MoreCheese

"Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time."

That's what the Beatles said.  And I tend to agree with them.

So, following up on Friday's New York Stories cliffhanger, I pose this question to you:  do you believe in love at first sight?

Random thought: Pan's Labyrinth

Did that movie irrevocably change the way you see ginger root, too?  I could almost hear the squealing as I prepped for dinner the other night...

If you haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth, please rent it.  What a great, weird fantasy movie.

iPhones and Past Participles

I'm seriously very, very close to buying one.  My question is for those of you have one, or have a similar device:  are you happy with your purchase?  Why or why not?  What do you wish you would have gotten or gone without in terms of service, Gigs of memory, apps, etc.?  Muchas gracias for your thoughts.

P.S.  Is "gotten" a word?  I use it all the time, but seeing it in writing...  I'm not so sure.

UPDATE:  Yes, according to dictionary.com, "gotten" is a bonafide word.  An alternative standard past participle, to be precise.

In British English got is the regular past participle of get, and gotten survives only in a few set phrases, such as ill-gotten gains. In American English gotten, although occasionally criticized, is an alternative standard past participle in most senses, especially in the senses “to receive” or “to acquire”: I have gotten (or got) all that I ever hoped for.

And now please tell me about the iPhone you've gotten.

New York Stories: Part I

As I was brainstorming ways to blog on a daily basis without boring you all to death, I thought of a few stories from the years the Rockstar and I lived in New York City.  Its a hard place to make a living, New York, but its a great place to live, and it certainly makes for good story-telling.

I figure I'll start at the beginning, which for me was August 1998.  I got admitted to lawschool in New York while I was living in another state, extricating myself from a bad relationship.  I packed my life into a UHaul truck, drove for 2 days with a good friend and my cat for company, and rented a tiny room in a tiny apartment above a pizza shop.  I moved in with a woman whom I'd met for 20 minutes and then handed over two months rent to.  I remember waking up that first morning in my little room with my life's belongings piled up around me, stretching my arms, and just feeling free.  

I had two weeks before school began, during which I walked all over the city: Central Park, Chelsea, SoHo, the West Village, the East Side.  I took a part-time job as a paralegal at a lawfirm, working from 6:00 p.m. to midnight, three nights a week.  I would go to class during the day, walk 20 blocks south back home, change my clothes, grab a $2.00 slice from the pizza shop, and then walk 12 blocks east to my job.  I worked til midnight, walked home through Times Square (the great thing about living in midtown was that there are always people about, and I never felt unsafe or alone), and then read for class until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.  I was never completely caught up on my reading.  I was so poor, I couldn't afford to do anything that wasn't free, so walking was not just my favored form of transportation, but a major source of entertainment for me.  I lost 12 pounds that first month.

And I loved it.  It was hard, no doubt about it, but I hadn't felt that alive in years.  I didn't know many people, and I didn't have money for socializing.  In the evenings, I walked home on 9th Avenue, feeling like a character in a Dickinson story as I passed by beautiful restaurants with windows that glowed warm and yellow, the sound of glasses tinkling and people talking and laughing drifting out through open doors, and the scent of delicious food making my stomach rumble.  I would come home to my closet-sized apartment and dream of dining at one of those restaurants.  There was such a draft in my room that I slept in pajamas, a robe and a wool hat during the winter!  

I didn't care.  My plan when I moved to New York was to study hard and get myself ahead.  Men and relationships were out of the picture.  I didn't expect lawschool to be a party.  

Little did I know, things were about to change, very, very soon in a very, very big way.  

Love Thursday: Heart Leaf Tree

I just can't get enough of this little tree on our street with the heart-shaped leaves.  It looked so pretty and bright with the sunshine we've been getting this week, I had to share more pictures of you.

I've been slowly reading this little book, Peace Is Every Step, by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn.  In it, he talks often about "bells of mindfulness" --  little symbols that remind you to breathe and exist with mindfulness.  He recommends thinking of the word "Calming" while breathing in, and "Smiling" while breathing out.  

I think each leaf on this tree is a little bell of mindfulness.  I can't help but stop, take a deep breath, and smile whenever I pass it by.

                

                

May your day be filled with happy reminders that love is all around you.  And for more stories and images about love, click here.