Big news friends, big news. Very exciting things here. After weeks of annoying the crap out of my dear friend Meghan (who is forced to share a desk with me at work) I finally solved the Rubix cube! Every time I would get close, I’d either panic and mess it up, or I’d mindlessly alter the cube. But not today. Today, the great mystery was solved, and the excitement was so high, I dropped the cube in my tea. Yes I drink enormous cups of tea, but no matter. The solved cube is draining, and Meg doesn’t have to hear me get frustrated with the toy anymore. Did I cheat by following the instructions? Absolutely. Does that fact minimize the accomplishment? Nah, I’m fine with it. My glorious triumph was sort of fitting this week. Apparently I’ve been on an 80’s/90’s nostalgia kick, because this past weekend I got to see New Kids on the Block in Atlantic City.
When I was little we played “guess the song” a lot. One of us would put on a Walkman and mime out the lyrics motions to whatever song was on the radio. No one ever knew what the hell my dance moves meant, unless it was ‘Hanging Tough’ or “The Right Stuff.” It felt like a little victory every time I was lucky enough to happen upon one of the two. I’m sure sometimes my sisters were sweet enough to set me up with one of the songs, too. I was about 4 or 5, and these were the first songs (as in, not nursery rhyme songs) I knew all the words to. Granted, the majority of the lyrics to both songs are Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh, but a 4 year old still feels pretty cool when s/he knows ALL the words to a REAL song that’s played on the RADIO. My nephew can attest to that, I’m sure. His favorite group is The Wanted, and he knows songs by them that aren’t even played on the radio (Thank you, YouTube).
New Kids on the Block bring up all kinds of nostalgia, so when my friend told me she had an extra ticket, I was all over it. My Pandora was set to NKOTB radio and my love for “Didn’t I” was revamped. I polished my nails neon pink and bought some neon hoop earrings. But I wasn’t prepared. If I had more time, I would’ve ordered a shirt online, but there was only a few days to spare. I searched high and low for an NKOTB shirt, but after withstanding a half dozen strange looks and another half dozen polite “oh no, we’re all out of New Kids on the Block shirts right now,” I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own shirt.
I mocked up their logo in neon colors on Photoshop and printed it on t-shirt transfer paper. I picked up a bright orange $3 t-shirt from Michael’s and ironed on my creation. The iron burned the white part of the logo a bit, but I think it gave it the “vintage” look. On the back of the shirt, I oops-ed touched the paper to the hot iron, so my NKOTB became NKOTE. Oh well. After I cut the color and the sleeves of, I cut a few holes in the shirt for fun. I made a bracelet with the scraps from the sleeves and color and some bright blue cloth from another old shirt by braiding the pieces. I was pretty proud of my in-a-pinch-crafty-work, and did mental back flips of joy when people asked where I bought my shirt.
The concert was a blast. It was so much fun was so silly. My friend Gina even brought old NKOTB trading cards for potential autograph, just in case we were to bump into them
after the show.
Our seats were fantastic, but we spent more time at the stage than at our seats.
I got to shake Danny Wood’s hand after he thoroughly impressed me with his break-dancing skills.
Joey McIntyre sang “Please Don’t Go Girl” to me, and only me. I had to tell him I am happily married and he needs to move on. What we had was magical, but I’m not 5 anymore; our time is over. He took it well.
The concert made me feel like a little kid again, and I wasn’t even a mega huge fan. On the other hand, my oldest sister, Nancy had the concert video, tapes, the sheets, trading cards…I could go on. I had a blast at the concert, but I missed my sisters. I’m hoping NKOTB doesn’t stop this tour streak they’ve been on so I can relive my childhood again with my sisters. Next concert, I think I’ll make a dress 🙂
