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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

How NOT to Have a Lame Weekend

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It's that inevitable question, "What should I do this weekend?"  There's shopping down Broadway or watching sports at a local bar...and then there's this list  http://www.refinery29.com/events-this-weekend-in-nyc.  Refinery 29, one of my favorite newsletters/blogs, puts out a Weekend Guide each Thursday.  With most guides, I read them the minute they hit my inbox, thoroughly consider attempting something on the weekend to do list and end up doing my own thing.  However, this list really intrigued me.

On the list, there is the Bronx Zoo (check), kayaking on the Hudson (check), and a hidden waterfall in Midtown (check to the hidden one in the Northwest corner of Central Park, adding the one in Midtown to my list).  I love that this guide thinks outside of the box, even outside of the island, but I thought I would one up them with my version of a "non-average" activity.

Not sure how the idea to go to a shooting range popped (no pun intended) in my head.  I had read about Manhattan's only shooting range Westside Rifle & Pistol Range quite a while ago and finally got the push to do it when I received my first lesson as a Christmas gift (c'mon how many cashmere sweaters can you get. It was time for something original).  In the spirit of doing everything once and letting my inner weirdness run free, I logged on to the site and submitted my information for a background check.  Weeks later, my time had come to show the Wild Wild West who was # 1.  Ok, the day of I was totally freaking out.  I tend to be very accident prone so thinking of all the things that could go wrong didn't ease my anxiety. Then I learned we were using a semi-automatic rifle.  Great.

Luckily a thorough but brief lesson lead by an awesome instructor eased my nerves.  I loaded my magazines (the thing-a-ma-bob that holds the bullets), put my clear goggles on, and heavy duty ear muffs and stepped out to the firing lanes.  Whoa! Talk about exhilarating.  Round after round (100 to be exact), I couldn't believe I was actually shooting this thing/I suck at aiming.  In my defense, I did hit some bulleyes.  Overall, the experience was thrilling, terrifying, and something to check off my weekend list.  Hate to brag Refinery 29 but in terms of weekend activities, I think I got you beat.  I didn't even mention the time I took trapeze lessons on the Pier.

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