I was scolded by S about not posting for a long time earlier this weekend (sorry S!) when he was in the city with D visiting M and Me for the Coffee and Tea Festival. S is right of course, I should return to the habit of posting on here. If only for my own sanity.
But there are many habits I should start getting back into.
Like running.
I haven't really run with much regularity since I left Boston in early December which is of course a problematic situation. But I guess I should get on about what has happened since I felt Quito almost four months ago.
So first things first. The Oscars are over. As a dutiful filmmaker, and staunch Meryl Streep supporter (GO MERYL!), I watched them last night. The fact that Billy Crystal, who is always perfect, was hosting didn't hurt either. What a difference from last year! Sorry Anne and James, you're incredible actors, but you can't really outdo the master! This year I kept my 60% correct prediction streak and won myself a free dinner last night in the Oscar ballot against M and my roommate LY. Although to be fair, I did miss Best Picture (I did think The Descendants would get it on account of 'The Artist' being a good and solid, but in no way extraordinary film) but as the brilliant Meryl Streep (can you tell I'm a fan?) said, whatever.
So second things second. I guess you can say that my time in Brooklyn so far has been interesting. It's had its ups and downs. Brooklyn itself I love. There's something incredible about this borough that makes it so alive and vibrant. It makes me feel like I'm in the middle of things that are happening, without actually being in the middle of things that are happening. The heavy Manhattan traffic is absent and far away. Instead I open my window and hear birds chirping, the leaves (or right now the dry branches) of the trees in Prospect Park (right across the street) rustling, maybe the occasional piano emanating from my neighbor's apartment. I walk out and meet people who are actually friendly. I go to the YMCA down the street and chat with the old ladies that are more fit than I am about how the flowers are blooming, but the weather predicted for this weekend is unfortunately sure to kill the young blooms. How much of a shame that is because of this nutso warm winter we've had (warm being of course, relative). I will admit I even enjoy commiserating about the blasted G train and how damn slow it is (seriously, it left me waiting at Classon Ave for 45 minutes at 2:00 am two weekends ago!). I've been told that it is the mark that you are a true New Yorker if you're commiserating about some train or another. Or about the MTA in general even though, of course, you forget what it is like to ride to work on the Green Limousines (the buses) to work in Quito. During rush hour I've seen sardines packed into cans that seem more comfortable than those passengers...
On the flip side, I'm consistently approaching broke. This week I think I actually came to having $17 in my bank account. That's really sad. I mean, I've done a very good job of budgeting and stuff, but working a paid internship and a part time job and an unpaid internship wasn't really cutting it. I quit my paid internship for a variety of reasons. The primary being I got a gig directing a short institutional doc which will require the bulk of my time these coming weeks, and the secondary being - well, they're an incredibly cool company but it wasn't quite my thing. My job, on the other hand, I love. I work at a small fair-trade, organic, but hip tea company with a small team of young people. There's six of us and I think the oldest is 27 or 28. And we run a fast-growing small business, which I find absolutely incredible and empowering. I've been doing a lot of their graphic design and advertising, and just general administrative work. But I feel myself growing and learning in that environment, and most of all, I feel like part of a team, which is incredibly important to me. Lastly, my unpaid internship is pretty awesome too. I log footage for a freelance editor that works on animal welfare documentaries, which is always cool and fulfilling as well.
As for my personal life - well that's always hard to gauge. Admittedly, it feels nice to be able to call up friends and see if we can grab lunch, or a comedy show, or scout out a new bar in the neighborhood. We're all equally broke, and equally overworked, so there's no threat of going someplace we can't go to. Although we have been known to splurge for brunch on occasion. Brunch is a big thing here in NYC. I'm still not quite sure why, but it is a thing. If you live in NYC, you brunch on weekends. Even if you just brunch at home. I've found new friends including CC and W who were M's friends initially. I've made new friends of my own - like the jazz-playing Bartender I met at an event which I oddly I have friends in common with , and just been more adventurous in general. Which I like. I feel that at the core of my being, I am a bit of an adventurous person. Being here brings that out since there are so many great opportunities that come by, I just have a hard time finding a reason not to take them and try something new.
So, here's to a new stage in life, and to more regular updates. I promise S!
