February Fun
I worked so hard in December and January, I nearly forgot the meaning of “fun.” So I decided that February would be my month of fun. And while it hasn’t been raucously wild by any stretch of the imagination, I have been having some good times at last. A house party here, an outing there. And a whole lotta Linsanity.
The unintended consequence of Linsanity is that I no longer have any idea what’s going on in the world as far as current events, because the daily time I usually spend reading the headlines is now spent looking up all the latest on Jeremy! I check to see if NYKnicks.com has posted the latest post-game interviews, or whether fans have uploaded “The Jeremy Lin Show” highlights from the previous night’s game. Two friends of mine went the extra step of curating these borderline-obsessive research habits (admit it, we all do it!) on a dedicated website called Lincredibles, which is helping to streamline my search.
As exciting as it all is to read about, the sad part is that I haven’t actually been able to see it live. Because I’m in London and am not willing to shell out 50 quid for NBA League Pass (online streaming coverage), I’ve had to resort to extreme measures. Believe it or not, several nights I have stayed up late to follow the games via play-by-play on NBA.com. I can’t even WATCH the action, or HEAR the commentary, and yet, as I was following NYK vs. Raptors, I was jumping up and down! Alone! In my room! At 3 in the morning! And then of course I had to wait til someone finally managed to upload the buzzer shot clip so I could see it in action! There’s a reason this is called Linsanity.
I don’t have much commentary to add to the media frenzy; I just love what he’s doing and how his story is resonating with so many people, myself included. (I do agree, though, about those #anomalous attempts to stick him into a news angle that doesn’t fit. I sometimes like David Brooks’ columns, but this one fell flat.) I love waking up in the morning to see my friends on the homepage of NYT, being interviewed on how they identify with his background and why they cheer for him, or to see people I know in the MSG highlights reels. All this makes me miss New York so much; I am totally missing out!!
Time to time, I pray for J. Lin, too. It’s fun seeing him open up to the media, from being uncomfortable at first to maximizing the opportunity to glorify God and praise his teammates. Hope he can stay humble and grounded even while Linning all the way. Ah, these puns really are fun aren’t they?
A few years ago, I had promised to take my brother to a Knicks game, and it makes me smile to think how, even as a Knicks fan, he never bothered to take me up on the offer because of how poorly the Knicks were playing. I suppose the offer would still stand now, even with the ticket prices going up thanks to a certain Taiwanese American player. But… I’m not in NYC anymore, so you’re on your own, bro ;)
And Linsanity is coming to London this Sunday! For the first time since Lin came off the bench, Sunday’s game against the Mavericks will be happening at a reasonable time in London, so I’m organizing a get-together at a sports bar to watch the game. I can’t wait! A real game! In real time! Someone ship me a #17 jersey please?
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Fun as Linsanity is, it has mostly lacked an interactive aspect because I’m in London, where soccer, rugby and cricket are the sports of choice. I’ve had a number of times when I’ve explained to friends what Linsanity is and why excited I am about it, and I get a kind of, “I’m happy for you dear,” response. Hahaha. Thanks for humoring me, but can we get some excitement all up in here?!?!
So to recount the more interactive kind of fun in which I do actual things with actual people…
I didn’t have a Valentine this year, but C and I did treat ourselves to a lovely evening on Valentine’s Day. We watched The Artist at the Coronet in Notting Hill Gate, a beautiful historic cinema that sells tickets on Mondays and Tuesdays for just £3.50! It was especially fitting to watch a silent film in which the opening scene happens in a cinema not unlike the Coronet.
J is also in town visiting, which “forces” me to have fun even while I’m busy. Thanks to J, yesterday I finally set foot inside a British museum for the first time! We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and had tea and scones in the elegant cafe inside the museum. Last, week, I also crashed a houseparty and danced the night away! All in all, a fun few weeks indeed.
