musical accompaniment

Todays been a good day. I've been doing my push-ups, sit-ups and stretches. Hopefully, I'll find time to get back into karate somehow. I picked up a few cds since I've moved out here. Mainly b/c I have a lot of time on my hand as I ride the subway and buses and walk everywhere. Lets see, the ones I really like are: Kanye is really good, not as good as his first but definitely better than like 90% of what else is out( that remix with JayZ is sic!)/ Death Cab's newest one has a really cool atmosphere to it/ Switchfoot is pretty solid as well/ Nada Surf is kinda interesting and I find myself liking it alot/ I had never heard of Tristan Prettyman until Mike mentioned her...the chick is sweet with a cool, laid-back sound/ the new David Crowder is colorful with different elements to it creating a very original sound/ I got this Miles Davis cd when John Coltrane first started playing with him...its soo money, you don't even know!

This could be the very minute

I'm aware I'm alive

All these places feel like home

With a name I'd never chosen

I can make my first steps

As a child of 25

Snow Patrol

When I got tired of running from you

I stopped right there to catch my breath

There your words they caught my ears

You said, “I miss you son. Come home”

And my sins, they watched me leave

And in my heart I so believed

The love you felt for me was mine

The love I’d wished for all this time

And when the doors were closed

I heard no I told so’s

I said the words I knew you knew

"Oh God, Oh God I needed you

God all this time I needed you, I needed you"

And I so hate consequences

And running from you is what my best defense is

I hate these consequences

Because I know that I let you down

Now I don't wanna deal with that

Relient K

public transportation

I'll tell you what I don't miss is driving! Gas prices...ha, it doesn't concern me anymore. Getting around in NY is so easy and much more advanced than in Cali. I get the unlimited MetroCard, and I'm set to go. I kinda like taking the subway...it provides the opportunity to do several things. One, it usually takes me somewhere away from school and classes...thats always welcomed. The F train dead-ends 5 minutes from my place. How sweet is that? Two, it allows me time to think and contemplate. I just turn up the music, sit back and run things thru in my mind. The last thing is more symbolic than anything really. I think coming from a mode of transportation that is more individualistic makes me see commuting by subway a little differently than people who do this all the time. Back home, I would usually drive everywhere by myself...not all the time, but usually...come to think of it, it now seems strange to be on the same road with hundreds of people yet be completely separated. Not so here...subways are more communal. Not that I know anyone...but I think thats besides the point. Its like for those few moments between stops I'm a part of someone's life...and the man sitting over there is involved, however small, in my day today... and for those brief moments in time, our lives intersect...more often than not, its probably by chance but one never does know.
I find subways, trains and buses in NY to be organic seemingly taking a life of its own...that as a passenger, I partake in that experience and as I exit, I leave an imprint, be it infinitesimal, on those still engaging.

search to belong

I finished reading this book "The Search to Belong" last month which was a miracle in and of itself. It was recommended by my buddy Adam, and I was quite fascinated by what the author had to say. The book made a lot of sense...the author uses these four different "spaces" (public, social, personal, intimate) to convey how people engage with others in terms of establishing relationships and building community. I was thinking about this last night especially in the context of my new environment...I find myself having a hard time thus far adjusting to the new social aspect of living here. I feel this huge void caused by leaving pieces of me back in California...family, friends, Kristi, Adam, Aaron, Emiline, Shan, Mike,Jen...there, I had all four of my spaces filled...friendships and relationships that I've invested in were right in front of me and around me. And here, its tough just to engage in the social space. I've been trying to keep busy so that I don't feel the twinge of loneliness. Maybe thats part of the problem too.
But I'm sure all this is due to the fact that I've just moved here and everything. I have no doubt it'll pick up in the near future. It better...
I had dinner with a good friend from WG the other day. My friend Cammie was here on business and had some time to hang out. It was great to see someone I knew...its amazing how much the intimacy of a familiar voice in person can make you feel so at home. That was cool.

initial thoughts

Needless to say, being here in NY is severely different from living back home. Just being exposed to the new sights and sounds(and, sometimes, smells) is fascinating. The pace of life here is much faster which naturally lends to a little more excitement and busyness. I'm staying in Queens right now which is a lot like living in San Francisco actually, but I try to get out to Manhattan whenever possible...there just so much to do there.
Getting to know my relatives out here has been a real blessing...I'm totally glad I got the opportunity to discover that side of my family. School and work is just that...I've gone from not being in school for about 2 years to having lectures in Advanced Organic Synthesis...not the most easiest subject to get things jump-started. But all that affords me the opportunity to have fun in the city.
I've gotten to see and do a bunch of stuff already. I'll post pics when I get a chance to figure that stuff out. But I've been to a couple of Yankee games...I'm a huge Yanks fan-just ask anybody who really knows me. So, that was awesome. I've hung out in Soho, NYU, Central Park, Union Square, Times Square...The Yankees had a huge projection screen at Bryant Park the other day televising their away game. I got to see my boy Tiger Woods at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square showing off his new game...I was at the NBA store in Rockerfeller Plaza to catch Dwayne Wade and Vince Carter promoting EA's new b-ball game.
The house I'm staying at is cool. I'm hardly there that often...Pretty much just to sleep, eat and shower. The guy renting me the room is pretty chill...Really interesting and intelligent fella.
I still can't believe I'm living in NY. If you were to tell me this a year ago, I'd think you were joking around. Heck, even 6 months ago and it was a super long shot. But here I am trying to make the most of it...

What haaaaappened?

Dude, so this has been such an intense fall/summer for me... so much so that I haven't even touched my blog since like Feb! There has been a myriad of things transpiring in these last 6 months or so with people coming and going in my life, God opening and closing doors, revelations revealed and desires concealed...with that season of life ending and this one starting, this transitory phase has been one of opposites; going from working at a bank to not working at all to going back to school, from living in California to residing in New York, from being part of a vibrant ministry to no involvement whatsoever, from having the bestest of friends inter-woven in my life to eating lunches by myself. What will all this lead to? I can't really say for now...except that two weeks into this bold move, I'm still excited and apprehensive like I was before I came. Hopefully, I will take time to chronicle this journey from here on out while contemplating on all that had transpired up to this point as well.