Jewel of Himalaya

I was going through a stressful time preparing for interviews, so I decided to take a day off of work and calm my mind. It's been a while since I really traveled anywhere at all, let alone by myself. Not that this is really traveling like I used to, but it was wonderful. 

I rented a car. The sales associate asked me what I wanted to do about insurance, and I said, "Nothing. I don't need it." 

He looked so appalled! He said, "Um...I would...not...recommend that..."

Do I look like such a bad driver? Anyhow, I was under so much stress that I decided just to get the insurance so I wouldn't have another thing to worry about. My plan was to drive upstate, to the Buddhist Temple that I have been going to for years. I've mentioned it before. It was a peaceful drive that allowed me to clear my mind. Sometimes I think driving is like meditation for me. I almost wanted to just do nothing but drive for four hours, but I had an interview in the afternoon so I was limited on time.

I had never been to the Temple on a weekday, and it was a different experience. I arrived early, like 10 am, and I was the only one there. It was silent. I heard bugs and birds in the forest, and it smelled like pine. I went into the Temple and sat in the silence, and felt comforted. There is a room where there is a plaque for my grandmother, who passed away. I thought about all of my troubles and worries, and when I looked up, I saw that there was a vase full of pink lilies. Those are my favorite flowers because we grew them in my house in Boston, where I lived most of my life. Somehow, I felt like everything really would be okay. 

Normally they serve lunch on the weekend, but not on the weekdays. I hadn't been planning to go to the gift shop, but I was waiting for the incense to finish, so I went to check it out. I've been wanting to get an incense burner for some time, but hadn't found any that really appealed to me. I guess since I wasn't looking, I saw the perfect one. It was a lily pad with a small rabbit on it, which would hold the incense. I bought that, and left for lunch.

I went to a Nepalese Restaurant called "Jewel of Himalaya", which was pretty good, before driving home.

It was a day of much needed rest.  

Food at Jewel of Himalaya

A Temple to Myself

Governor's Ball

This weekend, there was a three day long music festival called Governor's Ball. It originally began on Governor's Island, but now takes place on Randalls Island. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but I have some videos.

I had read the forecast, and knew that it would rain in the early morning, so there would likely be a lot of mud. I made the excellent decision of wearing rain boots, which made the entire day much easier. As it turns out, I was in the minority, and most people were in sneakers and sandals, which got completely ruined by the mud. A friend of mine wore flip flops, and the mud got all over her feet.

Since the day started cloudy, I didn't put on sunscreen, and by the end of the day I had a horrible sunburn. It was a great event though; next year, I might even get the three day pass. This year I only bought the Saturday pass, since I really wanted to see Marina and the Diamonds and Angus and Julia Stone.

Clean Bandit

Marina and the Diamonds

Future Islands

Ed Sheeran

I am behind the times, it seems, but I recently discovered Ed Sheeran (who apparently has been around for years). Coincidentally, he came on tour to the New York area this weekend, so I decided to try to see him in concert.

My first attempt was at the Good Morning America Concert Series, which gives out free tickets for shows that start at 7:00 am. As a result, you have to check in around 6:00 am. I had never gone before, so I requested tickets and got them. After going to the event, I will probably never go to another GMA event again. Maybe if I was still a student and wasn't as busy, but it was a huge waste of time. We were standing outside for 2.5 hours, and then Ed Sheeran came and played for about 15 minutes. There was so much filler, and pretty much an hour of this MC saying, "Ed will be out soon." I guess it is free, so I can't really complain that much. For the time that he did play however, he was so good that I went ahead and bought tickets to see his concert in Brooklyn.

Ed Sheeran is one of the best performers I have seen to date. He does everything acoustic, and uses a loop machine. He'll beat box and drum on him guitar for the beat, so it ends up sounding like he has a band.

Here's my first time uploading videos: