Feel Good Friday

I didn’t expect this Polaroid moment from my youth to bring about the Feelgoods on a Friday.

During an after-dinner walk with the kids I discovered a small comic book shop my son wanted to explore. We cruised the scene and then at the end of our looky-loo session, I discovered the back room which was a quaint little take-you-back-in-time place featuring Star Wars, Wonder Woman, and Batman goodies. And in an unassuming corner of the room, there it was … a piece of cool … waiting for me to claim it.

The awesomeness of Bruce

I was having a John Cusack-High Fidelity moment and enjoying the rediscovery of records.

You see,  I was one of those kids loving the Glory Days and Dancing in the Dark, trying to record the Top 40 Countdown on my boombox and make an awesome mixed tape without being interrupted by Casey Kasem.

I remembered my Trapper Keeper, locker days, and the Jake Ryan of my life. I remember my Uncle Erick’s record player and hearing the vinyls on Friday nights, sitting on my brown shaggy rug, with headphones. I remembered a piece of my childhood I had tucked in a corner and it made me smile.

Bruce was a good find and I think I’ll be visiting my secret record finding place next week, just to see what else is waiting for me.

Buen Camino my friends!

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I Found My Little Moment With Anthony and Korean BBQ Tacos

So during my unintended hiatus I rediscovered my checks and balances, as in what I needed to do in order to turn things around for my own peace and sanity after a tough day of parenthood, rejection letters, or run-ins with everyday jackasses. I rediscovered the limits of my tolerance level for elementary school-parent drama, or people trying to take the spring out of my step.

Aside from my need of morning runs, walks, or swims to attain a Zen-like state of my mind, I found that hanging out with Anthony helped me remember. You see during this hiatus I caught up on some storytelling and was able to catch Anthony Bourdain’s travels new and old. His fearless spirit for journeys through Parts Unknown was a great way to connect with people and their stories. He did it through food and the awesome way in which he weaved words together in order to make a connection, to help you gain perspective of other worlds.

And so when I ran into one of the culinary discoveries he had featured, I felt the need to dive right into the cultural fusion. Most people might have just seen a good meal, but for some reason I felt the connection to this amazing world traveler and discoverer, who ultimately lost his battle with depression this year.

Storytellers are complicated people, filled with layers of emotions and when you can find a moment of Zen, of peace, even in a simple meal you should take a moment to appreciate it and enjoy the feeling and so I did, as he did many times on his show.

I found my moment with Korean BBQ tacos in the middle of the city, and I sat there enjoying the fusion of flavors between two cultures.

 

I sat remembering the story of this chef and how he got started, and of Bourdain’s interview and the spotlight he shown on the possibilities of a vision, of what can happen when you believe in an idea that nobody else thought of and you go for it. I remembered my spotlight. I re

I sat there, eating my tacos, feeling glad to have found that Anthony Bourdain episode during my sabbatical, feeling glad that I had found my little moment of the day, feeling glad that those tacos were so good, soooooooo good. I felt so filled with Zen that I had enough good vibes to lift me up until the stars came out at night.

Here’s hoping you have your own little moment.

Buen Camino, my friends!

 

 

The Last Day … Don’t Forget About The Day

I got one day left in 2017.

One!

How am I gonna spend it? How are you going to spend it?

Lately I’ve placed an important chunk of feeling and expectation and emotion into what happens on the first day of the year. I think about day one, the start of a new adventure, of a new (or old) something that will catapult change into my life. But other than the party- or midnight countdown I don’t really place a huge emphasis on the last day of the year. And you know what? I should. It’s the last day. You’ve got to squeeze the juice out of every lemon.

So what’s the plan?

Am I going to wake up and magically take a trip to an awesome destination, making it the best day of my life? Probably not. Australia is too expensive on my starving-writer budget at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it’s not in my future again. So the last day of the year will be an in-house adventure. Something NOT involving laundry … doing it, folding it, putting it away. Laundry in any shape or form. I don’t want to be running errands or scrubbing toilets either. Things like this should be banned on the last day and first day of the year. I’m not saying I’ll be out on a second honeymoon getting waited on and tended to every minute of every hour. But let’s just have a day to do something you want to do and not something you need to do.

But if I’m being honest though, it feels like a let’s-go-down-with-the-ship kind of night. Not a Woo-Hoo-Times-Square-noise-maker extravaganza. But a day of sunshine and something and a night with a good story, something to be grateful for and Cup O’ Noodles. People can hate on Cup O’ Noodles all they want, but sometimes on days like this, or rainy days it’s comforting. It’s terribly bad for you and has like 500,000 grams of sodium but it’s on my agenda for tomorrow night.

And tomorrow day still holds an adventure for me. An outdoor adventure that will make me feel the feel-good-vibes that get me through the day.

I’ll start the day with a run in the natural oasis that sits in the middle of my city, surrounded by the sounds of birds, wind, moving branches and my breath. The sun will warm my face as I steady my breath, and I’ll gain a sense of peace looking at how its golden rays peak through the trees and wake up the leaves. A moment of Zen. I just need one good one, and I’m hoping that’s it tomorrow.

And while I’m stretching and breathing in the fresh earthy smell of a freshly watered woodsy area, Tim Ferriss along with one of his Tribe of Mentors will be talking to me through my headphones filling the space between my breaths with positivity and the idea that IT is possible.

That’s how the last morning of 2017 will go … the rest of the day is set up for an ocean or water adventure, but that’s always up for grabs because with weather and kids, you always have to be prepared for a change of plans. The unpredictable happens often and go with the flow mentality is always helpful.

So … Buen Camino my friends!!!  I will see you again in 2018. Don’t forget about the last day, the night will be there to party, or sleep in, but don’t forget about the last day!