Calm, cool, and collected

These three things are my aspirations for this weekend:

I'm hoping to stay calm and peaceful by going to yoga for the next two mornings..so far, its been two weeks in a row that I've gone to a class without the assistance of Floating Head - she hasn't had to babysit me or bribe me to get up and go.

I'm hoping to stay cool by mostly staying indoors or in a heavily shaded outside area and finishing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...I'm on chapter 10 and I must know what happens next...plus I have to finish it by Friday, when I leave for Arizona...

I'm hoping to stay collected by getting myself packed and ready for Arizona and just taking care of a few "Nicole" things before I go...this week has been an alright/pretty good sort of week and I want to keep the vibe going into the weekend...I tend to lose my focus for some reason when I have too much time on my hands...so lets see how well I do when I get back to y'all on Monday...

Adios Amoebas!

Village of the Mermaids

I'm obsessed with this painting by surrealist Paul Delvaux...I've had a thing for mermaids recently too, so it's funny that this haunting painting crossed my path...this image is sort of small, but you can see off in the distance, near where the man in black with the bowler hat is walking, the village women are turning into mermaids as they dive into the ocean...I just love the prim and proper, oh-so-serious ladies, carefully hiding their tails and scales...

The Smoothie Queen

I sit outside for 20-30 minutes during my lunchtime to drink my juice and get some air and I realized last night why I enjoy this little part of my day so much: it’s because I get a million strangers coming up to talk to me. Mostly it’s for directions or what train should they take to get to this or that place, but I’m like a magnet sitting on the planter in front of the building next to my office. I sit on my throne and sip my smoothie and wave to the passersby (i.e. co-workers stepping out to get their lunches) – greetings, hello, yes hi, lovely day, how are you? But I also get a bunch of odd characters too and this is what I get a kick out of. Like the guy who switches between selling roses on the corner and other days its designer jeans – he always chitchats with me, although I prefer to be left alone, I like to observe. I don’t want to be distracted by conversations – this is my peaceful time; I think or some days, I don’t think at all, and that’s the point. To empty out the mind for a rest before heading back upstairs. Across the street, one of the buildings has an old-fashioned glockenspiel-type clock with a little gnome/elf toymaker and when it "dings!" 2pm (when the gnome/elf starts to pound his little hammer against his workbench, its really very cute and I'll bet most people don't look up to even notice it), I know my time is up. I sit right above the subway stairs so I tend to get people throwing lines at me as they descend down to the train – yesterday’s was from a Will Ferrell lookalike who rushed to get to the stairs and then leaned over the railing at me – “Wow! That’s a perfect place to sit on such a perfect day – lucky you!” And I smiled and nodded…yes it is…then I sort of space out for awhile until I see this man in a three-piece suit (in his 50’s maybe?) waving at me frenetically – “Hey! HEY!” Amazing, amazing…” – excuse me I say? “Your eyes, your eyes are amazing, they are mesmerizing, just beautiful..” and I smile (I think I blushed too because that was nice of him – I don’t get compliments like that all the time) and I called back “thank you!” and he keeps walking but still has his head turned my way and smacks right into a crowd of people coming from the other direction: “you hypnotized me, those eyes, look at me, I am walking into people, I’m like a zombie now!’ and I giggle because he’s too much – laying it on a BIT thick…but still, he’s made me smile. He gets to the corner and looks back again and yells, “HYPNOTIZE ME! WOO! AWESOME!” and disappears from my sight…

See what I mean? Characters, with a capital C.

Coney Island Baby

Ah, but remember that the city is a funny place
Something like a circus or a sewer
And just remember, different people have peculiar tastes
And the Glory of love, the glory of love
The glory of love, might see you through
Yeah, but now, now
Glory of love, the glory of love
The glory of love, might see you through
Glory of love, ah, huh, huh, the glory of love...
My Coney Island baby, now(I'm a Coney Island baby, now)
~Lou Reed

So Saturday was a super-fun day. Despite not sleeping well or much the night before - damn nightmares again - I actually woke up at 7:30 and got to yoga at 10am ALL BY MYSELF. No Floating Head - she had Harry Potter book matters to attend to. This proves I am officially on my way - although I need to be consistent, one weekend alone does not a victory make. But I'm confident I shall succeed with this goal. Because I find myself really looking forward to it - just like the meditation class and how I've carried that into becoming a daily, neccessary habit, I find myself a bit addicted to how it makes you feel - I know I'm going to feel happy and joyful and good about myself and so its a guaranteed win-win situation. And I made a friend. I got there a little early and there was an older man sitting on the bench outside, so I plopped down to eat my banana and soak up the lovely morning air before going up to get changed and he said, "you just missed it! It was a movie moment, this huge white bird with large wings just flew by, really low to the ground, down the street, it was so beautiful!" I looked around but didn't see anything so he said, "let's sit here awhile and maybe it will come back and you'll get to see what I saw". So we started talking and he said he started coming to Integral in 1972 and it was 3$ a class then and he got all the way to Hatha III and then he stopped doing yoga and just recently started it up again. He is in his 70's and lives on Carmine Street and walks here to class on Saturdays and Sundays - "at my age, I can't hope to get up to Hatha III anymore, but this is perfect for me". I told him how I was just starting out and that I really enjoyed coming here and it makes me feel so peaceful but that I tend to start things up and then drop them and really wanted to make this a part of my life now and he just smiled at me and said "its all about perspective. Just make up your mind that you are going to do it, that its not a chore, and you will." Do I now have my own personal Yoga Yoda? I hope so :-) We decided it was time to head up to class and he opened the door for me and up the stairs we went.

Later on in the afternoon, I headed out to Coney Island (hence the Lou Reed song for you) to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Tri-City Valley Cats (the Cyclones are the Mets minor league team) and after the game we walked on the boardwalk and played some games - I won a big purple bear, went on the WonderWheel (which Floating Head did NOT like - although she and The Others went on the Cyclone, so figure that out!), played some more games and then headed home, the long F train ride...

And today its a rainy rainy muggy muggy, slighty chilly Monday - but I like this weather, so I'm not complaining and I'm interested to see what this week brings me. If its all about perspective like my Yoga Yoda said, then I think I need to expect something good and keep focused on that, not the lack of things or what I'm missing or don't currently have, etc... how does that sound to you guys?

This Week's Lesson

An old Cherokee was teaching his grandson about life. A fight is going on inside me", he said to the boy. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil, angry, envious, sorrowful, greedy, arrogant, self-pity, guilt, resentful, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego, he said. The other wolf is good, full of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and deep faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too. The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather which will win the fight.

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

~ Cherokee Saying

Mermaid Festival Pics!

My Parents at the Mermaid Festival

Forgot to post these pics! I ran into Mom and Dad - they were in the parade!!

Oh and I saw Aunt Judy there too ... !!!

Waking the Dead

It was going to be a dead weekend, boring, humdrum, all that good lazy stuff. But it actually turned out to be a pretty cool two days and I have to thank Floating Head for that. See, FH is the boss of me when it comes to yoga and kicking my ass into gear. After missing two weeks of classes in a row, she was very disappointed and told me that Swami Satchidananda was crying, so sad was he because of me not keeping my promise to go at least once a week. I have been doing better about practicing at home, I did it three times last week but I still had to answer to The Boss. So she told me if I went to class on both Saturday and Sunday in order to earn her respect back and if I did, she would give me a prize (some purpley office supply!) I had to prove myself. And guess what? It wasn’t hard at all, in fact, it was downright enjoyable! So after this, I’m on my own, motivation-wise, but I feel like I have the routine down now and I know what time I have to get up, leave, etc to be able to buy my banana, sit on the bench outside and smile and peacefully go up to class. After Saturday’s class, we met PossiblyJ for brunch – all you can drink margaritas is a mistake at noon! And then we saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which I really really really liked. I think it’s supercool by the way that she went this way with the plot – so far, this is my favorite book, because it’s actually very radical and subversive – you have to think of little kids reading this book and learning – ok, what you read in the papers might be propaganda. What your elders, those in power, etc are telling you might not be what it seems and for kids to learn this now - and that its imperative to fight this – is pretty important. Most importantly, it’s a good story, so now I’m off to start The Half-Blood Prince and see what comes up next...also, I have to read this as well as The Deathly Hollows before the Arizona trip, because by then, my two fellow adventure-seekers will have read the final book and will want to discuss over cocktails by the pool and so I must catch up.

Now, if you thought I was going to do some sort of metaphorical play on the title of this post with me being “dead” spiritually and physically, until Floating Head came to “wake” me and see the light at the end of the Yoga Tunnel, you would be sorely mistaken. After Sunday’s class, the two of us bought sandwiches and juice at the Integral grocery store and walked to the park on the corner. Until we both froze. I said to FH, “is that man in the fountain completely naked?” to which she replied “EWWWWW!”. He was! Just naked as a baby, splish-splashing away in the fountain woo hoo!! Okay, so lets go to Union Square to sit and peoplewatch and enjoy our lunch in the summer sun. There won’t be any weirdos or naked people there. So we sit and we see a Fairy Godmother sashaying around. Yes, a real fairy godmother, complete with white dreads sticking straight up like Sideshow Bob, swathed in a white tank top and a swishy white mattress pad fashioned into a long skirt and a clear plastic tarp that could be used as a train to his mattress pad dress or a veil if you wanted to see him as The Bride from Outer Space. I preferred to see him as a Fairy Godmother. To our left was a crack addict who kept pulling his shirt all the way up so he could pick at his skin and rub his belly. And then our gaze directed us to the grass and tree in front of us, under which lay a young man face down in the dirt. Could he be just passed out, but boy, is he gray and he isn’t moving at all. Like you don’t see his back moving up and down like he’s breathing, do you? Shall we tell someone? Shall we throw a rock at him to see if he moves? A bird came and landed on his legs and he still didn’t move. Alright, he’s dead, oh my god, there is a dead body just laying there and everyone is going to think he’s just napping and he’s going to lie there and rot and then the rats will come out as night falls and eat him up. EW. Two cops stroll by and I went up to the railing and waved at them and yelled “can you check on him, I don’t think he’s alright”. So the one cop jumps up onto the grass and FH, me, and the guy next to me on the bench hold our breath and watch expectantly. He prods him with his baton and nothing, no movement. Then the man pops up and the three of us jump up – he’s alive! And he is IRATE! “Jesus, I’m trying to sleep…man, now I have to go to the other yard to get some peace and quiet” and angrily strides away. He was actually wearing a nice shirt and pants and had some cool dude shades but our guess was – the guy never made it home from the night before, which was still almost as gross as being a dead body. He was either too drunk or too high and said “this is it, this is as far as I’m going” and he plopped down to pass out. And if you read a previous post from me – The Mermaid Festival – you will know how FILLED to the BRIM that park is with giant rats after dark.

So the dead was really alive and all was right with the world.

After this, we decided to fold and head home for the day – too many creepy people out and about. It’s best to hightail it home and stay safe. As I told Floating Head, I’m the only crazy there, and at least I know what I’m dealing with. We hop on the R train and who do we get stuck in a car with? Some oddball who comes in, wraps a sweater around his head like a hood, spits on the ground, muttering to himself, lights a cigarette, and creeps all the ladies out by staring at them strangely and making..um..repetitive motions you could say…and then the train stops. And doesn’t move. All we want to do is get to the next stop so that we can switch to another car. Eventually it does and we switch, but its funny because there’s an MTA guy in the car with us and he doesn’t do a thing – he has a radio, he could have called for the police that are stationed at Queens Plaza…but nothing, he was more concerned with jotting his deep thoughts down in his DayRunner. This is why we don’t support them when they want their stupid raises and then strike. Because they suck and are lazy. PERIOD.

But the dead are alive and all is right with the world – hurray!!!!

A Star-Studded Night in Central Park

Romeo and Juliet was awesome…LY HOT! It was like 90 degrees and humid as hell. I was dying of thirst in that heat, oh why oh why didn’t I bring a water with me?? I was seriously ready to steal someone’s water or offer them 5 bucks for it, anything…and then the set had a huge pool of water, the big teasers...how I would have liked to jump in it..or lap it up the way Salty Dog used to at our pool in the Old House…but that would have been in poor taste, wouldn't it? The play was well done for the most part -it's not my favorite Shakespeare play, it's too silly, those little 14 year old star-crossed lovers...plus I hated the movie version with Claire Icky Danes and Leo GirlFace DiCaprio so I think that turned me off of it forever – the girl from Six Feet Under was Juliet and she did a good job of it and because she looks more like an adult than a child, she made me like and believe the love story more – and the Nurse and Mercutio were wonderful and funny too. The rest of them were fair to middling. And it was the night of celebrity sightings. I saw: Ross the Intern (ha!), Ross from Friends (David Schwimmer) who was with Rashida Jones (Karen) from The Office, so then Megan and I wondered if we were getting some insider gossip – are they dating? Who cares? Jim won't care anymore, he's with Pam..there were other minor celebrities in attendance, like Martha Plimpton - she'll be in the next play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, I'm thinking she'll be Puck, she looks very Puckish to me – but those were the major ones – um, Nikki, does Ross the Intern does count as a major one???

‘Tis the week to celebrate..the end of Mercury Retrograde!!! Already I see a shift, certain THINGS have returned to normal and fortified my hopes a bit instead of swaying me this way and that way with bad info and unreliable messages from the Unknown…don’t ask me to explain this, I won’t, but suffice it to say, I feel better, more normal and like my feet are on solid ground once more. So praise be to the planet Mercury for going back into its normal rotation.

I don’t have much else to report other than I’m smiley again and I know you were all wondering when and if that would happen again, the way my mood has been.

Wonderful little recipe for you to try out, courtesy of The Moosewood Restaurant – this was my supper last night:

Take some really good vine tomatoes, chopped, add a can of artichoke hearts, slice them (make sure they aren’t marinated), toss with olive oil, some red wine vinegar (go lite with the vinegar!), 1 clove of pressed garlic, sprinkle in some dried tarragon or fresh if you've got it and lots of fresh basil – as much as makes you happy. I like a lot, so I added a LOT. Salt and pepper to taste and chill/marinate for an hour – but the longer you let it sit, the better it tastes – so if you let it go overnight, you like this more. Its nice and light and refreshing and I love the flavor of the fresh (must be fresh!) basil and artichoke hearts together. I served it over lettuce, but I think it would taste good tossed with pasta or in a pita as well.

Happy Friday to All

I just wanted you all to know... that my MOTHER drunk dialed me last night...ha ha ha ... silly lady all hopped up on margaritas!!

(Merv - just know that!)

And now for the news making me so much happier than I've been lately - in August, I'm going here:

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.
html?propertyID=1391

For relaxation, horseback riding, and fun fun fun with Floating Head and PossiblyJ - yippee!! Isn't it lovely?

Now tomorrow, I've possibly got Shakespeare in the Park tix - Romeo and Juliet - I seem to get unlucky with these every year, so hopefully all will be in my favor - I'm still upset about missing Liev Schrieber in Macbeth last year.