Quote of the Day

"Gossip's worth its weight in gold"

- Notes, Phantom of the Opera

New York Thoughts

A compilation of the scribblings from my notebook so I could forever remember my first impression of the immense, intense, infamous metropolis.

-x-x-x

My thoughts at 7am today, after stepping off a 9 hour bus ride to walk the 8 blocks to my hotel, were something along the lines of "Holy crap, I'm walking the streets of New York...and I'm not being mugged! It's beautiful!"

-x-x-x-

Where am I having breakfast today? On the corner of 51st and BROADWAY!

I'll sit outside in hopes of catching more of the atmosphere...

I <3 New York

-x-x-x-

From where I'm sitting I can see people pass by the Times Square Church, a fat kid just walked by with her mother and screamed "But I wanna go to McDonalds!", and my maitre d', Flip, exaggeratedly swings his hips with unashamed flamboyancy.

I must be in New York.

The sights, the sounds, the hustle, the bustle. People talk about it, you see it in movies, but nothing prepares you for that initial "get out of my way!" when you've lingered just a moment too long at the bottom of an escalator not even five minutes after you step off the inter-city bus at your final cosmopolitan destination.

Ah, New York. The vast, consumer-driven, whore of a city; God bless ya.

-x-x-x-

Oh my god I can see where The Late Night Show is being filmed.

-x-x-x-

There's so much excitement just at this single intersection. For someone who thinks of herself as a die-hard city girl, I can't imagine how exciting the whole city must be. I can't wait!

-x-x-x-

I just saw a traffic ticket being given by none other than a stereotypical, gum-popping, angry African American lady traffic cop to a man sitting in a nondescript black sedan. Eep! This is the stuff movies are made of.

My waitress, Melody, was thoughtful enough to bring me two coffees while sitting outside, in case I finished one. Free refills too. The bill came to $7-something. I left a $10 and a note - "Thank you! P.S. Melody, you're gorgeous!"

...yeah I hit on my waitress. But was too scared to sick around so I slammed down my money and bolted.

Brave, aren't I?

-x-x-x-

(change to desperate me not reading the signs - nothing actually happening. new york making me crazy)

I was watching this cute guy outside the hotel; he's inked (which is hot) and smoking (which is decidedly not). Lo and behold, he walks into the Sheraton and sits down next to me, at one of the computers in the lobby. He looks like a total hard-ass, but my phone has died and I can't log in to a computer because I don't have a room number yet. Damn.

*lean over*
*bat eyes*
"Excuse me, are you going to be using this computer long?"
"Yeah, sort of. Sorry."

He's so genuinely apologetic! Wow, those sleeves really distract from his sweet face and innocent eyes...

*lean over a bit more*
*raise eyebrows hopefully*
"Well actually, my phone died and I just need to plug it into a computer..."
"Oh sure!"

So happy to help! And so cute too...

I move to sit next to him and his computer screen. And about halfway through scribbling in this entry, he asked me for a pen! I gave him the one I was writing with - obviously so he could (a.) see how generous I am, and (b.) feel my warmth through the pen (I know, I know, it's a stretch).

He's looking for an apartment - a detail he did not have to share! I also gave him some paper - because I'm helpful and unselfish like that.

-x-x-x-

Wow. I just realised I'm a schoolgirl again. A clueless, desperate schoolgirl who hopes a total stranger is into her for no reason other than she leant him a pen. I'm crazy.

-x-x-x-

I should follow up next time something comes up. Well, he still has my pen! What should I say?...

-x-x-x-

Musing about the rest of the morning, I just realized that I arrived in New York at around 7am and have flirted with three people thus far - the guy who walked with me from the bus to the hotel, Melody at Ellen's Stardust Diner, and nameless-homeless-inked guy. And it's only 10.30. Go me! The day is still young and looks full of promise.

-x-x-x-

Bitch stole my pen.

Not Even 6 degrees

You probably came across this random site, were mildly intrigued the colour scheme (first impressions, and all that), and decided to read a line or two.

Little do you realise intricacy of it all.

What starts out as a mere musing in the head of an average, half sane, half crazy wannabe-goddess slowly gathers stickiness and elaborations as it's toyed with, until the whole mess gets splashed out onto her computer (sometimes via a spiral ringed school notebook, which, in some cases, turns out to be the thought's inspirational medium). She then edits away to bring some order and coherency to these abstract, jumbled thoughts until she's semi-satisfied with the way her ramblings have come together and embodied themselves into words. But once the idea has taken form and the matter reflects the mind, there still comes the question of an audience.

These ramblings are from a person who might as well be living in a different world, as far as you're concerned. But even as I'm typing this, I know that when I finish and decide to send my cosmic thoughts out into the void of cyberspace, there's a chance (small as it may be) that it will reach someone like you; someone who would actually take the time to read what I have been thinking, to understand what's happening in my world, and maybe even to reach back out to me, perchance to validate my whole existence.

I don't see how anyone could object that the most beautiful thing about technology is the Internet.

It brings people together. It's as simple as that.

People who were once separated by vast distances can now be so close. You never have to feel alone again - you have billions of people within your grasp. There's always someone out there, always someone who needs to be reached out to or who might just be the missing piece in your puzzle.

And I'm not talking about those 'true love' dating sites or questionable people with questionable morals who use the Internet to deceive and harm. I'm talking about genuine people coming together to share an interest in something, maybe a hobby or affiliation, or take an interest in each other. The magic of sites like PostSecret or the One World message are their ability to bring people together. If anyone ever had any doubts, that's really what it's all about.

It's a meeting place. A community. An outlet for your brainchild. A definition for your identity.

And the best thing about the Internet? It's anonymous. Secrecy and parallel lives might be the bane of your existence and cause you more stress than you can imagine, but on the Internet there's no need for it. Pursue your interests, meet like-minded people, learn about the wonders of the world. Freedom.

Ever needed to be free?

Quote of the Day

"Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while,
Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies,
Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young, or let us live forever,
We don't have the power, but we never say never.

...

Youth is like diamonds in the sun,
And diamonds are forever."

- The Youth Group, Forever Young

Bouquets of Sharpened Pencils

A blank sheet of paper. A sharpened pencil. And nothing else.

I love the silence.

There's something about pencil and paper - something so basic, uncomplicated, simple. The swift strokes and lead scratching on the page remind you that anything's possible.

Ever needed to be free? Free from restraints, limitations?

In today's world when we'd rather click a mouse than click a pen, when a trip to the mailbox seems to far to check whether you're loved (even if it's just by the phone company), when typing pristine, ordered, homogeneously styled letters onto an impossibly white, pixilated representation of paper, seems like the best thing since sliced bread.

No effort. No strain. No waste of space or end to your resource supply. Almost everything that could once be accomplished with the byproducts of a tree can now be done electronically, through the magic of technology.

And I do mean almost everything.

Don't get me wrong. Technology is an amazing thing. I hardly need to detail its wonders and merits to you. Just look at what we're doing right now! There are countless things that would not be possible were it not for the geniuses at Microsoft and Mac.

But if you want freedom? Freedom of expression? A more direct translation? No limitations?

Paper.

Who can beat scribbling in the margins, pressing down on the page for emphasis, side notes, foot notes, drawings, effects? All achievable for the cost of paper and pencil. No training required, no need to find the font button or the table tool. No limitations on what you can draw, insert, write over, slash out. The pencil in your hand and the paper at your fingertips: it brings you closer to your creation.

Computers give you neat organization. Tidy rows of homogeneously styled and fonted letters which can be deleted, edited, moved, sized and emphasised at will. No doubt this is some people's saving grace (myself included, as my handwriting changes on a daily basis and mostly looks like the scratchings of a preschooler), but typed words lack the personality of the scribe.

When I sit down to write, it's possible that I can be neat, but unless I set my mind to it I usually come out with bad handwriting, several mistakes, and scribbles and smudges everywhere, most of which is illegible.

You can't stay neatly in the lines? Life doesn't either. It's messy and complicated. A margin note can make you laugh, a footnote will trip you up, and your silly looking doodle's will all congregate to party after you turn the page.

So the next time you sit down to write something, consider some tangible mediums. And even if you don't use them, take a moment. Take a look and drink in the feeling.

There's an art to it. It's almost as if you can see the beauty that lies within. Like a carver gazing at the beauty inside his marble, at the statue still inside that he only sees.

"In here I have ability. In here I have beauty. That is all that matters to me. If I never touch steel to this stone, then I will always have the beauty of what it could be, and that, can never be taken away from me."

Blank. Calm. Silence is beautiful. Anything's possible.