a nice garbage afternoon

old pic

this is one of the rare times i like how i look in a picture. i'm the one in yellow. sitting with my sister and cousin on thanksgiving a few years ago.

contentment

the other day i went to a meeting in Manhattan for my job. it always amazes me how NYC is such a crazy amalgam of the rich and the poor. walking down a street in midtown, you can encounter groups of well dressed businessmen chatting with each other or on cell phones casually strolling by a homeless mother and her son begging for money while seated on the sidewalk on a 95 degree day. and this is just the norm, nobody bats and eyelash. i find it all rather strange. and going into the city that day made me realize how happy i am to be working from home now and avoiding the city on a daily basis. thankfully, that meeting i went to is held only once a year.

i am really a lucky person. i never had to struggle financially while living out on my own and i was raised well.  i went to college and got my education, i was raised hearing two language in my house and now i can use one partially to earn my living. i am grounded and responsible. i could have gone a totally different way. i could have been rebellious, been a dropout, if i had different parents. thankfully my parents weren't selfish and were always looking out for my welfare, and my sister's as well. i have amazing freedom right now and i feel lucky. i can do anything and go anywhere i want to with no one stopping me. i can explore the world, i can do creative things, i can work without feeling tons of stress in the process and still earn a comfortable living.

i'm not the kind of person who needs a lot to be happy. i'm not into the latest trendy material things. and i think that's a big advantage. i don't dress up to impress other female friends. i don't even need a business casual wardrobe anymore which is really wonderful. though maybe it would be smart to hold on to a few of those in case i end up back in an office someday. hopefully not! i enjoy simple pleasures in life. reading a good book in my bed is one of the best things ever, or writing in my journal, or reading blogs, or having a good cup of coffee and a good conversation with my bf. it's really the little things. i like to slow down and enjoy life, meditate on my journey and realize that i am a blessed person. i feel really grateful, and content

"it's good to be different" -Shirley Manson

love love love

Currently..

Currently I’m ...

-re-reading the unabridged journals of Sylvia Plath, because she writes things like (I’m paraphrasing here) ‘the red and blue rooftops are muted and secretive’ while looking out her window

-re-reading a bunch of decluttering books and clearing out lots of old clutter, cleaning out closets/drawers/cupboards/grooming products

-finding new uses for excess shampoo and conditioner online, there are some great tips out there for using it up

-listening to ‘not your kind of people’ –new garbage CD , of course!

-needing to buy a new couch/loveseat for my living room. Though I can’t decide if I want a loveseat or a chaise lounge chair for reading

-struggling to write so I can finish one journal and start on my new one

-wondering what to get my uncles, brother in law and dad for father’s day. Money seems so boring

-still loving my Dana Rebecca designs necklace J thanks to my sweet bf

-still loving working from home, and the fact that summer is only beginning

-caved in and restarted my Netflix subscription. Watched ‘Gone’ the other night, wasn’t that great, I will probably put the subscription back on hold soon. Summer means more walks outside in the evenings.

-meditating more regularly and feeling better for it.

-having trouble letting go of some books, like the Chicago Manual of Style and the copyediting/proofreading handbooks, in case I can somehow find a way to finally get into doing that, and stop hesitating and being afraid of failing

-wanting to buy some round frame sun glasses, and ‘Amelie’ on DVD, and ‘Bill Cunningham NY’ on DVD and the new book about clutter by Brooks Palmer, whose blog I’m addicted to

-wanting to buy another T shirt and a tote bag from garbage.com

-enjoying a short video on the sartorialist’s website about how he takes his street fashion pictures

-being happy that it’s Friday, and that I found a nice, short maroon-colored dress in my closet (from American apparel) that I haven’t had a chance to wear in a long while that still fits J

-taking my hair vitamins, using wen, and enjoying healthier hair with less frizz

-enjoying my privacy and living alone

-wanting to get a new wardrobe of more pricey/sturdier clothing, and weeding out the cheap excess that doesn’t last. I have lots of trouble with this. I don’t like to spend much on clothes

-looking forward to going on a little vacation for my birthday week