Random Smiles

I have a little more time on my hands these days and the opportunity to regularly blog again and work on some writing projects I have going. It feels good. So anyway, like most bloggers I think, I have a folder on my desktop where I put images I come across that cause some sort of reaction. With my new freedom, I had the time to look through the folder, and thought I would share a few photos that were obviously saved because they made me smile.

Happy Weekend!

This fabulous chica who happens to be one of my favorite people in the world arrives in Berlin in less than two hours AND the sun is finally shining.  Hallelujah! Hope you have a lovely weekend, I know I will. 

Holy Moly

My Itunes shuffle just gave me these three songs in a row as the sun is beaming through my window after returning from a lovely afternoon with friends (pics to come). Coincidence (all those sunshine/happy tunes)? Most likely. But it all makes me feel so sweet...
Belle and Sebastion "Legal Man"

Velvet Underground "Rock and Roll"

Van Morrison "Here Comes the Night"

Tears, Snow Angels, and Sequins

On Saturday I spent my day crying more tears than I have shed in a long, long time. Maybe I was being punished for blatantly bragging about my life as a jetsetter, but the day I chose to fly out to Berlin just happened to be the same day as the first huge snowstorm of the year and not only was my flight cancelled, I was told that there was no way for me to get on another flight until after the holidays. I went from thinking I was going to see my boyfriend in less than a day, to thinking it would be months until I would get to Berlin. It was pretty awful, but luckily after much time on hold ironically listening to "Let it Snow" and much back and forth with some non-helpful and finally one very helpful Delta operators, I got a ticket to fly out on Christmas Eve and back New Year's Day. Not ideal, but totally worth it. And if this whole debacle hadn't gone down, I wouldn't have gotten to experience one of the loveliest days (and a not too shabby night) I have had in NYC in long time.

I can't believe I have lived in New York for almost five years and it has taken me this long to get to a park after a snow storm. Until yesterday in Prospect, I guess I just didn't know what I was missing. It was pure unadulterated fun — sledding, snow angels, snow ball fights and just so many people out enjoying the almost two feet of snow that landed on our city. I felt like an eight-year-old soaked to the bone but having too much fun to care.

The evening was more of an adulterated affair and Sunny and I got all decked out in our finest attire and headed into the city for my one and only Christmas party of the season and a Bon Voyage evening for Megan. The usual debauchery and dancing to Liz and Legs' tunes proved to be even more satisfying when decked out in fur and sequins. So anyway, long story sort of short, it's not so terribly bad that my flight got cancelled because yesterday was just perfect. Here are too many pics.

                

            

          

             

 

                        

If I Wasn't Happy, This Would Do the Trick

Paul Simon always does...

I have been having some pretty intense nightmares lately. I think it is a result of the anxiety over returning to the States (thank God I still have a month and half till that dreaded day) coupled with the fact that I am reading a pretty gruesome book about Nazi Germany. But I had a really sweet revelation the other night after waking up in a cold sweat before I was to be attacked by a posse of infested rats.

You see, during the unhappy stages of my life, I would often dream of the scenarios I longed for - living in a beautiful place surrounded and inspired by people I love. Then I would wake and the reality of my actual life would set in and all I would want to do is go back to sleep. So the other night, despite my sweat soaked shirt and pumping chest, it was a great feeling to wake from that dream and be back in my life, happy with where I was and what I would face in the morning. It’s nice to realize your life is better than your dreams – it's a liberating feeling, almost like you are walking with diamonds on the soles of your shoes.

Do You Remember Your First Ice Cream Cone?

This was Maisie's.

This was theirs, at least in a while.

Out of Guantánamo, Uighurs Bask in Bermuda

ST. GEORGE, Bermuda — Almost exactly seven years after arriving at Guantánamo in chains as accused enemy combatants, and four days after their surprise predawn flight to Bermuda, four Uighur Muslim men basked in their new-found freedom here, grateful for the handshakes many residents had offered and marveling at the serene beauty of this tidy, postcard island.
...
“I went swimming in the ocean for the first time ever yesterday, and it was the happiest day of my life,” said Salahidin Abdulahat, 32.

Read more here.

The View From My New Office...

Not so bad, eh? I'm going to go with my brother Michael's train of thought on this one and think that unemployement is the best thing that ever happened to me. Hopefully.

You see Friday, unbenost to me until I was called into that lovely HR office and asked if I needed a glass of water, was my last day of work. I'm feeling pretty alright about the situation right now (also considering our wonderful economy, I knew this day was coming) and my head is swirling with all the different possible ways I can spend this paid summer vacation and well, the rest of my life. It feels nice to stare out my window and daydream, and of course take naps in the afternoon...

Looks like this blog may take a whole new direction, now chronicling the life of yet another unemployed editor. Stay tuned.

Song on Repeat: "House of Cards"

I still think this is the most beautiful song. The melancholy rainy day blues, bittersweet happiness and nostalgia balanced together with perfect fluidity. It takes a certain mood.

Poppy Goodness

Sometimes that’s all you need to get you through the day. I have been dancing in my chair (head) to this song all my morning and it is working! Productivity is at an all-time high! Thanks Passion Pit and Michael.

A Beautiful Curveball

My friend Miss Diebel just told me that life throws me “beautiful curveballs.” I am not so sure she is right, I mean I really hope she is, but sometimes it feels more like curveballs to the face. But anyway, a month ago there was no way I would ever have imagined that I would be going on a 17 day European vacation this summer, or any amount of days for that matter. But today, my flight was booked into Berlin and out of Rome (thanks for the loan Mikey!) and I couldn’t be more shocked and excited. A week spent in Berlin living it up with my bro, then a few days exploring in Rome, and then a Tuscan Villa with almost my entire family, plus the new baby! God I can’t believe I just wrote a blog about not being accustomed to the finer things in life, I feel like a royal brat right about now. But maybe it is just a wonderfully beautiful curveball.

Nice view, huh?

Everybody Loves Bowie

Do you ever sit/stand by someone (for those of you who don’t rely on public transportation as your primary means of getting from A to B this may not apply) with headphones on so loud you can hear exactly what they are listening to? I always wonder if these people are aware that everyone knows their taste in music at that moment. Sometimes (when the bass is turned up way too loud) it’s annoying, but other times it’s like you get a little peak into this stranger's life and often it’s quite amusing. The other day their was a girl in a skirt suit blasting hard core techno at 9 in the morning and in the elevator at work this morning (another even more awkward place that this happens) this plaid-wearing, unassuming guy was totally into his David Bowie without a care in the world. Little things like this make smile...

This Made Me Smile...

I’m not so big into horses, or snow for that matter, but for some reason this photo makes me feel better. Something about those rosy cheeks maybe makes me want to take a big deep breath.

Random Sunday

Not so random at all, but this is what I did all weekend, well at least it felt like it. After a dreary Saturday, everything picked up with a late night backyard bonfire and delicious meal followed by a beautiful lazy spring day (thank you!) with three more of those delicious meals a la Sunny. I can't remember when, if ever, have I eaten three times in the same day and the same lovely place with the same amazing people. What a difference a backyard makes. Even though it did feel like there was a certain someone missing, it was what a weekend should be. And with so many more to come...

Sometimes It's Just Nice to Wake Up Next to Someone...

Usually if anyone or anything wakes me up at 7:30 in the morning I would be pissed and oh so cranky, I mean that is my last hour of precious sleep right there. But for some reason when this furry creature got in bed and even under the covers with me this morning, it was actually quite a nice surprise (and so cute I had to take a pic). Maybe I’m lonely or something and maybe Storm is too (his mama is out of town), but cuddling with him this am when I could still barely open my eyes was such a nice way to start the day….and it’s not too often I am in a great mood in the morning.

On second thought, are these the first signs before turning into a crazy cat lady?

My Daily O

Hee hee.

Barack!

The countdown is over, and I honestly have never felt such genuine happiness. I almost feel like today I can start living my life. A day that was just a possibility two years ago, possibly never one four years ago, a day that we have been waiting to arrive for so long, a day that people I don’t even know all over the world have been waiting for longer than I can imagine, a day that many people thought they would never see. It’s here, and it passed in a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. To have hope in a leader, in a country, in world that has been tainted for so long is like nothing I have ever felt and last night was a high of a kind that I didn’t even know existed. To be so personally affected by something that is affecting billions of people is overwhelming and beautiful and amazing. I do hope one day I can find better words to document this historic time, but as for now amazing seems to work. Here are some amazing photos of people celebrating around the world. But yes, this is just the beginning and it’s only uphill from here and the horror that is Prop 8 is devastating, but for today I just want to bask in the moment that I quite believe will define our generation.

"Rosa sat so that Martin could walk so that Obama could run so that our children could fly”

Deets:
10 million more voters turned out than four years ago
Democrats gained control of the House and the Senate
Obama won by a landslide of 349 to 147 electoral votes

Tear Jerker

Maybe I am a baby, but this video just might make you cry too. Shit, I really love Barack Obama.

Happy

Nothing like a Friday, a shoe delivery, and some monkeys to make me smile.

I'm So Excited

God, I really haven’t been this pumped about something in awhile, and it’s just a book! But admittedly I was completely obsessed with the whole JT Leroy/Savannah Knoop hoax a couple years ago, I think I read every article ever written about her/him. I mean rightfully so, Savannah was one of my childhood best friends and the first person I ever smoked pot with (oh the good old days), before she went off to boarding school and later began living her double-life as transgender "writer" and indie fave JT Leroy. We re-connected again in SF for a bit right before I moved to NYC and before the NY Times uncovered the whole deal, but obviously none of this ever came up. Anyway, now she has written a tell-all and I will finally get to know all the details. I should have had it delivered overnight, I just can’t wait.

Countdown to Barack: 23 Days

I have been neglecting my little blog for the last couple of days because CosmoGirl folded on Friday morning. I luckily still have a job (yay the internet!) but I still spent my weekend smoking too many cigarettes, watching the same movie over and over again, and recovering from a day of heavy drinking with my now jobless co-workers instead of updating my latest thoughts on Obama/McCain. It’s a sad sad situation this economy and I will admit that I naively thought it wouldn’t directly affect me — until Friday when the president of the Hearst Corporation walked into our packed conference room with the tear-inducing news. And although it might be hard for some people in my life to grasp, I really did believe in this magazine. But we will see what happens — I will admit that part of me is excited for this change and hopes that it will be a catalyst to an even greater change in the rest of my life.

Anyway, if the news hadn’t of broken Friday morning, the blog I would have posted would have gone something like this: So last night was our Working Class Mag party and although none of the girls showed, I had a great time dressing up, enjoying the weirdly warm October weather, and chatting up some strangers. I tried for a bit to not to talk about the election — I just want it to be done with — but that pesky Palin just slipped in and the flood gates opened. But it was okay, I ended up hearing a little goose bump inducing (much better than tears) story that made my night. So, I was chatting with this guy originally from Dallas about the first time his little old grandma saw Barack Obama. When I think Grandma and Texas, Republican just comes to mind. But maybe I shouldn’t be so judgmental. Anyway, after Barack gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention, this guy got a phone call from his grandma and she said to him, “Honey, I just saw the first Black President speak.”