(no subject)
Good god it's been a while hasn't it?
I felt like updating because I'm feeling good. I just moved to Inwood (the very tip of NYC) with two lovely individuals and it's probably one of the healthiest decisions I've ever made. I love this neighborhood! Aside from being amazingly close (but not too too close) to work, it has a great social atmosphere and a sense of hospitality that just radiates from all the people I meet. It's a subtle but striking change from Harlem.
Last Sunday I went for a walk/hike up to the Cloisters, which is a museum of medieval art housed in a Spanish (I think?) armory (I think??) that was moved over here from Europe (I think???). It's incredibly beautiful out there--if the weather cooperates this weekend I might head out again and take pictures to share on facebook. There's also Inwood Park down the street in the other direction, which is the 2nd largest park in the city and has the only salt marsh remaining. Dave (my roommate) says it's gorgeous, so I might venture out there soon enough. I feel so much more invigorated when there's actual NATURE so close by.
And in moving I decided to fall into new and healthier habits. I've taken up interval training on the treadmill, which may eventually pan out to running through parks. When I was in Cape Cod this past weekend I met this girl Priya, a runner, who told me about these weekly meetups where people run minimarathons in Central Park just for the hell of it. Maybe if I stay on task, I can get in that scene. I need a shift in social spheres anyway. In addition to that, I know there's a yoga studio up the street, so I'm going to take a gander at their schedule and see if I can figure something out. Also want to get back into bellydancing classes since I fell out of the habit when apartment searching started. Being healthy is keen.
I'm taking a chemistry class as well. A wimpy, college prep chemistry class, but whatever--it's free. It's science and I feel so much more productive engaging in it! Which makes me feel better! Which makes me want to WRITE! One of my participants recently was a poet (actually the wife of Robert Payne if you know who he is), and I gave her a piece of my work to read. She told me I had a great talent and that she thought people of my generation had lost touch with writing. She suggested I work on a bunch of short stories with a common theme, send a couple out to literary magazine until I have a substantial amount to publish as a book (maybe, hopefully). I've been toying with the idea of mirrors and flames and prying a few stories out of that--I already have 3 I've written from college that fall into the idea. But I hit a roadblock for a while and wasn't able to generate anything. Maybe now that a new, motivated mindset is falling into place I'll feel the need again.
And maybe I'll feel the need to keep this journal up to date as well. But how many times have I said that?...
I felt like updating because I'm feeling good. I just moved to Inwood (the very tip of NYC) with two lovely individuals and it's probably one of the healthiest decisions I've ever made. I love this neighborhood! Aside from being amazingly close (but not too too close) to work, it has a great social atmosphere and a sense of hospitality that just radiates from all the people I meet. It's a subtle but striking change from Harlem.
Last Sunday I went for a walk/hike up to the Cloisters, which is a museum of medieval art housed in a Spanish (I think?) armory (I think??) that was moved over here from Europe (I think???). It's incredibly beautiful out there--if the weather cooperates this weekend I might head out again and take pictures to share on facebook. There's also Inwood Park down the street in the other direction, which is the 2nd largest park in the city and has the only salt marsh remaining. Dave (my roommate) says it's gorgeous, so I might venture out there soon enough. I feel so much more invigorated when there's actual NATURE so close by.
And in moving I decided to fall into new and healthier habits. I've taken up interval training on the treadmill, which may eventually pan out to running through parks. When I was in Cape Cod this past weekend I met this girl Priya, a runner, who told me about these weekly meetups where people run minimarathons in Central Park just for the hell of it. Maybe if I stay on task, I can get in that scene. I need a shift in social spheres anyway. In addition to that, I know there's a yoga studio up the street, so I'm going to take a gander at their schedule and see if I can figure something out. Also want to get back into bellydancing classes since I fell out of the habit when apartment searching started. Being healthy is keen.
I'm taking a chemistry class as well. A wimpy, college prep chemistry class, but whatever--it's free. It's science and I feel so much more productive engaging in it! Which makes me feel better! Which makes me want to WRITE! One of my participants recently was a poet (actually the wife of Robert Payne if you know who he is), and I gave her a piece of my work to read. She told me I had a great talent and that she thought people of my generation had lost touch with writing. She suggested I work on a bunch of short stories with a common theme, send a couple out to literary magazine until I have a substantial amount to publish as a book (maybe, hopefully). I've been toying with the idea of mirrors and flames and prying a few stories out of that--I already have 3 I've written from college that fall into the idea. But I hit a roadblock for a while and wasn't able to generate anything. Maybe now that a new, motivated mindset is falling into place I'll feel the need again.
And maybe I'll feel the need to keep this journal up to date as well. But how many times have I said that?...