Another Happiness Photo

So, to continue on my happiness photo project, I took the photo below:

Is this a great photo?  No.  The lighting is wrong, and the composition is boring, and there's a glare.  But this photo project isn't about learning photography, as I said.  It's about focusing on the things that are making me happy. 

This photo was taken yesterday, on Valentine's Day.  I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day.  But I've been in a relationship for 5 years, so I can say I hate Valentine's Day without people assuming I'm sad and lonely.  On our first V-Day, Andrew took me to see Phantom of the Opera.  On our second Valentine's Day, I took him on a helicopter ride.  Then I had a talk with him and eliminated the need to keep "outdoing" the year before.  We don't constantly have to be planning big, elaborate, "romantic" events.  I'm good to just chill.  So that's pretty much what we've been doing ever since.

A couple weeks ago, Andrew had a brilliant idea: why don't we go laser tagging for Valentine's Day?  I loved the idea.  So that was the plan and I'd been looking forward to it ever since.  We agreed no gifts, no elaborate dinner, he even asked if it was ok if he didn't get me flowers, so that I wouldn't have to carry them on the subway.  I was hoping he wouldn't get me flowers, so I was totally fine with that.

As it turns out, laser tag is not high on the list of popular Valentine's Day activities.  I thought there would at least be some lonely high school boys there, but we were literally the only ones in the place and they wouldn't let us play by ourselves.  We were very very disappointed.  We hung around the arcade for awhile, hoping someone else would show up, but no one did.  We spent $8, played Guitar Hero and Skee-Ball, earned 60 tickets and got about 7 Tootsie Rolls for them.

It wasn't the Valentine's Day we planned, but I really enjoyed it.  We had a great meal, and I was reaffirmed in my belief that, at least for Andrew and I, the comfortable relationship is better.  Sure, romantic candlelit dinners are great.  But so much pressure!  I'm lazy--sometimes I just don't feel like getting all dressed up and going out somewhere and sitting in a restaurant with a million other couples and feeling judged, compared based on the level of "romance" happening at our table.  That's not my scene.  My scene is hanging at Ruby Tuesdays, having political discussions, arguing issues of the law (a new thing for me) and being comfortable enough to let my significant other know that if I eat another bite of shrimp fondue, I will puke in the laser tag arena.  That's a great night to me.

Others might judge.  But if I was wearing heels in some candlelit restaurant, drinking wine, I'd just be thinking about how much this guy doesn't know what I want.  And Andrew obviously does, because here is a little excerpt of our night:

After I'm settled in Andrew's car:
Andrew: So, I got you a little something
Me: WHAT?!!  You TURD!  We said we weren't doing that!

Andrew hands me a small heavy bag.

Me: I can't believe this!  If this is anything other than food, I'm going to be pissed.

I open the bag to find Dove chocolates, purple Skittles and a caramel Cadbury bar

Me:  Ohmygod THANK YOU!!!!!!

Yeah, I yelled at my boyfriend for getting me a Valentine's Day present, said I be pissed if it wasn't food--and he knew enough about me to get me food.

So that  made me happy, so I took the snapshot above.

Even though I'm not a proponent of Valentine's Day, I hope you all had lovely ones, and fully enjoyed today which is the fourth-best day of the year, because now VALENTINE'S DAY CANDY IS 75% OFF!!!  Right behind November 1, when those huge bags of tiny Milk-Dud boxes go on sale, the day after Easter when you get chocolate bunnies and malted milk ball eggs and July 24th.

More Books

I've been reading a lot lately, and it is sometimes difficult to remember the things that I want to read--books that I passed in the store or that were recommended to me by a friend.  So I'm going to start a list, because I love lists!  I probably won't always maintain it on my blog, but I'll start it here because I am trying to be a more active blogger.  So here is my life in lists about books:

Recently Finished:

From the book exchange at work.

I didn't want to, but my friend insisted.  It was surprising.

Currently Reading:

From the book exchange

Up Next:

Recommended by my boss, J.

A bestseller, and sounded interesting when I read the back at Posman.

Because the first one was surprising.

Does anyone have any good suggestions?

You can't control life, you can only control your reaction to it.

I feel like there's some sort of famous quote that says something similar to that.  There must be, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm not deep enough to come up with that on my own.

So for the past couple weeks, I've felt that there has been a lot of negativity in my life.  Mostly due to me and the way I've been reacting to the stuff going on.  Don't worry, I'm not going to get all complainy.  That's the whole point of this post--to stop complaining about the things I can't fix right now, and fix the ones I can.  You don't always have the perfect life--sometimes work will suck, or you get in a fight, or some random person on the street cusses you out for no reason--but that's not always stuff you can control.  You can only control how you let it make you feel.  Lately, I've been letting that stuff make me feel bad.  But today I decided that was enough.  I don't want to be always annoyed or frustrated.  I want to learn to be more optimistic, realize the value of the important stuff, and let all the other junk roll off my back.  So, to that end, I've created another photo project.  There are less rules to this one.  I'm still going to try to take a photo every day, but not for a year, and it doesn't always have to be a "great" photo, or an "artsy" one, or one that teaches me a new photography skill.  These can just be snapshots.  Snapshots of things that make me really happy right now.  Because even when it seems the majority of stuff is difficult, there is always, always a million things to be grateful for.

Today I was grateful for my dad and sister who came to visit this weekend and with whom I had a terrific time.  I was also grateful for The Guy who took a few moments from his busy busy law school schedule to plan exactly the kind of Valentine's Day I wanted (more about that later this week!).  I was grateful that it is still light out when I get out of work, and I don't have to commute in the dark anymore, and that I have a better view of Manhattan from my apartment in Brooklyn than I did from my apartment in Manhattan.  I appreciated my grandmother, who sends me a Valentine every single year, but this year she took into account the cost of living in NYC when she sent me my "lunch on her" money (Thanks, Grandma!) 

But here's what I took my photo of:

When Dad and Emily were in town, we went to see Jersey Boys on Broadway.  It was pretty last minute, but we decided we had to go, because Jersey Boys has never been on TKTS for as long as I've been going to Broadway and Dad and I had wanted to see it for years.  It was fabulous.  Even Emily liked it, and she doesn't even like Broadway that much (sometimes I don't know how we're related).  It's about Frankie Valli and the The Four Seasons, so obviously the music is top-notch, and all I have listened to since Friday.  I'm sure Emily and Dad were so sick of walking around town with me singing "Shar-ar-ree, Sherry baby, Shar-ar-AR-ar-ar-ar-ar-ree bay-yay-bee" but I couldn't help it.  That shit gets stuck in your head and you can't get it out, much like your toe always finds the hole in your sock and you can't wriggle it free.  Emily knows what I'm talking about.

So thanks Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Nicki Massi and Tommy DeVito for making awesome music that cheers me up.

Also, just in case you need evidence of the awesomeness that was the show, here are a few of my favorite lines that I quoted all weekend, anytime I wasn't butchering "Sherry." Please note they all need to be said in a thick Jersey accent.  Use your imaginations.

"That guy's not properly socialized."
"There are two kinds of women.  Type A is easy.  They hop right into bed with you, but later they bust your balls.  Type B plays hard to get, and then later they bust your balls."
Tommy: There are millions of guys like him
Nicki: Where?  Where are these millions of guys?

You probably don't understand why these are so funny if you haven't seen the show, but you should take that as incentive to see it--so you understand the humor here.

Cheez Doodles are insanely, dangerously delicious.

That is all.

A Little Shamless Self-Promotion

It never really hurt anyone, right?  So here it is:

Read my articles!  I have like 8 articles posted on this website, and they are all crazy good!  Ok, maybe not crazy good, but definitely good considering I don't get paid for them.  This is what I do when I don't blog for weeks and weeks!  Well that, and work two paying jobs and give Toastmasters speeches and *attempt* to keep up a (sad, pathetic, struggling) social life.

I'd really like it if you checked out the website every once in a while, especially if you like to travel, because that's what the website is all about.  And maybe, if enough people like my articles, they will start paying me.

Recently Read: Leonardo DiCaprio

So, I'm supposed to be a bookworm, but since I graduated college, I've gone through stages during which it is very difficult for me to get into books.  Meaning, I can't find a book that just grabs me from the beginning, and I have a hard time powering through.  Luckily, I am currently in a period where I'm reading a lot, which is nice, because when I go a long time without reading, its like a fish living on land or a person who doesn't like cupcakes--its just wrong.  A violation of nature, if you will.

But right now, that's not an issue, and I am not currently turning my back on my essence.  Cause I've been reading a lot.  I'm currently in a trend of reading books of which Leo DiCaprio has starred in the film adaptation.  Well, I guess that's not completely true.  According to magazine editors, "three's a trend" and I'm only on my second.  But I plan on doing some research to see if there are any other books I could read with him in them.

I am currently reading Revolutionary Road, which has been hailed as "flawless."  I'm not sure if I agree with that yet, but it might be one of those stories that really hits you once its over.

It started with Shutter Island, which my mom recommended to me.  I think I mentioned in my last post, it kind of blew my mind.  I'm usually pretty good at guessing how books and movies end, but this one totally threw me for a loop.

I don't want to give too much away, but its about two U.S. Marshals who are called to Shutter Island, home of a treatment facility/prison for the criminally insane, to find an escaped patient/convict.  They begin the search, but start to suspect there is more to the hospital than meets the eye.  Between the staff who all but refuse to cooperate with the search, and the mysterious references to the "lighthouse," Marshal Teddy Daniels begins to believe the hospital is a front for a more sinister experimentation facility.  In their efforts to uncover "the truth" they realize they may have walked right into a trap, and they can't trust anyone...not even each other.

That totally sounds like a movie trailer script, but I can't tell you what really happens, because you just need to read it on your own.  Is it the best book I've ever read?  No.  Is it entertaining?  Hell yeah.  And will the end make you rethink everything you thought during the entire story?  Abso-friggin-lutely.  And I love books like that.

READ IT!  I've only asked you to read two books so far: The Lost Girls, and now Shutter Island.  So could you please just do me a favor and read them?

Thanks.