Midnight Musing

"Truth is, everybody's going to hurt you. You just gotta find the one worth suffering for." - Bob Marley

Can't fall asleep and hating it. It's seriously one of the things that makes me so inexplicably angry, probably because I'm the only person I know that can fall asleep just about anywhere and at anytime. No joke. So when I'm actively trying to fall asleep and can't...well, you get my point. So here I am in the dark, sprawled on my bed, listening to a few things on rotation. Telepopmusik, Animal Collective, Bob Marley, Tennis, Menomena, and Talib Kweli's new album Gutter Rainbows, which is just plain delicious. All things considered, it's a good compilation of music to listen to when your mind can't sit still even though your body wants to. I guess this is as good a time as any to share this Bob Marley quote I found earlier and have been absentmindedly mulling over in my head. Maybe this is why I can't fall asleep?

Luster

The Big Picture

I remember looking forward to Chinese New Year weeks in advance when I was younger, telling all of my friends at school about it, ticking off the days in my head until the big celebration. Chinese New Year meant a whole day off from school, bountiful feasts (doesn't the word "bountiful" evoke images of Thanksgiving and Squanto and all that jazz?) galore, envelopes stuffed with crisp new bills, confetti parades through the streets of Chinatown. We used to wake up early to drive into Manhattan, camp out at my grandparents' apartment on Catherine Street, and sit with our heads out of the window to look down at the action just a few flights below. My grandma would have platters full of treats and candies ready for us when we arrived, and tell me how pretty I looked in whatever red sweater my mom had forced me to jam on earlier that day. My grandpa would hug me fiercely, hand me a red envelope, and sit back down to watch his stocks on MSNBC. Later we would all go out to a big dinner and then drive back home, bellies full of noodles and pockets full of money. And when we got home I'd sit on my bed and eagerly rip open each envelope to count my loot, like I was the banker in a game of Monopoly.

It's remarkable how traditions that used to thrill and excite you as a kid inevitably lose their luster as you get older. Or maybe "luster" isn't the word I'm looking for. Maybe it's not that traditions eventually lose their luster, but rather that, over time, the gold and confetti fall away, and all you're left with is the core significance of this one day in the year. And nowadays, that means being with the people that are with me every other day in the year. My mom and my sister. I would give away all of my red envelopes just to have that one tradition every Chinese New Year.

Funemployment February

Museum of Natural History | The Butterfly Conservatory | Fancy black watches | Playing with PhotoBooth | Park Here | Always delicious coffee grinds from Porto Rico Importing Co. | My insane obsession with nail polish | Chinese New Year dinners | Playing with Momma

This is going to be the most awesomest blog post ever, and I will tell you why. I'm currently unemployed! In the words of Notorious B.I.G., "if you don't know, now you know [nigga]." It's great. I am supremely happy. It's like suddenly the world is my oyster! The city is at my very fingertips! Okay, cliches aside, I really am quite thrilled and relieved, but it's not necessary to go into greater detail why and to what extent. What I am about to tell you, though, is that I have unofficially declared the month of February to be "Funemployment February." 

Most people that know me, know that I've always had a job at any given point in my life. In fact I've been hustlin' since the ripe young age of 14, working my way through high school and eventually college. I've always tried to be as financially independent as I could, paying for all of my textbooks/academic-y things in college and living expenses for the last several years. This is the first time in a long time that, without a job, I don't have anything to do or anywhere to be. So at the encouragement of friends and family, I'm going to embark upon a month-long adventure of relaxation and pure, unadulterated frolicking. Because I can. Because I deserve it. And mostly because I just plain want to.

Hence, Funemployment February. What this essentially means is I'll be making a conscious effort to do some really, really, really fun things every single day of this month. "Fun things" being people, places and activities I've never gotten a chance to explore in and around Manhattan. Carpe diem, if you will, but within the limits of reason and budget of course. This is not to say that Funemployment February is all about hedonism, though, as there will obviously be days spent focused on not-so-funemployment things too (i.e running errands, paying bills, job hunting, etc.). The overall goal of this adventure is to make the most out of this month of complete freedom while keeping myself focused on next steps as well. I guess you could say that I'm always looking for my next opportunity. At the end of the day I'm a hustler, baby.

So stay tuned as I blog regularly about the good times ahead. I already had quite the fun last week, but that was only the beginning. Wait until you see the list of things I have planned. I'm also opening up the forum to suggestions from the public as well. Thanks, and enjoy Funemployment Feb! I know I will.