I’ve been able to do whatever I felt like without consulting a soul.  It’s been rather nice not to have to speak to someone – not to ask “what would you like for dinner?” or “can we watch a boring documentary tonight?” or “can we open a bottle of wine?”  I don’t have to ask myself a single thing.  Yes, we can do all of those things.  I didn’t feel guilty about spending hours at a salon having my hair done.  Granted, that’s one of my least favorite past-times, more so when I don’t feel well, but I didn’t feel like I was taking my time away from anyone else.  It was mine alone to squander.  I read a ton.  I watched two movies I doubt Justin would have much interest in. Granted, we called each other perpetually and I sent him lots of photos.  I definitely wouldn’t prefer this more isolated lifestyle long-term, but it actually was a fairly pleasant respite.  The puppies didn’t seem to mind too much either, as they had practically the entire bed to themselves.

I also had some time this weekend to add a small feature to our website, which I hope to build on.  I simply changed my “2010 Goals” page to a “Randomness” page and added sections for  readings +  quotes.  Hopefully this will allow me to share more literary findings with you, my loyal readers. ;)   Though there isn’t much there now, it’s sort of meant to send you off on an entertaining, time-squandering internet expedition.  I hope you enjoy!  Now I am off to the airport to pick up my weary travelers.  Adieu!

Camping in Taconic State Park

The Sunday of Labor Day weekend, Justin and I loaded up our two pups and headed north with the intent to camp.  Naturally, we made no campsite reservations what with it being one of the busiest camping days of the year and all.  We hoped to grab a spot at Taconic State Park.  Oddly enough, luck was on our side!  Not only did we receive the last available dog-friendly spot, our neighbors never showed up!  We ended up having a fairly private campsite at the far end of the park near the singular puppy friendly hiking trail. Yay!

Check out our photos and videos >>

View Justin’s video – The Running of the Pups! YouTube | Vimeo

Should you go, this stuff is definitely worth checking out:

• The now abandoned Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center which has been purchased with the intent to transform the property into The Knolls of Dover (I found video and photos inside the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center).
• Rosemary’s Texas Tacos – This woman has bright purple hair and zany makeup!  The tacos were okay, the sweet tea was delicious, and the interior decor was other worldly.  Check out Rosemary’s Myspace for fun images and general insanity.
• Bash Bish Falls State Park – super beautiful falls!  This park was a perfect stop for us because we were able to take the puppies on a little hike before driving all the way back to NYC.  Check out the park’s website or read an article about it if you’re up for it.
• Taconic State Park – of course! It was nice and peaceful, and I expect we’ll head back someday!  Check out the park’s Wikipedia entry. :)

Maybe we’ll actually plan a wedding… one of these days…

Let’s recap the year:

• May - Engaged on the River Walk in San Antonio!
• Val! and I went out to celebrate the engagement
• June - Justin and I started off the summer right with a picnic in Flushing Park (photos)
• We headed to Montana (photos and more photos) for my work and spent a day in Denver, which was a lot of fun (photos from Denver)
• Justin, Mom, Val!, (Joey), and I had a misadventure while hiking in the Catskills which resulted in stitches for me (photos)
• July – We had a great trip to Puerto Rico with Marisa and Alex (photos)
• Justin, Val! and I all turned 28
• August – Justin and I were stressed because Ruby developed Cherry Eye… but we got it fixed and she’s been great since!
• I got to see Sheila’s new house and Justin and I spent time with lots of family and friends in August (photos)
• September – I was back in Montana for work and Justin visited me for one amazing weekend (photos)
• JetBlue was completing work on T5 and Justin and I went to the Chili Pepper Fiesta in Brooklyn (photos)
• October – Justin and I celebrated our 4th anniversary by taking a vacation to Poland (with a stop in Vienna)! (photos)
• We met up with Jenny and Cody in Vieques, Puerto Rico! (photos)
• We celebrated Halloween properly by having a Pumpkin Carving Party (photos) and heading to a Halloween Party (photos).  The puppies also got in on the action (photos)
• We took a day trip to Maine to check out fall foliage (one photo)
• November – Justin and I took off for two weeks in Australia, including Thanskgiving!
• December – We returned from Australia to enjoy snowy weather in NY and Christmas in Texas (photos)
• We drove our car alllll the way from San Antonio to New York! (photos)
• January – Not my favorite start to the new year.  Justin and I found out I was being laid off from my job.
• February – I left for a week in Switzerland to visit Val! and BigP (photos)
• We visited Eric in LA (photos) and had a lot of fun with friends here in NY
  
• March – Sheila’s baby shower was this month (photos)
• Our friend Thao got baptized (photos)
• We went to Puerto Rico (El Yunque and Fajardo photos and Culebra photos) with Alex, Marisa, Tom, Niki, and Emily.  Fun times!
• April – Brennan, Sheila’s baby, was born (photos)
• We took Alex and Marisa to Texas for the weekend (photos)
• May - Ruby and Eve, our puppies, turned 2 years old (photos)

Execute. Meaning. Fun.

What will your 3 words for 2009 be?

8 week sonogram of "Peanut Roan"

I am so glad that my awesome cousin Sheila is pregnant!  I doubt I’ll ever have a child and Val!’s pretty much in the same boat, so this is the closest I’m going to come to being an Aunt… well, Aunt-Like. Ok, a really cool cousin. :P

8 week sonogram of "Peanut Roan" saying Hi

I am just so darn excited about “Peanut” Roan!!!  Sheila sent sonogram photos out to the family yesterday.  I am sharing them here, now.  I wish I could tell you more, like how she is feeling (I think a little nauseous!) and what she is thinking (yay baby!), but I can’t… she hasn’t updated her website.  :P

In these photos, you can make out little numbs that represent Peanut’s appendages!  We don’t know whether Peanut will be a girl or a boy. Mommy and Daddy (Sheila and Justin) supposedly want to wait til the baby is born, but we’ll see if they can stave off their curiosity.  Personally, I am hoping Peanut is a girl, but I’ll love it either way. ;)  Congratulations She and Justin!!!

Change the World - photo by Cayusa

I am totally infatuated with an idea in development by a Bostonian and a loyal set of like-minded individuals. The concept is simple: changing the world for the better through the power of social media. I’m so into the idea, in fact that I spent the last couple of hours tonight writing up talking points and beginning the brainstorming for a Mission and Vision statement for the infantile organization. I only hope it comes to fruition and pans out in a very positive way. The organization is called Social Media for Social Change (SM4SC). Check out the site to read about the fundraiser in Boston.

In other positive news, congratulations are in order for my cousin Sheila and her husband Justin! They just announced that She She is pregnant with her first child!

I want to create and live off of my creations. I want to create by myself. I want to create with other people. I want to write, sing, make movies (documentaries for now). I want to help others get published and get published myself. I want to take photographs and sell them. I want Justin and I to take photographs together and travel the world. I want to make videos with Val! and have a following of people that are genuinely interested. I want us to be able to sustain a nice living off of these projects. I want to create, love and be happy – and I want the same for my loved ones and all those that want this for themselves, too.

I want life to be “how it should be.” A community of good people, good friends, creating, enjoying, being out there in the world and really living and experiencing it all.

Thanks for the thunderstorm the other night. That was a great birthday present. And thanks in advance, for the future.

Love,
Ness

“one of these days all we’ll do is create and live off of it, and travel and enjoy it all”

I commented to Justin that I wished we had something more interesting to eat for breakfast (aside from our staples of Pop-Tarts and peanut butter toast) and he suggested we grab food from the Asian bakery across the boulevard. I was game. Mmmm, a steamed red bean bun…

Walking onto the street felt like walking into an oven. Seriously, it’s crazy hot for 10 AM! It’s 94 degrees already. Justin took his pastries and biked off in the direction of JetBlue’s headquarters for work, and I began the short stroll home. Because of the heat, I’m wearing a sleeveless shirt, shorts and flip-flops.

As I walked past the bank on the corner, I caught my reflection in its large windows and couldn’t suppress my smile. For some reason today I just feel so well-suited to live in this city. That’s a good thing, considering last night Justin brought up renewing our lease in October. New York, New York – I guess we’ll have to dance this dance for a little while longer.

My anxiety could simply be because I’ve ingested too much coffee this morning. It could be because Obama won the democratic nomination (which I am not thrilled about). It could be because airlines seem to be dropping like flies (SilverJet, Eos, SkyBus). Those that are hanging on may not be around for much longer (United cutting capacity and jobs, American charging for everything, Frontier in bankruptcy and possibly closing down, Spirit making cuts to jobs and bases… etc.).

In general, I am worried about our careers – Justin with JetBlue and me in the travel/tourism industry. There seems to be an electric charge to everything. I imagine this is because most Americans are just waiting for the bottom to fall out of the semi-secure environment we’ve been living in for the last two decades. Even with the hardships after 9/11 and the first dotcom bubble burst, we’ve had some stability. Americans have been able to afford vacations, air travel, trips abroad, and the like.

Now that our dollar is in the toilet, airlines are shutting down, and people can’t even afford gas to go to-and-from work (yes – a lady in Texas told me it cost her more than $25 just to drive into work and back home) I just wonder what, if anything, is seriously going to change. Will our economy continue its steady decline? Will things stabilize where they are now? Will things improve? Time will tell, I suppose.

Life continues at it’s own comfortable pace for Justin and I at the moment. We watched Up the Yangtze last night, which was an interesting film; sad at points, slow at others, but always allowing you a glimpse into a wholly different culture where people are still, surprisingly, the same. Teenagers still have the same hormones, feelings, and rebellious nature. People are born believing they are entitled to more than is easily within their reach. I recommend seeing this movie if you have the opportunity. I feel very lucky to live in New York City where I can easily catch such a film. Quad Cinemas is showing it through Thursday if you can run down and see it by then.

I am taking a trial violin lesson next Tuesday to find out whether or not I want to pay for a series of classes. I am hoping so. It would be so nice to be able to play an instrument, especially such an aurally beautiful one.

All fun things to do on a nice Sunday in NY. To start our summer out right we headed to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a picnic, perfect weather for one – breezy and bright. It was nice to have a happy wholesome day. See more photos on Flickr here.