Common sense is not so common.

So you think I’m a pothead from the title?

No, I’m not a pothead; I a enjoy the smell of it burning but that is about it. Last time I succumbed to peer pressure, sleepiness ensued. What I’m talking about is the point that I realized suburbia completed a side of me; the side that I wanted to escape, stab, visit only when I’m on VACATION. Suburbia sucked me into the life of the ordinary – we went to the movies, took a look at the new black-macs at Apple, and then went to the mall to window shop.  On the way home I realized my illness: I was connected once again to my childhood and the never-ending days of existence in the null. I didn’t DO anything important, didn’t work on any projects, didn’t even chat up my friends. I know me and these are the symptoms beginning the end. Last time this happened I’d just moved from Queens to Valley Stream, a sleepy quiet town in Long Island. I was 11 at the time. From 15-17 I had enough of my regular teased-in-high-school-bc-i-had-no-life life and coped with it by concentrating on laxative abuse and anorexia. 18-21 was college, and that kept me busy. From 21 on I was in NYC. Manhattan was my home and savior.

I was studying, working, playing with my friends at all hours in Manhattan. I would meet up with friends during the weekend and the late weekday nights to eat, watch foreign films, discuss politics, watch TV, drink, visit museums (MoMA, Natural History, and what ever else is on the east side), etc. During the weekdays it would be work (that I truly enjoyed – thank you Dr. Sanes @ CNS/NYU) and study (thanks MSCS/NYU for breaking in my thick-skin attitude).  Life was good. Even after I met the man of my dreams, I always had identified myself with the friends, family and activities that defined well, me.

Now I have suburbia. I have pass his test. I got sucked in and am feeling fat and comfortable with little brain work, low quality food, and NO exercise. I can TOTALLY blame it on suburbia too! Because of suburbia, my friends won’t visit – they have no reason to except to see me, and anyone I befriend is just too smart for that. Because of suburbia, my career is shit – companies have no reason to hire me because they want the specialist – no I-climbed-out-of-the-gutter-and-now-I-can-do-anything-generalist need apply. Because of suburbia, I can only watch f-ing blockbuster bullshit – giving me no insight and ideas about other cultures, places, humor, and language. I HATE HIM. I HATE SUBURBIA. I want to sleep 12 hours a day so that my consciousness is just less.

Suburbia and me have a negative relationship. I don’t think we’ll be able to work it out. It’s me, and it’s you. I’m too lazy, and he’s too encouraging of the laziness. We have to break up.

Back from the NYC with a new telescope, shirt, 2 ties and dress. Dear and I went for an awards ceremony last week and decided to fit every friend we could think of to see while we were there. Provided that we saw and met many friends and new acquaintances at the Copernican, we still managed to fit at least 2 friends and some family time into our 48-hr mad dash.

We stayed at the Paramount in Times Square, which worked nicely for food since it’s next to Dean and Deluca. Man, D&D’s croissants are MUCH better than the ones in Le Boulanger.  Coffee there, on the other hand was burnt; see I’m not biased, I just have good taste.  The first evening Dear hung out with his old buddy Jason and hung out with my bud Charles.

I don’t really know what happened after dear and Jason went to Gari (I advise getting reservations during prime time or going there when they open for dinner because they have the most interesting sushi my mouth ever tasted), but after my dinner of egg white omlette I went to go see Hard Candy.
Charles thinks I rule now and is forever in my debt because I introduced him to a movie that made 80% of our fellow movie watchers grab themselves. Let me explain that the 80% of movie watchers were all male and it was during a castration scene, and not a "michael jackson goes to Disneyland" move. I on the other hand laughed the whole way through.

Wednesday was the Extreme Shopping day:

Since we didn’t know the dress code or if I could go to the awards with him, we both under packed and had no clothing for this ceremony that dear HAD to go to. I had 3 hours to find a dress, appropriate accessories, and get my hair done to fit the evenings bill. You can imagine how much I pounded the pavement to find what to wear. Luckily I had an appointment already for a hair cut, so I just shopped around where the cut was.  I got three compliments on my dress that night, and was very proud of myself for wearing stockings.

Two big highlights of the night for me was that dear won an award! Dude, where’s my telescope! The other was meeting and chatting with Lili Cheng.  She’s THE person of UI @ MS and a MADE woman. I knew about her successes at work through dear but I had no idea what a sweetheart she is as well.  After some wine and bellinis we were talking about the nightmares of assimilating to a new area, adventures in baby-sitting, remembering where you came from (keep yourself humble) and self-worth. Talking to her definitely made me feel more at ease with my current employment situation. Nonetheless, I still have the same amount of drive to find the right position, and I can only hope that she could help me.

Thursday we ate lunch at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park (DANNY MEYER: WE’LL FUND U FOR A WEST COAST SHACK!!!) – now made famous by dear and myself, with an old friend/investor – who is already famous and pimped by dear to newbies and established startups whenever possible.

I missed my family and NYC so much I was crying all the way back to the west coast (OK, on the inside but still). Part of that was the shear positivity and good news that I received there – I am so afraid that it may only be in NYC that such shooting stars would align.  My love won a prestigious award and I was there to receive it with him, being with my grandmother when she received the news from her doctor that her tumor is DECREASING IN SIZE, and being with my friend and hanging out, enjoying the moment; it’s so beautiful. Makes my heart pound towards bursting just thinking about it.

I know my move will allow me to find even more areas of star aligning happiness.

Back from the NYC with a new telescope, shirt, 2 ties and dress. Dear and I went for an awards ceremony last week and decided to fit every friend we could think of to see while we were there. Provided that we saw and met many friends and new acquaintances at the Copernican, we still managed to fit at least 2 friends and some family time into our 48-hr mad dash.

We stayed at the Paramount in Times Square, which worked nicely for food since it’s next to Dean and Deluca. Man, D&D’s croissants are MUCH better than the ones in Le Boulanger.  Coffee there, on the other hand was burnt; see I’m not biased, I just have good taste.  The first evening Dear hung out with his old buddy Jason and hung out with my bud Charles.

I don’t really know what happened after dear and Jason went to Gari (I advise getting reservations during prime time or going there when they open for dinner because they have the most interesting sushi my mouth ever tasted), but after my dinner of egg white omlette I went to go see Hard Candy.
Charles thinks I rule now and is forever in my debt because I introduced him to a movie that made 80% of our fellow movie watchers grab themselves. Let me explain that the 80% of movie watchers were all male and it was during a castration scene, and not a "michael jackson goes to Disneyland" move. I on the other hand laughed the whole way through.

Wednesday was the Extreme Shopping day:

Since we didn’t know the dress code or if I could go to the awards with him, we both under packed and had no clothing for this ceremony that dear HAD to go to. I had 3 hours to find a dress, appropriate accessories, and get my hair done to fit the evenings bill. You can imagine how much I pounded the pavement to find what to wear. Luckily I had an appointment already for a hair cut, so I just shopped around where the cut was.  I got three compliments on my dress that night, and was very proud of myself for wearing stockings.

Two big highlights of the night for me was that dear won an award! Dude, where’s my telescope! The other was meeting and chatting with Lili Cheng.  She’s THE person of UI @ MS and a MADE woman. I knew about her successes at work through dear but I had no idea what a sweetheart she is as well.  After some wine and bellinis we were talking about the nightmares of assimilating to a new area, adventures in baby-sitting, remembering where you came from (keep yourself humble) and self-worth. Talking to her definitely made me feel more at ease with my current employment situation. Nonetheless, I still have the same amount of drive to find the right position, and I can only hope that she could help me.

Thursday we ate lunch at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park (DANNY MEYER: WE’LL FUND U FOR A WEST COAST SHACK!!!) – now made famous by dear and myself, with an old friend/investor – who is already famous and pimped by dear to newbies and established startups whenever possible.

I missed my family and NYC so much I was crying all the way back to the west coast (OK, on the inside but still). Part of that was the shear positivity and good news that I received there – I am so afraid that it may only be in NYC that such shooting stars would align.  My love won a prestigious award and I was there to receive it with him, being with my grandmother when she received the news from her doctor that her tumor is DECREASING IN SIZE, and being with my friend and hanging out, enjoying the moment; it’s so beautiful. Makes my heart pound towards bursting just thinking about it.

I know my move will allow me to find even more areas of star aligning happiness.