A few things that I did in 2011

I think the biggest thing I did that made me enjoy this year the most is taking a ride on a gondola through the narrow veiny waterways of Venice, Italy. It was a dream fulfilled. I'm not sure where I got the idea and the desire, or how long I had it. But I know that it was a strong inclination and something that I couldn't shake for years. It was a brief flash of late-night insomnia on a phone conversation with a friend that the words, "let's go to Venice for my birthday" spit out of my mouth and into the atmosphere. Instantly, it took root. "That sounds like fun, let's go!" was the response. The tickets were bought that night, and four months later, we were both sitting in the United Air Executive Club at JFK, eating quiche, drinking champagne and eagerly awaiting our flight to another island in the Mediterranean.

There was a lot of unexpected things I experienced that not only added to the breadth of life events that I gained, but taught me a lot about the kind of person I've become. I was able to enjoy the beauty of being in ones company, and in being in the company of one. Walking through the corridors of ancient cobbled paths stirred within me both fascination and apprehension, and cast a spell of wonder and hesitance and intrigue all under an umbrella of fun. I accomplished a dream and continually pinched myself to make sure I wasn't sleeping.

Between the opulent eye candy of history, the mystery of architectural glory and the continuous time-zones we recognized and celebrated by toasting it with multi-colored cones of gelato, the sights, sounds, textures, tastes and scents of the Queen of the Adriatic was a wonder to behold. I think the best part of this trip for me was the prayer I was able to give, thanking God for allowing me to not only receive a dream of a lifetime, but to also acknowledge my mother and father and my family who has passed in another island 4 continents, 7 time zones and miles and oceans away. I made it there, and I took them with me.

We only turn 40 once, and we never pass this way again, so this trip was definitely something I am not only proud of, but humbled by.

I'm back to write....

...guess who didn't win.

Well, I guess I can't say that. I did win $5 off of my scratch off cards. And all I did was spend $6. What'd I tell you about my 'luck' theory. Oh well, I'd probably miss my job. Probably.

Not.

Anyhow, I'm really loving that tomorrow is my last full day of work for 2011. Had I won the lottery, that statement would have been written with much more exclamation points. Being that it is my last day, I've been working my tail off up until this week to try and complete all of my 2011 projects. Having done everything that was assigned except one, I am so glad that I will be able to spend much of my time tomorrow in boxing and filing away a lot of paperwork and cleaning my office.

I'm getting my registration forms for school ready as well. I forgot how tedious it is to look for a class, gather what it will be about and schedule courses to make sure that I'm able to give it the amount of time necessary, mentally prepare myself for the expectations as well as juggle my work schedule, integrate a life living on a budget, all the while incorporating a healthier workout and eating regime. Multi-task much?!?

So in preparation for this weekends New years plans, I'm busy planning a menu, creating a shopping list, developing a musical playlist and coordinating some sort of itinerary. Call me the Pocono's Julie McCoy...I'll be making all your activities both fun and relaxing at the same time. So, I know no one is really reading this, but if some random person does by providencial command, breeze past this before Friday, December 30th, 2011, do you have any suggestions for songs that should be in rotation New Years Eve? I may not play it, however any suggestions will do---and you never know--I've been known to spontaneously do something out of character.

I'll tell you this much==had I won megamillions, I would have hired someone to make this list. Heck, I may have even spontaneously hired Mariah to sing the playlist at the cabin. (Dreaming HUGE this year--remember?!?) Aloha!

What to do with $206 mill...

So I just ran out to the bodega around the corner from my apartment to pick up my megamillion ticket. Will I win--I can only hope. Am I that kind of lucky guy that can dial into a radio station and end up as the instant winner of an all access pass to a Mariah Carey concert...nope, that's not me. Even if a bird crapped on me. (An old wives tale that is really full of it--any crap flying at you is never good, trust me.) I just heard a superstition that you should rub off those scratch off tickets with a penny, not a quarter (or a nickel or dime, for that matter), because the penny is proof that you need the money, whereas the quarter (or nickel or dime, for that matter) means that you're too damn rich and therefore cosmically, are proving, maybe even greadily mocking the luck gods.

Now if you know me, you know that I don't believe in 'luck gods.' I'm not even sure if I believe in luck. To me, 'luck' flies opposite my belief that the Higher Power has all things in control, and perhaps it's not my providential destiny for me to get rich through some numbered ping pong balls gathered up by a botoxed glittery stick figure with way too much face paint to imply abstinence. Perhaps it is my fortunate future to lose a lot of money if I participate, and perhaps gain a little here and there. Enough losing to keep me humble, and enough winning to keep me hopeful.

The other day I won $22 bucks off of 20 $1 tickets I received for Christmas. True to form--I won just enough to keep me entertained, but not enough to make me an a--hole. That's what I'd call a graceful blessing. In any case, I'll be checking my numbers first thing in the morning, and using a penny for the scratch offs. I guess it wouldn't hurt.

Turning over a new leaf

So I've decided again to do something, but this time i'm looking for someone to keep me accountable. There are several things that I'd like to accomplish, not only 'this coming year', but something I'd like to check off of my bucket list. No, I'm not planning (or desiring/hoping) on kicking the bucket anytime soon--unless you believe in all that Mayan lore--but there is no time like the present to start doing what could have possibly been done years ago. And you all know, I'm not getting any younger. But, if all works out to my desires, I may be getting healthier, and thinner in the process. So in order to get a jump on my 'new years resolution', something to which I think everyone should create. Why? Because it's always good to have goals. To lay before you your dreams, aspirations, desires. I've said it before and am a firm believer--Dream Big. I have a Big God! So, I'm dreaming HUGE!!!! Here are a few things I'm planning on doing this year...

1. Finishing school. College, that is. I want to finally be able to say that I've received my degree in the field that I'm actually in, to not only validate the work that I do (and love), but to also prove to my posterity that an education is always possible no matter what age.

2. Run the Honolulu Marathon. I've always wanted to do this, but to do this in my homeland would be an even bigger accomplishment. I've got a great trainer and have my eyes set on the goal--Christmas in Hawai'i, 2012.

3. Get financially fit, baby! Better than pay off all my debt, I want to pay off the debt of my family. That wouldn't be just 'fit,' that would be frickin' fantastic. And doable for sure.

4. Read more. Specifically, read through the entire Bible again, and at least 2 books a month. It's been awhile since I've read more than watched t.v. When I get home from work where I read so much damn regulatory material, all I can do is veg. But not this year--I have me a list and it's on like popcorn.

5. Write my blog. Yes, that's right..I'm planning on setting out sometime during the day, every day, for the next 365, to write something. Not so much to fulfill a goal, but more importantly to practice consistency. You see the theme for the new year...consistency.

So, say a prayer for me, wish me luck, and I'll be in touch with you tomorrow.

Aloha!

72nd Warrior

Friday, July 30th @ 6:03pm

I'm sitting here and about to write a blog, and I wanted to focus it on shoes, and the abundantly different types there are on people walking by me. I was going to title it--Shoes: The Home of the Sole. And sort of relate the individuality of each personal choice with the diversity of each person's 'sole' (soul). I sat at the 72nd Street Station across from a saxophone musician, and my thoughts turned to him. I say 'musician' rather than 'player' or 'saxophonist', because he looks as though life has given him many opportunities to work out life lessons and challenges--opportunities to channel his lifes triumphs and tragedies and engage in his musical abilities.

With every breath he took in while resting in between sets, I could feel the heaviness of a life lived hard. Or at least a life lived on his terms. Covered in black from head to toe, he appeared to be the reincarnation of The Man In Black. Sans the tailored shirt, fitted cowboy hat and darkly religious lyrics. Oddly enough, he sported a baby blue and white baseball cap and also wore a laborous grin. It seemed painful as he gorged gulps of air and tiresome as he expelled it through some seemingly beautiful musical osmosis exchange--turning city smog into life-changing melodies. But if his presence alone didn't draw my eyes hungrily at what was going in his life, the music he created surely did.

I caught a smile as I observed him speaking to Trudi, an elderly woman dressed in nursing whites. She walked directly up to him as if old friends..engaged him and asked for a song. She was generous with her time and conversation. The man in the blue baseball cap reached slowly for his golden pipe and began playing a familiar tune. Although Trudi stood with her back to me, I could tell from her posture and the way she lilted her head back a little, that she was transported to a time and place that made people around her envious. As she clutched her heart and quickly and discretely wiped the corner of her eye, she generously reached into her pocketbook and handed into his crumpled felt cap layed before him, her love offering. It was a beautiful capitalistic exchange.

He dabbed his forehead with a folded brown napkin--the kind I take from Starbucks and keep in my bag for those 'just in case' moments. You know--unexpected sneeze, embarrassing runny nose, or to wipe New York off of my hands or face.

He catches the eye of a little boy with his mother and this...this generates a smile on the old mans face. Without warning, the chords of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" billows from his horn. It's almost as if the entire environment shifts for a brief moment. I noticeable recognition and gentle smiles cross the faces of those of us around him. Stressful-faced drones recently raised from the gallows of city tunnels turn towards the direction of the sound, and the pressure of long hot work days are instantly and dramatically diffused. I, we, are individually transported to a memory--a lovely distant thought--an innocent and happy recollection. It is amazing what wonders this wizard has concocted with his sword.

Noah, the little boy, is now seated on his daddy's lap, just a lap away from the man in the blue cap. And he jumps with delight at having his parents with him, experiencing this magical moment, whilst the immediate world around him is washed in sounds of wine and dark brewed brown coffee. Elegant sheers of eggplant organza and lavendar tiffany drift through the evening sunset and permeates the New York noise; amid the clangs and klops of shoes, the clinks from dog leashes and the jarring sounds from the monstrous asphalt creatures, the man in the blue cap is fighting this fight. Thankfully for us all, he is winning.

38 Things Learned..

#38 - Second guessing someone's motives is still guessing. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best. Hope is the thing that keeps the disease of doubt away.

#37 - One key to loving life is appreciating where you are, no matter what. There are lonely days that I long for company and coupled silece. Then I think that my times of solace and independance are the things many dream and pray for. I think its better to be single and at peace right now, then to be married with contention.

A week before my birthday...

It's rainy outside. And as I look out to the brownstones in the distance through my living room windows, through the water-stained glass, I'm wondering what the next year will bring. I'm thinking about the things that I've done so far--nothing ground shaking or extra spectacular to anyone else. but to me, a life well worth living so far. 38 years old almost gone, and on to year 39. Maybe I should be thankful for the top 38 things in my life so far. Maybe that would give me a self-fulfilling feeling of accomplishment. Or just put it all into perspective. Whatever the case, here's a few of the list of things that I am thankful for. Note: This in no means that there are only 38 things that I'm thankful for. Neither is it listed in an order from 'least to most' importance. But things that I am thankful for include:

39. Good Eyesight.

If you know me, you'll know that I see as well (or maybe slightly better) then a drunken one-eyed nearsighted drunk walking home late at night through a fog. Slightly. Nevertheless, I'm very thankful that I can see despite my...ahem...challenges. Ahem. I remember my first summer here and walking in Chelsea. And I remember how disoriented I'd be everytime I'd walk up from the subway. The kind of disorientation like getting off of the Tilt-A-Whirl the first time you ride it on a Friday night. The excitement is tangible and the sounds of the fair are loud in your ears. You take the first step off after peeling yourself from the corner of the car and the world is still dizzying but the thrill is at level 10. Stepping into the humid sunlight felt better than the oven-baked platform 2 stories underground. But the disorientation was almost overwhelming. I pulled to the side of the busy sidewalk as people brushed past me, and I tried to focus on a stationary object in the distance and catch my breath. It was as I stared off in front of me that my eyes focused on a man walking towards me. He wasn't anyone necessarily noticeable, until I realized that he was holding a stick infront of him, tapping it rhythmically. I stood up straight and made sure to keep my distance. I stood there on the street fixated on this man tapping and walking before me. The thought of having to do that in the biggest, busiest, nosiest city in the country blew me away. How can this man trust his senses and a stick to get around New York?? It left me in awe, but also reminded me how thankful I am that even with these maka, I'm still blessed beyond what my eyes can (or cannot) see.