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CorrugatedOstrichPuffs
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Name: Guacamole
Country: United States
State: New York
Birthday: 1/29/1986
Gender: Male
Interests: I enjoy cuddling up by the fire, reading poetry, and taking long walks on the beach... But all kiding aside, my real hobbies are wasting my life away in front of the computer, being tormented by processed meat, and jumping naked from my roof onto the thorny bush into the back yard.
Expertise: Well, I'm not too good at being fat, but Nicole is trying to fix that. I make a killer grilled cheese. And I can unwrap a tootsie roll in 7 seconds flat. And I've been known to play a mean game of badminton. And I'm an expert at opening bags of Chex Mix... Oh wait... scratch that
Occupation: Student
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  jeremy1556
Member Since:
12/28/2002
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| Spring has sprung, with all the springy force of a thirty-year old sagging mattress. New York's manageable winter (ice-covered puddles of water masquerading as concrete notwithstanding) is slowly giving way, in starts and fits, to the blooms of spring. We've had a few warm-ish days as teasers, but today was, in a word, marvelous.
It started bright and early. I woke up at six (read: six thirty), donned some light long-sleeved running gear, and hopped on the A down to 72nd street and made my way to the heart of Central Park. The stillness of New York on a Sunday morning, as the sun has just risen, with the grass newly verdant and the birds chirping away... simply sublime. It's wonderfully calming, and reminds you that even in Manhattan you can find peace and respite.
The race began at eight. It was my fourth NYRR race, this one four miles (having previously done two 5Ks and an 8K). I pushed myself hard, and had no extra spritely burst to propel me through the finish line. As with each of my previous races, I set a new personal pace record, this time clocking in at 7m17s per mile.
The rest of the day was spent wandering, just enjoying and soaking up the day, the spring, the outdoors, the city - appreciating it all in a way that I've not taken the time to do lately. I savored a cappuccino and madeleine at Buchon, spent an hour browsing through cooking and travel books at Borders, and walked up to the Met before deciding the day was too nice to be spent indoors. I went to the office to do a little work, then decided that, rather than take a taxi or the subway, I would walk home, about 4 miles. My walk through the park was delightful - people were out having picnics, skating, biking, playing catch. I even saw two people having sex.
By people I mean dogs.
Once back home, the sun was beginning to set. I spent a little while on my balcony, but get restless and went back out for more of a walk. I walked to the other side of Columbia and back, heading nowhere in particular. The most stunning part was walking along the top of Morningside Park at twilight, with the warm glow of the old-fashioned street lamps set against the cobalt sky. I felt enlivened, but at the same time thought about how beautiful it would be to share that walk with someone special.
Lovely day, capping off a nice weekend. After a few very busy (in a good way, for a change) weeks - running off to Boston with Amyel, Ellen, Mareike, and Alex pretty much just to taste baklava gelato; dinner with Flavio and his friends; dance performance at Juilliard with Amyel; botanical gardens in the Bronx with Ethan; I don't even remember what else. I appreciated this low-key weekend. Friday night home alone with a glass of wine watching My Fair Lady. (Gawwwwd I love Audrey...) Saturday afternoon discovering awesome burgers hidden inside a fancy hotel with Tim's brother, Jeremy.
I'm headed home to Houston next weekend. I haven't been there since Christmas. I'm mainly going because it's a long weekend, but it's also an important time for me... on Wednesday, it will be one year since we lost him. I've been thinking about it a lot. Not sure exactly what to think, what to do, except to try to reflect and reminisce without letting the pain take over.
The weekend after that I'm going to Lidiya's wedding. Yay! Weddings are fun. The last one I went to was for a second cousin or something, last summer, in Beaumont.
That's that. Looking forward to more of spring - new warmth, new growth, new life.
Farewell, winter.
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| Highlight of the week
month: We saw Céline Dion in concert last night! AAAAAHHHH!! Madison
Square Garden, section 133, row A, seats 1 and 2. And wow, what a fun
time. I have pics, will post them later. It was particularly special
because I finally got to see her with Moose.
The rest of this weekend was fabulous too. I took Monday and Tuesday
off. Friday afternoon, Katie and I went to our interiew for the
apartment we are really hoping to get in Harlem. Friday night, we went
to a party at Winna's apartment, where there was much fun playing
Twister and charades and the like. Saturday, we hung out with Katie,
who was basically in for just a few days. We had Papa Johns in Central
Park, woohah! Saturday night, Moose and I made a last-minute decision
to run off to Ithaca. We took the 11pm bus, and got in at 4 in the
morning, when Alex picked us up from Collegetown. We spent Sunday going
to the farmer's market and taking a boat cruise on Lake Cayuga (fun!)
and getting ice cream with Alex, Tim, and Peep; hiking through a state
park with Alex and Tim; and eating Indian food with Gretchen, Nadia,
and Nicole. Monday morning, Moose and I explored some of the places we
went around campus when we first met, and then Alex met us at CTB for a
bit until we left. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, a much-needed
break from the city.
In other news...
An unmistakable indicator that you are, in fact, yuppie trash? Standing
in line to pay $8 for a small bowl of french toast-flavored rice
pudding in Soho.
Me? I, it would seem, am yuppie trash.
And, oh, it tastes so good. | | |
| Exciting news! Tommy... finally... proposed... to Kendra!!! I don't think there was much doubt that it was coming, but after several years of them being together, Tommy finally popped the question! I am really excited for you guys, and wish you all the best. You've always been so cute together and seem to make each other truly happy. Congrats!
One of my co-worker friends is getting married next year, too, and she's trying to start planning everything. It sounds like such an ordeal; I'm not sure I could handle it. (Ha - who am I kidding? I would be a complete control freak and try to plan every detail of my own wedding)
It's been an unfortunately long while since I've been struck with the feeling, but the spark hit me just now, as I was listening to some music I haven't heard in a while and reading about Le Bon Marché and missing Paris. The spark of knowing what I want; of things being not just interesting, but exciting and full of promise. I don't think it's possible for that spark to fill one's life one hundred percent of the time - but what if its frequency were twice, or triple, or five times what it is now? What if my sparks were not linked to desperate yearning for things I can't attain in my current circumstance, but rather were linked to the achingly beautiful satisfaction of actually immersing myself in such things? Or maybe every circumstance trends toward mundanity... But then there would be the next thing to turn to, to explore, to discover - and I don't think there are enough seconds in a lifetime to become jaded enough to stop caring about the mysteries of the world and the people in it. | | |
| Moose and I saw the movie Bottle Shock last night. It was about the 1976(?) Paris wine tasting event that shocked the world when a blind tasting revealed that Napa Valley wines can rival the best the French have to offer. It sounds like a rather esoteric subject for a film, and it is, to a point, but I rather enjoyed it, and I definitely thought it was more interesting than Sideways.
I do not like working on Sundays. They say the hours required on Sundays will lessen as time goes on, and this had better be true, because I get bitter about watching the afternoon pass me by. Really bitter.
We walked around Prospect Park for a few hours yesterday afternoon. It was rather exhausting; I estimate we walked 5 or 6 miles, and I've had little exercise of late. I loved rediscovering the mysteries of the park, and sharing them with Moose for the first time. Afterward, we had a late lunch at my favorite diner in the world. I can never remember what it's called, but it's just a few blocks down from the 15th St corner of the park.
Before we went into the park, we came across a stoop sale (which is Brooklyn-ese for 'garage sale') where clothes that were our size were being sold. There was a surprisingly stylish selection, in good condition - and all for $1 apiece! Between the two of us, we walked away with probably $500 worth of clothes (Express, Banana, Abercrombie, et al) for the miserly sum of $9. Score.
I feel nearly balanced. Many things are going well, although there is still the final gap to be jumped. In short, there is room for improvement and for a clearer focus, and I'm not quite sure how to connect the edges, but the fact that I'm at least close is comforting. | | |
| The past few weeks have plodded along with their share of ups and downs. From the frustrating - but rewarding - ordeal of procuring an iPhone, to seeing shows like [Title of Show] (fantastic!) and Spring Awakening (mixed feelings...), to wandering the city with Moose and seeing a few old friends like Winna (Union Square wine tasting) and Hope (Williamsburg Thai food) and Charlie (sneaking into the Javits Center), it's been pretty fun. Last Friday night, Moose and I went to a delightful rooftop party in Midtown, where I met some wonderful people and enjoyed some incredible views of the skyline. The past two weeks, I have been in orientation for work. There have been [mandatory] social events galore, all of them fun - such as pub trivia night (second place by a point, aarrrrgh!) and casino night (first place team! in part thanks to me quadrupling my money at roulette) and a fun get-together at the super-swanky Guastavino's beneath the Queensboro Bridge. My first day actually in the office was today, although the fun doesn't start until tomorrow - 6:30am, for the next 12 to 18 months, and staying until 7 or 8 or 9 at night. Selling my soul, basically. I'm excited and nervous. Time for a deep breath and taking the plunge.
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