Finding Peace

A friend who viewed the blog once told me that I needed to have a theme.  Unfortunately, at the time, there was nothing going on in my life that I wanted to document on the everlasting world-wide-web.  Hence the name…reluctant blogger. I still want use the blog to highlight my photos – but I think that I am now going to try to highlight the photos within my broader quest to find peace.

It has been a year of many, many changes.  Some changes were good, some were bad and some were neither good nor bad but were just completely unexpected. I sincerely believe that this time next year, I will have a completely different perspective on my life.  So, I have decided to use this blog to document the basic experiences that will help to shape that perspective.

A certain event that shall remain nameless and undocumented has brought insomnia back into my life…Although my intention was not (and is not) to only post when I go on vacation, I recently took a trip to Costa Rica to clear my head.  (Actually, I was an interloper on my friend A’s trip and had the pleasure of hanging out with her and her nephew, “New School,”  (I’m “Old School”)).

Anyway, I took a couple of beach pics that — at least to me — illustrate the peace that comes with a healthy night’s sleep.  Perhaps if I keep looking at these pics, I’ll find that elusive peace…

Heading Back from Cabo…

Although my intent was not to only post when on vacation – somehow, the best pics come that way.  I spent the last week in Cabo San Lucas (not to be confused with its sister town San Jose Los Cabos), at a beautiful resort.  Real easy to get lazy…

Despite being a self-proclaimed beach bunny, this was my first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez (they meet at El Arco!).  The waves are like nothing I’ve never seen and the water is like getting into a warm salty bath (that’s a good thing). 

Below are some pics of the waves on “Divorce Beach” which is opposite “Lovers Beach.”  I kayaked across the bay (with the help of my guide David) to get here. 

New York, New York

Just when I think that I have had it with the city, I see something that makes me appreciate it. Prime example. Sunday evening, I came out of the subway — after being thoroughly grossed-out by some subway water that plopped on my head while walking on the platform — and saw this.  Rarely does my camera replicate what I recall, but, I guess this time I got lucky.

 

Empire State Building

 

 

 

Empire State Building II

Anyway, the person that I was meeting (was this a date?, if so, I had fun) teased me because I looked like a tourist.  Luckily, he didn’t see me actually volunteering to take pictures for some tourists about 5 minutes before his arrival…

Stormy Weather

Inclement weather seems to be following me around these days.  While laying in bed this morning, trying to convince myself to go to the 10:30 Total Body Conditioning class, the building started shaking with wind (you see why the earthquake didn’t phase me).  My first concern was for the little men who are doing work outside of my 13th Floor apartment.  But then, I looked outside.  What I saw was completely worth ditching the gym and grabbing my camera. 

 

Stormy Weather

The little men ran for cover once the sky looked like this…

 

Stormy Weather II

Photo Painting

 

 

Harlem Before the Rain

A painter I will never be, but I discovered a trick — only to be performed during storms while trying to avoid going to the gym.

And now, for the photo painting…

 

Photo Painting

Home Again…

From moonlight in Santorini to moonlight in Harlem.  I am not going to get depressed that I am back home (repeat it enough and it will come true).  Even if I get a little depressed, can I really complain?  

 

Nighttime at 409

 

 

 

 

Nighttime from 409

Talking to Mom and Dad

I had to leave the club to talk to mom and dad the other night. . . and had the pleasure of looking at this scene while I spoke. 

Fantasy Island

My favorite thing about coming to Greece is that it offers a complete escape from my everyday life. . .  For a person who is independent to a fault, it’s nice to come to a place where everything is taken care of, down to ordering food.  Plus, in terms of communication, it’s very difficult (even in this day and age) to get regular Internet access and the cost of talking on the phone to everyone back home makes it impossible to make calls all the time.  So, I am pretty much sheltered from everything, which contributes to my feeing that this is a completely different world.

The only problem is that, since I do not speak Greek, I am also pretty much sheltered from most things here.  While most people do speak English, at a basic level, I am not privy to the many little details that happen every day.  Make no mistake – Thomas does a very good job of translating and making sure that I am well taken care of and comfortable, so there is nothing to fear in that sense.  However, as I come here more often, it becomes almost disrespectful not to know more of the language.  So, I have decided that I will not return to Greece until I have a basic knowledge of the language (since I suck at languages, it’s going to be a very basic knowledge).

I think my fear — to the extent that I have one — is that once I become more familiar with the language, I also become more entrenched in this life.  It becomes more real and not the fantasy.  And, quite honestly, I am not sure how real I want this to get.

No pics today . . .

Other Family Times

When I told a fellow lawyer friend of mine that I was going to South Carolina for a family reunion – in a car — this friend, a Harvard/Yale lawyer who stays true to his Bed-Stuy roots, laughed and congratulated me for being his one black friend and to save some chitlins’ for him (for the record — I don’t eat chitlins’).  It wasn’t offensive – I knew exactly where he was coming from…in our profession, we don’t get many opportunities to regale our peers of stories of the electric/cha-cha slide, eating fish and crabs in the backyard, playing dominoes/spades/backgammon with cousins…etc.

However, I am not sure if it just the black family that does this.  Now that I am in Greece with my “alternate” family, my days have been spent (when not working), watching Thomas play dominoes and backgammon (he’s losing and talking a lot of s#it), eating fried fish every night and sucking the heads (because, it’s the tastiest part — sound familiar Kay?), and drinking various types of homemade ouzo — which is the Greek moonshine.  Maybe the similarities are why I love coming here so much…Pics to come.

Where I Stay

VIP Chairs

Family Times

After moaning and groaning for weeks about the family road trip South Carolina (South Carolina!),  I of course, had a ball.  I got to see my parents, all of my nephews and mostly all of my nieces, all of my uncles and mostly all of my aunts, my sisters and brother, and lots of cousins!  We roll deep and we roll beautiful. 

The way my mind works, seeing everybody together and happy for some reason always triggers a melancholy feeling in me…I guess I get reminded that there will be a time that we will not all be together. But, I guess I can’t do anything about that, so I try not to dwell on it too much.  Especially, when my big brother cooks crabs…as pictured below.