Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Woah!  It's been a full week since I've updated!  That wasn't meant to happen.  Oops.  But, no worry.  I'm updating now.  This past week has been a bit busy, what with work, martial arts classes, a guest staying, and this unexpected flu-like sickness I'm just getting over.  I've been a bit of a wreck the past few days.  Thankfully, I now have internet in my apartment, so I can start to share the wealth of photographs that are stored from my digital cameras with you.  That will start within the next couple of days, as soon as I locate my little piece of hardware to transfer photos from my memory sticks to my computer.  It's... somewhere in those boxes that I haven't unpacked yet from the move.  I got very motivated to start on that project yesterday, but we have a guest at the house, and I felt bad about ripping through our stuff with someone else there.  Perhaps that will be a task of mine this weekend.

I just have so many photographs to share!  A photoshoot with my friend Jen, snaps from Texas, around town, a day I spent in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn... so much stuff, and so much to say about all of it!  It's times like these when I'm facing a complete wealth of content that I get very excited about this blog.  When I run out of photographs, or am not feeling very inspired, or, even more importantly, have no idea what to say, it's hard to write posts.  Every blogger must feel that way, I guess.  And I could just crank something out every single day, just to make sure that the date stamp is filled, but I'm not that kind of person.  If I'm going to do it, I want to make it quality.  I want to make my article, post, whatever, about a topic or idea that doesn't just mean something to me, but means something to the world.  An idea that shows people something about life that they hadn't thought of before.  A new way of looking at things.  

This world has so much to offer, and the more I see and experience, the more unique and amazing everything seems to me.   Some people don't see the world like that.  The more they see and experience, the more jaded they become, and the more everything looks the same.  Every place is less exciting, every trip less fulfilling.  Every new food less tasty, because, well, they've tasted something kind of like it, and so they can't possibly learn anything about this new thing.

I never, ever, ever want to live like that.  The day that small things stop making me excited, the day that I can no longer find beauty in seeing something anew, had better be the day that I die.  Otherwise, I'd be like the walking dead.  If we don't look at the world slightly differently every time we wake up, what's the point in waking up?  You might as well stay asleep and dream about how great things used to be, your own romanticized version of the past that's always better and significantly more awesome than it actually was.  We do that.

Wake up and smell the coffee.  

 Smell the particular flavor it has that day, how you added a little bit more grounds than usual, or maybe not as much sugar.  Notice the differences.  Otherwise, why are you living? To experience new things?  Because your own biases are keeping you from doing this.  Your own jaded feelings, those ones you have to try and protect yourself, to make yourself invulnerable.  You aren't invulnerable.  You're stunting your own growth.  I'm not saying that you should go jump off a bridge, I'm saying, change your attitude. You know that you have control over that, right?

 Because coffee is delicious, life can be great, and you don't want to miss out.

If you want this world to suck, guess what it's going to do?  Suck.  If you go into an experience wanting to not have a good time, guess what's going to happen?  You're not going to have a good time.  If you go into an experience thinking that you already know everything, guess what?  You're not going to learn anything.  If you talk to someone, thinking that you're better or smarter than them, guess what?  You're not going to learn anything about who they are, where they are from, or what their unique human experience has been.  If you go somewhere hoping that it will be somewhere else you've already been, or go on a date with someone hoping they will be just like your ex, or get food at a new restaurant hoping that it will taste just like the food at your favourite restaurant, guess what?  You will be disappointed, might even hate it, and will miss the uniqueness and new flavors, personalities, sights, or experiences that you could have had if you had dropped your own preconceived notions.  Stop falling prey to your own self-fulfilling prophecies.

Stop going into things with expectations, and stop having opinions about things you don't know.  All you are doing is missing out on seeing how things truly are, because *gasp*, this might even help you grow.  And if you aren't growing, what's the point?  I think that's the point.  That's why I do this.  That's why I look at the world like this.  And, that is why I will never, ever stop.  

I want you to join me.  For your own sake, please, join me.

A Manicure for Her Birthday

I love how sometimes, the best way to have a wonderful day, or learn something new, is to mess up your schedule.  

On Tuesday, I taught a class in the morning, and meant to go to yoga at noon before my Panatukan class in Chinatown started at 3pm.  I had a little over an hour to kill and a brand new book to do it with!  I headed to one of my favourite cafes, Think Coffee, and settled into a booth with some java and my book.  "First Loves" by Turgenev.  It was lovely, tragic, and funny.  You know, a good old classic Russian novella.  I felt utterly Chekhovian reading it, which I might have enjoyed almost as much as the book itself.

I bought the book at the Strand Bookstore, which is possibly the most wonderful place on earth.  There are at least four floors covered in 18 miles of mostly used books.  You can find just about anything, except for some new releases.  On Monday night, it was about 10pm, and I was waiting for Danny's show to end so we could travel home on the subway together.  I hadn't intended to stay in Manhattan.  My initial plan was to go home and organize my closet, but instead, I ended up attempting to find the remaining pieces or my Halloween costume, but actually buying gifts for Danny and some books for myself.  I got him a mug that makes you look like you sport the lower half of Abraham Lincoln's face, a sampler that has squirrels on it and says "I'm Nuts About You" at Urban Outfitters, and an Immortal Iron Fist Graphic novel at The Strand.  The reason I ended up in Strand at all, to be frank, was their bathroom.  But, the result was awesome because I bought myself the Turgenev novella, a book by Henry James, "The Turn of the Screw" and a keychain that says "The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters".  I feel like a badass now every time I unlock my door.  

So, as I stated above, my choice to not go home, but rather to kill time in the bookstore (and utilize their rest facilities) resulted in wonderful things.  This then influenced my Tuesday because Turgenev made me miss yoga.  I was so enraptured in the love twisted tale of young Vladomyr and his love Zinaida, who, once again, in a classic Russian twist, was having an affair with his dad, that I missed it.  I looked at my phone and it said 12:15.  My coffee had gone cold.  I gulped down the remaining lukewarm bits of caffeinated disappointment and formulated a new plan.

This plan was: manicure.  I used to treat myself to manicures and pedicures all the time.  This, of course, was when I was attending NYU, didn't understand that money did not grow on trees, and thought my breath was made of glitter.  Pre-Tuesday, it had been a year since my last manicure.  I've been, inexplicably, a stress ball all week, and I remembered that there was a place nearby, E-nail, that was $22 for a manicure and pedicure.  Bing, bing, bing!  That was what I would do.  That would make me feel better.  Pampered, massaged, and all kinds of beautified.

It was awesome.  I'm so glad I splurged on it.  My feet and hands felt like they were made of clouds instead of flesh and bone.  The nails on my fingers were decorated a perfectly coated, sparkly hot fuchsia and my toes became a shade of purple so dark, it almost looked black.  The callous on the bottom of my feet was no longer hard and peeling, but soft and nice to touch.  But... the best part?  The lady sitting next to me as I got the manicure. 

She was 90 years old, and had been brought in by her best friend as a birthday present.  Her friend sat diligently behind her, watching, as the woman giggled with glee.  She walked in on her friend's arm, her friend carrying her cane for her.  When she transitioned from the manicure station to the long table with the UV lights, her friend helped her along in the same way.  The woman just looked so happy.  The two ladies just smiled and giggled, and spoke to one another in Russian with voices full of musicality and life.  They were so much more excited than I was.  I'm 22.  They were 86 and 90.  They were more full of life.  As the woman's fingernails became a lovely, classic shade of light pink, she almost cooed.

They made my day.  I don't know any other way to say that.  The scene was so beautiful I almost cried.  That sounds silly, but that little moment, that touching scene between two friends who obviously cared so much for one another, was amazing.  She wanted to give her friend a great 90th birthday, and she did.  I almost asked them if I could take their photograph, but I chickened out.  I knew I had to write about them, though.

I can only pray that I have a friend that glorious when I'm turning 90.  God bless them both.  I'm so glad that I didn't go home Monday night.  I'm so happy that I got lost in Turgenev.  I'm just... happy!  That couldn't have worked out better.

You know, I took a photograph of my manicure to put in this post, but right now, I don't care.  That would take away from the point.  My manicure didn't matter.  My experience did.

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

The Marvelous Monday Pact

Happy Monday!!

I've never been one of those people who are terrified of Mondays.  I don't hate Mondays, and I don't dread their arrival.  I've never minded them, as a matter of fact.  In high school, I was usually fine with going into school on Monday morning, because it was one of the only days of the week I didn't have to be there early for a club meeting.  (When I was in high school I was in far too many clubs because I wanted to be accepted to college... I was ridiculous.)  In college, I had classwork to do every day, so Mondays never felt particularly different.  While I worked summer stock... Monday was my day off.  It was my weekend.  So, it was my favourite day of the week!  Now, I love my job, so come Monday, I'm always excited and enthusiastic.  Waking up may not be the best moment of the day, but once I'm out of bed, have kissed my man goodbye, and am out the door, I'm a happy lady.

When I do have those mornings in which my pillow is beckoning to me, despite my lack of time, I try to think of this quote:

"Be miserable, or motivate yourself.  Whatever has to be done, it is always your choice"- Wayne Dyer

It helps me fend of the temptation of the warm covers and pleasant dreams by reminding me that no, snooze buttons do not make you late.  You make you late by not taking the time to double check the alarm, or make sure that you have gotten out of bed.  And this realization makes me happy, because it reminds me that I have free will.  I'm not a servant to fate.  My morning is good if I decide that it is good, and bad if I decide that it is bad.  If I choose to hate Mondays, I will hate Mondays.  If I start my week off with optimism and a smile, I am more likely to notice, and thus focus upon, the parts of my life that are going well, rather than poorly.  

Think about the ramifications of this... if we all just decided that we were going to start our Mondays with a smile, a happy thought, an omelette and a cup of steaming coffee instead of a frown, a scowl, and seventy-five smashes of the snooze button... WE MIGHT ALL HAVE AWESOME MONDAYS.  Isn't that great?  I think that's great.  I mean, I do prefer to have good days.  Bad days are to be avoided, in my opinion, so why on earth would I ever doom myself to one with  a bad attitude, or general negativity?  That goes against every logic I can possibly think of.

So, I propose this...
THE MARVELOUS MONDAY PACT.
*Cue trumpet fanfare*
I dare you to join me.  When you wake up on Monday, play some fun music, eat some nice food, go for a walk, call a good friend, watch an entertaining TV show, play a nifty video game, read an enchanting book, or do whatever the hell you need to do to make yourself postive.  Run.  Do yoga.  I don't care.  Read Travel and Toile....  Pick something.  You know what makes you happy better than anyone else does.  But give yourself a good day.  Why not?  Bad days aren't fun, are they?

As a motivation, please enjoy these photographs of coffee, breakfast items, and baked goods perfect for getting a smile on your face, and that dud of a Monday rolling!

       

         

Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

A Nice Cup of Rob

So, Rob is the guy who owns that dog Tofu, who I shared a bunch of pictures of before.  He came to visit New York for a few days in August, right before Danny and I went to Austin, and we had such a great time!  

A friend coming to visit gives the New Yorker a chance to do that thing they are never supposed to do- tourist stuff.   

shiver. 

Everyone who lives in New York says that they hate touristy things.  They are way too cool to enjoy the M&M store, Times Square sucks, Macy's is overrated, and god forbid anyone ask them to go on a sightseeing bus.  Here's the secret, though- most of us really enjoy all of them.  We're just trying to be way too cool to admit it.

Anyways, these photos are of Rob doing something not touristy.  Rob's kind of strangely obsessed with hipsters (just wait for the next post), and he wanted to do things in New York that the hipsters do. I recently graduated from NYU, so, though I don't consider myself to be a hipster, I am familiar with their ways.  So, I took him to Think Coffee.  He got himself a massive mug of tea and a grilled cheese, while Danny and I had iced coffee and a brownie.  

Manhattan, New York City, New York