MRPLET!

Now that the cat is so unenthusiastically out of the bag, it must be proclaimed across the Internet for all to see. SALTY IS PREGNANT! I'm gonna be Auntie Adventurous! And someday, my little niece or nephew is going to be working hard at figuring out his or her own life, and then I can pass along all the kindness and generosity that people like Salty and my Aunties have shown me!

And Mom too, of course, but I'll leave all the mothering in our family to Salty. She and Mrp are going to make such great parents!

The Mrplet is on its way!

We found out on Easter Sunday...and now I get to proclaim it to the world on a Sunday too. See? I told you Sundays are the best.

Hey, that's not me in the pool...that's some kind of weird robot or something.

I've been going a little overboard on the social stuff lately. Too much drinking, too much dating, too much eating out, too much worrying about what other people think, too much caring about things and people that are not myself.

This is classic Feminine Mystique behavior.

If you know me in the real world and we have spoken in the last month, you probably noticed how I seemed vapid and surface-y, and it might have annoyed you a little bit, because you know I'm better than that. In fact, I could read the irritation in some of your voices. Believe me, I'm with you! Reading over some of my blogs from the last month, I'm a little annoyed with myself. I mean, I'm very excited and lucky to have lots of really nice, creative, amazing friends and all, but I've busied myself showing off my wildly fabulous surface cool so much that I lost my normal, even-keel substance-y cool.

At work, I've been flighty, pestering Original Data Guy and 2.0 constantly with my chattiness and my antics. Granted, they're chatty too and they don't seem to mind, but I know they have more important things to do. Meanwhile I feel like all I've been doing is blogging all day and maybe chatting a bit on facebook. Nobody seems unimpressed with my performance, and I know I've really whipped a lot of the division's admin stuff into shape during my short time there, but I just don't feel like I'm doing anything particularly necessary, or at least not much. Mostly due to a lack of interest in nonprofit administration, my work has used up very few of my intellectual or creative resources. And quite frankly I can work at a mindless job, but I need to be kept pretty busy to ward off the daydreams and to keep me focused.

In other words, I was bored as hell with my day to day grind, so I started focusing on other people to stay excited about life.

I know what you're thinking. "Hey, wait a minute, that's not the brave, enthusiastic, mildly narcissistic Miss Adventurous we know!" And you're right. Under the shroud of the Mystique, I have not been myself. This living in the moment stuff has been bullshit. I've been living in moments, sure, but really only with other people. And that ain't me.

Now this is me: This week I'm starting a new job and hopefully continuing on my personal Yellow Brick Road toward dream fulfillment. I'm going to be tested with menial tasks, often exhausted, and occasionally needing some support. I promise though, that I will do my absolute best to truly live in the moment and to keep sight of who I am along the way, and that includes appreciating all of you and living my own life on my terms.

Spring at the end of the tunnel

Walking through the Park this morning on my way to Magnolia for brunch with the sweetest gal in Brooklyn I just had to stop and snap a picture. Spring looked so pretty through the tunnel by the boathouse. Yay spring!

Seventy dollar brunch and other thoughts about Sundays

Yep. Sundays are definitely still my favorite. Last Sunday I got taken out for seventy dollar brunch and then I got one of the last iPhones on the island of Manhattan. This Sunday was even better!

I woke up and went running in the park (did I mention I live a block away from Prospect Park and pay $900 a month? Can I mention that again?), and as I came around past the lake I noticed a very large tent set up at Wollman Skating Rink. A stripey tent. A...circus tent! A circus has set up shop at Wollman Skating Rink! A freakin' circus! Like a quarter mile away from where I live! Cool! Later I talked to my neighbor, Marlon (yes, the one with the three screaming kids), and he said he took his three screaming kids last week and that it was a good show. I want to go now! Maybe I can use it as an excuse to get PDF to come to Brooklyn (ha).

After a quick shower I sauntered into K-Dog for my usual weekend morning ritual, only today was extra special, because it was nice enough outside that I got my coffee iced. It sho'nuff ain't New Orleans style chicory coffee, but it was still delicious! Instead of hanging out and munching on my pumpernickel bagel indoors I took it to go and hopped on the good old Q to make sure I got to Astor Place in time for dance class.

And belly dancing today was awesome! For the first time since I started studying with Mimi I felt confident enough with my cues and repertoire that I was okay leading a trio. I even felt like I was one of the better leaders in class today, which was really cool. And then...and then...! After class I talked to Mimi about taping some of Manhattan Tribal's upcoming shows. My whole master plan is to use the footage to create some YouTube promo videos for MT (good for Mimi) and also to begin a demo reel (good for me). I also plan on talking to my friend Z about doing something similar at Night of 1000 Goddesses.

AND! (This day just keeps getting better and better!)

As I bounded down the stairs at 141 Studios and out into sunshiny Astor Place, I got a text message from 2.0 and Mrs. 2.0 requesting my presence at a bar. Apparently, mimosas and bloody marys were being drunk very cheaply on the Lower East Side and they felt New Orleans ought to be represented for the occasion. As you can see above, I memorialized our beverages for posterity while demonstrating the cool gadgetry of my phone. I also learned that 2.0 is a closet nerd. Big nerd. He plays Dungeons and Dragons! Ahhahaha! When I told him how I used to be nerdy too he stopped blushing and invited me to play in the next game. Aww! I'll probably pass, but it's sweet.

I rode the F train part of the way back toward Queens and then with a wave to 2.0 and a kiss on the cheek for Mrs. I was off to the Home Depot on 23rd st. Why? Because I needed a big giant piece of sheet metal, of course. There will be more on the sheet metal later, so don't worry about the why for now.

Once I had my sheet metal I decided it would be better to just walk to 14th st. rather than wait for the N/R/W and then wait for the Q all over again. Sunday schedules suck. So I strolled down Broadway for nine blocks, which wasn't so bad. Then I got a phone call. I didn't recognize the number, and that usually means either a wrong number or something interesting might happen, so I really wanted to answer it. Maneuvering wasn't very easy and I had to wrestle a little, but I managed to get out of the Union Square sidewalk traffic to pick up. Lo and behold, it was the Producer! That dirty rat, tricking me with more than one phone number! So there I stood in the middle of crowded Union Square on the phone like it was so normal to carry a giant piece of sheet metal under my arm like a purse.

It must have looked very very strange to PDF's boyfriend from across the street.

After I hung up with the Producer (sorry, Charlie, I have a date with some metal shears tonight) I descended the subway stairs, somehow managed to schlep the thing onto the Q and then up the stairs at Prospect Park. Thank goodness they repaired my building's elevator! Not a moment later I got the call from PDF. "Were you on 14th street half an hour ago?" "Yes, actually." "What the hell were you doing with that sheet metal!?"

I bet the people in my car on the subway were asking themselves the same thing.

Just as these words might have once exited the lips of Keanu Reeves, they exit mine now: this has been a most triumphant day.

Sundays are my favorite.

Okay, this isn't really the third post today; the other two were started last week and never finished. Sorry to shatter your belief in my perfect ability to churn out blogs willy nilly. Or whatever. I've been busy speed dating and ogling the IT guy at work. And also work is actually keeping me busy, unlike the last temp assignment...you know, the one where I never ever blogged (no never)....

Sunday is fast becoming my absolute favorite day of the week, and here's why:

I start by waking up at 8:00 (an hour late!). I put on my running clothes, pack some cash in my little shorts pocket and walk 1.5 blocks to Prospect Park, where I run with some serious abandon. My cheap Target stopwatch has died after surviving three years with me, through a summer in France, through Katrina, through the bad times with JH, through my move. That stopwatch did me some serious good, but now that it's gone I can't really bring myself to replace it yet. So I go to the park and run, watchless and with abandon.

After my run, I stroll merrily to K-Dog, turning heads as I go because I'm wearing running shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt in 25 degree weather. In the coffee shop, my glasses fog up and I make a little joke to the lady behind the counter. I order a large coffee with extra soy milk, my favorite. Then I wander a block away, pick up my laundry from the people who washed, dried, and folded it for me (this is one of my favorite things about New York), and head home. I get in the shower, and today it's a long, languid shower...the kind where you take enough time to shave your legs, but don't actually shave them. Then I towel up. I love lounging around in my towel, freshly showered. After a quick email check I put on my favorite outfit: a v-neck t-shirt that has been hemmed to just under the bust, a hoodie on top, and stretchy boot-cut dance pants. I put my hair up into a messy bun-thing, stuff a hip scarf, zils, and a bottle of water into my bag and head out the door.

I feel like Snow White walking through the forest on my way to the subway. My ipod is playing upbeat Motown, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and, oh shit! Someone just tried to run me over while I was crossing Flatbush! Oh well...shrug it off and keep on going. Magically, the train appears just after I arrive on the platform. I sit down for my Sunday morning read. This week it's JD Salinger's Nine Stories. As the Q train crosses the bridge, Manhattan looks resplendent in the morning sunlight. The Statue of Liberty waves hello.

After a brisk walk from 14th street to Astor Place, I arrive at the dance studio. I'm late, but never mind. Just glad to be here. From the front of the room, Mimi says hello, and I feel a little bit like she's saying "nice of you to join us, Miss A. Please take your place." I hurry with my hip scarf and funky heel-less sandals and then fall in line to body wave along with the rest of the class. For two hours I learn about my body, where this joint can bend, where that limb can extend, how to make it all move the way my brain thinks it should. I actively discover what I am, the muscle and tissue, and even the stuff that jiggles a little too much when I shimmy.

Afterward I chat a little with Mimi and with the other girls from class. This is good, that's hard, can we try this next time. One of the other girls, D, mentions coffee. I perk up. More coffee sounds great. Breakfast sounds great--I forgot to eat. It's 3:30.

More chatting, some laughing, then strolling with D and H around the Village, looking for that place I went before. Couldn't find it, so we wound up at Dunkin' Donuts! I indulged in an egg and cheese sandwich, one of my favorite favorite things. There is lots of chatting. Lots of laughing. A cute little old guy sits down next to us and tells us about a Three Stooges movie. It's great. Walking to the subway, D tells about a chance she has to put together a line (she designs lingerie) and a show and stuff, but mutters something quickly about no money and no time blah blah. And so I say this (it's paraphrased):

"You have an opportunity that may not come again. TAKE the opportunity and run with it! The money will come! The time will come...you will make them come, but only if you force yourself to do so. I know what it's like to be an artist, and to be frustrated by your needs... You need to eat. You need to pay rent. But you will, you just have to trust yourself."

(I could have cried then and there, because it was the first moment that I realized I believe that. I believe that! I believe it! I do! I have already come such a long way from that awful place I used to be!)

After that I come home and sink into my comfy, comfy bed. I snuggle down and surf the net. I watch the Simpsons. I forget to eat again, so I have a banana and a granola bar and some raw veggies. I've started to love chilled bananas.

I saw this guy on the subway today. No, really! I did!

It was SUCH a nice day today!

I'm in a fantastic mood, and I think it has to do with running in the sunshine. After that I cleaned up a little at home and then came out to Manhattan and stole PDF's dog for a walk in Central Park. It was great fun! It made me really glad that I made it here. I'm glad I made all those crazy decisions! I'm glad I uprooted myself out of the complacent trap of domesticity! I'm glad I'm living in pursuit of my dreams!

Now hopefully I'll make rent!