Congrats to my nephew, Christian, whose art made it to the big city! When we were in Texas last week for our Holiday celebrations I showed Christian the photograph I have on my phone of the Rockefeller Center tree and he was pretty impressed. Krista told me that he was telling her about it as she was tucking him in that night. That’s when I knew he should be a contributor to the art displays at Rock Center.

So I requested he whip up a sweet little drawing that we could showcase at Rockefeller Center. Thanks to Ness for getting his art put on this Christmas display right next to the elevators that take her to work. Enjoy!

Ape for Apples

Just a quick post to link to some photos showcasing the outdoorsy fun we’ve been enjoying during this lovely season: Fall!

An Apple Picking We Will Go

Over the weekend, Justin and I went apple picking, wine tasting, stopped by a dairy for some fresh bread and cheese, and even spotted a baby black bear!  It was awesome!  I also go to sleep in on Saturday, which was brilliant and much needed.

Setting Up Camp

Rugged Campers With Our Air Mattresses

The weekend before last, we went camping with some friends (Olivia, Alex, and Marisa) in Clarence Fahnestock State Park.  We also brought along Ruby and Eve.  Olivia was accompanied by her pup Winston.  Good times – even if our Hyundai was a little weighed down!

We sat around the campfire until the wee hours of the morning.  We hiked.  We roasted marshmallows.  Good times were had.  Marisa and I saved the day by jogging two miles down a windy road, mostly uphill, to locate our car.  Yah, we’re tough.

Enjoy the photos!

Five days until mine and Justin’s fifth anniversary!

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. :)

After 2 years in New York, I still don’t feel as though I have ever lived here. Why is that? Is it because I know in my heart I am biding my time? Probably. Moving to NYC is something I did out of coercion—maybe persuasion is a better word. At any rate, I accepted it because I was looking to make a change in my life anyway. Chicago was the city I’d set my sights on, but America’s first city offered me a job, I already had family here, plus my sister was requiring me to go where she did, and Val!’s plans certainly included New York. There was no great reason not to move to New York.

I wonder if the feeling of living a transient existence and just waiting, waiting in limbo, would be the same regardless. I know Texas is in my eventual future, but I’d still like to feel settled and cozy in the interim—like I belong to a place and it to me. Like I have a positive, loving relationship with my current city, as cheesy as that may sound. New York, why are you so elusive? Is it entirely my fault?

I see it from the periphery. I see how cool New York is, how interesting it can be, and what it offers that no place else really does—something for everyone. It’s easy to rebuke NYC for being so hard-nosed, so unfriendly, so not midwestern/southern. I just want, for the rest of the time Justin and I are here, to love it like other people openly love it. I just don’t know if I have it in me.

Side note: On the way to see FIT’s Gothic fashion exhibit today, a black man was handing out a newspaper. The cover said “Racism! Hatred!” He tried to hand it to an Indian man walking right in front of me that did not take it. As I approached, he quickly pulled the magazine away from my sight and back toward himself. Strange, but that happens more than you’d think here. There are religious propaganda spreaders that hang out near Queens Mall preaching that God is black. They approach anyone that looks like a minority, but when I (or another white person) walks by, they back away or turn to someone else. In a way, it’s a bummer. What if it was something I wanted to know about?  It’s not like I’ve got religion in my life.  ;) Oh well, no biggie.

FIT’s exhibit was amazing and highly, highly recommended.  If you like black, lace, Gothic style, or are just curious, you absolutely must check it out!  I might write more on this at another time, as I am planning to drag Val! back with me… in full regalia. :)

In a way, it *feels* a little bigger because of this enormously populated, exaggeratedly important city. Everyone knows of it, speaks of it, longs to be here for one reason or another even if they’re at the furthest corners of the world. Movies are filmed here, books are written here, tv shows are shot here… It’s definitely recognizable, and being even slightly affiliated with a place so well-known and lusted after makes my life feel just a millimeter more significant.

But in other ways, I am much more isolated in this cut-throat, self-serving, me-first sort of city. I lost it the other night, crying to Justin and wondering if I’d ever have any real friends again.

July 4, 2008: Happy birthday, Michieru. Hope you’re making the most of it!

Beware – these photos get quite gruesome.

The trail was beautiful… Lush green trees densely crowded the muddy, rocky path which ran alongside a creek. In the creek were glistening silver-gray rocks and many levels of small falls, creating a beautiful visual effect as well as a musical audible effect throughout our hike, which was a half mile in length and took us upwards to the main attraction: a gorge into which a tall, thin, cool waterfall streamed. Val! and I made it there first and excitedly headed towards the falls. It was during this time of mindless hurry that I slipped on a wet rock and sent my left foot (and force of my body) into a hole surrounded by rocks. One of these rocks was incredibly sharp… As I extracted my leg, I noticed a deep gash exposing flesh and white fat folded up under the skin. The first words out of my mouth were “E.R.”

After Justin bandaged my leg with part of Joey’s shirt, we all headed back to the car and to the nearest emergency room. It’s never nice to hear a doctor refer to your cut as a gaping wound… even though that’s exactly what it was.

The worst part of the experience: Other than seeing the initial, frightening damage, the worst part (by far) were the numerous, painful shots I received to my wound area prior to being stitched up (10 stitches). I lost it and ended up crying…

The best part of the experience: Having my loving family there for me… Thanks Mom, Val! and Justin.

Things like this really help put life into perspective… And also remind me to be more careful. This is the third time in 3 weeks I’ve hurt myself, and the second time I slid off a rock and hurt myself. Sheesh.

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.

Vallie! came over tonight so we could walk around in Forest Hills Gardens taking nighttime pictures. It was a nice, relaxing evening punctuated by happy banter and lots of blurry, orange photos. I still like the way they came out, particularly because I got a few nice pix of Val! enjoying herself! :)

Even though they are pretty, I know behind all those colorful petals and blooms, they are the cause of my sickness. *shakes fists* damn them.

Tomorrow Vanessa will have to walk me to work so I can show her this flowering tree. The one right next to it is much prettier. However, it was not wanting to be photogenic. But trust me, it was cooler. ;)