Only in Boulder can you make your way into downtown on a Wednesday night and find yourself smack dab in the middle of both a farmer's market and a Carribean Marimba Concert. I'm serious, this is legit, dancing-in-the-street type madness. Right. Let's back this up a titty bit, shall we?
After work today I popped over to visit Lacey and go on a relaxing ride. We ran along side of a Coyote for a few minutes, jumped back and forth over a creek, and I layed on her back while she grazed in the shade of a gorgeous willow. Heaven. After I put her out to pasture, I wrestled with two of the farm dogs for a while, and got nice and muddy. Really, kids, it's the best way to be. Don't let your parents tell you anything different. A good tussle with an overgrown huskey was all that I needed to unwind from the ball of stress I had become at work earlier. And now, loose as string of yarn, I was ready to go deal with my mess of an apartment.
The truth is, we have been kind of lax about keeping up the cleanliness of our humble abode lately. It's been really bothering me, but I'm never home long enough to do much about it. Ces't la vie, right? Today was no exception. Almost as soon as I got out of my (very lovely and relaxing) shower, I was on my bike and zipping off to downtown.
There once was a place in downtown Boulder. A magical place of delicious aromas and inspiring sights. This place was, and still is known as the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. A magnificant facade hides an even more magnificent fountain, and the most wonderful thing a tea house can offer: cheap, delicious, excellent quality tea. Approximately $3.50, give or take a few cents, will get you a pot of any tea on the menu. The 7 Chakra blend is a personal favorite of mine... a spearmint tingle with a cinnamon aftertaste. How wonderful.
Anyway. The point of all of this, is that I ate dinner there. Grant (my adorably awkward Chemical Engineer neighbor) and I grabbed a bite to eat before wandering into the depths of Pearl Street (more on that later). Want to know what I had? Stuffed eggplant. "Stuffed with?" you ask. Stuffed with lentils, ricotta, spinach, tomatoes, and magic. That's what.
After an hour and a half of good food and even better company, we made our way over to the Pearl Street Mall. For those of you who know DC, think King Street, but having no cars present. For those from Western Mass, think Northampton, again, with no cars. This is one of the cultural hubs of Boulder. Any night of the week you can go there and be guaranteed to find at least a half of a dozen street performers ranging from a "bronze" cowboy to a man who knows every zip code in the world to a man juggaling fire on a unicycle.
Wednesday nights are particularly busy on Pearl Street. Band on the Bricks is a summer concert series where local artists are showcased weekly. So far I've seen a local Jazz singer, a Samba band, and this week, a Zimbabwean Marimba Ensemble. So much crazy dancing! A quote from their website, so you can get an idea of this ensemble:
"Kutandara fuses ancient African music traditions with Latin, jazz, gospel, classical, and world folk influences. Our exuberant and hi-energy polyrhythmic performances manage to be innovative and deeply-rooted at the same time."
I've been really trying to concentrate on not being self conscious in public... and all of this dancing in the street is really doing a number for my confidence :-) It helped that I was with Grant, Eric, and Tess. The latter two being two of the world's more beautiful creations. Both in mind and body, these two are just wonderful, and every time I see them, I just can't help but smile.
As cheesy as that sounds, it's true. I am finding some of the world's most wonderful people here in Boulder. There's no wonder this city has so many implants, you just can't help but fall in love with the atmosphere, and the kind of the people that are attracted to it are just the kind of people I would love to spend the rest of my time with.
Sadly, I have none of my own pictures to give visual reference to these words, but I'm going to yank some photos from online, just so that you all will have an idea of how beautiful my life here is.
Good night and dream well to you all! Although I can't imagine leaving this place, I miss you all terribly.
Love love, wonderful soul-dancing love,
Amy Plunk!
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