1 // From window on West 53rd St.
2 // Maritime Hotel
3 // Feet shot, TriBeCa train station
4 // Grouchy on West 16th St.
5 // In the irresistible ladies room at Schiller’s Liquor Bar during Sunday brunch
6 / 7 / 8 /// Ace Hotel entrance + lobby
More, more, more to come!
j
It’s very easy here to feel pretty lost. Not only in the sense that it’s a big city, but also because being here has made me feel both more fulfilled and at the same time, directionless. The best analogies to describe this feeling are looking for something in the dark and/or running in water.
The great thing about being here: opportunity. Everywhere. I can’t go out without hearing about/seeing/reading something about someone who is doing something awesome in the area. People here are in it to win it. As my roommate put it to me today, “work hard, play hard.” I can do it!, I thought. Then I went and took a two hour nap.
Maybe I’m thinking about this too much, but the more I think about it, the more I find a rhyme to my confusion. This move came completely out of thin air for me — nowhere was it even in my “five year plan.” By my age (24), the twelve year old version of me thought I’d be telling my children bedtime stories and making a hearty meatloaf for the family dinner by now. I am having such difficulty understanding the derailment of a seemingly engrained life plan. Why am I feeling it especially today? One of my oldest childhood friends got engaged yesterday — and every time it happens, a little word bubble in the back of my mind wonders about my life equation.
The “engrained life plan” I’m talking about is the story I wrote in my head as a child. It’s one that I gathered from my parents, and my grandparents, and just people in general. You go to school, work hard, and make friends. One day one of these friends becomes your husband or wife. Together you settle down and have children and acquire experience and possessions. You grow old. Things repeat with your offspring. Work is sprinkled in there somewhere.
It was that simple. But somewhere along the way, I decided to do things differently, or just at a different pace. And I’ve written about this before, so I won’t repeat myself. The realization always comes when I’m somewhere new, wondering what am I doing?
I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I’m going to find it. One of these days.
I designed this New York borough poster this evening — pretty wild Friday night!
What can I say? It had to have been one of the most incredible weekends in the city so far. I was showered with love and happiness in celebrating my 24th anniversary of life on Friday, 10 Feb. The weekend festivities were accompanied by a special visit from a North Dakotan and included:
• Great views of the city
• A birthday morning at Ohm Spa on 5th Avenue, where I was treated to a relaxing hour-long massage, manicure and pedicure!
• A ride up to the top of the Empire State Building to see the Big Apple from a bird’s eye view! So cool.
• Strolls through Central Park and Times Square
• Treats, treats, and more treats!
• An afternoon at the American Museum of Natural History, where the likes of dinosaurs, and every other creature that has walked, crawled, swam, slithered and wiggled across the United States over the past millions of years can be found (not living, unfortunately)!
• Lots of walking without a destination, just to see what’s stumbled upon (my favorite kind of walks)
What better way to spend Sunday than to roll to the Upper East Side with a friend, stroll around for a while and soak up the vibes of New York City?
I enjoy getting together with my fellow North Dakotan-turned-Brooklynite, Jenny, who I met during an art history course early on in college. Not only do I like Jenny because she shares my name (she, too is just a Jenny and not a Jennifer!), but because she is genuinely sweet to the core. It’s also nice to have someone around that understands North Dakota without questioning, “North Dakota? Really?” before dismissing it as a figment of geographical lore.
Happy SuperBowl Sunday. I will not be watching the game, but likely leafing through yet another book (I’m on a roll!).
xo
jc
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The day’s highlights:
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