navel gazing

Talented Robin posted this interesting meme, and since I was planning on telling you about my plans the next couple of weeks anyhow, I figured I would just throw in some more useless interesting info and maybe one day you can use it to blackmail me. Plus it has the added benefit of making me feel really really old.

20 years ago. I was 7 years old, living in Italy. School was probably just wrapping up for the year and I was getting ready for summer. I’d likely be playing with our dog Flippy and Dukey – ugh, bad names – and hanging out with my neighbor Alessandra. Our yards were divided by a fence, and we would climb over it to go to each others homes. I have scars on my knees to remind me of all the times I slipped and fell. That might also have been the summer we dropped my brother on his head, on hard granite on our back porch.

10 years ago. I had just finished my 4^th year of high school (the Italian school system is different from the rest of the world, and you are actually in school for 13 years instead of the traditional 12) and I was preparing to travel to Thailand with the family and then through Greece with a performance dance group. Oh, and the World Cup was playing in France, but we don’t talk about that.

5 years ago. I had just finished my last exams and graduated college. I was looking forward to spending the summer with family and friends, enjoying my beloved London and stressing out about plans for the following year. It all turned out ok – I got into grad school and settled in to enjoy what would turn out to be my last year in London.

3 years ago. I had just celebrated my first year wedding anniversary, a kitty had entered our lives, and on June 6^th exactly I was wandering around Sea World in San Diego, having just run my first ever marathon the day before.

1 year ago. I had already started blogging by then, so you can see what I did last June over here.

So far this year. It’s been full of small, happy moments. I’ve been more grateful than ever for family and friends. I started and finished a photography project I wanted to do, and then embarked in a new one, in the same vein.

Yesterday. I worked. Ran some errands. Made dinner. Played cards with friends.

Today. I woke up to my cat sleeping on my foot, ate some yogurt and nuts and got ready to go to work. Now I need to pack (see more about what I’m doing tomorrow for that!), make some last minute purchases, and I need to drop brookie off at a friend’s house. He will take care of her for a little bit while we are gone (my heart breaks at the thought of leaving her, even if it’s only for a short time).

Tomorrow. I am getting on a plane and flying half way across the world to Israel for Baha’i Pilgrimage. I cannot wait. June is going to be a wonderful month!

The rest of this year. I am looking forward to some family time, a possible move, running the NYC half-marathon (ok I am NOT really looking forward to this, but I got in, so what can I do but run it?), participating in a triathlon, and hopefully some exotic travels (fingers and toes crossed). And I am always open to some new adventures!

I won't be here consistently the next few weeks, and my presence might be sketchy even over at Every Morn and Eve. But I will be back from my travels with photos, stories and more...

i really do &#9829 new york

While chatting with a friend a little while ago, he kindly informed me that all I had been doing for the entirety of our conversation was point out all the things I didn't like about New York City.

In the winter, it's too cold.
And then it's too hot in the summer.
There are just too many people.
Everything is so expensive.
The subways are crowded. And smelly.
Apartments are so small (if the listing includes the words 'cozy' and 'cute as a button', don't bother).
There is no (or very little) personal outdoor space, and a fire escape is not a balcony, no matter how hard you try.
I miss nature.
Don't even think about owning a car.
And on, and on, and on.
And on.

I talk a lot and day dream even more about "when we leave New York". Where will we go? What will it be like? Oh, to have space! To travel the world! To live in the country again! I talk about 'when we leave New York' so much that I realized, maybe I am not fully appreciating and enjoying what I have now, where I am now.
Let's get one thing straight: despite all my complaining, I love New York.

I ♥ NEW YORK.

There, I said it. I really do. I just don't tell her often enough, and I don't pause to let it sink in often enough. And I think she is starting to resent me for it. I must make amends, so I In that vein, I am going to start dedicating some posts around here to New York City. To the big and little, unique, quirky, funny things I love about this town I am so lucky to live in right now.

How about you? What do you love about New York, or about the place you live? Are you fully enjoying and appreciating the spot you are in? Care to join me in this adventure, rediscovering our surroundings? Or, if you are a current of former New Yorker, do you have any suggestions of things I should look for?

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Today's Soundtrack:
Cat Powers - New York (a new take on an old favorite).