And another goodbye

All week I have been trying to write this post, and keep hitting the delete button about halfway through my thoughts. I can't get it right, and so now I will stop trying to get it right and just write.

I learned on Monday from my friend Penny that a friend we had in college was tragically killed last weekend in a boating accident on the Chesapeake Bay. Mike and some friends were out on a boat late Saturday night and hit a marker; three ended up in the water and Mike didn't make it out. I don't know more details than those.

Mike and I weren't extremely close in college, but we hung out in the same social circle. Because our social connection, my memories of Mike all take place at a party or bar, and thus are full of laughter. It has been years since we were in touch, but regardless the news has been weighing me down. Mike was engaged to be married, and my heart goes out to his fiancee.

I have to admit fearing what she, Mike's fiancee, is going through-- when Damir is late to meet me, or we are distanced for a period of time, my brain often defaults to the worst case scenario. Why do I do that to myself? Usually I am fearing a car accident, not that he is careless at the wheel, but having spent some time now driving the NY highways, I see those other crazy drivers careening down the road... not to mention the countless roadside memorials that now line the shoulders of every road I drive on. But he always comes bounding through the door full of kisses and hugs and each time I realize how silly I am to worry in such a senseless manner. What's the point?

I don't have a suitable closing for this post, how do you "wrap up" news such as this? I leave you with the link to Mike's obituary in the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bal-md.ob.schott07aug07,0,4743019.story

May You Frolic in Cat Grass Forever

Dear Marley,

Sweet Kitty, you will be missed.

I am glad I came across that ad on that expat message board when we lived in Amsterdam and that Ashbloem had space in her home and heart for you. I know you brought her much joy and laughter over the last several years, and guided her through the changes in love and life that have since transpired. Her Virgil in orange fur.

No doubt you were thankful to be free of those kids in your previous home, and owners who took less than loving care of you. The first of Ashbloem's brood of kitties, you were the cantankerous yet sweet older brother of Gus and Tugboat. You became the world traveling kitty, passport and all, having lived in Holland, Switzerland, Boston and finally Dallas. You got to see more of the world than most cats, or even people for that matter.

I am sorry that I was not there to say goodbye, but I know that you are up above noshing on some sweet cat grass with a side of tuna.

Farewell, sweet kitty.

Times Square, 8:00 a.m.

I hope I never lose my sense of wonderment while walking through Times Square in the early morning of my daily commute. If you pay attention (and sometimes when you don't) you see the most amazing things. In this past week alone I have encountered some things you just don't see every day...

A woman in a ball gown trimmed with red tulle. And lots of it. Said ball gown with the red tulle trim also had a lavender corset and large bustle in the back. It was awesome. Is she a Broadway extra? An overdressed victim of the walk of shame? On her way to 8th Street where, someone told me recently, Giuliani didn't kick out the sex? Did I mention this was at 8am?

A Yoga class. Not just a yoga class, but a yoga class in the middle of the Square, right in front of the Army recruitment booth. They all had laid their yoga mats on the dirty sidewalk and were doing the downward dog, right there in the middle of Times Square. After doing a little research, I found that this yoga extravaganza is actually sponsored by the Times Square Alliance. Here are their visuals so you can see what the hell I am talking about:


Movies being filmed. Yes, I caught my first glimpse of superstars. Robin Williams and John Travolta are filming Old Dogs right around the corner. The movie, according to IMDB, is about Two friends and business partners find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead to them being placed in the care of 7-year-old twins. Sounds like a winner, doesn't it? I got some pictures of Mr. Williams which I will post as soon as I can download the shots.

I am sure after a fair bit of time passes, I will likely become jaded to all this "stuff" but I will hang on to my delight as long as I can. And maybe I now have a good excuse to take up yoga.

Today's NY Times: Montenegro

Today's travel feature in the New York Times focuses on lovely Montenegro. Check it out!

More news and pictures from my trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, last week coming soon!

Post Party Blues and a New Resolution

Man, I had such a good time with my family in Vermont, it is almost painful to recap because I am already nostalgic for them.

The early part of the week was relaxed and fun, hanging out with my super adorable nieces and celebrating my brother's birthday. Erin and Tom's wedding which filled the latter part of the week was perfect in every way and multiple people came to me to say that it was the best wedding they had ever been to. How can you not love a wedding reception where the new husband and wife enter the barn, yes, a barn, shimmying and sashaying to the theme of Sandford and Son?

Perhaps the shining best moment was when the sweet priest, who gave an awesome homily by the way, announced the newly married couple for the first time to the standing room only congregation and a cheer so loud rattled the walls welcoming the new union, tentative at first then growing to catcalls and howls of happiness, that two lovely people finally found eachother and sealed their relationship at the tender age of 38. The first marriage for both. It was one of those moments where time stops and everything is right.

I became supremely emotional when it was time to drive away and make our way back to Long Island. The kind of emotional that dissolves into incoherent and inconsolable sobbing. So much circled in my head, it was hard to wrap my arms around the escaping rebellious emotions. Sadness to waive goodbye to my sweet nieces who will each likely be a foot taller, or more, before fates manage to bring us together again (will they remember Auntie Terra?), sadness that my family continues to dissect and bisect in ways I had not predicted, joy over the perfection of the week and my happiness for Erin and Tom, and stress about returning to New York, my home, which still holds so much uncertainty for me (a brand spanking new job. Again.)
I have to resolve now, here and now, that I must be more proactive at finding more ways to reunite with my family. They are such a loving, fun and dynamic bunch! I cannot sit by and just let another 3 years pass before seeing my loving brother, sister-in-law and their sweet girls again. In my father's toast to the bride and groom, he paid homage to the family and I am honored beyond words that he referred to me at the "glue" of our clan. Repeating this now, days later, still makes my eyes swell with fresh tears. Our family is tough, we all live in different states now, that span all angles of the country. Somehow I have to find away to sew the seams of those distances. If not for them, as a collective group, then for me and my personal relationships with each individual.

But How?

I don't exactly have a situation that allows for house guests, so it is up to me to cover the distances. In a new job where both time off and compensation not exactly what one would hope for, I have to get creative. *Sigh. Solutions are elusive, so feel free to offer up suggestions. But I am determined.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the week. The other 200 are loaded to my flickr account:

HOORAY!

I am leaving today for Vermont; my sister's wedding is next Saturday! Man, I am so excited about all of this, you would think it is MY wedding. It's likely the only vacation I will get this year, so I better make the most of it. In fact, I am lucky to be taking any time at all given I have been at my new job all of one whole week.

So, I am off until next week when I will have a full report and tons of pictures!

NY-Tastic

This morning as I was walking the 12 blocks between the train and my office, I almost stopped dead in my tracks with a strange unfamilar feeling. I can identify this emotion as some of relative of "elation". The sun was glinting off the buildings and a breeze cooled the air. A gorgeous New York Morning.

I am very excited about my new job and shedding the old one feels as though I have wiggled out of an old flakey skin that just didn't fit. Part of my training is to be spent exploring the city... Circle line, helicopter tours, museums and historic sites. I am almost glad that much of the city still feels so foreign to me, as I now get to experience it in this exciting new light. Thank God I am starting this new venture in early summer rather than in the dead cold of January.