Category Archives: travel

Goodbye New York!

Posted on by

This time tomorrow I will be on a plane to St. Maarten. I have to say, the dismally cold and wet weather makes the parting all the sweeter. When I spoke to the real estate agent about it, she complained about the winter weather down there. You know, 85 degrees. She helped my boyfriend and I find an apartment with a view of the ocean.

At this point, I’ve been living out of a backpack for over a week, staying with various people, and making some very long commutes. I’m ready to leave! Blogging will resume at a normal schedule once I settle in. I have a backlog of things I want to write about, and just haven’t had a chance to focus on (or an Internet connection, depending on where I am staying).
One of the things I’ve been thinking about is the best way to spend all this newfound free time. I want to finish the novel. I want to do some freelance travel writing. But there are so many other things I hope to do–learn how to speak French and play chess. Build a website (I’ve wanted to make a new home for this blog for a long time). Read Proust and all of Dickens. Try to revive my dying Italian. Scuba dive. Online classes. So many things. If you can think of a good project, send it my way.
But for now, I’m off.
L
Hello St. Maarten!

Voodoo Work Magic

Posted on by

I love my little voodoo office man. He’s been my cubicle mate for a few years now. He’s one of the things I was a little sad to pack up, along with my collection of Chinese Buddha figures. This was my last full week in the office. Next Wednesday is my last day and then I’m off. Rushed as everything has been, I’ve still had the time to get nostalgic over New York. For example, I took a cab through a McDonald’s drive thru last night. How amazing is that? And this morning I can see a water tower with an orange roof against the blue sky. I love being in the city.

That said, I’ve been itching to travel for the past year. I traveled a lot before settling in New York, and I didn’t realize when I took my first job that I really would have only two weeks vacation. With holidays and and family, two weeks goes quickly. Not to mention, one job leads to another… Next thing you know, years of your life have passed. Quitting may be the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Being in an unknown place awakens me to my surroundings. It’s easier to notice the different patterns of life. New York isn’t going anywhere, but this is a great chance for me to explore and write. It sounds incredibly indulgent, but I’m proud of myself–even if my novel is utter crap.

And of course, I won’t miss these stacks of papers!

Dimonds Among Spades

Posted on by

The internet has everything in spades, not least of them t shirts and magazines. But these two enterprises came to my attention lately, and I quite like them.

Put your favorite book on your chest, with these literary inspired t-shirts. My friend Brian just started this operation, so kudos to him. The design at left is from Kafka’s Metamorphosis, thus the cockroach on his back saying “Oh Bother.” I love it, but I’m tore between this and the Alice and Wonderland t shirt.
(Hint hint, nudge nudge, Christmas is coming.)
This webzine is like culture megalomania at its best. Want poetry, fine art, and general thoughts on creativity and genius? It’s here. Not to mention, the site helps artists sell their work through an auction process (which, granted, I don’t fully understand.) The people writing for it are the Web 2.0 version of citizen journalists with an interest in the arts, and, full disclosure, I hope to submit something really spiffy to them in future.

So that makes for two great endeavors, completely despite my status as an interested party. Hopefully I’ll be able to give both my more thorough attention when I have a permanent residence again. I moved my stuff into storage yesterday morning, and took my few-too-many bags over to a friend’s house for the night. You know you’ve overpacked when you can’t carry everything by yourself. I need to edit my luggage down. But luckily I have some really nice friends who I’ll be staying with for the week while I tie up a few loose ends, i.e. my job and finding a place to live on St. Maarten.
8 days until I leave!