Ah Shante!

Of course I Google-ed the meaning of my title on this one- and though I would love to say I can speak French, I do not know a lick of the most beautifully romantic language in my eyes. Full grasp of that tongue will become a life accomplishment, and I say that not because I am putting it off but because I can not yet afford the $400+ investment NYC language learning schools require. ANY WAYS back to the point here- this weekend I went to France- not quite literally of course, but experienced France in the big apple. Yet another oddly beautiful weekend here in NYC (don't worry, I bring rain/snow with my birthday tomorrow!)- I was lucky enough to get an early birthday brunch visit from my Aunt. After the typical stuff-your-face fest at Lansky's (my favorite neighborhood spot), she challenged me to walk down to Lincoln Center and back up to 75th. Normally, this is not a challenge but after running 8 miles in 45 mph winds, crawling seemed like an impossibility. Not the most profound walker herself, I tried to convince my Aunt to hop in a cab back up after Lincoln Center; and I am glad I was unable to. As we slowly made our way up in a neighborhood I thought I was so familiar with, my Aunt asked question after question- remaining bright eyed and bushy tailed after each store front we passed. Craving a little warmth, she suggested we stop into a chocolate cafe- one that is 2 blocks from my apartment that I had neither seen or heard of before. Upon stopping in, we sat down and immediately were transported into what felt like a tiny cafe in along the Chanselise complete with perfectly brewed and overly foamed cappuccino alongside tasty Nutella covered treats. As we sat there, our conversations even seemed different- like all the chaos outside had halted just for one moment while we pressed our lips to the almost too hot cups. It never ceases to amaze me that even places I thought I was familiar with in this city can bring me to a new and exciting place all over again. For the record, I have actually been to Paris and for anyone doubting my judgement out there, I of course known that 73rd and Amsterdamn is in no way comparable to 'along the Chanselise...' or is it? Is NYC the only city in the world that will allow you to go anywhere without leaving its parameters? Or is it the city and the people that you love there who are able to give you a whole new perspective on your typical surroundings? Maybe you should take a stroll down your block...you never know what you might find- and feel free to invite a loved one, they may open your eyes to something that has always been there but that you've never seen before :)
xoxo AA

Oh no you didn't

According to an recent article written by Travel and Leisure, New York City was ranked as the #1 rudest city in the US. I can't say that I'm shocked and I don't think that NYC is either because it is certainly not the 1st time we've been ranked as such or associated with the bad rep. I'm going to be honest- we can be pretty damn rude. For example, when it's 7:47 AM on a Monday morning and your train stops at Time Square 42nd St and a crowd of 7 babbling (nearly yelling) tourists board the train, shove in, and scream when the speed picks up again...yes, we can be rude. But for the most part, I think many people just don't take the time to get to know us. By no means is this a 'you' vs. 'us' thing, but for those of us that dwell here, there is this sort of secret code in place. It is as though no one knows one another here, yet we all have some sort of secret language going on. Let me give you an example. I was riding that very train mentioned above, yet at a much more manageable hour of 7ish PM and was being my normal alert self, scanning the train for any possible 'threatening' people; mainly just being aware of my surroundings. An elderly woman boarded the train and it immediately took off before she could find a seat. It was almost as if all of a sudden those of us around here had become a unit, making it our every effort to make sure she had a seat. One young boy got up, another person moved over and about 3 of us shifted in the aisle. Some light conversation was exchanged and even those light smiles/laughter that say 'yea, we got this.' Part of the perception of NYC being the rudest city is that folks who don't live here aren't necessarily giving the place a chance...or getting to know who its people really are deep down. This little old lady on the subway also got me thinking about doing things for others. Everyday we are faced with the challenge of doing what is right, whether or not it may be what we personally want. In a society that is so singularly goal focused as ours, we may find ourselves 'doing the right thing' and then not understanding why it may not feel right, or it may not be well received by our peers. At the end of the day, or at the encounter of an elderly person in need of a seat- we should be doing what is right regardless of how we thing it will make us feel or what others reactions will be. So my point in all of this? Instead of taking something personally (i.e. "I went to NYC and everyone was so rude there!") realize that your perception of another's actions can be completely different from why the person is actually do it. So get up, let that old lady sit, and put a smile on your face! Not being rude may be easy but I dare you to challenge yourself to continually try to do the right thing everyday- regardless :)
xoxo AA

Follow the Passion Brick Road

I heard something interesting at church last night that I wanted to share. The lead Pastor was in from Australia and though I went with high expectations, I wasn't necessarily blown away at the time- until his message started effecting me today. The overarching idea was how God is obsessed with making our lives great. For you non-religious folk out there, one of the most important components of his message was that we should "live with purpose, doing things in our everyday lives with passion, not a sense of obligation." I have not been able to shake that line off my mind all day...
When you find yourself in a place 8 hours out of the day not feeling necessarily 'inspired' or like you are not giving back to the greater good, your next logical step should be to find a new gig. But his message started to make me wonder, as a young person- how in the hell do you know what that is?! Yes of course we can all apply to different jobs, go to school, ask friends/family for advice, etc. but with so little real world life experience how are we supposed to be able to find that one thing that we feel passionate about and are happy to do everyday. The Christian in me says to 'trust God' with those doubts, because according to our beliefs, he is ultimately guiding us to where we belong. Of course I truly believe that in my heart- but in the mean time, what does one do until they feel like they have started doing that 1 thing during their 8 hours/day that they know is right for them? And on the road to getting there, are we just wasting our time? As I write this I realize NO- because without those steps on our journey (whether or not there is passion in them) we are learning lessons that will allow us to get to that ultimate goal. Without them, I don't think we would be able to arrive at a place of passion, and not obligation. So the point being here (and maybe this is more for me than any of you) is to realize that the things we sometimes perceive as obligations are helping us to get 1 step closer to our passions every single day. My plan is to walk on, with a big smile on my face :)
xoxo AA

"Could you be loved and be loved"-Bob Marley

You knew I was going to go for it, and in fact you're wrong. I meant to write this post last night but got caught up so it JUST SO HAPPENS that today is Valentine's day and wanted to spit some words about love haha. Love in relation to my favorite topic as always- family- can definitely be a mixed bag. I know I have talked a lot about forgiveness, family feuds over the holidays, so on and so forth- but this weekend I realized I am actually starting to learn something from all of this. My family came into NYC to meet my man in uniform for the 1st time. The 2 of us felt as cool as pickled (lol) cucumbers the entire time (mainly because- we are happy with each other and at the end of the day- that's all that matters) but I was still curious to see how the interactions would go. Oddly enough, the encounter seemed to actually bring my family and I closer to one another. There was no 'girl searches for parental approval' because I felt confident and happy just being around everyone, comfortable with the life I had made for myself. The point of this story is that when you love someone, you begin to realize how they can positively effect parts of your life you didn't know they could. It was our meeting with the fam Sunday morning that seemed to have improved the rest of my day with the clan alone. It was as if this new person had given all of us a fresh perspective on what it means to just be around each other, enjoying one another's company. Please understand that I am not giving my man all props here, what I am trying to say is that when you bring an outsider into what you think is a rather sticky situation, their presence allows all parties involved to have a different perspective on what's really going on. So this Valentine's day- whether you are a hater, a lover, missing your lover, love someone who doesn't know it, or have more than one lover- just spread the damn love. You never know how much love it can spread into other areas of your life :)
xoxo AA

LOST: Newspaper man. FOUND: fun?

Folks, today a terrible thing happened!! I have written before about how we tend to get used to the people we see everyday but don't actually know personally. It is a concept I learned about through my intensive communications studies in college (most of which generally entailed wine tasting in the library haha), and involves those people we say 'good morning!' to on our way into work, or a Starbucks Barista that always knows your drink. Though most of us have no real relationship with these individuals, a certain level of emotional attachment is formed because they become apart of our daily routine. WELL THIS MORNING my newspaper guy who hands out free trash stories to view on the ride in WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. On top of that, Friday happens to be our best encounter of the week because he always tells me to "have a blessed weekend, dear." But now what?! No farewell wishes, no nice send offs, nothing! This experience made me realize 2 things. First, I definitely take value in the daily encounters I have with people I don't know because their simple acts and words of kindness always tend to put a smile on my face. Second, why is it that we always leave all the good stuff for the weekends? Granted- I do love mister newspaper's send off every morning, but Friday's are all that much better. And when I really though about it, all of my favorite activities are scheduled only for the weekends! Going out with friends, eating oh-so-good bad food, seeing my man in uniform ;), and even my best workouts all occur on Fri/Sat/Sun. Do you think we would all enjoy the week just a little bit more if some of the weekend fun was sprinkled in mid-week? Maybe the grind would seem, well, less gridey. Two points being here- one, someone give me my newspaper man back! But seriously, a continual life lesson that began for me at a relatively young age: never take someone for granted because you never know how quickly they can be taken away from you. And two- sprinkle some of the weekend goodness into the week! I am going to make every effort to go to a movie mid-week next week, and maybe even eat something that is loaded with calories and fat...but gives me a sweet taste of life :)
xoxo AA

Subway car half full or half empty?

As many of you know, today is a glorious day for us New Yorkers as our GMEN take a victory stroll down the Canyon of Hero's celebrating their domination over the Pats in the Super Bowl this past Sunday. With the overflow of newly added 'commuters' this morning I realized I was less than excited about the parade- I was semi-annoyed. I thought to myself that if i too had the day off from school and got to go to the parade my perception might be different. But trying to make my way through the mess of red and blue, most of which I envied for probably having had Bailey's in their coffee(s) this morning, seemed more of a challenge the the usual ride in to work. Recognizing my stinky attitude I made a conscious effort to get rid of it...but just could not shake it. As always in my life, someone crossed my path who made me step back and realize how easy it is to just smile and enjoy. It happened when I was dropping off coffee for some clients and just observed for a few minutes how nice everyone was in the whole office to the receptionist. People walked by, smiling, saying hello, asking how her weekend was and with each person, she put some genuine love and soul into her responses. Overwhelmed by her positive energy I blurted out "everyone just loves you here, don't they?" True to form she responded "it's a whole lot easier goin' through life being nice to everyone, smiling and laughing- it just makes everyone happier." And here my friends, was another OMG life moment- while I spend my morning sifting through happy fans (like a drawer of mismatched smelly gym socks), I could have been smiling right alongside them, rooting for our NY Giants whether or not I was going to the parade. The fact that we won, and are lucky enough to have so many people come to our great city and celebrate- is really a blessing, not an annoyance. Anyways, by the end of my conversation with the receptionist she thanked me for stopping by to drop off coffee (mind you I didn't get her anything)- so I just wanted to say thank you to her, for helping me to see that my subway car was half full this morning...of some crazy NY fans :)
xoxo AA