THIS BLOG POST HAS 2 OBJECTIVES:
1) To mention a common (yet largely unexcercised) method for sustaining grad student sanity: taking the night off.
2) To discuss my first-ever encounter with Kingston`s live music scene.
I have to admit, I almost didn`t attend the concert I went to last night. After spending the weekend tearing my hair out over an essay due this week, planning another presentation I have on Tuesday, researching two other essays, and nursing a massive headache on Friday night, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a concert. And did I mention that I also have a stack of student essays to mark? Ah, the glamorous life of a TA.
Yet for my sanity, I knew I had to go out last night. I needed a night off. Ferris Bueller, you would be proud. Coincidentally, a few weeks ago, we discovered that Kingston is quite the venue for live music. And while walking through the JDUC one afternoon, I noticed a poster advertising a live concert performed by Broken Social Scene`s Jason Collett at the Grad Club. Was I really going to miss this? The closet indie music junkie in me refused to believe that I would.
Yet in the days leading up to the concert, despite my excitement, my stack of work kept getting larger and larger. To the point where I stared at my weekly planner, realizing that my schedule barely had time allotted for eating. Or breathing. However, let this blog post serve to remind us that, sometimes, we need a night off. And, friends, I am so incredibly glad I let go of work last night to attend this concert. Rather than spending the evening with Karl Polanyi, I (several others from the Politics department, a housemate, and another friend) had the pleasure of witnessing Jason Collett perform live.
How was my first night exposed to Kingston`s live music scene? Friends, I enjoyed last night enough to write a blog post about it. Jason Collett was fabulous. Yet I`m willing to bet that he was probably smoking something special prior to the concert. The man definitely wasn`t sober. Or completely aware of reality, if you know what I`m saying. Nevertheless, it was highly entertaining. The highlight of the evening, however, was our discovery of the unknown-but-oh-so-fantastic Daniel Romano. I`m usually not a fan of the country vibe, but I really really enjoyed him. Enough to pimp him on my blog: go ahead, check him out! His voice melted my ogre`s heart, I`m telling you. He's awesome live.
Lesson learned this weekend? The grad life doesn't necessarily mean we should lose time to relax, to enjoy the city we're currently living in. This is a lesson I know I should periodically remind myself of throughout the year. By exercising effective time management skills, we don't have to lead lifestyles that lead to high blood pressures (I've been there. Too much worrying, I'm telling you). Balancing priorities by both working and relaxing this weekend was probably healthier than spending an entire weekend buried in a pile of books, lamenting the loss of my social life. And I'm glad I did. Taking part in a relaxing evening allowed me to discover Kingston's live music scene - something I'll be visiting even more in the future, I'm sure.
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."
- William Penn
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