On Tuesday, I had my PE Team (and family) over to my place for some birthday dinner goodness and we had a great time chatting and also reminiscing about the intense beer pong tournament that was had two days earlier. Somewhere along the way, one of my teammates (Mike - the wise, fatherly figure in our group) mentioned that he'd LOVE to see Bruce Springsteen in concert. Well, it just so happens that Bruce Springsteen was set to play in Munich on Sunday, May 26th - how could I not look into it? Especially given the amazing vibes of positive energy and good karma that I had over the past few days from others, including Mike? So, that's what I did. A couple of emails later, and a few Euros poorer, I had booked two tickets to see The Boss Live on behalf of my PE Team...and Mike would remain completely unaware of it until Sunday night.
This weekend at school, MIS hosted the Middle School Girls' SCIS Softball tournament and Mike, a legend in his own right, organized and set the whole thing up. It ran smoothly and I knew this man would be nothing short of tired come Sunday when the madness was all wrapped up. I told him on Friday that he was coming to my house for dinner on Sunday, reminded him on Saturday and then called him Sunday to make sure he wasn't late. When he showed up at my apartment, I was waiting outside for him (in the cold rain) to break the news that my cooking attempts had failed and that we would be going to another team member's house for dinner. I told Mike that I kept this information from him until that moment because I was afraid he'd back out of the idea of taking the train into Munich on a Sunday night when he was already exhausted. He did, however, go along with the plan and when we arrived in Munich, transferred twice, and hopped off at Olympiazentrum Station, he was confused as to what was going on. I insisted that it was just a busy Sunday and he was surprised that Dan lived so close to Olympic Park. The rest of what ensued was caught on camera and if it doesn't bring a smile to your face, I don't know what will!
Isn't it just awesome when a surprise works out?! I was so excited for it that I almost ruined it a couple of times but I'm pretty glad I didn't! The feeling of surprising someone else is just as great as the feeling of being surprised, which is a fabulous feeling! I'm a firm believer of doing unto others as you'd have done to you so this was a perfect opportunity to do so while I was still stoked from my surprise a week earlier!
I'm not a huge Bruce fan myself, but I figured the opportunity to share this concert going experience with Mike was something not to be missed. He gave background info to most of the songs Bruce performed, whether it be where he was when he first heard it, how he used to rock out to it with his wife and kids or just general knowledge about Bruce, his lyrics and how they affect him. It was just awesome. A big thanks to my team for helping me to pull this off and for helping to give Mike an unforgettable parting gift - he'll leave us at the end of the year and join his wife in Costa Rica and man o man, I'll miss him!
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