Hoping for Hopeful

I've spent 4 years hoping for hopeful. And it's funny how the Universe puts things in your life to show you the patience will pay off in the end.

As a single gal in NYC, I sometimes battle with loneliness, Sunday blahs, and less often but still there occasionally hopelessness. I tend to be pretty positive and surround myself with the most amazing friends ever to walk the planet, so the hopelessness fades quickly. And I believe that it is filled with hope for hopefulness - deep huh?

Weekends like the one I just finished help in the hope for hopeful plight. Nothing dramatic or ecstatic or overwhelming or outrageous happened. It just... was. And I like to just be.

Enjoy life. Let the Universe bring you what you need as you need it. Hope for hopeful...

Not-So-Subtle Hint to ABC

Powers that be at ABC, listen up. NBC has a 4th hour of the Today show starring Hoda and Kathie Lee, and they are obnoxious. If you want a fresh new look at trends, fashion, politics, parenting, as well as a whole heckuva lotta fun, let this picture be the platform off of which to jump.

.

Hire Katie Mohr and Joy Sims to follow Robin and George. You won't regret it. We're already friends with all the peeps there...

An idea of the weekend to come... in pictures mostly

Tomorrow will be the beginning of a fun and exciting few days... here's some predictions of real pictures to come...

All those to say...

PLUS

EQUALS

Get ready NYC...

The Art of Overthinking

Hello. My name is Joy. And I am an overthinker.

I love overanalyzing things to death. Somehow I don't always let these millions of thoughts out and burden everyone around me with them... only a select few (you KNOW who you are). I overthink which outfit I'm going to wear, what I'm going to eat, how I'm going to exercise, what music to listen to, what plans to make with friends, which room to clean, which eye shadow to apply, where to go on vacation, how to cut/color my hair, which project at work to tackle first, when to clip my dog's nails, which color should I put on my own nails... the list of trivialities goes on and on. But once all the possibilities have played out in my head and the decision is made, I never have regrets.

Here's where I get caught up on the bigger issues. The overthinking is still there. When I picked my apartment, it was like I was choosing the place I would be required to live in until the end of all time. When I buy plane tickets, I fret over getting the best price and picking the right dates as though I'm locked into selling my firstborn based on the decision. And when I date, I get to a point where I scruntinize everything about the date, myself, and the man himself as if one more date solidifies my future to the point of being set in stone with no turning back.

Whew. The realistic side of me KNOWS to stop, do some square breathing, and just go with the flow. Once I do, all is right with the world.

The Art of Overthinking. Embrace your overactive brain. Don't let it get the best of you. Just be. Overthinker and all. That's my lesson to myself...

Fashion Police - The ?-1-1

9-1-1 is for emergencies. 4-1-1 is for information. 3-1-1 is for non-emergency information or complaints. So what's the ?-1-1 for fashion dilemmas??

I've always enjoyed eccentric fashions. Ridiculous tights, hats and scarves, handbags of all shapes and sizes, various items with a bit of sparkle and/or pink, legwarmers, "thumbykins" (which are simply gloves with the fingers cut out), and mostly a good ballet skirt or 2 are all part of my wardrobe. These are also items I won't part with at the present time.

HOWEVER, the rest of the dreck in my closet is free to go. When I moved to Astoria, I got rid of a ton of clothes. And then at the end of last winter, I did it again. What's left? See below...

It's safe to say that I loathe about 68% of what you see here. Some of it is outdated. Some of it is well-worn. Some of it includes bridesmaid's dresses. And some of it is a lot cute separates without a suitable partner (i.e. a cute high-waisted black/white skirt with no suitable top as noted above). The note on the pic says "Cute Skirt. No Tops. :("

.

My budget is limited thanks to a number of trips and events I have planned before the end of the year. But the fashion police need to intervene. AGGGHHHH!!! What to do, what to do. Sighs all around.

.

So the questions are these... is it possible to piece together enough of my existing rubbish to make new fashion-forward outfits? Do I need to throw it all out and spend a little each paycheck to replace? Or should I purchase a few (say 5) new VITAL pieces and compensate the rest with what I have? Can I be the poor man's Carrie Bradshaw that is bursting beneath the surface? Can this real-life Cosmo girl use some creativity to burst onto the Fall scene in recycled separates??

Oh, NYC...

Pictures are worth thousands of words...

Yep. That says "Beiquen" (read: Bacon)

Friendly Neighborhood Alligator (found a block from my place)

Russell Brand filming the remake of "Arthur" down the street from my place.
"Smurfs" was filmed there before "Arthur"... RIP Papa Smurf (credit: Suzie Q who has requested to be removed from all Google searches and thus, will not have her full name listed)
Post-work, pre-weekend Subway Music...

No words...


All more reasons to love living here...

An Anniversary - mine and NYC's

9 years ago today I moved to the concrete jungle and have never once looked back with regret.

I found it appropo to write this in the middle of night, since it is after all the city that never sleeps and I am one of its minions who abides that rule without fail.

I will never forget making the trek halfway across the country with my dad driving the Uhaul, Selbs in the passenger seat, and me holding Indy in the middle for a two day adventure to our new home and new life. Excitement was all that filled me. Seeing the Twin Towers as we left New Jersey and entered the city was breath-taking. Driving through midtown wasn't scary, it was home. At 22 there's not a care in the world. What I wouldn't give sometimes to go back to the early-20s naivety... nostalgic sighs all around.

My two-bedroom, $1100 a month apartment in Kew Gardens was my mecca for my first 5 years of adulthood. To this day I have such fond memories of that neighborhood (though it now seems so suburban), the apartment (which I remember thinking was so small... not so), the restaurants (Dani's Pizza anyone?), and the local 7-11 (helllloooooo Naahdim).

I moved here with one friend, a dog, and dreams of changing the world. And as the song very correctly says, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere." NYC is a beast. It either quickly becomes your worst enemy and swallows you whole, or it becomes the true love of your life. I can thankfully say I fall into the latter of those.

I have met so many people and have had so many opportunities. Yes, this may have come at the expense of the savings account most people my age have. Yes, this may have meant that homesickness becomes a regular part of life in the back of your mind. And, yes, the list below are just a few of the things that I've "picked up" and are now just part of my every day life.

1. Sighing heavily as tourists in Times Square stop for no apparent reason to take pictures.
2. Rolling my eyes when a suburban mom gets on the subway with her larger-than-life stroller.
3. Shouting "C'MON" when a cab tries to mow you over.
4. Learning that part of life is dealing with the MTA and its delays even when they raise the subway/bus fare.
5. Loving the droll Pat Kiernan on NY1. (And the innane banter with Roger Clark)
6. Refusing to drive within the marked lanes when I get a zipcar... sorry Mother, this is the New York way.
7. Forgetting to acknowledge that walking 2 miles is actually a big deal to out-of-town guests... it's just old hat to us.
8. Taking only one earphone out and simply slowing down to give someone directions rather than stopping to chit chat.
9. Finding absurdity and plain old confusion in the non-New Yorkers who protest things like the proposed downtown mosque and gay marriage.
10. And finally calling NYC "the city" because to a true New Yorker, it is indeed THE only one.

Those (and I'm sure many more) are things that make me a non-native New Yorker. But here are some things I hope I never lose:

1. Tearing up every time I fly into LGA and see the skyline.
2. Getting giddy whenever I look up at the Empire State Building from any vantage point in the city and see camera flashes go off.
3. Proudly showing off my city to guests and never growing weary of the tourist hotspots.
4. Never taking for granted the art, history, sports, and constant energy here.
5. Loving all the many diversities of friends, acquaintances, coworkers, and even just the people I sit next to every day on the train.

9 years, New York. I still have that one friend from the beginning. I still have that awesome dog. And I've never given up that hope of changing the world. I've lived. I've loved. I've lost. But mostly... I've found.

Here's to us, NYC. And may we have many, many more to come...