if you like piña coladas

(from weheartit.com)

The other night, I was walking home a little past midnight after a few pleasant hours spent celebrating birthdays. The sky was a deep blue, almost black--but became purple every time a lightning bolt flashed across. All of a sudden, I heard a whooshing sound behind me and smelled the first few raindrops. It's both creepy and wonderful to see or hear the rain behind you, but to not feel it yet. I whipped out my umbrella just in the nick of time, just before it started to really pour. Hurricane, even. Maybe 'monsoon' would be a better word choice.

Instead of grumbling about getting soaked, though (and soaked I did indeed become), I loved every minute of my walk home in that warm summer thunderstorm. The smell and the mist were unbelievably refreshing. For the last few blocks, I closed my umbrella and turned my face upward, towards the sky. There was no one on the street--everyone had taken refuge in doorways. They probably thought I was crazy.

So be it.

experiences: summertime yoga

(from NamWizard on flickr)

Yoga is, in my belief, one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only is it a good workout, strengthening the core and toning muscles, but it is also a test of emotional stamina. Finding balance, in many poses, requires immense concentration and focus. The end of the practice is both a relief and a moment of suspension. You have finished the workout, but you have not yet rejoined the world outside the yoga studio. The real world. It's a very pure, raw moment.

I went to candlelit yoga tonight, by myself. It's rare that I go to the studio by myself; yoga has become a very social "sport," if you will, the "cool" thing to do. But tonight I mustered up enough motivation to go alone. Summertime yoga is intense. The heat and humidity of the day weigh heavily in the air, and once 60+ bodies begin to move in sync, sweat droplets begin to form. They grow bigger during chair pose, forming rivulets that run down the back, the face, the bare legs. I used to hate breaking a sweat--but now it feels good. It feels good to know that my body is working, and it feels like I am doing something good for my body.

What is wonderful about yoga, at least the way it is practiced at the studio I go to, is that you can go at your own pace. You can take a break when you need to (and boy, did I need to). You can make any sorts of weird noises that you want. When the going gets rough, it is so liberating to be able to release a huge sigh or groan and not be judged for it.

The last few minutes of class find me practically glued to the mat, panting. We are able to take these last moments and go into any pose we'd like--so I go into my supported shoulderstand. My body is tired, dripping with sweat, but my pose is unfaltering. My concentration has not yet been broken. Finally, the teacher opens the windows, and a cool breeze comes floating through the room, and with it, some raindrops and relief. A quote is read:

"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."
-from Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver

Together, we breathe one last breath. As we exhale, the Tibetan singing bowls are played, and the sound rings and echoes in my head for a few seconds after the teacher has stopped. The first few notes of an Iron & Wine song come floating from the speakers in the back, and the first few tears from a hidden well in the back, somewhere, float their way down my face.

boys and girls

(from i am tough via weheartit)

Last night, I was watching Say Anything, which I'd never seen before. I loved it, of course. I love eighties movies, despite the horrendous haircuts and ridiculous outfits. Perhaps, more specifically, I should say that I love eighties teen movies. There is something very honest about the relationships portrayed in those movies (like Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, etc.) Something honest, something real. Untouched by the media-saturated 21st century and the jaded-ness (if that's a word) that has come with it.

Anyway, one particular scene in the movie just made my molecules tingle and my whole body smile and ache for someone to love me. Perhaps an overreaction. Perhaps. If you've seen the movie, it's the scene in which Lloyd and Diane are in the backseat of the car, by the beach, at night, the waves crashing onto the rocks. Making out, obviously. Obviously. But for those who haven't, what made me love this movie was the dialogue within this scene. Simply put, Diane asks Lloyd why he's shivering. Is he cold? No. Then why?

"I don't know. Because I'm happy."

I died. I melted into a little puddle of endorphins and I died. Have you ever been so happy that you couldn't stop shivering? What a lovely feeling. And so beautiful. So human.

Despite the fact that interacting with people you're attracted to is nerve-wracking, how beautiful is that adrenaline coursing through your veins? You're alive, you're into someone, you love someone, you're putting yourself out there. It's a wonderful thing.

** Special thanks go out to two gentlemen who also inspired me to write this post: to the waiter who could not stop nervously fiddling with the postcards while asking me out, and to the old friend back home whose voice shook when he made some valiant efforts at flirting with me, I thank you. I thank you, and I love you. I need to be more like you and get the guts to talk to someone that I like.
** Also, Jim and Pam.

just do it

(from shabaaam on tumblr)

In no particular order, my summer goals...

-learn a lot and succeed at my summer internship
--->HOW: pay attention. read/research. ask questions. talk to people. give 300%. be focused, creative, innovative.
-get in shape
--->HOW: dietary discipline. join the gym (only $50 for the whole summer!). yoga every sunday. GI Boot Camp.
-become a better cook
--->HOW: explore recipe websites. experiment!
-jump off a cliff, into a lake
--->HOW: lake placid weekend trip :)
-plan my future
--->HOW: read all my producing texts. research backup post-college opportunities. actually just research post-college opportunities in general. write everything down! organization.
-watch AFI's 100 must-see movies
--->HOW: thank you Netflix! (check out my blog devoted to that pursuit: bigscreendreams.wordpress.com)
-arrange music for Cleftos
--->HOW: discipline. creativity. with a little help from my friends (and Finale Notepad, which is lovely).
-read my way through the giant stack of books on my nightstand.
--->HOW: subway reading? laying out in the park. limit extraneous internet usage.

Stay tuned!

we'll try and catch the wind

(from InTheSunStudio on flickr)

I am fond of saying that I believe that, in a past life, I must have been a cat. I like to take naps in a random spot of sun on the floor. I love having my head scratched. In general, I am pretty graceful, and wary of strangers.

However, it is very possible that I also have some dog-like tendencies. Namely, my joy and appreciation of the wind in my face. I get a case of the giggles while walking down the wind tunnel that is Broadway. There is something very invigorating about wind. Wind is lively, whipping hair and clothing around everywhere. It's playful.

I love rolling down the windows (even though it's not technically rolling them, anymore, unless the car is particularly ancient) and sticking my head out the window, face upturned towards the sun, perhaps, and just feeling the wind on my face. It's like the dog in the photograph, who was captured in a moment of pure joy. Of bliss.

This post, however, was inspired by a bike ride I took today around my neighborhood. Whizzing down the big brick hill on my street, feeling my shirt fill up with air behind me...it's a wonderful thing. One of life's little pleasures for me.

things i love; akron edition

(from beautyineverything, via weheartit)

I love...

...burying my face into my cat's soft furry belly. And also hearing her start purring the second i scratch behind her ears. it's the most relaxing sound in the world.
...a faucet with an extendable nozzle.
...being barefoot in the grass.
...having a glass of wine every night with dinner.
...being able to see the stars.
...coffee dates with old friends.
...driving, especially with the windows down and music playing. And especially down the winding back roads.
...how green it is here!
...sushi dinners with mama and pops.
...living in sweatpants.
...playing in dirt.
...my super comfortable rolly desk chair.

I love being home.

wisdom

(from drygluestick.tumblr.com via weheartit)

This is what you shall do:

love the earth and sun and the animals,
despise riches, give alms to
everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and
 labor to others,
hate tyrants…
have patience and indulgence towards the people,
take off your hat to nothing known or unknown
or to any man or number of men,

go freely with powerful uneducated persons
and with the young and with the 
mothers of families,
read these leaves in the open air
every season of every 
year of your life,
re examine all you have been told
at school or church or in 
any book,
dismiss whatever insults your own soul,
and your very flesh shall be 
a great poem
and have the richest fluency not only in its words
but in the 
silent lines of its lips and face
and between the lashes of your eyes
and in 
every motion and joint of your body.






Walt Whitman.