NY- stone and steel

Stone and Steel city I hear the echoes of your pain, the bleeding has stopped but a sting remains. You are a bastion of hope for the masses that come to see the city that embraces its people who live and work together to do what needs to be done.

Another skyscraper is erected piercing the blue sky above, below the people are hidden like miniscule bugs. Shadows mar the landscape in the twisted tangled streets as sunshine fights to seep through these pillars we create.

These daily subway rides suffocate me slowly; the air is stocked with heat and dirt. I along with my fellow riders emerge from the train station staircases like a herd of cattle being corralled to a course that seems predestined.

The towering buildings wait to hold us captive until the sun goes away for the day. Its steel buildings drive out any emotion, pumping stale air in to prevent any remembrance of the outside world.

I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to breathe freely, I feel weaker and less steady on my feet.
A mind numbing daily routine powered by money and greed; altering the landscape along with our human condition. What is considered normal is unnatural.

Earrings; come get your earrings here!

I've begun on a small project of making costume jewelry, it's been a hobby for awhile mostly making small things for myself. One day while I was home from work I decided to just sit down and make some earrings. There was no reason for it really but I figured it was better then sitting around watching day time T.V.
By the time I ran out of earring hooks I had made about 13 pairs of earrings, ahh lucky 13. I was happy in feeling like I accomplished something even though I didn't have any thought of wearing them.

That was about four months ago and there they sat on a counter in my apartment waiting to be worn. A good friend of mine came over recently and actually loved one of the earrings. Honestly I would have given it to her because she's my best friend but she offered to pay so I decided to do what I always do and took the money and ran. When I got back (haha) she had tried on the earrings and gave me a very special gift of being my very first customer. I'm not sure why I felt so good about it but for once or a moment at least it felt good to be an actual paid craftsman or woman in my case. I think I've glimpsed now why people who do what they love are so happy, for all those out there who do please continue. Coincidentally my first customer is now my earring model :)

Bugs on the Windshield

It’s no use letting anyone make you so angry you stress yourself.
A better philosophy instead of turning to frustration I offer you this analogy; think of your daily interactions on your path of life as a drive on a lovely mountain road driving with the wind of voices whispering past you. On your journey you may come across people rude or irate toward you in some way or even irritating you with their very manner.

In your imagination stay on your scenic mountain drive, and this person turn them into a bug flying past or into your windshield. You won’t notice them while driving as they are a tiny speck on a broad protective shield and you need to focus on the road ahead. That’s the simple trick to it, always remind yourself there is a broader scope of your life pushing you forward and don't bother about the little bugs along the way.

Botanical Homicide

I am guilty of botanical homicide, and worse yet I'm a repeat offender. A lovely fern growing up toward the sky despite being trapped in my apartment, a dual prisoner; confined to a plastic pot, I blamed winter. Seedlings new to the world and met by this cold stone killer over watered, and left to freeze by an open window. Is this intentional? A mere whim in a supermarket, 'well that's a pretty plant, come home with me', then a few weeks later it happens again a withered shell of it's former self. How can I end this cycle of dread something small and fragile, so resiliant on the outside world when faced with the elements but when contained its slowly drained of it's once vibrant nature. Where would the answer be found to this quandry, in a book of plant tending?

Lost Spoon but Gained New Eggling

Last night I went out to Williamsburg, for those unfamiliar, it's a neighborhood with a long bumpy history here in Brooklyn that's seen a steady stream of immigrants for everywhere. More recently over the past 10 years in the making has been an influx of young people some label as 'hipsters'. At any rate, it's a decent place to spend an evening with friends, ample bars to pick from, decent prices and best of all there's always something happening. So last night I was given a heads up about a short acoustic show at Soundfix to be performed by Britt Daniels of Spoon by my friend Thom (thanks again Thom! :)). I happily positioned myself into the cd/record store between the registers and a cd rack, with others who waited online or on ramp - but that's another story. I was able to take a few pictures and one very nice little video.
After the show, while hitting up San Loco's for some tacos, I tried to review the photos but my camera displayed an obnoxious 'card read error', wtf?? AHHH!!! Ensued a small freak out by yours truly for too long a time for such a mild thing. Britt Daniels was lost, although they weren't great pictures by any means of measurement I felt betrayed by my camera, luckily I had someone there to bring me back to reality and I relaxed; until later that night when I still couldn't find the pics after connecting it with the computer :p
We walked around for awhile stopping in some local shops where we came across an Eggling. It's a small egg like shell, you crack the top where you'll find soil and seeds enclosed. Just add water and it's supposed to grow. I'm hoping I don't kill it because it's really the cutest little plant holder; I'm growing basil (you can see the picture to the right). After about five months the plant will need to be placed in a proper pot but the best part of the Eggling is that the shell can then be broken up and put in the soil as fertilizer. If it goes well I plan to get a couple more.

Past Hope, Realized Today

Well it's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day, so I have the day off from work, which I like and thought I'd mention him. Even though I was not alive during the Civil Rights Era or of African-American descent I feel I must write that Dr. King, Jr. for me growing up was by far one of my favorite Civil Rights leaders and as I get older he remains my favorite. The simple reason is that Dr. King in the face of such aggresive situations and blind hatred his every speech/ protest I've read about seemed so focused on the future, the change, and the promise of a better tomorrow. A peaceful resistance to oppression, an oppresiveness I cannot construe having to live through and what I consider one of the ugliest pages in America's history. I wish he could have seen our President and the new hope our country will bring to the world.