Step 46: Entertaining Angels

Below are quotes from a really good book I just finished called, 'Entertaining Angels' by Marita Van Der Vyver.

She is a South African writer and has a very unique point of view. I loved the stories, the whole way she went about this book was very clever. I highly suggest reading this book (if you can find it?) it is short, and you can read it in a week or less. I really enjoyed it. Here are some standout quotes.



*Whatever else has changed on the continent of Africa, the deep-rooted belief in magic, both white and black, has not. Africans base their fear of witches on the argument that somebody—some person or spirit—has to be responsible for the inexplicable.

*Women actually don’t like blood. Men might be less taken with it too, if they had to wash it out of their underwear every month.

*I will carry on making a fool of myself until the day I die, and then probably fuck that up too. I mean, have you ever read about someone who was saved from suicide by a cockroach in the oven? It could only happen in reality.

*Sex could become predictable after seven years with the same man. But it was a comforting predictability, like a well-loved poem that you read over and over again until you knew it off by heart, until nothing but a punctuation mark could still surprise you.

*The worst of her sins was using words to seduce people. She was a woman who wanted to play with sentences like Salome played with her seven veils. She was a woman who wanted to write because she believed that the pen was mightier than the penis. She didn’t realize that this was the eighth deadly sin in a phallocentric world.

*I’ve never had a decent relationship with a man who didn’t have an overload of intellectual pretensions. Of course, this says a lot about my own intellectual pretensions. But the best one-night stand of my life was with a gym instructor who’d never read anything heavier than the back page of a Sunday paper. The problem with clever men is that they talk too much and don’t screw enough. The trouble with stupid men is usually the same. But every now and then you find one who knows how to shut up and use his body. Then you must hang on to what you’ve got—and bite your tongue every time he says something stupid. But that’s what you have to do with all men, anyways.

*“You hold me too tight at night,” she told him that first month. “I’m not used to it, I get too hot, it feels as though I’m suffocating.”
            “You’ll just have to get used to it,” he laughed. “I can’t sleep empty-handed.”

“You never hold me at night,” she reproached him years later. “I may as well be sleeping alone.”
        “I can’t hold someone at night,” he answered. “It makes me feel claustrophobic, I can’t breathe.”


*Home is where the heart is; and if you no longer have a heart, home is probably where your books and your music and your most precious memories are kept.

*Marriage is a great institution, as they say, but who wants to live in a fucking institution?

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin.

*Masturbation is still a taboo subject. Even among her friends who had no scruples about discussing sex couldn’t talk about the Lonely Deed. A woman needs a man because a vibrator can’t push a lawn-mower, ha ha ha. Was it because you did it on your own that there was so much shame attached to it? There weren’t many swear words left for the last decade of the twentieth century, but ‘alone’ had to be one of them.

*We may agree, say, that contemporary consciousness is incapable of conceiving of either angels or demons. We are still left with the question of whether, possibly, both angels and demons go on existing despite this incapacity of our contemporaries to conceive of them.

*What’s left to make life worth while after four miscarriages? Cigarettes give you lung cancer, marijuana makes you stupid, coffee brings on heart attacks, chocolate makes you fat, sunshine causes skin cancer, alcohol hammers your liver, money spells sleepless nights, make-up enrages the feminists, pregnancy leaves you with stretch marks, politics lead to despair and sex gives you Aids. She really couldn’t blame her children for refusing to be born.

*So this is what had become of all the witches in the world—now that they flew in Boeings instead of on broomsticks. This was how they made a living these days. They hadn’t lost their mystic powers. They’d become psychotherapists.

*Be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.

*It would be nice to find someone who doesn’t run away when the “for worse” in the “for better or for worse” happens.

*Look for a partner who’ll eat seven bags of salt with you. Strength has nothing to do with muscles.

*We don’t need an excuse. Romance is for people who feel guilty about sex.

*You’re the kind of person who has to feel guilty before you can enjoy anything.

*There’s a difference between a wish and a fantasy. It’s like, you know, whishes are impossible. I wish I was you, I wish I was a movie star, that sort of crap. But fantasy can come true. Fantasy should come true! It’s like, something you can do, something you want to do, but don’t have the guts for. It’s like fucking a complete stranger in a train going through a tunnel! The stuff movies are made of! You should act out your fantasies. Go on, be a devil.

*The devil laughs about the senselessness of everything and the angels laugh about how wonderful it all is.

*The old Goths believed that all important matters must be discussed twice. Once while you’re drunk to ensure passion and once when your sober to ensure discretion.

*I know I’ll fall in love again. I’ll carry on being idiotic until the day I die. If only it was possible to fall in love without getting hurt. I’ve had a gutful of getting hurt.

*We get braver as we get older. The older we get, the more courage we need just to get up in the morning. We don’t leap off cliffs as we used to as children, but we have to make an enormous leap of faith each day just to stay alive.

*If I could only trust my PC; I blinked yesterday and the machine swallowed three thousand words. If a machine gets very complicated, it becomes pointless to argue whether it’s got a mind of its own. It so obviously does, that you had better get on good terms with it and shut up about the metaphysics.

Step 45: NYC last days

NYC--final two days.

In Brooklyn...love this picture!

Saturday morning we woke up at a reasonable time and started getting ready for what would be a very adventurous day. With a recommendation from my friend Yuri to eat at a restaurant called ‘Café Habana’ we discovered when researching the address that today they were hosting a block party at their Brooklyn location. The crazy part was that one of the bands playing Yuri had met at Bonaroo (they were from Sierra Leone) and attested to their talent. From the pics it looked like it was going to be a sweet party so we decided to make a day of it. Along with that we would be joining Lauren’s cousin in Brooklyn for more fun later in the day.

Heading into Cafe Habana (good thing we got there early, later in the day there was a huge line to get in)

Luckily it was a beautiful day. Dressed for the occasion we hoped on the 1 and rode it all the way to Brooklyn (which from Riverdale is a long ride!) Once off we set out to find the place and it didn’t take long before we heard the music. You know when you have expectations of something to be awesome and it turns out to be pretty lame how disappointing it can be? Well, this was not one of those times. The ‘Café Habana’ block party turned out to be unbelievable! To start their was a stage that throughout the afternoon hosted a wide range of talent that blew the diverse and jamming crowd away!
http://cafehabana.com/

The stage, a Cuban group had the whole crowd dancing!

People were dancing and having a blast; highlights were this crazy dance group from Canada, a Bbob group of highschool boys from Brooklyn who were insanely good, and then of course the talent of the group from Sierra Leone—“Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew.” All of it was amazing. http://planetbajah.com/

dance crew from Canada

Local high school kids who were amazing!!

Singing about war in their home country...unbelievable 'Bajah+ The dry eye crew'

But not only was the music good, there was a sort of craft market being held which just made the whole thing even more perfect. Lauren and I had a blast dancing and just people watching. Brooklyn is definitely the place to be to see some amazing people.

Captured in Dance

Lauren and I with our new necklaces from the craft market

At around 6pm we started making our way towards the bridge where we were meeting her cousin for a Geniis book of world records attempt. Her cousin was a restaurant owner/ chef, and this particular attempt was to break the record for biggest Pot Luck Dinner. Ridiculous sounding? Yes I know. But it turned out to be awesome. It was located in this old warehouse underneath the Brooklyn Bridge and was pretty much the most amazing location possible for a Pot Luck.

Lauren's cousin with his dish at the Pot Luck

We found her cousin and his girlfriend and he handed over to us the dishes that we were bringing as our own to the event. First of all we had to sign in and get our photo taken with our dish, then we went in. It was insanely cool. I tried to ward off all fears of food poisoning and decided to just dive in and enjoy myself. The event was paired alongside some photography school in NYC showcasing it’s work which was pretty awesome. We spent the night watching slideshows of people’s amazing work under the stars. We didn’t break the record, but it didn’t matter; it was an unbelievable day.


When I woke up on Sunday I went out for a run in the beautiful neighborhoods around Lauren’s house. When I got back Lauren said she wasn’t feeling very well but agreed to drop me off at the train station.

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge on a beautiful Sunday is insanity!

I started the day by taking the 1 to the last Manhattan stop and walked a ways on the Brooklyn Bridge. After that I headed to Chelsea and Greenwich and enjoyed the markets there, people watching, and window shopping.

The sights of NYC on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

I walked all the way from the Brooklyn Bridge to my friend Lisa and Kyle’s apartment on West 85th street. Despite that only being about 8 miles, it took me the entire day and I arrived at their apartment around 6pm.

My favorites!! Kyle, Sabrina, Lisa and I having some fun.

We had some food and chats and dancing. And I said goodbye to them around 8:30 with hopes of seeing them in LA next spring. I got back to Lauren’s around 9 and went to bed early. Tomorrow I would be flying back to Aspen.

Step 44: Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior

Recently finished the book:  Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior.
 by: Dan Millman.

Honestly I'm not so sure I liked the entire book, didn't appreciate his holier-than-thou style of writing and it just seemed so manipulated and crafted. I also think he plagiarized in many areas. In fact, he quoted directly from Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" and yet never gave one mention to Whitman.  I also think much of the wisdom in the book comes directly from Mother Teresa quotes. Plagiarized or original there were some jewels within the book. And those jewels are the quotes that follow. Hope you enjoy them.



*Until I awoke, I hadn’t realized that I’d been asleep. I wondered if enlightenment was like that.
*God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable.

*I grew thirsty and my fear intensified. It wasn’t the sudden fear of a gun in my ribs—just a quiet kind of knowingness, a stark inevitability that unless someone rescued me soon, I would die.

*To really help people, you first need to understand them—but first understand yourself, prepare yourself; develop the clarity, the courage, the sensitivity to exert the right leverage, in the right place, at the right time. Then your actions will have power and you will notice how just a little leverage can be very effective.

*Abe Lincoln once said that if he had six hours to chop down a tree, he’d spend the first five hours sharpening the axe. You have a great task ahead, but you are not yet sharpened. It will take time and require great energy.

*The road ahead might be difficult—even dangerous—but at least it was open.

*Ignorance, as well as wisdom, is handed down from one generation to the next like a precious heir loom.

*Just handle what’s in front of you now, and the future will take care of itself. Otherwise, you’ll spend most of your life wondering which foot you’ll use to step off the curb when you’re still only halfway to the corner. Plans are useful, but don’t get attached to them; life has too many surprises. Preparation, on the other hand, has value, even if the future you planned never comes.

*All paths, all activities—professions, sports, arts, crafts—serve as a means of internal development, merely a boat to get across the river. Once you get across, you no longer need the boat.

*It’s not the way to the peaceful warrior; it’s the way of the peaceful warrior. The journey itself creates the warrior.

*Faith has little to do with belief. Faith is the courage to live your life as if everything that happens does so for your highest good and learning. Like it or not.

*Our lives are like a flower. We appear so fragile, and yet, when we meet obstacles, we push through them, always growing toward the Light.

*Acting without understanding may create even more problems. Sometimes you need to simply relax into life, and to trust. No matter how pressing life may feel at times there’s no need to rush, and nowhere to rush to. You have plenty of time to accomplish what you wish in this life or the next.

*In the darkest, most chaotic times—when things fall apart—such times often mark quickening as your mind readies itself to make a giant leap. When you feel like you’re going nowhere, stagnating, even slipping backwards—your soul is only backing up to get a running start.

*Our prayers are always answered. But sometimes God says no.
Why would God say no?
Why does a loving parent say no? Sometimes children’s wants run counter to their needs. People turn to God when their foundations are shaking, only to discover it is God who’s shaking them. The conscious mind cannot always foresee what is for the highest good.

*Discomfort is one way our Basic Self gets our attention. Although pain may serve as a wake up call, it’s usually the Basic Self’s second-to-last resort. It only sends harsh messages when the gentler ones—your intuitions and dreams—have been ignored.

*Unless the roots of a tree are deep, it can’t blossom; unless the tower has a strong foundation, it will crumble. You’ve got to clean up the basement before you move into the penthouse.

*Before you can see the Light, you have to deal with the darkness.

*Every human capacity is amplified by energy. The mind becomes brighter, healing accelerates, strength increases, imagination intensifies, emotional power and charisma expand. So energy can be a blessing. But energy must flow somewhere. Where energy meets obstructions, it burns—and if energy builds up beyond what a given individual can tolerate, it demands release. Anger grows into rage, sorrow turns to despair, concern becomes obsession, and physical aches become agony. So energy can also be a curse. Like a river, it can bring life, but untamed it can unleash a raging flood of destruction.

*The body will do whatever it has to in order to bleed off excess energy. If it isn’t spent consciously, in creative endeavors and physical activity, the urge for release will take the form of angry outbursts, or cruelty, or nightmares, or crime, or illness, or abuse to alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, food, or sex. Blocked energy—and the desire to feel release—is the sources of all addictions. Don’t try to manage the addictions; instead, clear the obstructions.

*Those who seek to escape the world through spiritual experiences are barking up the wrong tree, because their search only intensifies the sense of dilemma that motivated the search in the first place. The desire to rise above the boredom, fleshiness, and morality of this world is natural and understandable. But those who practice self-involved techniques to distract themselves from the dilemmas of daily life are going to ascend the ladder only to find out it’s leaning against the wrong wall. Daily life is your training ground. Spirit gives you everything you need, here and now. You evolve not by seeking to go elsewhere, but by paying attention to, and embracing, what’s right in front of you. Only then can you take the next step.

*Courage is like a muscle; it gets stronger with practice. People don’t test their spirit until they’re faced with adversity.

*My soul is one of those who came in the final rescue mission. There are many like me who feel a call to serve; who know deep inside that they are here to do something, but cannot quite articulate what that something may be. All have in common a certain restlessness—a deep sense of being somehow different, of being oddballs, visitors here, never quite fitting in. We feel at times a longing to ‘go home’ but we’re not exactly sure where that is. We often have giving, but rather insecure natures. But we are not here to ‘fit in,’ as much as we might like to. We are here to teach, to lead, and to heal.

*Life is hard either way, whether you space out and give up, or whether you go for it.

*If you want peace of mind, I suggest you resign as general manager of the universe.
Relax and stop trying to figure everything out. You don’t have to know everything about the ocean to swim in it.

*Seems like sometimes life is peaceful—like now. Other times there’s a storm—can’t control that storm—but you can trim the sail, tie things down, get through that storm and you’re a lot stronger.

*Now I understood the Taoist saying “He who says does not know; he who knows does not say”—not because the wise don’t speak, but because It cannot be spoken. Words fall as short of It as a rock thrown at the stars.

*Outer travel at best only reflects the inner journey, and at worst substitutes for it. The world you perceive only provides symbols for what you seek. The sacred journey is inside you; before you can find what you’re looking for in the world, you have to find it within. Otherwise, a master may greet you, but you’ll walk right past without hearing.

*There is no way to peace; Peace is the Way. There is no way to happiness; Happiness is the Way. There is no way to love. Love is the Way.

*I can summarize all I’ve learned in my life with six words: try to be…a little kinder.

*The quality of our lives is shaped by what we do, moment to moment—by each choice we make and each action we take. Will we choose the main highways or the back roads of life? Will we travel the mountain paths or seek the forest wilderness? Will we contract or expand, struggle with or embrace life unfolding? Each of us must answer such questions for ourselves and make our own choices on this sacred journey, as the winding path appears beneath our feet.

Step 43:NYC continued

New York Continued

Wednesday afternoon I arrived fresh from Philadelphia off the BOLT bus at Penn Station. I had been texting with Lisa to find out about getting back into her apartment and plans for the night. The exciting thing was that tonight was gonna be a total ACE reunion and one of the other members had already arrived so Lisa suggested I get in touch with Sabrina --cause she had the keys. Sabrina!!! Lisa and Sabrina (along with Leah down in Florida) were two of the other members of the club (ACE) I was a part of in college and had been the people who really made Rollins tolerable for me my first two years of college. The last member of our reunion night and another member of ACE was Kyle…who would be arriving later that night!

It was so weird that I hadn’t any of them for 5 years or more.  When you haven’t seen people in that long it has you wondering if too much time has passed and if there will be anything to connect on; but as proved during my time with Leah in Florida, Marc in Florida, and even at dinner with Lisa the first night I was in New York…it seemed that wasn’t the case.  In fact these people, despite not having seen them in years, had remained in touch with me through other avenues and seemed more interested in my life than my friends from Aspen.

I connected with Sabrina and we caught up on all sorts of life --chatting away non-stop until Lisa arrived home. When she did, the three of us walked to their local Whole Foods and stocked up on food for dinner. Walking NYC with them felt empowering. They are both such fashionable, intelligent, and hot babes! It was seriously the best Whole Foods I’ve ever been to! Two stories, and the most insane salad bar you’ve ever seen!!

We ate and hung out with Lisa’s other roommates, including Kyle’s boyfriend (Geo) waiting for Kyle to arrive off his flight from LA. It was awesome catching up and when Kyle got there we all had massive hugs and screams --continued chatting for a while and then everyone crashed.

Thursday: EPICLY LONG DAY!

On a seriously limited amount of sleep over the past 4 nights I woke up having some major problems in my mouth and was determined to see a doctor but after about an hour wasted to discover my options I decided instead to seek out the all curing wheatgrass shot. Once that was accomplished I headed out on a run along Riverside Park where there was a nice running path. Despite being a major city, NYC really does have a lot of green space.

Lisa was working, Sabrina had errands, Kyle and Geo were packing (they were moving to LA soon). So for lunch I headed downtown to do some window shopping, hit China town, and my friend Doug (from New Orleans) brother’s art gallery. At around 4pm I started heading to Rockefeller Center where I was meeting Ali Crum, a friend I grew up with from Aspen for a quick hello before she headed to the airport for a presentation in Brazil. After we found each other we found a little deli to put her bags down, have a bite to eat, drink, and catch up some. Then I walked her to Penn Station and she set off on her way to the airport.

Street performers in Central park

After that I went back to Lisa’s to get showered and changed. The day had already been long, but there was so much more to come. Tonight I was headed to the theatre.  I was meeting another Rollins friend in Times Square at 6pm to see HAIR, the musical.  There I was, dressed up as much as a girl like me gets dressed up on a Thursday night, in Times Square and the city was everything you see in the movies. Lights, noise, people, a real buzz. Soon enough there was Lauren looking far more fabulous than me and we did a series of jumps and screams at finally seeing each other after 5 years.

Lauren was one of the first girls I met when I went to college. She lived in the room right across the hall from me and to be frank she intimidated me when I first met her. She’s from New York, she has big opinions, and she could talk anyone under the table. But soon enough I found Lauren to have one of the biggest hearts and we became fast friends despite our enormous differences. She of course joined a sorority and was popular with the most popular people, but we always remained friends and she always treated me with respect.

Lauren & I in Times Square before going into the show

Now there we were in Times Square. We had some time before the show so we decided to look around. We went into the “W” hotel and took some pictures, had a hot cocoa, and then we were off to the theatre. Once inside the beautiful theatre my heart started to race; I guess I am a bit of a theatre geek after so many years participating in and loving it so I was thrilled to be there.  Before the show started it was announced that everyone was welcome to move down lower since it wasn’t a sold out show and we ended up with amazing seats despite paying for the cheapest seats in the house!

You can't take pics in the theatre sadly...this is all I've got!

http://hairontour.com/

The show as bizarre yet fabulous. The music was amazing and acting superb. Despite the hallucinated plot line the fact that the actors regularly were out in the audience interacting with the people -even giving us all flowers- made me forget trying to follow the story and instead I was on my feet dancing away. At the end of the show they invite the audience onto the stage for an all out dance party and we had a blast. I literally danced on the stages of Broadway!!

After the show Lauren and I were pumped and so decided we had to keep the night going. We headed downtown to a Jazz club called ‘Fat Cat.’ Here’s the cool thing about ‘Fat Cat’ their open til 5am, they have live Jazz, and the majority of the room is dominated by games. All sorts of games. Pool, Shuffle Board, Ping Pong, even tables at which people are playing, and you can join in on, board games like Pictionary, Scrabble, Monopoly and exedra. It was packed!!  It took us a while on the waiting list to secure a ping pong table, but once we did we kicked ass.

 http://fatcatmusic.org/

Lauren rocking the shuffel board

We were placed between these two tables of Asians who were essentially professional at ping pong so when we strolled up I don’t think they were expecting much, but we proved them wrong. It was a fun night of all sorts of games and music. And around 3:30am we went back to Lisa’s place to get my stuff and head to Lauren’s mom’s place up in Riverdale. We arrived there at around 4:15 am and my exhaustion hit me hard. I didn’t wake up the next day until noon.

It was Friday…or rather in Riverdale it was the day before the Sabbath. Lauren’s family is Italian Catholic, but the majority of Riverdale seems to be quite Orthodox Jewish. After spending some time with Lauren and her Mom at hom we headed out to treat ourselves kindly. And when we arrived that afternoon at the nail salon it was packed with women determined to get their nails done before the Sabbath. It was quite an entertaining afternoon locked up in that salon with all those women listening in on all their little life antidotes.

On Lauren's deck in my new HAIR tee shirt

After that we found a place to have dinner, it was an Indian restaurant and we had the funniest waiter you can imagine—so Indian. He was so involved in our life and meal by the time we were ready to go that he insisted on hugs all around. After so many days on the go-go-go, it was nice to have finally had one to just relax and we went to bed early after making plans for what would be an epic Saturday.

Step 42: FL-NYC-PHLY

So I’ve decided I can’t go day by day for the rest of my USA vacation. It was taking me entirely too long and I’m just not up for it anymore. So I’m going to attempt to do a few days at a time and cut down my long windedness with highlights as I see worthy.


The day after the wedding Marc and I spent at the pool. But we also got the chance to do dinner with one of my other college friends, Jourdan Haynes. He and I were on the same study abroad program to Australia and he was now working as a lawyer in Tampa so he was a good person for Marc to meet as well. While in Australia, Thai food was our thing so we had to meet up for Thai. While researching the phone book for options I found a place called “Jasmine Thai” and figured that had to be the place.

Marc and I drove that way and we ended up in a somewhat abandoned neighborhood wondering if we’d taken a wrong turn. Suddenly we saw a small strip mall and there it was looking as shady as anything you can imagine. We almost called Jourdan to change the plans but decided to go in and look at the menu. Surprisingly, as we walked in we saw quite the elegant spot with a hoard of elderly people dressed up quite nicely and décor to match. We sat down and soon Jourdan joined us. It was wonderful to see him and catch up! Plus the service and food were perfect!
http://jasminetampa.com/


The next day, pool and study again and Leah came to pick me up in the early evening. We went to dinner and hung out to give Marc some alone time, then we said goodbye and she dropped me back off.


The next day. May 10th Marc took me to the airport and I said goodbye. Now I was off to New York City though my flight landed in New Jersey and I had to find my way into the city via a series of trains. Thankfully a nice flight attendant saw me looking lost and said, “Just follow me.” There I was in downtown NYC and my next challenge was finding the offices of Harper’s Bazaar Magazine where my friend Lisa works. I called her and she gave me subway directions. With my luggage in tow I made my way there and joyfully gave Lisa Luna a big ol’ hug. Lisa Luna…I always thought we were connected because we both have “Luna” in our names! She and I also went to college together and is by far the funniest girl I have ever known in my life! She seriously could be a comedian no problem! She also could have been a doctor which is what she was studying in school, but instead there she was in NYC working for a magazine cause she loves fashion.

I "heart" NY

She gave me her house key and another set of subway directions and my next mission was to find her apartment and drop off my stuff. Once there I found myself to be utterly exhausted yet determined to make the most of my NYC time. So I set out to give myself a walking tour until Lisa got off work. Lisa’s apartment was on West 85th street just off Broadway and on the “1” line. It was easy enough to find and easy to walk from. I simply walked down Broadway.

Reminded me of the NYC based movie "Nanny Diaries"

After a lot of window shopping I headed back to her apartment to meet her. We went to dinner at a Thai restaurant near her place and I seriously couldn’t stop laughing. Even when we were talking about the serious subject of my ex-boyfriend and our mutual friend from college she still brought humor to it. With Lisa around you don’t need a party because she just brings it to you.


The next day I got up early and headed back to Penn Station where I boarded the BOLT bus from NYC to Philadelphia. I’d left most of my stuff at Lisa’s so wasn’t carrying much but my computer bag (without a computer). The BOLT bus is genius! Cheap, convenient, even has wireless internet onboard—in fact I think I was the only one on board reading an actual book! The trip took a couple of hours…I can’t remember how long, and when I got close to Philly I called my friend Morgan.
https://www.boltbus.com/default.aspx

Morgan and I had worked together back in Aspen at the St. Regis and had always remained friendly. When he heard I was gonna be in NYC he suggested I head down his way if it was possible; when I heard about the BOLT bus I figured, why not. He was waiting for me at the bus stop in a crazy little sports car—apparently his company car. He drove me around the city showing me some of his fav spots, it wasn’t a great day weather wise so we couldn’t do much else.


After getting showered and changed he took me out to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in a new developing area of Philly that was really cute. The restaurant was called “A Full-Plate” We were having an early dinner so we were the only guests, but it was nice opportunity to catch up with Morgan on all his details and to grab some advice from him. Being that he is a Harvard graduate and quite successful at securing bizarre but good jobs I definitely wanted some career advice from him.
http://afullplate.com/cafe.html


After dinner we headed back to his –did I mention—amazing apartment. First of all it was in the crazy cool building with an awesome gym & pool. But the apartment itself was huge, had a great view, and was just a nice set up all around. Soon enough a few of his friends and his girlfriend showed up for what was their weekly “LOST” party. Apparently he and his friends love this show, or rather are obsessed with it. I had only seen a few episodes off and on and definitely wasn’t up to date…which with LOST apparently you have to stay up to date. They tried to give me a run down before the show started, but once it did it was all talking off and concentration on the show looking for clues and such. I have to admit, it was pretty funny.


After the show they did some analysis of what they think happened and any ideas they had about who is the bad guy after which they all headed home. Morgan and I stayed up late talking and then headed to bed.

Dude with a protest in Philadelphia behind him

When I woke up the next day he was already long gone to work and had left me a few maps of the city. I walked from his place (640 N. Broad) into downtown where I came across a protest, visited the Liberty bell and Franklin’s grave. Then had lunch at this cool indoor market that had all sorts of cool Amish stuff. Back at Morgan’s, I went to the gym, then showered and started walking to get my bus back to NYC.

Step 41: Some Quotes

Here are some great quotes I recently collected from one of the books I've been reading that frequently quotes others:

*I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it’s just too much. The current’s too strong. They’ve got to let go, drift apart. That’s how I think it is with us. It’s a shame because we’ve loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can’t stay together forever. (Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go)


*What if you slept, and what if in your sleep you dreamed, and what if in your dream you went to heaven and there you plucked a strange and beautiful flower, and what if when you awoke you had the flower in your hand? Oh, what then? (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

*Free will does not mean that you establish the curriculum; only that you can elect what you want to take at any given time. (A Course in Miracles)

*The important thing is this: To be ready at any moment to sacrifice what you are for what you could become. (Charles Dubois)

*Enlightenment consists not merely in the seeing of luminous shapes and visions, but in making the darkness visible. The latter procedure is more difficult and therefore, unpopular. (Carl Jung)

*When one is willing and eager, the gods join in. (Aeschylus)

*The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest of wilderness. (John Muir)

*You cannot transcend what you do not know. To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself. (Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj)

*The organs weep the tears the eyes refuse to shed. Unexpressed emotion is stored in the muscles of the body. (Wilhelm Reich)

*A great teacher never strives to explain her vision; she simply invites you to stand beside her and see for yourself. (The Rev. R. Inman)

*Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well. (Jack London)

*Forget about likes and dislikes; they are of no consequence. Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness. (George Bernard Shaw)

*God gave us memories so that we might have roses in December. (James Barrie)

*I slept, and I dreamt that life was all joy. I woke, and saw that life was but service. I served, and discovered that service was joy. (Rabindranath Tagore)

*If I am not for myself, Who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, What am I? (Hillel)

*Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. (Andrew Jackson)

*Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. (David Lloyd George)

*True teachers use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own. (Nikos Kazantzakis)

*I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; ill and you comforted me. (from the book of Matthew)

*I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible. (George Bernard Shaw)

*Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there. I did not die.

*We must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, to find that enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song. But in that dance, and in that song, the most ancient rites of our conscience fulfill themselves in the awareness of being human. (Pablo Neruda, Toward the Splendid City)

*There are no maps; no more creeds or philosophies. From here on in, the directions come straight from the Universe. (Akshara Noor)

*I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. (Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried.)

*Pray as if everything depended on God, and work as if everything depended on man. (Francis Cardinal Spellmen)

*Whoever would be the greatest among you is the servant of all. (Jesus)

Step 40: Sarasota to Clearwater, FL

Sarasota & Clearwater, FL


My last morning in Sarasota was a bit hectic as my friend Marc, who was studying for his law school finals, frantically tried to make plans to pick me up from, or near Sarasota, to take me to Clearwater where I was going to a friend’s wedding. I really asked too much of Marc. I didn’t intend on making his life a living hell but somehow managed to non-the-less. Initially when plans are made of course they sound reasonable, but when it came down to it I should have known that his finals would be overwhelming him.


Sida and I started the day off by going to the gym and getting some energy out. Then we returned to the house, showered, had lunch and headed north. We were planning to meet Marc around 3pm at an outlet mall about 1/2 way between Sarasota & Clearwater. We got there a bit early so I did some window shopping and when Marc called I could easily sense the distress in his voice. After shuffling my luggage from Sida’s car to his, I said my goodbyes and thanks to Sida (Sida!! Thanks again so much for having me! It was great seeing you and Gary and spending some time. Lots of love!!) and then began a hopeless attempt at cheering Marc up. The poor thing was at the end of his rope and there I was mucking with his schedule.

site of Barb and Rohan's wedding

True to the friend he is, he attempted to apologize for his blatant stress and was as complimentary as ever. When we arrived at the location for the wedding he dropped me off with plans to go to the 24 hour Starbucks and study while I attended the wedding of Barb and Rohan. The wedding was being held on Clearwater beach and although I was certain I was in the right vicinity I couldn’t seem to find my way. There I was carrying a gigantic wedding package without a clue of where I was headed. Thank god I saw some other people who looked to be dressed for a wedding and when I asked them if they were there for Barb and Rohan they said yes and showed me the way.

the camera man

It was a gorgeous day; a day built just for such a sunset wedding on the beach. I assumed, when I decided to attend the wedding, that I would not know a single other person there besides the bride and groom. Much to my surprise, when I walked up to the small set of chairs along the beach there behind a video camera was R.A. (Robert Archibald) Beattie. R.A. and I grew up together in Aspen in the same class and had been pretty good friends throughout the years.

RA and I, having some fun with props.

I knew that he and Rohan were friends but had no idea he would be at the wedding-- I was so pleased that he was. We were among the few people to arrive early so we had time to catch up and it turns out he was living in Florida…in Winter Park (my college town) going to film school.

Here comes the bride

Soon enough Rohan arrived and I caught up with him a bit before getting to my real work. I had promised Barb that I would be her unofficial wedding photographer, so I sat down my bag and box and started snapping photos like mad. Throughout the service I never sat or stopped, and I got the shots the real photographer was apparently too lazy (or polite?) to get. It was such fun!

Saying the vows

I really loved one of the things the person who was running the ceremony said about commitment. Commitment is loving this person even while you know the faults and strengths of the person…but more importantly, commitment is when you continue loving the person regardless of the strengths and faults that come up later on that you have yet to discover about the person you stand opposite of. When you can stand together despite change --that proves a real commitment to your love.

So beautiful, Barb

After the wedding was over two other familiar faces appeared in my view finder, Megan Brilbeck and her boyfriend Ian. Barb, Megan, Ian, and I had all worked together at the Ritz Carlton in Aspen, that’s how I met Barb. Again I had no idea Megan would be there, but it was great to see her and have another familiar face to hang out with.

the flower girls

After the sun set and all the photos were taken we headed to a Yacht club for the reception. I checked in with Marc on his studies and he not only sounded stressed but exhausted. I quickly made a few rounds in the room and then sneaked outside and jumped in his car so we could head back to his place. It was great to be able to see a few old friends so unexpectedly and to be able to attend a friend’s wedding.

Barb and i at reception...bummer about the flash reflection.

One of the things I really had been so upset about missing while living in Japan were special events of friends and family. While in Japan I missed three of my best friend’s weddings: Ellen, Taylor, and Blake- I also missed my cousin’s funeral. Missing that kind of stuff is really tough when you are living abroad.

We got back to Marc’s apartment and both of us crashed into bed after I gave him a much needed massage. Marc…I’m so sorry I put you through that stress!! Love you so much!