pontificate

Lately I have been into reading these sites, fmylife.com, mylifeisaverage.com, and mylifeisg.com, all of which feature short, 2-3 sentence stories about various daily events. And after spending so many hours a day reading these things, I find that it's harder for my brain to think in long, compound sentences. And that is something that I find kind of scary.

What has happened to the long-winded letter? Some of my favorite things in the book Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood are the chapters that are letters from one character to another. The letters are long, artful, well thought-out, and personal. But now, I feel like daily communication has been chopped up, shortened, amputated, injured. Now we communicate (and sometimes I even think!) in acronyms: FML, OMG, WTF, BFF.

Don't get me wrong, I love how easy it has become to communicate with people. My small circle of friends is so spread out that it would be impossible to write letters to each of them, filling them in on various life events. And I think that a certain sense of intimacy can be felt when you can text your friend 1,000 miles away to say, "hey i got to this movie super early, aren't i an idiot," rather than wait until something big happens for which a letter would be appropriate. So I like quick, rapid-fire communication, but I just wish there was someway to balance that with the art of writing a beautiful letter.

I guess until I figure out how to write an artful text message, my little blog will suffice. Long live English!

rain, rain... i like you

The weather in Florida has a reputation for being great. Sunny all the time, hot, etc. Of course the humidity is formidable, and most people know that, but one thing that I didn't know about was the dependable, ferocious afternoon rainstorms in the summer.

I really like rain. And the rain in the sunshine state is the most serious rain I've ever seen. My favorite thing about it is its suddenness. Your day will be going along just fine, sun shining, puffy clouds, and then all of a sudden the sky will rip open and buckets and buckets of rain will pound down. The storms can last anywhere from 3 minutes to 3 hours, and you pretty much have to stop whatever you're doing if you happen to be outside in it.

In other news: two addictions have been rekindled in my life. Coffee and twitter. The two somehow go hand in hand, no? I'm going to try to ratchet myself back to tea drinking, because that at least doesn't incapacitate my brain as much as coffee does. And maybe once that calms down, twitter won't hold any appeal.

the first in a (likely) series of posts about florida

Ah, Florida. The first time I lived here lasted for about 3 months, and I hated it with intensity. I worked at Albertson's, the southern grocery store chain, where my supervisors thought I would be brilliant in the floral department because I accidentally told them that I took Floral Design in high school (I didn't mention that I got a C in it - my lowest grade ever in high school). So I worked at the floral counter, scrubbing moldy flower buckets and making small overpriced arrangements. I came home, practiced clarinet, went on IM, and went to bed under my too-hot-for-florida down comforter. I remember staring up at the ceiling fan, sweating, seething, thinking that my life was over (I was 18). In actuality it was pretty great: no expenses, no responsibilities, and I didn't have to sit in a fluorescent cubicle for 9 hours a day. Plus I love playing with flowers.

So now I am here again in a more permanent situation, but this time I love it. Everything is green or blue or brown, and the sun shines 90% of the time. Living in the north and in a city, I forgot how good it feels to have sunlight touch your skin every day. And I am still in awe at how nice everyone is here. People at supermarkets offer to help with your groceries (and don't steal them!), and people at cafes will make polite conversation with no hint of creepiness. It's quiet at night except for the frogs. It's just lovely.

coming soon

a new post, with all-new and exciting details on my life in the sunshine state!

hold tight, kiddos.

things that are cool about nyc

Well now here we are, mostly all the way through April. Time is moving so quickly! Lately I have really been hating on New York, so I wanted to relieve some of my irritation by writing about things that I like about it and will probably miss when I live elsewhere. So, here we go:

1. Yesterday when I was leaving work, a "Nuts 4 Nuts" vendor was trying to push his cart onto the sidewalk, but couldn't pull it over the apron. As I walked by he said "help! help!" so I pushed the cart up while he pulled it. It was funny, and it probably doesn't happen often in other cities.

2. The Brooklyn Bridge. I've walked over it twice, and even though it was crawling with tourists both times, I still loved it. It is the coolest bridge, and the best walk I've gone on in the city. And you can't beat the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory on the other side. Something about sitting on a pier and eating ice cream after a long-ish walk. Yum.

3. The Chrysler Building. It's so pretty, how can you not love it?

4. Extreme proximity of everything. While I sometimes find this overwhelming, it is really convenient. Need some gochujang? Got it. PG Tips Decaf? Also got it. Need a freaky costume when it isn't Halloween season? Check. However, if you need to buy shampoo and cereal in the same store, you're SOL (but that's for another list...)

5. The history. New York is old. Washington Square Park used to be where people were hanged for various treasons and then buried right there in the ground. Also Wall Street used to be an actual wall! Crazy. There is a lot to learn about this place, and I don't think I've even scratched the surface.

6. Public transportation. It is mostly nice.

7. The Met Opera. I have to say I am really bummed that I won't be here when they do Carmen. But maybe I'll come back for that!

Okay, that is all I can think of right now. 7 Things That are Cool About NYC (That I Will Probably Miss). There you have it! If it's another month before I post, I will be oh so close to leaving this town. And I have to say another nice thing about New York: it is really easy to leave.

what happened to march?

Well my friends, it seems that March has come and gone. I hardly noticed it, and I really can't believe how quickly time is flying. March was a busy and fun month for me - I had 2 band concerts, and I went to Maine to visit one Ms. Kate! Maine was so beautiful, full of snow and pine trees, and I really loved spending time with Kate and her boyfriend Ryan. They made delicious food for me, and apparently homemade ravioli, bread, waffles are all a normal thing for them!

This month I also made a speech in Toastmasters which was modeled after my last blog post. It was my third speech, and I thought it went really well considering that it was our membership drive and there were 50+ people in the room including some well-seasoned toastmasters! I have never been that nervous standing in front of a group of people.

Last weekend I went back to Hackettstown to visit Paris, Natalie and Abbie, and I have to say it was absolutely WONDERFUL. It made me so thankful that we have remained friends for so long, despite periods of time where we might have lost touch.

Well, I am excited for the weeks ahead, as my time in New York winds down. April and May are really nice months in the city, as you begin to see signs of life in the warmer weather.

This past weekend I went on a trip to Ithaca to see friends, hear music, and eat delicious food. It was a lovely trip, and although the weather was unbearably cold, I had a great time and was granted with a greater appreciation for the balmy NYC temperatures. On Saturday morning I had coffee with Chris, my unusually tall friend, and we had a conversation about how we each feel about Ithaca, now that we've moved on and started to carve out lives for ourselves. We agreed that, although we both love Ithaca (and probably always will), neither of us felt like it was home anymore.

At various times in the past 6 years I've thought of Ithaca as an answer to something. Before I was a student I was sure it would be the place where I would "find myself." It's been a refuge, a home, a place I wanted to get out of... but I guess that is the way with any place you live for an extended period of time. The last time I visited post-graduation it felt alive with memories. Anyway, the conversation with Chris reminded me that you can't go home again.

And it's true: you can't go home again. I have always found this phrase immensely depressing. I used to hate any reminder of the general impermanence of things in life, but this time I found the phrase comforting. Knowing that I can't go home again helps me resist the temptation to pine for that ever elusive and beautiful ghost: the past. Ithaca is not my home anymore, but I can enjoy it now with fresh eyes and a sense of possibility.