happy

using your powers of deduction you can probably surmise that i've recently spent some time in the capital of the world, york nuevo. for the first time in a while i had my camera at hand and found myself surrounded by sights that pleased my senses. i loved waking up friday morning and seeing the brightly colored row of buildings across the street, an oddity in a world seemingly composed of brick, granite, asphalt, concrete, and steel. the sky was incredibly blue behind them, and the air when we ventured outside was crisp and cold. winds whipped down the sidewalks and people were finally having to bundle up a bit against the wind. it made me feel impeccably alive.

the days were busy ones; two days in the office with the small victories of re-establishing the sans-wires interweb connection and a nearly-complete line showing to a brooklyn ski shop. one day at paragon sports selling jackets and determining whether that color or this color actually looks good on people. of course, both colors look great. you should buy both. i'm not kidding - this tactic worked for me twice. the evenings were full of good food. daryl was once again a gracious host and showed me some delicious pizza at Patsy's along with a tasty brooklyn lager at the no idea bar. for the time i've spent in union square, which is not really that much but more than i really could have imagined spending there, ever, i am not that familiar with the area and it was nice to stay in that part of town for an evening. friday night brought me a plate of butternut squash ravioli topped with roasted chestnuts. it melted in my mouth. i savored every bite. i wish i could have had seconds. and last night was a turkey burger with sweet potato fries and a hefty slice of carrot cake to replace all the calories i lost during my day at retail. all told, however, i was really happy to wake up this morning without the call of the alarm, lay lazily in bed for a bit listening to the sleet outside the window, and finally rise to make myself some blueberry pancakes in my own kitchen. there is something to be said for the comforts of home.

while it wore me out and made me wonder a bit whether i am pushing too hard, my week restored a bit more of my belief in myself and reminded me how good it feels to work so hard. even though i'm tired from it, i'm glad to have been able to reclaim a bit more "normal". in a funny way, being in the city working with customers and being surrounded by mycoworkers puts me in the holiday spirit. it is a busy time of year, but in between the lines it is beautiful. it gets dark early and the lights across the street at paragon glisten as the trees blow in the wind. people are talking about the cold. it is going to snow in new england - snow all week.

for this and so much more, i'm happy these days. even on the grey ones like today, i can't help but think about how fortunate i am. it is fun.