Art

We saw the Met today. Or, more accurately, we went to the Met, discovered a tiny part of the Met, and were awestruck by the amount of the Met that we couldn't even begin to tap. The building itself is huge and intimidating, but once we got inside, we realized that there was literally so much of it that we couldn't possibly see all of it - even a good fraction of it - in one day. We spent four hours in a single wing of the place, and as we were walking out, realized that there were at least two more wings and probably several floors that we hadn't seen. The place is absolutely breathtaking, spectacular, overwhelming, and humbling. The Picasso exhibit alone made me feel so grateful for the opportunity I've been given this summer - seeing in person some of the canvases that I've studied in art classes is one of the most amazing feelings on earth. Seeing the signatures in person of artists whose names are synonymous with artistic greatness? Mind-bending.

Quite honestly, and absolutely typically of me, I was most fascinated by the weapons exhibit. There's an entire, very large section of "Arms and Armor" that was absolutely mesmerizing for me. There were beautiful Italian and German suits of armor from the late medieval period - both horse and rider - where the steel was etched out in some of the most gorgeous curls and patterns I've ever seen. The artistry, the sheer skill required to make these spectacular works of functional art that have lasted so many centuries and are still as awe-inspiring as they were then, that cause you to decide without doubt that you don't want to go toe-to-toe with them - incredible. Seeing the weaponry of my people (the Syrians)? Amazing. I also saw the knife for me. Just, hands down, the one that I must have, the one for whom I will National Treasure that shit. I plan to go back to take pictures and take notes on what it is (in case there's a replica somewhere), but what I can say is that it is spectacular. It's got an ivory inlaid handle, no handguard, and the most delicately subtle curve on the blade that I've ever seen. It seems to have had the same ancestor as the kukri, but evolved into something much more slender, more graceful, losing some of its axe-like quality and developing into something both deadly and exquisite. Must. Have.

Two quick snapshots of the day: there's a stairwell between two floors of the "Period Rooms," and standing on that stairwell, two security guards were gossiping their hearts out. It was actually really endearing - one stood at the top of the stairs, and one stood at the middle, talking about that one girl whose boyfriend has been around a while, and didn't she have a daughter who went to school, but her boyfriend wasn't that girl's father? So on and so forth. And second, my word of wisdom for the day is that people who smack their gum in public should be taken out and shot. Most of all, if you're on a late-night train, and the place is quiet enough that we can hear you smacking your gum, please just do us all a favor and realize that we hate you with every ounce of our beings.

I essentially got and then lost a job within the space of three hours today. Walking out of the subway to go to the Met, I realized I had missed a call. I listened to the message, and it was from Q, the boss at Bean and Bean, telling me a part-time position had just opened up, and to call him back soon. I was literally walking to the Met, and I have an application in at Naidre's that I'd actually prefer to follow up on, but I called him back a few hours later to confirm. Better to just go ahead and take it, right? But when I spoke to him, he told me that in the three hours it'd taken me to get back to him, someone else had come in and gotten the job already. That's quite a turn-around right there. It's completely my own fault that I don't have a job right now - I'm not upset with Bean and Bean or Q - but it's still quite the hiccup.