cant get out of bed today

zero nine

At first glance, 2009 is setting up to be a nondescript year. The elections are finally done with. No Olympics of any kind, nor any other significant world sporting events for that matter. As usual, work and school will resume on Monday, and as usual, the sun will rise. Nondescriptly.

Those who look forward to waking up each morning would disagree.

I can't say that I'm there yet. I don't remember the last time I looked back on a year, contently folded my hands and concluded, "You know, this was a great year." Assessing life at the end of the week? Sure, I'll be able to point to a few good ones. But yearly? No way. At least not yet. We are a very forgetful species. And as a result, we're not as thankful as we ought to be.

I think I need to never lose sight of the small, seemingly-trivial things that happen in my life. Because when you add them all up, shouldn't it explain the unrecognizable, unpredictable places we'll be at in five, ten, twenty years from now? That it's usually the small things that bring definition to the big things that happen in our lives. During the years of puberty, no one wakes up one morning and freaks out because they're suddenly five inches taller. It's never like that. It's because of the unseen, daily stretches of growth that occurs on the atomic level... and maybe we've forgotten to give enough credence to the small decisions we make everyday.

I could only summarize all this blabber with this. In the simple yet poignant words said by Brenden Foster, when asked about what he thought were the best things in life, his immediate reply: "Just having one."

Happy new year.

feeling just like

chill out, wind

Gonna have to buy that comforter sooner than later.

entertaining angels

you know..

If you were a gmail theme, you'd be Summer Ocean. 

inhale

There's something indescribably satisfying about being able to see your own breath when it's cold enough.  Like 15 degrees cold.  Even when I'm currently in the middle of Nowhere, North Dakota.

It's unbelievable how our bodies work.  I see my breath and realize that a split-second ago, it used to be something else.  Sure, a childish way of describing the Krebs cycle, respiration, etc.. but still. How effortlessly we breathe in this unseen but necessary purity and paradoxically transform it into a kind of poison, the somber truth being that without any of this taking place, we'd be dead. 

Hah. Is the parallelism I'm going with that obvious?

The Unseen will keep us alive and kicking.. even hoping.

Exhale.

pull

From xkcd:

today

For our generation, this is like watching a man step foot on the moon. This day is that enormous.

And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

-Barack Obama

Proud to be an American. 

it's really autumn when..

... you see the scarves and gloves come out in full swing.

Let the season really begin.

kite

From our friends at xkcd:

It's easy to regret the awkward conversations, but hard to regret the ones you didn't have

i hate it when this happens

groan

Okay, let's lay off the AC for a little while, shall we?!

living my favorite book

Patiently waiting for my connecting flight in philly back to new york.

I tried, but I ended up surrendering to what turned out to be an utterly disgusting mushroom and swiss burger. Washed down that horrible taste with the rest of my watered-down soda while shaking my head in disappointment. I can still taste the semi-cooked mushrooms. Philadelphia = the philly cheesesteak. What was I thinking??

Made my way to the restroom. Took care of business, headed over to the sink, never noticing the other three women in the room with me until the heaviness of their prolonged stares caused me to slowly lift my eyes, meet their priceless expressions through the mirror, and realize that

There was a boy in the girl's bathroom, and that was friggin me.

Bradley Chalkers would have been proud. You Louis Sachar fans know what I'm talkin about.

Truth is so obscure in these times and falsehood so established, that unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.

-Blaise Pascal

two things to laugh about

a must-watch

Where the hell is matt?



Gurgaon, India is the best.

the shortest night

Tonight, I danced with strangers whom I will never come across again, to the playful banter of a brass band unyielding amongst drops of rain transforming.

Things are as they should. 

the longest day

Today marks this year's summer solstice, the northern hemisphere's longest day of the year during which we receive the most sunlight and when the sun lingers as long as it possibly could.

I shouldn't overstay my welcome either.

All winter we got carried
Away over on the rooftops
Let's get married

All summer we just hurried
So come over, just be patient, and don't worry
So come over, just be patient, and don't worry
And don't worry

No I don't wanna battle from beginning to end
I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge
I don't wanna follow Death and all his friends

And in the end
We lie awake, and we dream of making our escape

Coldplay - "Death & All His Friends"

ny state of mind

It's been exactly three weeks since I arrived. Unsurprisingly, it feels much, much shorter than that. Time really has no sense here, this urban bermuda, teasing us with these silly trains and cars in yellow so that we might think we have what it takes to figure out the system. Factor in the social mindset which states that by being punctual actually meant that you were "almost late," hardly anyone wins. Cat's game.

Anyway, I think it's time that I put some of my musings about the city onto paper before my brain explodes (or forgets, whichever comes first):

• My timing couldn't have been any more perfect to have come in the worst possible season. Due to the intense humidity, I might have to start wearing deodorant for the first time in my life. 

• Mexican and Korean food (at least in Manhattan) are crap. Everything else, fantastic.

• Working from home has been nice, what can I say?

• I don't think I'll ever willingly set foot in Times Square ever again.

• Before rushing out the door, I always check for my iPod before my keys. And...

• ...it's been suffocating not being able to sing outrageously to a song like I did within the comfortable confines of my car. Sing like no one's listening - yea right, try doing that in a packed subway train. The streets are a little more reasonable.

• There is so much beauty and inspiration here.

• But so much pain, kept silent and hardly shared.

• I saw a kid fall asleep in her mother's arms in the subway today. The kid actually had the most peaceful smile as she slept. Certain moments are by invitation-only, and this particular one happened to be for me. It blew me away.

• Despite Manhattan being one of the most densely populated regions in the world, I'm beginning to understand the loneliness behind it all.

• Whenever I'm in an unfamiliar place, I've still been instinctively gauging the sun's position in the sky or the north star before reading street signs to determine what direction I'm facing. I've gotten pretty squinty-eyed as a result. 

• It's a strange feeling to hear the lonesome sound of my cheering for the Lakers in sports bars that are mostly New England-fan ridden. Odd, I usually had someone to high-five. This must be what a Clippers fan feels like back in California.

• It's true - you can find anything and everything you want here.

Everything you need? I suppose only time will tell. Let's hope it doesn't settle for punctuality.

under the table and dreaming

Dear New York City,

Don't let me go until you say so.

Very truly, 

Your wide-eyed, 

rubber-necking,

forever faithful, 

front-seat passenger. 

my belated

Hey now, it'll sting only for a little while.

Take your kite out and let it dance.

But only for a little while.

So wrap our injured flesh around you
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God.

political edumacation

Election Day is comin soon. So learn a little bit about the candidates and see which one closely aligns to your principles -- take the test. Take it, I say!

the christmas truce

(taken from snopes.com)

"SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT"

During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever.

All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the "no man's land" between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a "Christmas" truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches. But the Germans were persistent and Christmas would be celebrated even under the threat of impending death.

According to Stanley Weintraub, who wrote about this event in his book, Silent Night, "signboards arose up and down the trenches in a variety of shapes. They were usually in English, or - from the Germans - in fractured English. Rightly, the Germans assumed that the other side could not read traditional gothic lettering, and that few English understood spoken German. 'YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT' was the most frequently employed German message. Some British units improvised 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' banners and waited for a response. More placards on both sides popped up."

A spontaneous truce resulted. Soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. The first order of business was to bury the dead who had been previously unreachable because of the conflict. Then, they exchanged gifts. Chocolate cake, cognac, postcards, newspapers, tobacco. In a few places, along the trenches, soldiers exchanged rifles for soccer balls and began to play games.

It didn't last forever. In fact, some of the generals didn't like it at all and commanded their troops to resume shooting at each other. After all, they were in a war. Soldiers eventually did resume shooting at each other. But only after, in a number of cases, a few days of wasting rounds of ammunition shooting at stars in the sky instead of soldiers in the opposing army across the field.

For a few precious moments there was peace on earth good will toward men. All because the focus was on Christmas. Happens every time. There's something about Christmas that changes people. It happened over 2000 years ago in a little town called Bethlehem. It's been happening over and over again down through the years of time.

This week, Lord willing, it will happen again.

speed kills

I just learned how to fold my shirts in TWO seconds, and now I feel so EMPOWERED!

www.fold-your-shirt.com