When you think of bull riding, New York City is probably not the first place that comes to your mind. Well, its not the first place that came to my mind for sure! After a cold snowy Thursday, I found myself navigating the snow drifts on the Manhattan streets to make my way to Madison Square Garden to attend my first ever Professional Bull Rider's "Buck Off" event. I successfully made the 30 minute trip across town without wiping out on the slick city sidewalks. My father is a sensational dancer and a gifted athlete. His daughter inherited none of those skills - I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time. The fact that I made my way to the bar to meet up with my friends with no embarrassing water spots on my pants meant the evening was off to a successful start.
Nothing like an evening with a bunch of hot cowboys
Ticketmaster has recently changed its site and you can no longer select the seats you want. I was able to get the same section and row as my friends but I was assigned seat 22. My friends were in seats 3-6. I spent the moments leading up to the national anthem convincing 16 people to shift over one seat so I could occupy seat 7. This feat included convincing 3 people with virtually no English - there was a lot of gesturing and broken spanish on my part. Besides being called a witch with a b by some lady who wouldn't stand up to let me by, my persuasiveness paid off. At intermission Sandy told me that her friends 2 rows behind us had witnessed my resourcefulness and were very impressed with my ability to convince the entire group to shift over. My smooth talking could also be attributed to the two hot cider with bourbon I had at dinner.
As this was the first night of the event, there were 35 cowboys competing in the first rounds. I was very surprised by the number of riders from Latin America but a quick check of Wikipedia let me know that bull riding origins are Mexico. Another question that came up is "what makes a bull buck". I wasn't the only person with that question because it popped up almost instantly before I could complete the sentence in google. It is not because the bull's scrotum is cinched up by the strap the rider holds onto. According to another (surely) reputable source, "
All rodeo bulls instinctively want to get that lump of weight off their backs". I thought that sounded perfectly sensible. The rider has to stay on for 8 seconds only holding on with one hand. The other hand cannot touch the bull or himself. The riders are scored and ultimately ranked. Basically once the gate opens and the bull and rider come crashing out you hold your breath until the clock hits 8 seconds or the rider is tossed off and successfully clears the bulls horns and hooves.
Local beauty queens get to do fun stuff like attend the rodeo
The rodeo clown / MC in the photo was the best thing about the evening. He entertained the crowd by poking fun at audience members, most memorably 3 dudes that obviously failed "getting dressed 101" because all 3 had their cowboy hats (purchased at the venue) on backward. Didn't your mom teach you "the tag ALWAYS goes in the back"?
I am glad I took the opportunity to attend a Professional Bull Riding event (that PBR does not stand for Pabst Blue Ribbon like I assumed it did) but much like watching 26 hours of NASCAR is really just waiting for a car to crash, I felt like PBR was holding your breath praying neither human or animal gets injured.
#girlsquad #goals
Sunday found me getting my culture on at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Banjo's godmother texted me to let me know she and her main squeeze were coming into the city to check out the Michelangelo exhibition at the Met. With the promise of cocktails after the museum, I agreed to meet up with them.
No trip to the Met is complete without visiting the Temple of Dendur
Everyone knows that I am always trying to get "the perfect shot" on my phone. While vising the Temple of Dendur I almost got us kicked out of the museum by accidentally walking into the "no one past this point" wire while trying to take a picture of the statue inside the temple.
The Michelangelo exhibit was hot and stuffy and packed with people. I try to "get" art, but I think it is just not in me. I read a few placards and looked at many of the drawings but they just don't thrill me like say the china place setting an 18th century castle does.
After Michelangelo we decided to check out the more modern David Hockney exhibition next door. Across the room, I spied a work of art that I was drawn to. How cool! Colgate toothpaste made such an impression on this artist that he included it in his piece. I pulled out my phone and snapped a pix. Then I actually LOOKED at the art. (Now is the time to cover your children's eyes)
After a special trek to find "George Washington Crossing the Deleware", we headed off to a delicious belinni soaked brunch at a great Colombian restaurant on the Upper East Side. $30 for food and 70 minutes of unlimited drinks. Yes, NYC restaurants have to put a time limit on their "unlimited" drinking options. Since we don't have to drive, we would probably sit and drink all day!
This Friday I am headed back to Little Rock to attend the Katy Perry concert with the rest of the Williamson crew - my Christmas present to them. Saturday afternoon I will be headed back to South Africa for the last few weeks of my stint. Hopefully I will have a few more adventures to update you on. In the meantime, stay warm. I'll try not to post too many photos from my perch poolside!
