Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

Four words: chemistry quiz tomorrow morning. That was all I was thinking about that night. I really need to stop procrastinating so that I can fully enjoy these events.

Anyways, I wasn’t expecting very much mainly because I had no idea what Symphony Space was. All I knew was that we were going to hear people tell stories and someone from Sleepless in Seattle (my mom’s and my favorite movie) was going to speak. But I was pleasantly surprised to see how interesting this food magazine was. It really made me want to buy a copy even though my cooking knowledge is limited to cooking rice, eggs, pasta and french toast.

My favorite story was the last one that David Cross recited about the cast-iron skillet. Actually, I didn’t particularly love the rest. Especially the dream one. That did not work at all for me.

How the person read the story made the biggest difference, too. How much feeling they put into the story, how they handled making mistakes. I personally loved when they made mistakes and made jokes from it.

I definitely would love to go to one of these things again, but maybe just not about food. It was a little harder to relate. And it seemed the audience is more grown up.

But seeing Mario Batalli was the highlight of the night–I finally see what my bio professor is channeling when he wears his orange crocs.

I haven’t had much experience with ballet except taking it for half a year and quitting because I was terrible, and watching The Nutcracker every year in middle school as our school trip. Nonetheless, it was always something that I loved to watch and wished I could do.

The first part was my most favorite and it was probably because it epitomized my childhood dream of becoming a Disney princess. The couple dances made it so romantic and their formation transitions were on point. Their tutus started looking like pizzas to me, but maybe it was because I wasn’t able to eat prior to the performance. I was expecting to love the second one because of the story line, but it honestly didn’t do much for me. It was slightly difficult to distinguish who the characters were in the beginning. I’m still not sure who the other woman is that was angry at the lady for having an affair with the lady’s husband’s colleague. Despite how unclear it was, the dancing was equally as great as the first. The last part I was pretty neutral about– the contrasting colors and more modern approach was great but I had no idea that the stars and crescent moons were supposed to represent communism. For the last two, I think reading the background behind them would’ve made it a lot more enjoyable to watch.

I have to admit, this wasn’t my most favorite experience. Although the dancers have great talent, after a while it seemed to all be the same to me. Especially since ballet has a set index of moves and such. But this will definitely not be my last ballet! 🙂

Being only six years old, the worst thing  that had happened to me up until then was losing my grandmother. But the loss from 9/11 was on a much bigger scale and something I never really came to grasps with. I remember how we were sent home early that day and how that night my whole family met up in my aunt’s tiny apartment with eyes glued to the TV screen in unbelief as the two towers began to collapse. The rest was honestly a blur but the two things I remember were how the next nights would be spent attending prayer vigils and people crying out to God and how in school, my friends would tell of stories they heard from their parents and from the news or about the loved ones they had lost. As much as I was as hurt and angry and scared as all these other people, I never felt it being something real or rather I never wanted to accept it as something that truly happened and that those innocent people died and that this city I loved and felt safe in wasn’t as invincible as I thought it was. It was a wake up call that I didn’t want to answer. I never actually visited ground zero, except the few times I would pass it on outings with my parents. So I guess this was the first time I actually visited and it finally felt real to me. Seeing exactly where the towers stood and reading the names of the people who lost their lives finally made it a reality to me. I remember seeing the names and thinking about who they might’ve been to someone: a husband, a wife, a mother, a child… Oddly enough, the memorial wasn’t something that made you feel upset and angry. The trees and the running water. It gives peace more than anything. Despite how tragic, there’s a mutual understanding of the situation that give us as New Yorkers this unspoken bond.Now seeing the Vietnam memorial was a whole different situation. The broken water fountain, dead flowers and litter showed its abandonment. But the walls of quotes from real soldiers–that was powerful.  I feel like it didn’t have the same effect as the 9/11 memorial, but it was mostly because 9/11 occurred in my own lifetime unlike the Vietnam War. The abandonment of this memorial got me thinking about if this would be what would become of the 9/11 memorial. If in 100 years, it would not be as taken case of and the waterfalls would be running dry and the trees dead. But, I guess they’re two different situations. 9/11 was the first real attack on our country. Wars happen all the time. I guess the imprint on our minds is much deeper and will definitely be remembered and talked about for a long time–how through this tragedy, we were able to work through this and still stand tall.

Our night at Symphony Space was an interesting event. I really enjoyed some of the stories, while others I did not care for as much. I was looking forward to going because David Cross would be there, and he is one of my favorite comedic actors. I knew he would deliver, and he really did. I think his readings along with Gaby Hoffman’s were the best of the bunch. I liked that the crowd was very casual and the mood was laid-back and welcoming. I think it’s just an interesting concept: having people read funny stories to a crowd. It’s like how people entertained each other before television and computers–just telling stories, jokes, and reciting poetry or singing. It’s a very simple, stress-free kind of joy, but you really have to be open to it.

I feel like most people in the class already disliked the idea of listening to stories without even having experienced it yet, which is closed-minded I think. Many of the people who wrote the stories are established and very funny writers, and I think you can only really appreciate that sort of thing with an open mind.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend our last trip at the Symphony Space. However, after listening to the discussion my classmates had in class, I inferred that the trip was not too good after all. I noticed that about two classmates enjoyed their time at the Symphony Space, listening to the authors read their pieces. The majority of the class felt that this trip was useless and many were put to sleep.

I am not sure if I would have enjoyed this trip. My classmates said that the authors were not professional readers and stuttered a lot when they read. They said that the stories, although interesting, were a bore to listen to. They said that they could have read the stories on their own rather than travel to the city to listen to a bunch of authors stuttering as they read their pieces.

I probably would have enjoyed this trip. I read a few pieces and listened to them online and really find it interesting that people spend their time producing creative writings that involve food. I also enjoy listening to people read as opposed to having read the pieces alone because when the author reads his/her piece, I tend to put a face to the work and analyze the author’s personality. I discover what propelled the author to write such a piece based on who and how the author presents his/her work.

Because I was not at the Symphony Space, I cannot say I would have definitely enjoyed the trip. But I can admit that I enjoy listening to people read stories and really get drawn in to stories that seem interesting. I found the stories that I read were creative and interesting!