Dizzy's

I had some fun New York moments yesterday. It was Saturday and it was snowing a bit outside so I decided to sleep in. What a great decision :). I didn't have any timetables to follow, no plans, so I just took my time getting ready. I had a beautiful experience with my scripture study, it was one of those moments that felt like Father was speaking to me. Those words may have been written 1,000's of years ago, but it felt like they were placed there just for me. After I was done reading my scriptures I got ready to go to the rec center to do some exercise.



Unfortunately there have been several locker break-in's at the rec center, so now they require you to bring a master lock with key. I have a master lock, but it's a combination lock; when I arrived I saw a sign posted on the door saying that if you had a luggage lock or a combination lock that the center wouldn't allow you in. The thing is, earlier that week one of the security guards had told me to get a lock with a key, I should have bought one earlier that week, but I kept thinking that they were just recommending it and that I would still be able to go into the gym. After all, my lock was sturdy; I really couldn't see how anyone could break into my locker unless they brought in a saw or welder. I was feeling pretty confident in not buying a lock. Well, that all changed when I saw the sign posted on the door. Turns out that the combination locks are easier to break into than I thought, the rec center wanted to help keep everyone's personal belongings safe so they started requiring people to have better locks (mind you it was for the good of the patrons that they were doing this).



I totally could be going out on a limb with this one, but it seems that life has moments like that. Where Heavenly Father tells us to do something because He knows it will keep us safer and happier. At the moment it may not make sense to us, and we may brush it off thinking that we are just fine doing things the way we have always done them. Then later on down the road we realize that we are stuck at a door. We could complain, throw a temper tantrum on how unfair life is, but the reality is Father told us earlier how to avoid getting stuck. By the time I had got back to the apartment to borrow my roommates lock it was too late to go to the rec center . This time I'm going to learn my lesson and get a lock so that I can make it passed the door.



After the rec center fiasco (or lack or rec center), I went down to the laundry room. I was looking for some machines, and being Saturday, it became a difficult task. One woman saw me looking at told me that her clothes were almost done and I could use her machines. The timing was perfect. She pointed out the machines that were the best bang for my buck, and as she saw me load my clothes she gave me some pointers on how to improve the wash.

She and I got to talking as we waited for our laundry. Her name is Val and she is an elementary school teacher. She also has her Masters in Public Administration and a Masters in Business Administration. A very bright woman, but so connected to the human experience. She told me about what it is like during the Spring time near the park, and all of the different activities that are available. She loves this city and you can tell.

My friend Mary was doing her laundry as well and she invited me to go with her and Christine to the opera. I think that I have only been to the Opera once before and I thought that it was a good experience, so I figured why not. We finished our laundry, got ready to go, and we were out the door. Sadly, the opera was sold out. We stood there for a bit trying to figure out what to do and Christine recommended that we go to a jazz club called Dizzy's.

They had a show going on that evening and we had to wait in the stand-by line, but we were able to get a table. The atmosphere in the club was so New York. There were small candle-lit tables dotting the floor, with a long bar that wrapped around the walls of the room. The back wall was a series of large windows, and looking through them you could see all of these beautiful skyscrapers all lit up with evening life. The platform for the band was right in front of the windows. There were stage lights aimed at the small platform, and the lighting was perfect. The band was from Brazil and they were wonderful, the music just made me want to dance. During the show I just sat back in my chair and soaked in the moment: wonderful jazz music playing, New York skyline in the background, delicious food, great company...what a beautiful moment.

After the show they had After hours. All three of us had had such a great time that we didn't really want to go, so we lingered. The next band set up and was introduced. It was a poet with a jazz band accompanying him. I wish that you could have been there. I had such a hard time holding my laughter in. The poet stood up to the mic and in a deep gruff voice started saying "listen, listen, listen" as the music played. Occasionally, he would erupt into these improv dance gigs, and then he would look at the piano player who was just as into the music as the poet was. The poet reminded me of Mike Meyers in "So I Married an Ax Murder" when he recite poetry in the club. It was a hoot!

We stuck around for awhile, politely laughing to ourselves and then decided to head back home. It had snowed that day so the sidewalks weren't all clear. All three of us walked down the snowy sidewalks lit by street lamps laughing and repeating our favorite quotes of the evening. Such a beautiful New York moment.