-clothing items away in less than an hour.

We got brunch, then she came back and took away the boxes to use for her own move. I continued unpacking, and was soon joined by Jon Mark, and later John and Allegra. Now I’m seriously completely unpacked. Everything is put away, and all I’m missing is the couch, which should be delivered between 8AM and 1PM tomorrow. I still need to hit Target at some point to get those kitchen things like a pasta strainer and a dish dryer, but otherwise I’m all set!

This neighborhood is great. There’s so much to explore – I can’t wait to spend an evening wandering. I would have tonight, but there have been crazy thunderstorms on and off since 4 PM.

Sunday

22

June 2008

0

COMMENTS

Chicago. Harlem. Barbes

Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Adventures, Reviews

There’s a bar in my new neighborhood called Barbes. There’s an accent over the ‘e’, but I don’t know how to make that show up on a Mac. Anyway, they have live music there basically every night, and it’s interesting music. Behind the bar is the performance space, and it’s in a tiny room, probably about the size of my old apartment. 20 people can sit, plus maybe a dozen can stand in the back. What I’m saying is, it’s small.

Last night Herman and I went to see Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra. It’s a TEN PIECE BAND (remember the description of the space above?) featuring a tuba, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, saw, banjo, clarinet, sax and percussion. They played music from the 1920s band era, mostly written by band leaders from Chicago and Harlem. To me, the songs all had a sound that made me feel like I was in New Orleans. It was loud and wonderful, and so not the kind of music that one expects to hear in a bar in most places.

If this sounds good to you, they’re playing at MOMA at 5:30 and 7:30 on Thursday July 24. I know I’ll be there.

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Reunion

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A Busy End to the Fall

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We’re off the see the Wizard . . .

12

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A fitting way to spend 9/11

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Overwhelming

10

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Pop Up

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Wait, that’s a bar chord? Aw crap. No, I’ll try it.

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National Lampoon’ Tahoe Vacation

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I’m in!

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Chicago. Harlem. Barbes

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