Tanka – Mondaze

Monday morning start

Yawning eye lids come apart

Splash water, restart 

Fill the caffeinated heart

Catch the train, time to depart 

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Positive Thoughts

Writing types tend to be dreamers and rely less on logistics and more so on personal intuition. So yes, I am one of those people who believe thinking positively equates to greater and more desirable results in life. I also believe everything happens for a reason, and therefore I have no regrets in this life or in any I may have already lived.
I am an open minded person, and in my heart there is nothing too far fetched to believe. Maybe there is a God, and he is purple with 7 breasts and a tail where his beard should sit. Maybe he looks down on us from above, glances west from the east or east from the west, or is always watching through some mystical crystal ball traveling through the space time continuum. I trust that my personal description of this omniscient being is entirely inaccurate. But I also trust that no matter the appearance or description of his power, he or she exists.

He is also my friend. I am not exactly sure why, I don’t always deserve his kindness. But he looks out for me despite my efforts to push him aside. Only recently have I decided to follow a moral compass, and even still I don’t believe I’m doing a good job. 

But, I’m still living without regrets. 

Never have I lost something and wanted it back. Many years ago I lost friend due to drugs and poor life choices. Hers, not mine. I missed that friendship for sentimental reasons, not the authenticity of our friendship. We were in different places in our lives and let’s just say my place was several stories higher and is now beyond any horizon line she can see past. She was also the one to end the friendship, something I might not have had the strength to do myself. 

I want to thank someone, I’m not sure who, for giving me the things I don’t deserve in life. Like when you close the door on someone before they reach the elevator and then find a 5$ bill in the lobby. Perhaps I’m just immune to karma, or there’s a master plan somebody has written for me and refuses to let my stupidity get in the way. I truly believe my guardian angel needs 12 espresso shots a day just to keep me alive. 

I know many would disagree with this entire idea, and instead suggest that it is my own hard work and dedication that has brought me this far in life. To those individuals who do not believe in luck, we’ve clearly never met. 

In any case, I did not expect my life to be going exactly as planned up until this point. To this day, my motto has always been, “So far, so good.” I intend to keep it that way. 

I decided to write this post because of how often I think of my luck compared to those less fortunate than myself. I want to remind myself that my troubles are small, and that I could save my sorrows and instead use that energy to help others. They say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But as an educator I always see room for modification and improvement. 

I am grateful to have been offered a position as a third grade teacher almost immediately after graduating from an impressive institution. I am grateful to be living with my best friend in a NYC apartment located in the West Village. I am grateful to have lost what I didn’t need and grateful to have gained what I did. 

I am happy, I am healthy, and I truly believe there are even greater things to come. 

Journey Into The Renaissance, Part III

Yet another attempt at travel writing…

I find that visiting Florence is as close to time travel as I will ever experience in this lifetime. However, there is a paradox of time periods overlapping at once. I do not only envision a past when I gaze out at the city through my bedroom window, but a present and a future as well. How do you look at Michelangelo’s David, setting the example for a perfect male figure in 1504, and say he is not still the textbook image of male physique? I remember the hype surrounding my visit to see the David. “You must see him! You’ll cry when you see him!” This was all I’d been hearing since I announced my acceptance to Lorenzo de Medici a semester and a half ago. It’s true that my expectations were high. Especially since sculpture is by far my favorite medium and I do have quite a taste for tall naked men.

Journey into the Renaissance, Part II

Another attempt at travel writing, late posting.

I have been in this fascinating city for over a month now and I am able find my way around much quicker than that first night, no map needed. The Arno River I cross on my way to class each morning has not lost its charm. Nor have the views of the Ponte Vecchio, the picturesque side streets, or the cappuccino and nutella croissant I regularly have for breakfast. Leaving my routinely visited morning café, I place my empty cup and plate on the counter and wave “grazie!” to the barista. Not having class for the rest of the day, I decide to take a walk over to the Piazza della Signoria.

Shower Smoke

Lite a cigarette

In the shower and smoke it

For over an hour

And the steam keeps my lighter

Burning desire yearning.

A Rather Lopsided Day

Bad days exist, with cause or without. Today I felt a gloomy little cloud above my head. He was as gray as the cobblestones beneath my sandals. I am walking in over seventy-degree weather in Florence, Italy. People are out, laughing and chatting and eating wonderful food outside accompanied by a glass of wine. Why aren’t I smiling?

Journey Into The Renaissance

A Crack at Travel Writing as a Genre:

If there was one piece of advice I gave myself before landing in Florence, the city where classical learning blossomed after a millennium of darkness… it was to avoid being a tourist. I came here to feel, to explore, and to learn. The aspirations for my journey were clear-cut, leave the selfie stick in New York and bring an open mind to Europe.