Far From Home—Big Apple Baby!

During this time of year everyone takes a moment to reflect on their past and the future. By standing at life’s preverbal bridge it requires reflection on the decisions that have impacted your life. What might have or what will happen in the future is anyone guess but the excitement I find in life is that anything can happen if you take a leap of faith!

Looking back, I can’t believe it’s been ten years since I moved to New York City and it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s hard to be away from friends and family but the course life has taken since then has been such a drastic change that it’s comical to consider how my life would have been had I not gone.

Confidence is born when you have to strike out on your own, perilously walking along that tightrope, without having a safety net in case you falter while cautiously putting one foot ahead of the other, not knowing if you can make it but having the endurance to keep on going.

Adventure is the spice of life and without its addition; it can prove bland or tasteless. Why be safe or cookie cutter as you only live once so what if you get a little burnt along the way, it just adds to the flavor!  

New York City at Night-Pictures from Wikimedia Commons

‘Happy Talk---Talk About the Things You Like to Do?’ From your own Little Miss Chatterbox

Do you remember the Mr. Men and Little Miss children’s books? Some of the characters from the show and books were Little Miss Chatterbox, Mr. Happy, Little Miss Sunshine, Mr. Grumble, Little Miss Naughty, and Mr. Perfect.

I always loved the cartoon characters and the zany way they were portrayed. Everyone had a distinct personality and the neighbors knew how to curtail their involvement and side-step situations. Maybe we could take a ‘page’ from the past!

Images from Wikimedia Commons

Has this been engrained in our psyche since we were little children that our personality is one-note? What about having a card that we can hang around our neck depending on our moods? Black dot, stay away, yellow, come near but cautiously, green, jealously rearing its prideful head or blue, sad and I need a hug.

We have to wear nametags why not mood icons, wouldn’t that be more effective?

Things to make you go hmm? Game of Life



Game of Life-WikiMedia



How do you know if a decision is the right one for you? By straddling that line between what’s to come and what’s familiar, you’re teetering on both levels trying to figure out what’s the best jumping off point.

Everyone always says you can go home again, but what if you change home? By altering your home base, you’re either stepping up to the plate hoping for a homerun or ducking the three strikes ‘route.’

Right now I feel like a roulette wheel that’s still spinning in determination of what number will come up and where I’ll land.

Get 'Behind' the Idea!

Get Behind the Idea-WikiMedia Commons

When walking, ok, running, of course late to work today, I came across a sign that caused me to stop suddenly in my tracks! Stooping down to read, to my disbelief it said ‘girl’s like boys that are boys.’

Has it really come down to having to mention this publicly, isn't it obvious to all the single ladies out there?

Wait a minute; this is New York City after all so maybe we need to add clarification to the signage.

1)    Girls like boys that act like little boys?--Dated too many of them---Next!

2)    Girls like boys that look like boys?---------Good, unless you're dating metro---Moving on...

3)    Girls like to go out with boys that have less heels in their closest that they do?-Again, back to number 2!

4)    Girls like boys that have a perpetual Peter Pan syndrome?----Déjà Vu-#1 again!

I Won't Grow Up!

5)    Forgo all the fore-mentioned- a NYC gal likes her gay best friend!

Good shopper, style and substance-Sorry, straight guys, you don't stand a chance!

It Never Fails!

Morning arrives and you're all excited about your evening out and then throughout the work day you’re called and hear about all these other opportunities, you could have taken part in, if you weren’t so busy.

 Why do things always seem to come up on days that you’re already doing something? Takes the winda little bit out of your sail or at least makes it a bit breezy! 

 Might have 'carped' the diem a little too quickly!

                          

Look Before You Leap



New York City Night-Wikimedia Commons

 

Last night on my way into the city, I jumped on one of the jitney vans that run along JFK Blvd. and also directly into New York City.

In my haste to get back in to see a show, when a bus approached, I didn’t pay attention to which one it was, but I thought it said Gate 52, which meant New York City instead of a local.

So I sat back, opened up my novel and stated to read. All of a sudden I heard this passenger say Manhattan and the bus driver say, “No, No, but I take you to a spot where you can get to Manhattan."

With horror, I looked down at my watch and it showed only twenty minutes until I had to be in and I was on the wrong bus!!!

When it slowed down to make a scheduled stop, I ran up to the front of the bus a little bit flustered and said, “This isn’t going to New York, where do I have to go to catch the right bus?”

Everyone on the bus started reassuring me that I was on the right bus, the man in front of me had wanted to get off at Manhattan Avenue in Jersey and the bus didn’t stop there. Boy was my face red, well, redder than usual!

Let the Music Play On!

Music has the power to express how you’re feeling without having to open your mouth; the ability to transcend language, while at the same time transporting the listener back to another time and place the minute the first cords are played.

Time to play a little game; what the song lyrics really mean during the work day



Well, my friends, the time has come
(To) raise the roof and have some fun
Throw away the work to be done(All Night Long)---

           Let the music play on... (Play on, play on, play on...)-Means—This day is dragging on!

And now the hands of time are standin' still (Shadows of the Night)-The hands really are standing still!

Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Am I going to get stuck here?

Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes bolder, children get older-

I’m wasting my life away…

I'm getting older too, well (Landslide)-We all are!

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for(u2)-But I will!

Music has the ability to lift your spirits and help get you through till that all important 5:00 hour!



Pictures-Wikimedia Commons







Monday Morning Meltdown with London Looming

Slowly the Path train travels down the track while the minute hand on my watch rapidly races along. Completing the inevitable trek to New York City on time on a Monday morning is alas not going to happen!

However today is different, while suppressing the desire to cough, climb back into bed and throw that warm comforter over my head, I decided to ready myself for a long Monday morning. 

Consuming a large cup of caffeinated coffee, checking on the latest New York City and theatre news, that morning jolt finally kicks in.  

Opening up Outlook and seeing 300+ messages, the coffee bean's clarity starts to get a bit hazy but then I came across an email regarding my upcoming trip and realized that the countdown is on!



Wikimedia Pictures



It’s always fun to have the next trip on the horizon as it gives you motivation to keep working and saving, so that you can spend it!

Looking over the London itinerary I can’t wait to see the UK once again in person. I haven’t been there since I was a child and this Thanksgiving I can give thanks to be fortunate enough to have one of my dreams come true and see where it leads me.

Right now, I’m ‘traveling’ that preverbal line slowly taking steps to determine where my next footing will be. I don’t mind taking a bend in the road, but I want it to be a tangent leaning towards an adventure  and not just a bypass.



Bad Habit or a Sister’s Act

I was walking up the subway stairs tonight and as usual people were pushing each other rather than patiently proceeding out single file that the small staircase requires. All of a sudden this guy gets fed up with waiting and starts cutting everyone off and shoved me aside; I almost stumble as I try to get out of his way.

I exclaimed in exasperation, ‘God, people.” All of a sudden, the woman in front of me turns around and said with a sad smile it’s such a 'bad ‘habit’ of people these days! To my surprise it was a nun, all at once I was wishing I could swallow my word choice! Ironic, don’t ya think!

Wikimedia Commons

Dang it, I don’t need a walker or a cane, but wow what toys kids are playing with these days!

Santa's Going Hi-Tech

As Christmas is barreling full steam ahead parents are left quaking in their boots under the pressure of the large assortment of toys and games their children are requesting this year. Looking back at all the holiday hoopla full of shopping sprees, schemes and screams, I’m having a touch of melancholy filled with magic memories of my childhood. It wasn't so long ago, but my how times have changed in my thirty-two years.

I remember dreaming of a bike, and an Easy Bake Oven (still upset that I never got, maybe that’s why I don’t cook to this day) and there was always just one large present under the tree. Stocking fillers, warm clothes and family memories made up the rest of the Christmas festivities.

Today, and I have to be careful, I might be showing my age, it’s seems more commercial than social. More of what we can get rather than the time we can spend with family and friends. Looking back at the movies and laughing at the kid sitting on Santa’s lap forever listing the toys that he wants for Christmas is now more of a reality than a remedy and with the toy's prices continue their climb each year, parents are paying through the roof to satisfy the ‘I Want’ Factor.

Sometimes I wonder that even though technology has taken us places long beyond our dreams are we losing touch with what really matters? Or, is my age just showing?

Picture-Wikimedia Commons

Take and Make the Time to See a Broadway Show

With Next to Normal's announced closing early this morning, Broadway, more than ever needs to have patrons' support. So many great productions are closing their 'Curtains' the first week of January 2011and unlike a movie that will eventually make it's way to DVD, once a Broadway show is over, it's gone forever.

Take the time to take in a show as scheduled to close the beginning of 2011 are the following: Brief Encounter, Elf, Fela!, A Life the Theatre, The Pee-Wee Herman Show(LR), Promises Promises, West Side Story, Colin Quin(LR), In the Heights, A Little Night Music, Merchant of Venice (LR), Rain, and the newly announced Next to Normal. http://bit.ly/bKGXtm (For a detailed closing list)

                                              

The play's the thing, so go out and support it!

Pictures-WikiMedia Commons

Where am I / Where am I Going?

                                                            

                                                                                   

Debating a move out of the country but wondering if you’re glamorizing living abroad as an extended vacation rather than a place to settle down? What to do? First, make sure to do on research into the country, lifestyle and the job market. Knowing what you’re getting yourself into is extremely important, it’s fun to jump, but make sure you have a safety net.

Find yourself people who have actually made the move successfully and ask their advice. There are websites like expatriates and travel tools online to educate yourself on the process.

Secondly, don’t just dream it; check it out, in person. It’s much easier to decide if you want to live in the country if you’ve actually been there, or more specifically, recently. Without really seeing the place in person, you can’t fully realize if it’s a place you’d feel comfortable living for an extended period of time.

Tip: It’s more economical and less stressful to travel abroad to check things out beforehand and realize that it might not be the desired move rather than having the epiphany after already drastically altering your life and then having to head home.

Now if you decide that this is what you really want to do, Cheerio to the old and Ciao to an adventure of a lifetime!

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Start things off with a bang...

Are you reading this? If so, I'm about to give you the insider's guide to theatre, travel and NYC Restaurants. Get ready to have your palate tempted on all that New York City has to offer and if you're not here yet, get ready to visit.

Working with the Broadway Shows during the day, I know what's the must see shows and what better way to pair a Broadway Show than with dinner.

Travel around NYC to find the latest finds, bargains and not to miss events!

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