Saturday, June 14, 2008

Let it Rain

Despite the fact that I am a sun-filled Leo by birth, and a sun worshipper by trade, there is nothing more soothing to me than a thunderstorm. One that is filled with gigantic, pounding raindrops, lots of lightning and the roar of thunder. When the sun-filled skies turn to the deep menacing grey and the storm rolls in, I turn to the most introspective of places and find myself wanting to get soaking wet, open the windows and let the storm take hold. To me its the most therapeutic of sounds, almost as if the world is making all this noise, and I can be quiet and just enjoy the feeling it has on me.

I realize many people do not have the same thoughts about such moments -- Wanting to run inside vs. having the rain soak their clothes. But I am different, and I guess thats what makes me, me.

Today my weekend of nothing began with a trip to Hudson Pier to soak up some sun. The sun was shining, the air was hot and it was everything I wanted. Yeah, New York! And around 3:30PM I headed back home, and hit a street fair on my way back to the village. In the time it took me to buy a pashmina and have a conversation with my friend in San Diego, the blue skies were less sunny and a storm was on the horizon.

I came home, opened the windows, and prepared for the storm.

Friday, June 13, 2008

How to Live in New York

In August, I will have lived in this thrilling city for six full years. That's four longer than I ever imagined, and days like today make me feel that I could live here until I am 100 (as long as I can spend the winters on Jax Beach!). The weather today was warm and sunny, with a hint of a breeze, the perfect weather for strolling around and meandering wherever the wind blows. So at 4:00PM I left my office, and never returned... and simply went wherever the streets took me. (Which is mostly true, minus the fact that I had a dress appointment at 4:30.)

After my appointment, I restarted my affair with the city. I wandered the streets, stopping for an ice tea here, and to window shop there. Not caring about the time, or whose call I had missed. I went to stores that I had read about and left in a few minutes finding nothing there. I returned to favorite stores and spent many minutes looking at the same things I always do. I wandered home and felt very complete for a day well spent and an afternoon playing hookie.

Tonight, I grabbed a sandwich from my favorite sandwich place and headed to the park to savor the night time air and hear some tunes from the local musicians who hang out in WSP every night. I ate in quiet solitude, lost in my thoughts and the musical notes adding a nice soundtrack to my mental rhythms. Finishing my dinner, I sighed, as I watched homeless men jamming to the steel drums, a woman beside me on her laptop busy with work, and a family of four all worked up over a spilled ice cream cone... and I smiled to myself and shook my head... only in New York.

For it really is only in these huge metropolis cities where people of all walks of life come together, if only in passing, to share a bit of each others lives. Its only in cities like this that sitting on a park bench can be your nightly entertainment. And its only in cities like that you find that limitless ability to recreate yourself in almost every breath taken.

Someone once told me that you should never love something, that doesn't love you back. And in night's like tonight as I give myself to my city, I am the most loved person in the world.

My Guilty Pleasure

I am aware that America is getting fatter by the minute. I have read Fast Food Nation. I have seen Super Size Me -- twice. And, I watch the Today's Show every morning where nutritionist Joy Bauer instructs American moms' on ways to get their children to eat more nutritous options and lead more active lifestyles.

I am aware of all these things, and yet on nights like tonight I head to what I fondly call "my dirty little secret". Out my apartment door, to the right 1.5 blocks and another right half way down the block, and there she is... Subway.

There is something about the sandwiches there that cause me to head there at the slightest twinge of a hangover. A night of drinking, equals a Subway turkey-and-provolone-with-all-the-veggies-on-whole-wheat-bread... and sometimes toasted! Its the best taste to me, and I savor it like you would not believe.

Tonight, while Josh is playing basketball, I ran to my dirty little secret, and got a sandy to go, and sat in Washington Square Park and listened to the local musicians strum away... while ranch dressing and pickles trickled down my face and threatened to ruin my white t-shirt. I didn't care though. I was in absolute heaven!

Now I realize, given the other fastfood options, that my choice is not the worst. But there is something about knowing I am indulging in "fast food" that makes it seem a little worse than it is, and makes "my dirty little secret" so much fun to keep!