What I did last weekend (a la 4th Grade's 'What I did last summer')

I had to start with the kissing bees. :)
There are certain things that innately relax me:

• A hot cup of tea (with milk!)
• A good book (not the start. It becomes relaxing about 5 pages in).
• Open expanses (where can I get that in NYC?)
• Listening to someone talk. Not what they're saying, necessarily, but the sound of their voice.
• Hiking
• Star-gazing with the heat on and the windows open from a car (again, where can I get that from NYC?)
• Quietly sitting with peole I care for. The knowledge that they're there is comforting. maybe just reading, taking a nap, or watching (or sleeping through, in my case) a movie.

This past weekend encompassed a number of these for me, and resulted in an amazing weekend in Albuquerque. Even if I didn't get to see any old friends while I was there (a first for me!). I went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (http://www.balloonfiesta.com/) this past weekend. I have my eyes opened to something new everytime I visit a place, and this was no different. The quirkiness that originally made me yearn for Rhode Island, then became commonplace, has now become quite strange again. But this time, its in an I'm-so-glad-I-got-to-know-that kind of way.

A friend was with me this weekend that had never been to ABQ or NM even, and seeing their experience of it for the first time helped me see it anew again as well. The good and the not-so-good (which did make me a mite sad).

To get on with my Albuquerquean Adventures:
- Mass Ascension:
One of the greatest things to wake up at 6am for - EVER. Hundreds of hot air balloons lifting off. With every lift-off, there is clapping and cheering by crowds in the the thousands. It is silly, but lifting in a very simple way. Every age group is represented, and you still see people tinkering with massive film cameras, just to have these images put somewhere more permanent than the fade-prone memory bank provides.

- Evening Balloon Glow:
A picture simply doesn't do this justice. Feel the excitement of an old-ime amusement park. Hear the happy chatter of a million people on a sunny beach, mid-summer. Smell the deep fried twinkies and turkey legs that can only mean care-free, relaxed people ignoring their usual diets. Curl tight into your warm sweater, as you would in front of a fall camp-fire... Add in a hundred inflated hot air balloons thethered down in the light of the sliver of the moon. No other lights around, and as a countdown ends, have the them all light up like flickering stars up close. It's an experience more satisfying than almost anything I've ever known. Romantic, too. I would take a "date" at that event over anywhere else (provided, of course, that I liked the guy enough to suggest it). :-)

- Albuquerque/Sandia Peak Tram:
This tram provides access to the spot in Albuquerque that allows for postcard worthy photos when the sun sets. I went a number of times while living in Albuquerque but make a point to do a trip here every time I go back to visit. A cup of hot cocoa, a perch on an outside bench, overlooking the entire city of Albuquerque and the western horizon, and a warm blanke (forgot that part this time!), and you've found yourself the bests sunset to watch. I took a photo here a year or two ago, and its framed on my wall now.

- Hinkle Family Fun Center:
(Yes, I have included Hinkle... so did the "Things to do in Abq" at the hotel, so I feel validated). Corny, yes. It's really just an arcade with laser tag, go-karts, and mini-golf. Somehow I lost at everything I played ---Skeeball, basketball, airhockey, and some firing ball game. How that happened, I'm not sure. I'm convinced the machines were against me. Unfair!!!

- The Volcanos:
In the 4.5 to 5 years I lived in Albuquerque, I never actually went out to the volcanos on the west side of the city, I never actually went out to them. I wish I had. It's a great sunny (albeit short) hike up to the top, and a perfect East-facing vantage to the city and Sandia mountains. Plus, you get to sit on lava-rocks!

Although i do love NYC and everything it offers, it is the polar opposite to ABQ. When I grow-up, I want a place somewhere as brilliant in the relaxation & scenery departments as Albuquerque, and a place as rich in experience as NYC. I have a lot of work to do to get there....

Oh! I've brought back some new Green Chile recipes too... Time for home-cooked meals by Amanda!

FF Bragging and Baseball Playoffs

Fantasy Football (Bragging):
Week 5 games have ended and I, the sole female on my Fantasy Football team, am in first place in my division. Yes, ok, there is one person with a better record than me, but you have to give me that I'm still doing brilliantly with Maroney and Westbrook out last week. I'm going to savor this moment with a picture. Come back to me in a few weeks; hopefully I'll still be bragging. :)

Baseball Playoffs:
I purchased a few tickets to the 5th game of the ALCS in NYC and as much as I love that the Yankees are OUT (ok, 1 inning remaining in the CLE/NYY game tonight), I'm disappointed that I won't be attending the 5th game of the ALCS as a Boston/Yanks series. :( The good news is that I love being in NY and making fun of the silly Yankees fans who think they're actually going somewhere... SUCKS FOR THEM!!!

And where did the Rockies come from??? Gotta say I'm impressed (though they'll never take it from the AL...)

Peculiar Feelings

I never know how to start writing… Everyone always says the first sentence is the hardest, and it seems today to be absolutely true. I have this spool of thoughts in my head at the moment, and I just can’t seem to find the end to unravel it.

A good friend of mine has always accused me of being insensitive, and though I would never call myself that, I can see how I might come off as such at certain times. That said, I don’t think I’m particularly emotional, though I think you only come across emotions as they’re evoked within you. Emotions aren’t something you understand until you feel them. I’m not sure why over the last 5 or 6 years I seem to recognize the abnormality and peculiarity of new emotions when I do feel them, but it does seem to happen. More than 5 or 6 years ago, I don’t recall feeling something and stopping – dead stop in my emotional tracks – to think I could feel *this* and never before have come across it! It’s a strange combination of curiosity and amazement… and then excitement or tension, exhilaration or unrest… It’s bizarre to realize you feel more than you think you could.

I had this happen today. I was with someone I trust and still felt it was so foreign I couldn’t even discuss it, even if I almost needed someone to steady me at that moment. It was not a good moment, and I can’t say I’ve ever hurt so much for someone else’s pain.

Exhausted, but happy. Really happy.

I got my haircut by someone other than Sergio.
I'm really happy.

I took on a new role at work and now work a million hours a week.
I'm really happy.

I finally got approval granted for my new apartment and need to move in.
I'm really happy.

My car was delivered in 1 piece to the east coast and needs to be sold.
I'm really happy.

My furniture was delivered to Hoboken and needs to be moved into my new apartment.
I'm really happy.

I'm spending only 2 weeks of the next month at home.
I'm really happy.

One of my roommates is a little anal...
I'm really happy.

I have a lot of cleaning to do.
I'm really happy.

Don't you just love it when you just can't stop enjoying your life, even if there are a million things going on!?.... Loving my life here; I'm really happy!

It’s already September!

Excitement! Although the Red Sox have just finished a disappointing 3-game sweep here in New York, they’re still in first place across the entire league, not just the AL East, and 5 games up on the ogres I have to live amidst. I cannot wait for the series to begin!
(Yes, I called them ogres.)

One of my soon-to-be roommates is a through and through New York Yankees fan. Over the top. Even though he’s lived in Boston the last few years! I haven’t decided if this is a recipe for an interesting at-home rivalry with a bit of goading from us both, or just flat-out hatred for each other for 7 months out of the year. Hopefully our other roommate doesn’t kill us both for our constant battling on this subject.

The three of us have been looking for a place incessantly for the last couple of weeks, which is an extremely draining experience in NYC. We finally put in an application to the co-op board of a great building this past week, and my fingers and toes are crossed that all goes through without a hitch. (Now is the point where you assure me your fingers are crossed as well).
I want a place to just call home now, and really hate the apartment hunt –I’ve been in a near-constant state of apartment hunting for about 7 years now. There was 1 place that I lived longer than a year, and everywhere else I had short term leases, and thus bounced around. I think I must be growing up for want of this stability. My parents should be so proud… Only took just shy of 28 years!

I’m heading back to California for this next week to sort out the remaining bits of my life on the West coast – my car, my apartment, etc, etc. Half of me is dreading this for the pain-in-the-ass component, the other half relieved to finally be getting my bits and bobs out to the East coast. I have a few A’s games planned, some time out at the beach is definitely on the schedule, I have to get a few cases of good wine to ship back, and I’m working from our SV office too, so it likely will be a complete whirlwind of a week.
In the meantime, GO RED SOX!!!!

Firsts

The Small Stuff:
** Watching rollerskate dancing
Really. I fall in love with this city all over again when I find the little NY quirky hobbies

** Clicking
Meeting people that are immediately fun and disarming...

** Not really missing California
This is a newer development. The pangs for my house and my life in Cali are waning. Not that I don't miss my friends and good wine, and I'm sure next time I'm there it'll be hard, but I'm happy here.

** Dressing up
And enjoying it... This side of the country is far dressier, both in the office and outside of it. I think I've worn jeans a total of 3 days (weekends included!) since I moved to NYC. I don't have to dress up for work, but I have been and I find I enjoy it immensely.

** Wanting a [slightly] longer commute
Everyone else gets to read a book! I'm confined to the iPod since I only go 3 stops away. Not that I don't like music....

** Giving directions
I so love how it feels to be asked where something is in the city and actually knowing where to direct them! Its like I'm a real New Yorker, only with a CA drivers license!

The Big Stuff:
** Being a NYC resident
Loving living my dream - a good life in a big city.

** Being car-less
It's liberating in so many ways, though I couldn't imagine not having one somewhere else. I actually don't even think about it much, sitting out there in glorious Sunnyvale. How cool would a vespa out here be though?!

** House hunting - for real
Unbelievably scary, daunting, and exciting all at once... How much it symbolizes being an adult to me scares me even more.

** Desiring stability
Odd... I've moved more times than I can count in the last 4 years (5 states and about 4-5 times that in moves!). I finally want a home.

Definition of a Date

After a few discussions on what exactly constitutes a date this weekend, I feel the need to clarify my position on the matter:

1. Someone included in the outting must admit to the event being a date.

2. Hooking up does not necessarily mean you were on a date.

3. If, while dating someone exclusively, you later find out it was not exclusive despite exclusivity being laid out by both involved parties previously, you can choose to remove the label of having dated.

4. Going out to dinner does not necessarily mean the event was a date.