January: A Full Menu

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Today, we have an assortment of thoughts from this month. Here’s the full menu.

Appetizer: Le Weefee (“WiFi”)

I joined the 21st century this year and started off the year with wifi. I didn’t have wifi during my previous 5-6 years in this apartment. I subsisted off of my phone’s handy hotspot. #godbless This even got me through the confusing what-the-heck-is-happening days of the pandemic (hopefully, those are behind us). I am pretty sure not having wifi contributed to my old boss’ hate toward me (though I am convinced she liked no one, including herself). I think having le weefee, as I call it, has allowed me to dream a bit more as far as content creation and growth is concerned. I want to do it right, you know? As a society, it seems that the more we are given, the more laid back and unintentional we become. The only thing we are intentional about is becoming zombies… If people back in the day were hungry for knowledge, I want to use le weefee for good. Stay hungry.

Image from Pinterest

Beverage: India

I saw Gwen Stefani’s newest single “Let Me Reintroduce Myself” is #1 in India. I saw her thank you post. It made me smile because India has been a great supporter of this blog. So many people were reading my Javed Akhtar poetry posts the other day, I had to make sure he was still alive and that I hadn’t missed something. Thank you, India, for all the love. I see you in the stats, and you are amazing. Year after year. The love is mutual.

Image via Tumblr

Main: Silence

So, a bunch of people have been banned into what many are calling “Twitter hell.” This includes folks like Mike Lindell (the My Pillow guy). He has a pretty incredible personal story, by the way. What I think many people fail to notice is that Twitter has been sketchy with who it allows and who it doesn’t allow for a while now.

I will be honest– at first, I didn’t believe it, and I dismissed it; that was until my boyfriend (who has zero social media) tried to open/set up an account, and it refused to let him, for no reason. It was basically asking him for his ssn (I exaggerate, but practically) and stuff it had never asked me for to “authenticate”. He hadn’t even posted. (This was curiously around the election). Now, don’t get me wrong, Mr. Pillow started going down some strange rabbit holes and promoting his own little theories (which I personally don’t align with), but I don’t think this happens overnight. I think that over time, people are able to perceive when they are being censored or at least monitored. It leaves you with an unease– believe me.

This creates a distrust and paranoia that I believe ends up feeding people’s later behavior that we often think is so strange. Nothing ever happens overnight. There is usually a path that leads to a destination. Oftentimes, in our public discourse, truth lies in the middle of two extremes, and the more you try to silence one group, the harder it pursues whatever it is pursuing (plus they are seething). I guess what I am trying to say is that people being banned from certain platforms and being silenced is not new. And I understand that accountability and truth are important, but then the question becomes, who will hold companies like Facebook and Twitter accountable and responsible for the monsters they help create while they play their selective games? It’s dangerous to leave the power of silencing in the hands of those who reap a profit from the same they seek to silence.

Many people who are silenced now were actually silenced a long time ago when they actually had something valid to contribute to the discussion. I really believe that. I guess I just want to say, we will always pay for the silence. Sometimes in ways we don’t expect.

Side: Library Books

Remember when library books had that little card that you would write your name on and the librarian would stamp it with the due date? You could read it and try to see who had checked out the book before you.

It would be interesting if we could see today who is reading what (or who read something before us). Do we come to the same insights? (Probably not) Would you like the people reading the same things as you?

Dessert: CiCi’s Pizza

I heard today that CiCi’s Pizza is declaring bankruptcy. I remember the days when I would meet my family there after work to feast on their delicious pizzas (my favorites were the dessert ones and the brownies were off the chain). RIP, CiCi’s. The memories live on. If you never experienced the magic of a pizza buffet– I don’t know what to tell you. It’s one of the magical things we get to experience as humans.

Tea: Perceptions

Not long ago, I was walking down a street in Manhattan with my boyfriend, and it was a touristy area. You know, where you are flanked with street vendors. Skimpy Christmas lights were up and the tourists were few. The vendor on one side offered my boyfriend a “Gucci” wallet. My bf apparently looked like a fine gentleman who would appreciate a gentle knockoff of the Italian powerhouse money holder. (He is a fine gentleman, by the way– but not the knockoff type). Me? The vendor who approached me asked me if I wanted to buy some pot. I was stunned. Apparently, I do not look like the “Gucci” wallet type. #offended

It’s weird how we perceive people, how people perceive us, and the contrast of this with how we want to be perceived.

I hope this was a 5-star meal. Take home a mint wrapped in an “I (heart) NY” wrapper, compliments of the chef.

Perseverance

Photo by Max Burkhalter via Architectural Digest

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Days like today are spent looking out of the window while the snow falls in wide, fluffy snowsaucers. I’ve got to say, I crave nature. Perhaps this is why my mind was in the Hudson Valley, yesterday. I just want to take off my shoes and ground somewhere. I want to feel grass between my toes. Is that too much to ask?

For now, we are in deep winter. Friday’s low is projected to be 14F. Just thinking about it makes me cold. I keep thinking, what does it mean to have warmth inside?

When Albert Camus said, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”– what exactly did he mean?

“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”

Yoko Ono

Dreaming of the Hudson Valley

Image via livingthehighline.com

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Few places are quite as magical as the Hudson Valley in New York State. The photo above shows the Walkway Over the Hudson. The last time I was there, a gust of wind almost blew me away (thank God for my heavy camera that seemed to be anchoring me down as my wide brimmed hat seemed to not be helping the cause by making me slightly levitate off the walkway).

On that same occasion, my boyfriend and I walked across the Hudson River and into a neighboring small town. This little town had a florist that made arrangements with fake flowers, a hip coffee shop where a local totally cut us in line, an abandoned plaza that could be used as a set in a Wild West movie, and quiet homes that looked like they were frozen in time, in the 50s.

We typically go up to visit the Hudson Valley several times a year for adventurous day trips. This past year, with the pandemic, no one was able to go anywhere. I am looking forward to the Hudson Valley adventures 2021 hopefully holds. My mind is there, today.

Sunday Girl: The Mental Map

By: Gabriela Yareliz

In my mind exists the most intricate public restrooms map of New York City. I know the best ones. I would walk from the West Village up to Central Park and stop for bathroom breaks along the way. (If you had a bladder the size of a pea, you would do the same, or the alternative to this is to suffer).

This trusty memory map came in handy today, in freezing temperatures with a bursting bladder. The truth is we keep tabs on and keep in mental bank that which we need and that which we truly care about. It’s the rule of life.

It’s important to be strategic in life. What are you mapping and banking? Is it that which will help you in a time of need?

Ticket

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I have this olive green dress from Target that I love. I’ve had it since 2009. It stands out because it’s sleeveless and has deep pockets. It’s made from comfortable light material. Perfect for a summer day. I took it to France with me the summer of 2009. In the process of traveling, I had several Paris metro tickets that I had stuffed in the right pocket. Over time, I scrapbooked some of the tickets and made others bookmarks, but I always kept one in the right pocket of that green dress. Even when I would wash the dress, I would take the ticket out and then put it right back in that right pocket. It was like an amulet.

Years later, one summer night while in law school, I was interning in the city that summer and wandering to my favorite hangout spot, Washington Square Park (the one with the arch and Piano Man). This park was only a couple blocks away from where I lived. I am not sure what had gone on that day, but I was feeling a bit down and drained. I remember that after listening to Piano Man, I had taken a stroll through the NYU dorm buildings. I was weaving through them aimlessly. My walks were how I cleared my head and prayed.

As I walked in the glow of the streetlights, I came to a corner, I looked down on the sidewalk, and there was a Paris metro ticket. I knelt down and grabbed it. It was ironic because I had my green dress on. When I reached into my right pocket, I had my own old Paris metro ticket in there. I then had two.

Listen, I still have the dress (it’s good as new), but the tickets are in a keepsake location (I don’t just walk around with tickets in my pocket anymore, even though I did for about 5 years). But that night, when I stumbled on the ticket, I was reminded of how life can surprise us and how we can’t stop dreaming. That ticket was a reminder that reality can be better than our dreams. I needed to find that second one on the floor to remind me of the one I had carried in my pocket for so long.

No matter how long it takes, keep dreaming and keep taking steps toward those dreams. Life is unexpected. It often doesn’t fulfill the most cliché dreams we harbor. But those are boring anyway. It does delight in fulfilling the ones we hold with trembling hands. There are dreams that only belong to you. There are things only you can offer this world. Don’t lose that ticket. Keep striving. You’ve got what it takes to take you there. Take a walk. Say a prayer. Your ticket is on you; in your pocket, matter a fact. Let this be the ticket you find on the sidewalk that reminds you of what you already have.

The List

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I am staring at my phone. I can see my Whole Foods delivery person on the map. They are supposedly here. Right here. And yet– no buzzer. No groceries. I think he/she is taking a break downstairs. As I wait, I continue to think of my cleaning list. I am trying to take a bit of the burden off of Fridays by cleaning on Thursdays, instead. I am thinking of what podcast I will play and the fact that I am proud of myself for taking down recycling yesterday.

My house has become a dust bowl. Am I shedding an abnormal amount of skin? What is normal? Or am I just home more to notice it everywhere? I find a strange satisfaction in cleaning the bathroom. It never sparkles though because the NY tile is so old and dull that nothing makes it shine. This plunges my inner Monica Geller into a slight depressive state. It’s never the 100% satisfaction, you know what I mean? The back of my entryway mirror is popping out (don’t ask) and my desk always feels small and cluttered. I am brainstorming to find a way to fix this.

Still no grocery delivery. They have until 6 PM. Not sure why now they appear to be by fast food tacos. I mean, can I blame him/her? No.

After I clean the front of the apartment, I will Swiffer the part of the floor sort of behind the headboard. An often forgotten spot. I will destroy the new spider webs on the blinds and tackle the kitchen whose cabinet cracks act like the wrinkles that reveal age.

Something finally off of my list: I ordered a shoe grid shelf that I have had my eye on for the longest– I wasn’t the only one, as it was sold out. I was on a waiting list. Not joking. I finally got in. I am determined to keep shaping my space into something uncluttered. (Last week, I did closets and certain corners). The list never ends, and yet, my inner Marie Kondo is delighted. Look who’s back on the map– my delivery.

Off I go, to tackle the ever evolving list. How do you clean?

Honor

Military.com

By: Gabriela Yareliz

May the symbols of this great nation and its ideals always mean something deep to us. May we feel their weight. Moreover, with that responsibility, may we always work to evolve into a better community, always moving toward the ideals that make this country unique and rich in opportunity. Let us love freedom and uphold truth.

“For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it, If only we are brave enough to be it.” Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb“

Thoughts on a Bitter Cold Winter Day

Image via mocah.org

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

By: Gabriela Yareliz

What we learned today:

It’s freezing outside.

My mailman is my friend now– he knows who I am and which packages are mine. This is status in a medium-sized building. (I told him to stay warm because that is what friends do. They care. We are like this *holds two fingers up together*).

I weirdly miss the cartoons on the school milk cartons. Where did the cartoons go?

Just because you call a bunch of times doesn’t mean they will actually pick up.

It is totally possible to be *deeply* annoyed with someone else banging on a door that is not yours.

I have decided to try to adopt a plush at a local business that is precariously abandoned on a shelf in the window (more on this later, if I am successful and they are willing to sell it into my custody).

We are never done cleaning. How does all this dust gather?

And this from Jeff Buckley: “The most audacious thing I could possibly state in this day and age is that life is worth living. It’s worth being bashed against. It’s worth getting scarred by. It’s worth pouring yourself over every one of its hot coals.”

Stay warm, friends. Never stop learning. The mystique of life is intense.

The Adventures We’ll Go On

Patricia Manfield via Style Du Monde

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I miss getting dressed. I miss putting on clothes to have fun and not to be practical (long walks or doctors appts) or for a short excursion to the grocery store (because oat milk). I miss getting dressed for life. I can’t be the only one.

Image via Pinterest.fr (this is all of us, let’s all admit it and move on)

The New Yorker published a fun piece called A Year Without Clothes, last year. After recently sifting through my closet to separate what must be donated, I was excited to see my old friends, my clothes. My silver shimmer skirt (not sure what I was thinking when I bought that), my capes, my pretty pencil skirts for court… I can’t wait for the adventures we will have, someday soon. At this point, I am looking at all the clothes in my closet like they are the jeans from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (man, such a great series of books and movies). *sigh* The pants make us brave. The pants are part of important memories. They have a magic I need.

If you don’t know about the pants, enlighten yourselves:

Photo of Juny via Saywho.fr

This photo pretty much sums up the mood, these days. You know, sitting-with-my-cute-purse-on-my-couch vibes, because there is nowhere else to go and my back hurts from sitting for an entire year.

Image via Pinterest

I am ready to have a red boot moment like Emrata. I got red boots on sale from Macy’s last year because they were dirt cheap. I look forward to a dinner date in those. City lights and light traffic.

Image via abitofsass.com

2021 will also have a tulle skirt moment. It’s happening. I feel like this needs to be worn while on public transport. (Though there are no buses with my face on them).

If you have no idea what I am talking about:

Image via ShopKultivate

A tweed jacket or dress moment needs to happen this year while I argue a case. I already know which one.

Can’t wait for warmer weather and (I am gonna come out and say it–) less restrictions. It’s not about the clothes we haven’t worn. It’s about the adventures they accompany us on. We want to experience the art of living again, in full measure.

Image of Patricia Manfield via lavideeserendipity.com

What articles of clothing are you anticipating an adventure in? Dream with me…