Fragment: GOODBYE

I find myself saying "goodbye" occassionaly, and I think I secretly like it...

All this ending and re-starting provides new opportunities. To change, to learn, to grow, to re-think, re-group, re-route, re-arrange, re-place.

I just got home, or at least, somewhere in between.

I am happy; in peace. Ready for whatever will come my way this time around.

My two months in NYC were just what I wanted...just what I needed.

The spending time with my family was priceless! My meeting with friends from college was fun and insightful. All the time spent in solitude, my thoughts and me, were interesting...revealing.

Anyways, at this point somebody had to leave. There were too many toothbrushes in dad's and mom's sink!

Love you maders, father, sister, Guevs and lolos!

Oh! and I think I finally made up with NYC...I can say I (heart) NY, again ;)

Fragment: DETOUR

"When you come to a roadblock, take a detour." -Mary Kay Ash from THE 12 SECRETS OF HIGHLY CREATIVE WOMEN book

I believe in this fiercely!

Every time I feel stuck, any kind of movement creates opportunities; adds new things to my life. Something as little as finding a quote in a book that provides insight, a photo in a magazine that brings inspiration, or an article that inspires ideas. Just as in my walk-abouts, movement places you on a path of hidden treasures.

Yesterday, while working on my homework for hours (WHAT? homework?? yes, I know, I still have to blog about it), I came to a roadblock! I didn't feel satisfied with the way it was coming out. My hands were getting tired from coloring tiny squares. My brain was drained, and ideas just stopped flowing.

(Above right: the homework without the finishing touch)

So, I stood up and went out.

This time, instead of a walkabout, I went directly to one of my favorite spots in this town: BARNES AND NOBLE.

Chai tea in hand, a bunch of books and magazines on the table, the smell of coffee in the air, chattering from all kinds of strangers as background noise. *SIGH* What an inspiring place to be!

I found cool quotes and ideas, and relaxed while dreaming of places and things I saw in the magazines.

I wore beautiful dresses and hats. Visited an ice cream parlor in Brooklyn. I met an artist, a writer, a photographer, a home decorator, the owner of a coffee shop and received great advice from all of them. I traveled to Cambodia and Greece. I was walking around each page in high heels, until I finally brought my tea to a beautiful English garden. There I sat surrounded with butterflies and fairies, and read my books all over again. I became the artist, the writer, the photographer, the home decorator, and the owner of the coffee shop ;)

Yup! I forgot about my homework COMPLETELY! When I got home, I felt brand new...and was able to come back to my tiny, colorful squares with a fresh approach.

Taking detours works wonders for me!

NOTE: I do have to give dad and sister some props. They gave my homework the finishing touch that made it work ;) Help is always needed!

"NYC + Guevs = UNEXPECTED FUN!"

I am exhausted!

Just got home from a day with Guevs walking around NYC.

Here's how our day went:

*After watching INCEPTION--at crack of dawn (so we could get cheaper tickets)--, we went to Chipotle for lunch. Of course, I couldn't help noticing an Urban Outfitters on our way there, so I begged Guevs we paid a visit. He made me promise it would be a short one (tough!), and I did. So, we went in and hung out at UO for a little bit.

*As we walked 33 blocks downtown (once again, $-saving), we literally found a TREASURE-- as is the case in almost every corner of this city! A cute, small thrift shop; one of those that is organized with very fine taste, therefore, things are a bit on the expensive side. I got my usual rush of being surrounded with vintage and used items *SIGH* Also, as it always happens, I didn't want to leave without a little treasure, and I sure didn't. I spotted a box with a tag that read MYSTERY BAGS, and in it were brown paper bags labelled with a big question mark (?). You can imagine how excited I got! Each bag cost $2 dollars and I can assure you they were the two dollars best spent! The excitement of wondering what could be inside was delicious! As soon as we stepped out of the store, we nervously opened the bag to coincidentally find a treasure that has Guevs' name all over! His favorite toy from childhood: ANIMAL TOYS!

*We finally reached our destination: HELL'S KITCHEN FLEA MARKET! NOTE: Thank you, Guevs for taking part of all my little fantasies on this day ;)

*The heat from the sun burning our skin as we walked around the flea market made us really tired and thirsty. We decided to get some refreshments. I got myself the signature drink of this trip: Thai Iced Tea. Guevs, on the other hand, decided for quantity over quality (jaja): a dollar iced tea from McDonald's! NOTE: sorry, no pictures from this part of the day. I guess I didn't want the evidence of me sitting in such place :p

*We walked to Time Square. The place was packed with tourists, as always! It is so uncomfortable to walk around there :S But oh so worth it. These streets are so full of live, of movement; there's always so much going on. Time Square is certainly the HEART of this city. Guevs and I finished our drinks sitting at the new closed sections for pedestrians. People-watching; taking the city all in...

*Guevs decided we go into the Visitor's Center in Times Square. There, we grabbed magazines, maps and advertisements for touristy attractions. We took a picture next to the New Year's Ball which is dropped every year at Times Square. Then, we spotted a very cool wall filled with confetti! The title above this colorful wall read: HOPES AND DREAMS. We got closer and noticed the confetti all had handwritten messages from tourists that come in here and write down their hopes and dreams for 2011. Guevs and I went ahead and wrote ours. Supposedly, these will be the confetti thrown in the air once the clock hits 12am this upcoming December. WOW! How cool is that!

*Then, another snack at nowhere else but...McDONALD's!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't believe it still, I know :)

*Last stop...goofing around at another of my top places: H&M!

Good times ;)

"City Island"

"Women are emotionally incoherent...it's our most defining characteristic."

"Call me...but only on a whim."

"What other profession could accommodate my sort of behavioral problems?"

-Quotes from City Island movie.

Emily Mortimer is irresistibly sweet and delicate, as she always is. She reminds me of Chesky in a way. Terribly charming! I love watching her in movies; it's like eating cotton candy on a breezy afternoon as you walk around a lake :)

Andy Garcia was cool. Sweet at times, other times he seemed so ordinary; simply a regular guy.

The young boy reminds me of June (a friend from church) and Guevs (my brother). Sarcastically teasing everyone at the dinner table; so creatively hilarious! He had me bursting with laughter.

The family....just like every family...totally screwed up! So many secrets; things untold because of everyone being afraid of being misunderstood. Sounds like LIFE as it is.

Really enjoyed it, along with 2 slices of pizza and some wine...mmmm!

NOTE: Should I venture to City Island one of these days?

Fragment: MOTHERHOOD

2nd post of the day!

This one I should keep SHORT; but real short, not MY kind of short. I don't want much room left for misinterpretations of the things here said :p

I've always been the one to say: "I'm NEVER gonna have kids! I'm not even slightly interested in that subject matter...changing diapers, the lack of sleep, the constant physical exhaustion, teaching another how to live life when I'm not even so sure, shoving MY desires to the backseat for about 18 years.....WHAT'S THE POINT?!" UFFF! My mother would roll her eyes in disgust every time she'd hear me pronounce these words, which--of course--would make me wanna say them again and again (JAJA!). I was definitely not aware of the weight my words had. But somehow the idea of having babies didn't make much sense to me.

I am NOW well aware of how selfish my words must've sounded (sorry maders!)

However, there was one fact of which I was CERTAIN: there was this motherly instinct that some of my girlfriends had that I never seemed to experience (Chesky and Chas being the prime examples). Therefore, I thought maybe motherhood was just not for me. Just like cooking wasn't--still isn't--either. "There are quite some WOMANLY parts missing in me!", I remember thinking.

Well...I don't know if AGE has anything to do with it, or life experience...but, lately, I feel that maybe--JUST MAYBE--I can deal with having ONE ;)

Then, I watched the movie MOTHERHOOD and the "just-maybe" feeling almost dropped again. That was until I went to visit little An and became convinced that this feeling is here to stay....at least for ONE...JUST ONE...after that one, we'll talk.

(Above right: An and me)

THIS IS PRETTY BIG FOR ME!!!!

NOTE: Sister! Watch the movie! I think you'll see yourself in some aspects of the story ;)

"FIFA World Cup 2010"

I'm not a sports person at all. The only sport I could actually sit and watch is BOXING (or UFC). All the others have the ability to bore me pretty easily. But this last month, between Shakira's "WAKA WAKA" and the sound of the vuvuzela coming out of the TV as my parents watched FIFA games all day, I kind of grew fond of it; SOCCER, that is.

Before this World Cup, I could care less about soccer. As Frenchy-Aish wrote on her facebook status today, " 'Spain won'...for me, you might as well just say, 'look, the ant is walking'. I don't care :/".

But, today, as Spain scored that last and only GOL, three minutes before the end of the game, I actually screamed...yes, I was EXCITED!

It is a very intense game...so FULL of emotions!

Seeing those men (some very, very handsome boys, by the way :p) cry at the end of the games was a bit disturbing! UUUYYY! It actually made me admire them even more. I mean, they seem so strong; running around, chasing a ball for 90 minutes or so, bumping into each other and falling hardly on the ground. But they are actually so in touch with their emotional being!

And they all seem so close to each other. They reflect a beautiful sense of community that truly touched me. I actually got teary-eyed in a couple of games :'(

Today...the FIFA World Cup came to a glorious end...I feel like it will be missed by many.

As of me, I'll just be relieved to hear something more than just the WAKA WAKA song on mom's channel 41 ;)

NOTE: The fact that it took place in SOUTH AFRICA brought back some very nice memories...I HAVE GOT TO RETURN TO SOUTH AFRICA SOME DAY!

(Above: Me @South Africa, April 2004)

"4th of July!"

Someone said to me yesterday, "HAPPY 4th OF JULY!", as I waited for the show to start. This actually reminded me that......I AM AN AMERICAN :)

I wasn't all that excited about watching the fireworks last night. My parents and I had plans, but for some reason, my attitude was more on the side of "Uhuuu, fireworks" (in a sarcastic tone, that is). In past July 4th celebrations, I'd seen the fireworks from granny's apartment, from where they looked nice...but just that: Oh, nice.

But this time, when the first fireworks loudly popped and illuminated the skies with beautiful images and colors, I was STUPEFIED!

I caught my breath; my lips parted; my eyes were fixed...I was falling in love with that moment!

BONUS! I got to see the show from a building nearby (aka by the Hudson River *wink, wink*), which added to the unexpected excitement (totally!). Certainly looks amazing up close.

I thought of my design class while watching the show. I mean, there were happy faces, planets and 3-dimensional shapes popping up in the sky! "Who creates these things?! and HOW!", I thought.

It was awesome! I had a good time :)

Thanks family for showing me a wonderful night! And.....yes, wine and yummy Dominican food is always nice. Mmmmm!

NOTE: Design class? Yes...gotta catch up on that fragment! Oh, and......I'm in New York, by the way, for those who didn't know ;)

"Aug/Sept/Oct FRAGMENTS..."

I guess lots of interesting little things have happened in the last 3 months, but they have passed and I have missed writing about them, oopsie! :S And, just as my favorite quote points out, "TIME THAT'S PASSED, NEVER COMES BACK".

There are some highlights, though, that MUST be mentioned.

-Orchestra auditions were held in August and the funniest thing happened! I wore heels (something I usually NEVER wear) and got a bit nervous while playing behind the curtains. The heels started shaking and affecting my playing, so as I played Mozart away, I was kicking my heels out of my foot! I did OK; not too great, not too horrible, and such was reflected in the punctuation I received, so I believe the jury was very fair and objective. Things are better now in the orchestra. The new conductor and assistant conductor are doing a great job. Everything is more organized, more serious, less drama, and (yes!) sounding much better. We are much more motivated, I guess.

-Collaborated with my lovely photographer friend, Ali, in a couple of shoots. Here are some samples:

-On a random day, my brother sent me an e-mail with the most amazing words describing me...(which, of course, I haven't yet responded!) I love you, brotherrrrrrrr:

My crazy, but so loving, sister!

You are like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day (oh wait, is this like the lyrics of a song, cause I truly just thought of this... lol, oh well!) Hahahaha, but this phrase captures so much truth to your existence Neny... No matter how hectic, or crazy your life might get, you always find a way to keep on pushing forward; making everybody around you better and better the more they get to know you. You have such a positive impact on others, that it's just amazing!

Thanks for being proud of your old bro! I love you lots, too! And if I'm your favorite genius, you are my favorite artist! And not just of creative artsy stuff; to me you are an artist of life... You add color and shape to everything you touch, and your energy moves the souls of everybody that comes in contact with you. You are like a magnet for people, no matter what situation, where, or when, people are naturally attracted to you... Because you are an ARTIST... an Artist of life!

I love you so much my gorgeous and crazy sister! Keep being who you are, just change who you are not!

Your brotherrrrrr

-Read two books I adored (!!): "The Awakening" (1899) by Kate Chopin and "Love the one you're with" (2009) by Emily Giffin.

-...and...perhaps, many other things I just can't think of right now...so, TO BE CONTINUED (?) ;)