Are We There Yet?

Feelin' good today. I woke up early early... got a website structure put together. Caught up with mom. Made a healthy breakfast. Talked to that cute man. Talked with Dear Friend Emily. Helped Tamara clean our lovely apartment.

The reoccurring theme in all the conversations was "So do you feel like a New Yorker yet?"

If you mean aggressive, yes. 

If you mean work driven, yes. 

If you mean busy, yes. 

If you mean City That Never Sleeps, no. 

If you mean Like It Is In The Movies, no. 

If you mean Are You An Opera Star, no. 

It's not bad. It's hasn't changed my life in a significant and amazing way though either. I'm working more than I ever did in Idaho. Making more money to live in my more expensive city. Ultimately, I'm working, paying bills, sleeping enough and trying to eat like a healthy person... The same things I did in Idaho. 

 I'd say a part of me thought that I'd be flourishing and taking this city by fire. Another part of me anticipated this hard work... the effort it takes to get on your feet after your first big move. 

BUT - Even as we speak this is changing. This week... comedy show, coffee with a new friend from work, an evening with the mister. Everything is this giant state of flux. Pay days are getting more consistent and better (financially recovering from the storm) and it's enabling me to get out and DO STUFF! 

I'm making a concerted effort to break my work/eat/sleep routine. 

• Brother and sister in law are coming to visit. 
• I am going to a Selected Shorts reading at Symphony Space. 
• I am slowly furnishing my room... November = Full size mirror. December = box spring. January = Bed frame or a bookshelf (toss up, really). 

Now... the second question that everyone's asking is "Are you happy?" 

Yes. But that has nothing to do with moving to or from somewhere.

Also, I'm becoming a cat lady. This is Vincent. 

That's the major life lesson I've picked up on here. No matter where you go, there you are. I still want to improve my work situations. I still crave better communication. I still like organizing and scheduling my life. I still budget and then blow it by eating out/ordering in. I still value my alone time... and yet still crave to be more social... and yet when I'm more social... I crave to be in my pajamas and lounging around my apartment. 

I still yearn to find that THING... that thing I'm so passionate about that it drives me. That I want to get paid to obsess about it. 

If that's being a New Yorker... I'm succeeding 100%. 

Love, 

Nanette

Happy New Year, 26!

Well...   Birthday came and went. I got a hurricane for my birthday. Subsequently, I also got a week off from the doc because that dangling crane thing happens to be outside of my office.

There have been so many terrible stories. A mother having her children swept away from her by a storm surge. Houses ruined. People killed by falling branches and uprooted trees. Food shortages. Power outages. Gas shortages.

I've survived Hurricane Sandy. I more than survived it... I had power, internet, heat and plenty of food. I got to take some time off from work. I got some quiet time. Went on a few runs. Got sick of being in the house. The only thing that was cumbersome was the subway system being slow or out of service. But MTA has done such a great job of getting things up and running. I can't complain too much. It also forced me to figure out different ways to get places. So if anything, I know my way around better now because of it. I'm more adventurous!

Anyway..

It's time to prep for year 26. My new year list.

1. Read 26 books. llll
2. Save $2400
3. Get down to 250lbs.
4. Learn some Spanish and French
5. Buy a keyboard for my house and get back to singing.
6. Write a 5 minute stand up bit and go do it!
7. Run 100 times
8. Write a thankful thing every week when I journal.
9. Go swimming.
10. Get in the ocean.
11. Get a pedicure.
12. Pay off Discover.
13. Pay off Tamara.  11/27/12
14. Pay off Sarah.
15. Put a dent in student loans.
16. Keep searching for a career path.
17. Buy the Tim Minchin Album.
18. Practice being more fancy.
19. Stretch every day.
20. Wear out 5 pairs of shoes. IIII
21. Drink more water.
22. Travel home to Idaho.
23. Furnish my apartment.
24. Have one Fancy outfit.
25. Eat more like a diabete.
26. Go to 15 places recommended in the 100 best places in NYC and blog/facebook/take photos.
27. Rebuild my art supplies.
28. Get back to art journaling.

This is the year of REDUCING DEBT. Body debt, fun debt, consumer debt. As my friend, Sarah, and I tease... I'm working on becoming a real person.

A real person is responsible and thoughtful. A real person remembers to pack q-tips, pays all the bills and flies less by the seat of the pants - more by the freedom that comes with keeping up with life.

Nanette