Command + Z was not an option.

@W4 & Avenue of the Americas because America is where dreams are made.

Quite possibly one of the best cookies I’ve ever had and it’s not because it starts off with a shot of milk and is in the shape of a cup. New York, you’ve taught me you should never say never and this is example 542. Thank you.

Being too busy to sit and eat so I’m just going to stare at pictures of past meals instead. That’s how life’s been this past week. (Except avocado toast Wednesday!)

Brunching on a Wednesday because, why not.

History is being rewritten and we are living to see it happen. The big concrete jungle of New York City was a lot more c-o-l-o-r-f-u-l this weekend and this is just a glimpse of what is yet to come.

Third grader keeping it real on this Monday with some pencil motivation. The mind of a child is fearless. At least that’s what I have learned. Being able to spend everyday with one has sent me daily reminders about what it means to live, take risks, and love.

Ping isn’t concerned about what anyone else thinks of him. He will put temporary tattoos all over his arms, wear an outfit that doesn’t match, and burst out in song at any street corner. He will do all these things with extreme confidence. He takes the risks that many adults continue to hold back from in fear of what someone else might think. Ping also loves. While love right now might only be for video games, cartoons, and his iPod, he is passionate about all these things. Ping is an open book with no walls to hide behind.  He works hard to get what he wants and does it with all his heart. When he wants something I see him try his best. Disappointment also comes across his face if he misses his goals. This mini-person has shown me what it really means to be true to yourself.

So it was fitting when I saw these words Sharpie’d onto Ping’s pencil.  He’s only nine but he’s already figured out how to give himself what he needs to motivate himself.  I know he knows what “BEASTMODE” means better than any adult I know because I see it, everyday and it never gets old.

At The Met.

At the Guggenheim.

I grew up only looking at artwork in pages of books, on computer screens, and projections in my college lectures.  There are good museums in San Diego you can also see some prized pieces of art. We went to see those. We would talk about what the meanings and “see” how these pieces made statements and made art history. What I didn’t realize was how much more I had to see. New York is a gift. New York has given me access to hundreds, if not thousands, of art that I would have only seen through pages of a text book and pictures on screen. On any given day, I can walk into world-famous museums (this weekend I walked into two), to see things people wait months, years, their whole lives to see. It can cost me as little as a subway ride and $1 to see something worth millions, sometimes even priceless. New York is a gift–the gift that keeps on giving.

Don’t be good, be great.

There’s nothing that starts a “welcome home” better than walking on to an airplane, hearing Hawaiian music and sitting in the purple throne that is going to actually take you home. As you sit and wait, people are talking and it’s pidgin. A broken up English that is a foreign language to some that you actually understand, that’s home. Seeing people you don’t even know but just look familiar because you know where they are from, that’s home too.  I took this picture today and I have taken it many many times in the past. It’s like seeing your best friend again after a long trip away.

Even after a long sleepless night, nothing warms my heart more than going to the one place that is my home, Hawaii. On my 10+ hour journey there’s a lot of time for sleep, sitting, and thinking. After a few weeks of being extremely busy doing who knows what, getting on the plane and heading home seemed so easy. I could instantly connect back to where I am from by taking myself there, something that isn’t so easy while I am away.

What is important to me between the actual trips home is the constant connection to home. Whether that means waking up and listening to local jams, keeping all of my desktop wallpapers on my computers different photos of Hawaii, or never changing my wrist watch to be in the right east coast time zone, I make an effort to be connected to home. This conscious effort is intentional because while being so far away I never want to lose that part of me. At times, living in New York could turn me into a completely different person. I can see how I can easily forget my roots, plant new ones, and probably never go home. But that’s not what I want.

For now I am away and my daily habits, communicating with my friends and family, and this plane are my connection to home. They are my lifeline. They keep me in the loop while I’m away. Today made me realize how easy it is to go home but it also made me realize why I am away. I’m gone to feel  that feeling. The one that made me so happy to see this plane, hear the Hawaiian music and see people I don’t even know speaking a language i actually understood. Being away makes everything that is ordinary, extraordinary and that is the best “welcome home” I could have ever imagined.

We whine whine whine about winter for months (well, we totally had the right to do that this year) and then it’s finally spring. The flowers are blooming, allergies are emerging, and it’s like the city just got a fresh coat and a new attitude. We waited a long time for this, so of course we need to enjoy it. Sunday walks are back and this time, they are filled with cherry blossoms in the trees and bright blue skies. Let’s hope this weather is here to stay because if it’s one thing I learned this season, it’s that the weather can just be a big fat tease.

I can’t even begin to tell you what it was about this set up that made it picture worthy. First, I think it was the placement of letters. The deliberate choice to break up the iPad and IPhone. Second, it was the nice array of phone case choices. Plain colors? Got it. Bumpers? got that too. Marilyn Monroe fan? Don’t fret there’s one with your name on it. Or maybe you just want a big rubber bear-shaped case to carry in your pocket. Yup, that’s also an option. Third, this pop up shop was strategically placed outside of the Apple Store on West 14th Street but I bet the cost of the cases were half the price of what you would find in the store. Well played vendor man, well played.