Saturday, October 31, 2009

To go 3000km

It's roughly 3000km from Calgary to NYC. Today that journey took 12 hours door to door.

Yes I realize that in 1856 that journey would've taken the better part of a decade and I shouldn't be so ungrateful... so... I'm not.

It was a day spent in airports. It could've been worse. It's being on an airplane for far too long but I did get the emergency aisle to myself which was great. They did have video- which I didn't have to pay for (ahem- Continental!) - and really... what was I going to do today anyhow??

I also met some lovely Swedish travelers on my journey home- and was able to see them safely on the 3 train to their hostel. I gave them some recos on where to eat and where to shop- so hopefully they have a good taste for the folks in NYC.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Home again. Or is it?

I'm home in Calgary for the week visiting family and friends.

I grew up here and called Calgary 'home' for 27 years.

They say you can't go home again, and while this is probably mostly true, I wouldn't necessarily say that about... okay I really would. I can't go home again- I don't think I'll ever move back to Calgary. While I have many fond memories of the city every trip back affirms my decision to leave.

I could end up eating my words. I could end up raising 9 little Kostecki-x's in the suburbs of Tuscany in a proper split level bungalow where the only ladders to beds belong to my 6 year old twins in their bunk beds. And if that happens please please feel free to say "I told you so" but let's not wager huge sums just now.

I mentioned in a post awhile back that my time in NY was limited, so where will my next 'home' be?! And how many homes can I have?! (Right now I have 3- TO, YYC & NYC) Where and when will I eventually put down roots and start to shape my identity... other than that of a wandering gypsy?! Or is that my fate? And how does one even define home anyhow?! By the people? Time? My Mom has lived in Calgary for 30+ years but still calls the Maritimes 'home'.

I suppose it's your choice. Where you choose to be at any given moment, and how you choose to define it. Right now I call NY my home because of the life I have carved out for myself there: with my friends, my job, my apartment and my experiences.

And as for my next place of residence (Signapore? Rome? Saskatoon?) we'll see how and when it becomes home when we get there.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Random Thought

A friend and I were chatting today and we decided that it's our personal and collective insecurities that are a major driver to so many problems today.

And this is a range of problems in personal relationships all the way to world issues (it's a stretch but work with me here).

Why are we all so insecure??

Sunday, October 18, 2009

a Day at the Office

Dude- this is exactly what it's like at my office.

22 minutes

I love to spend Saturday mornings sitting in bed watching the shows I didn't watch from the past week. With my laptop and hulu (my version of the TV and PVR) it's a grownups version of Saturday morning cartoons. The past few weeks I've found myself hooked on a few sitcoms- unusual given the decline of the genre in the past few years.

Yes they were big in the "Friends" and "Seinfeld" era- until getting pushed out by the serial dramas like "Lost" or "24" and of course, Reality TV. But it seems that, for whatever reason ('these tough economic times when we just want to laugh', the time pressure of not being able to appointment view??), sitcoms are experiencing a resurgence.

With clever shows featuring smart writing and good acting, there are actually a lot of shows I'd recommend spending 22 minutes on.

Some favourites: "Cougartown" (I think I relate a little too much to this one), "How I Met Your Mother", "Modern Family", "Community" and "The Office".

And though it's not technically a 22 minutes sitcom I HAVE to mention "Glee"- with Jane Lynch. She is brilliant and the show is fun. If there is only one thing you watch this year- it should be Glee.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Raining? Really? Feels like sunshine to me.

I had such a good sleep last night so woke up feeling rested and refreshed- those are the best mornings.
Big smile on my face as I make my way to work.
Colleague tells me I've got a polished NYC look going on today- even though I feel like I just threw on "whatever".
Got a really great email from my stepmom.
Had some productive 'let's solve some problem's' meetings all morning. I feel like I'm on fire.
Saw some old clients -big hugs and smiles.
I sat at my desk and wished I had some pad thai for lunch. I went down to the cafeteria and in our international section: Pad Thai. I willed it into being.
Come upstairs to another colleague throwing love at my $30 Gap shoes.
It's grim and rainy outside and I'm having the sunniest day.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Impermanence

Frequently I get asked the question "how do you like NY?" People ask the question heavy with anticipation, as though expecting an answer filled with great insight. Usually the answer is:

"It's hard"
"It's busy"
"It's fun"
"It's lonely"
"It's fascinating"
"It's expensive"
"It's the best city in the world"

All of these things are true.

But one of the things I feel about this place... is that it is not permanent. I've been here a year and I feel as though my time has an expiry date.

There is a song by Baz Lurhman which was a commencement address put to music. It says "Everyone should live in NY once but leave before it makes you hard. Everyone should live in LA once but leave before it makes you soft."

I like NY a lot. I am having interesting experiences. I'm meeting interesting people. I'm learning, growing and evolving. But I will reach a point when I'm ready to leave. I don't want to become hard.

Monday, October 05, 2009

Settling In

My home is starting to come together. Things are going up on the walls and stuff is getting put away.

Many thanks to my friend J who came over tonight to hang up my bike and a mirror that I'd literally bought 2 years ago- and which had yet to make its way onto any of my walls for fear I'd hang it crooked, or I'd hang it and rip the dry wall. And while yes I hate to be a stereotypical 'girl'... (though I do feel like I'm fairly self sufficient- with a kick ass toolbox filled with kick ass tools...) I admit that there are just some things I can't do as well as someone with more experience. And usually that someone is a guy (who just seems to have this built in knowledge about how to fix/build/do stuff. It's intuitive and he makes it look easy.)
And it's all good for David to give me advice over the phone but it's better to have someone there to hold the mirror in place while I check the level.

As a compromise to prove out my self sufficiency I promised myself I'd put up the kitchen shelves myself... which I'm going to tackle tomorrow.

Pictures up by the end of the week.

Friday, October 02, 2009

As of 4:25pm

Today has been a really great day.

This feels like a tweet or status update... but it's going up as a blog post because I want it to be a more permanent thought for me to reflect on when I have a not so great day.

October 2, 2009: Great day.