The moments and the memories. The people and the places. No one knows what will happen next, but that’s what is best.

This past weekend was a big one for NYC. The Mets played in the World Series, it was Halloween, and the TCS NYC Marathon was on Sunday. Somehow, I made it to do something for all three things. However, it left for a sleepy Sunday morning and a necessary chocolate earl grey doughnut from DOUGH in Brooklyn. While watching 60,000K people run by, I tracked a friend, caught up with another and I’d say this last weekend was a success.

We live in an age where our digital trail follows us everywhere. Nothing is ever “deleted” from the Internet and there seems to always be a way to trace activity. Scary? Yes. A threat? Often. But we do it anyway. Putting things on the Internet openly is like taking a risk. Living on the edge. If someone wanted to they could piece it together and figure you out but let’s hope ain’t nobody got time for that.

I’m leaving a trail. A digital one and a paper  one for myself to trace back and figure out if the time comes that I want to do that. I’ll take pictures to post to Instagram and connect them to stories in my sketchbook. They sometimes sit with comments made by friends on Facebook and the real story might be told through words in this blog. Until then everything will remain a mystery. It’s just as much a mystery for myself as it is for anyone else. For many people this means nothing, but for me, it’s everything.

New chapters are being written and the sky is watching over you.

Right now, this is as messy as it gets. The weeks have been flying and the days are disappearing. My desk is a cluttered with everything going on right now and snacks to get me through it.

As I look at my planner (yes, one with pages and blocks for every day of the year), and flip to next week, there is a big B coming up. Birthday. Another year of celebrating life and a milestone to really mark the end of a year and start of another. (Picture from the start of this past year when I blew out a handmade candle from an apple cider vinegar bottle after being serenaded by an 8 year-old and ate a toppled cake from Dominique Ansel)

I am changing. While birthdays of my younger years were filled with dreams of what types of gifts I wished to receive (and $$$), they are different now. People ask me what I want and my answer is nothing. Everything I need right now, I already have and I really believe it. (more…)

Brunching on a Wednesday because, why not.

The struggle to get here seems to be the same struggle to get out. While coming to a city of unknowns is thrilling, exciting, frightening, and eye opening, so is leaving one. The thrill of going someplace new is filled with a thrill of leaving a place that has become so normal. The excitement of discovering new parts of a city is now going to be the excitement to returning to what I have known my whole life. A frightened exterior is replaced with a frightened interior, and the eyes that were open to see for the first time may be seeing things for the last.

Leaving brings renewed energy to the past, present, and future. You’ll come back with a greater appreciation for what you left behind and for the things found on the adventure you took. Welcome the struggle and endure the pain. All these thoughts I’ve learned are true and maybe the start of a migration pattern too.

Game board size large flat rate boxes, but not playing any games with this.

Listen to mom, don’t try this at home.

Something life-changing happened every day this week. On some days, it was more than one thing a day. For some reason in the universe, it was as if life was spinning around like a top and I was dying to see when it would just stop. These are the times you need the reminder that things fall into your control and sometimes they fall out. You’re playing a game and directing yourself to a target, maybe even through a journey, looking for the answers to well, life. I know I’m no expert because I’m just learning as life goes on, but what I can do is point myself in certain directions. I have feelings and instincts. I can tell when things are right and if they might feel wrong.  I can think about the future, but really not know for certain what that means.

This week I made decisions. I made more than one decision about a variety of things. People and thoughts often considered, but mostly thinking about myself and where I want to be. What journey I want to be on and where I see myself in a year. Okay, maybe just the next couple days.

Tonight I made the decision to walk aimlessly as I got shit done from my “shit to do” list.  The journey ended up being a 5  mile roundtrip from home in the West Village, up to Midtown, and back. Of course I should have been working, or doing something else, but I was able to get out, talk on the phone, take a walk and take the time to enjoy time. I made a decision.

Oh, Orlando. Although it took 25 years, I finally made it to Orlando, Florida. All this time I’ve been only hearing and seeing things about this magical place. I didn’t quite make it to the Magic Kingdom, but I did go to Universal Studios. I was there long enough to learn Orlando summers are no joke. They are hotter and humid-er than the worst days in NYC, which are worse than the hot days in Hawaii. There aren’t any waves or ocean, (it is in the middle of the state), but there are pools and water parks (the water isn’t really cold tho), and a lot of AC (Ice box cold).

All the heat aside, this place is special. There are kids EVERYWHERE. Big ones and little ones. People are encapsulated in man-made worlds and experiences. We went from real life, to jumping into cartoon story lines, and then back to imaginary worlds all in one day. The kids’ jaws dropped and their eyes lit up with amazement. As a big kid, I enjoyed it even more because I was there with the little kids.

So after all the steps we took, the land we covered and the things we saw, while dripping in sweat, it was worth it. Even after the rain we were left with fire in the sky and colors that were like, whaaaa?? I wouldn’t call this a relaxing weekend, but it was a memorable one. The next time though, you’ll find me there when it’s not summer.