Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Losing Touch

It seems that my most recent posts have all been drastic attempts to "catch up" with the happenings of my life. Turns out that as I laid wide awake in bed til 4:30 A.M. on Sunday-- I felt like I've been slowly losing touch of so many things that made my life so fulfilling and balanced. I've been sick this past week and while purging my body of viruses and bacteria-- I've also managed to gain clarity in that I've realized that I no longer maintain my blog as current as I use to, I've neglected going to the gym, completely stopped going to yoga, going to bed early, finding cooking relaxing and finding a happy medium between work and life. Could it be that my lack of attention and discipline that I was so proud of just a few months ago was the leading cause of me falling sick this past week? It's hard to say, but the truth is that I've missed coming to my blog for peace of mind, I've missed the calming of working out and yoga and the total body/mind transformation that comes with it. I really feel like I've lost touch with my body and mind...all I seem to want to do is sleep. I've felt mindless, bored and quite frankly cashed out these past few weeks. A lot has picked up with work, but my personal life seems to have remained the same. I've enjoyed some outings with my good friends DB and DP, caught up with old friends KM and MS, and I've even somehow managed to rekindle a friendship (emphasis on friendship) with my ex-gf LH.

I don't know where my mind has been, but I want to get back to the focus and discipline I once had. I'd managed to make a regimen for myself with work, gym and life that was rewardings on so many levels. Could it be that the purchase of my television has been the cause of all this destruction? Could it be that I've reverted to my old lazy and comfortable self and fallen victim to the spell of having the tube in my bedroom? I'd like to think not, but it seems that way as ridiculous as that may seem. I use to be so productive and spent a lot of time focused on myself and improving both body and mind....as mentioned above...where has all that gone?

So where to stand now? Well, as busy as my work schedule has been these last few weeks, I've begun reclaiming my full hour of lunch-- allotting my time to blog. I'm also still recovering from this nasty bug that has kept me in and out of work since last thursday. It was strange in that I felt terrible one day, fine the next, fell ill again and wake up fine the next...a rollercoaster of fever and cold. I'm giving my body time to regain some energy before hitting the gym again, but I can't tell you how much I'm actually craving a yoga session. There's still a lot that needs to be done to my apartment before it is in any condition to host the slew of friends and family I have coming to visit the next two months, but I'm making steps to getting it to a comfortable/affordable level. My apartment is slowly starting to feel like home despite having lived there for 2 months. My work has been chaotic. I find myself getting there early, leaving late and having no time to actually think through some of my projects. I've realized that while I know what I'm doing on some of my tasks....I don't really understand anything that I'm doing, which worries me a bit, but it really comes down to taking the time to think through it. I don't have the time for that---haha.

Last weekend I enjoyed a fantastic New York night out with DB and DP. After a hectic journey through Manhattan that began with brunch in the E. Village, a pit stop at consignment shop Tokyo 7, a lunatic cabbie that purposefully backed into another cab that had re-ended us in the middle of SoHo and an unimaginably long car ride over the Brooklyn Bridge through Times Square....we finally arrived at the "Of Montreal" concert to catch the last pieces of their opening act. The concert was an excitingly thrillful spectacle. The band was energetic and gave a performance unlike anything I'd ever seen...afterwhich we headed to the W. Village for a few pies of pizza. All in all, the night was, for lack of a better word, awesome. Good music, good food, good people....its exactly what I want to constantly surround myself with. My mantra if you will.

It's good to be back.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Baby, I'm crazzzzy.

I couldn't think of a more catchy title than the above, but it's been so long since I was able to finally sit down at work and update my blog. I've felt so disconnected from it and life that it's just been a slew of events- one after another - coming at me that I barely have time to catch some shut eye. And that's not me complaining.

Over the last two weekends I've managed to score some concert tickets for one of my favorite new artists-- Mark Ronson at a Bacardi sponsored event in Brooklyn. It was an intense night that began with a swarming of the gates of a studio lot in the upper north west corner of Brooklyn. Lucky for us, we arrived early and scored some pretty good seats in the bleechers. Other performers of the night (amidst Bacardi practically cramming their new Mojito flavored rum down our throats by offering it with nearly any combo you'd like) included Sean Paul (not that impressed by his Jamaicaness), Calle 13 (rap/hip hop/reggaeton group singing in Spanish with some pretty catchy beats) and Talib Kweli (a poet lyrcist spitting social and political commentary guised as hip hop and R&B flavor). It was fun-- but not my scene -- while impressed by the abundance of Bacardi branded paraphanelia that included giant television screens, an impressive stage, a fancy VIP area lit with tiny bulb lights from above, crane operated cameras, a massive overhang with featured bar, bartenders that were clearly cast to play bartenders as they were all good looking twenty somethings and lots & lots of people-- EVERYWHERE! Perhaps the best part of it all was the beautiful scenery on which the lots rested.....in the distance you could see the New York City sky line as the looming clouds and magenta color sky gave off just enough light to make it a perfectly calm night despite the bass thumping.

Then-- this past weekend I coughed up a pretty penny to see my family in Florida. Its funny because I kept referring to my trip to Florida as "going home" and kept correcting myself by saying that "New York is my home." I'd been missing my family for sometime, which was new for me considering that I'd lived in Gainesville for nearly 4 years and hardly ever went home or became homesick. I suppose it was the proximity and the possibility of easily driving home that made them that much less likely to be missed--- that sounds more awful than I mean it. Having been in New York now for 5 months (Monday-- but who's keeping track?) you really start to value the one thing that is constant, concrete and reliable in everyone's life--- your family. If you're lucky enough to have an incredible support group (despite the occassional misunderstandings and bitchfests) there is something to say about being close with your family. It's easy to take them for granted when you see them everyday-- there's nothing new being said there -- but being home for just the weekend felt amazing. I got a chance to say goodbye to my grandfather (my biggest fan and my biggest inspiration for life) before he took his voyage to Colombia to fulfill himself. It was also a great opportunity to finally meet my Goddaughter Nathaly and cousin Santiago (Santy)-- cute little buggers that make even the dullest of days seem more exciting once you get past the smelly diapers and constant chasing around the house. I also had the chance to visit my old college friends (can I really say "old" even though I've only been out of school for 5 months?)-- who now live in Miami (RN and MC). While it was great to see them, and they showed me a great time around their area-- I couldn't help but feel like no matter how long you're gone from "home"-- once you go back its like nothing ever changed. It's like you've never left to pursue your dreams or that you've been gone living a life filled with adventures you blog about. Haha. Everything in Florida seemed very stagnant (and I mean that in that nicest way possible). There wasn't much excitement there to report on, nothing new to the story and if you really wanted to, you could pick right back up where you left off and look back at your life and feel as though it was only but a dream. NO THANKS! I did get a chance to drive my graduation present for a few more days, which I missed more than I thought. The driving, not the actually gift considering you can't miss something you haven't really grown attached too.

My professional life has also seen a huge surge. The past two weeks at work can only be characterized as hectic beyond belief. All those periods that I complained of having nothing to do and work not being challenging enough? Well-- they are long gone. I've found myself bringing work home with me, coming in before the sun is even up in the City, and leaving long after the night as come. I've also become a pretty intense coffee drinker (much to my dismay), however with the whether in New York beginning to get a bit chillier (I've even bought my first trench coat) its kind of nice to have a hot cup of joe in the mornings to give you that kick in the gut.

Another significant advancement in my life (I suppose you can say its significant-- depends on who you ask or who's reading this blog)-- I splurged on a flat panel Samsung HDTV and DVD player!! I sucked it up and put it on my credit card hoping to pay it off-- and this is exactly how people get themselves in trouble. However, my apartment (more specifically my room) is beginning to feel more and more like a home--- comfortable, safe and with all the luxuries a guy could want (i.e. technology). I also found out I get basic cable for free! Talk about a win/win situation for me-- I shall never miss out on another epsiode of 30 Rock again! What does that mean for my gym membership? It's hard to say considering I've had the t.v. two days and I have gotten home at 9:30 and passed out by 10:30 every night this week-- there's just not enough time! There's never enough time! I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it!!!! (Alright that last sentence was direct rip off a SAVED BY THE BELL episode in which Jessie (the Showgirls girl) takes caffeine pills to stay awake and cram for her tests and has a nervous breakdown in the end only to have her friends (ZACK and the GANG) reassure her that she's got a solid support group PLUS a giant neon sign that screams MORAL, MORAL, MORAL!!

While this has been a rampant attempt to summarize my life over the span of these two weeks into a nice blog entry--- it is nowhere near my normally descriptive entries that I rather enjoy writing about. I did however feel like I owed to myself (and some readers) a new entry. Plus...I've finally found some downtime at work. But we won't tell the boss that.