NOTABLE NORMALCIES / 3.31.17

Like I mentioned in my last post here, a lot of changes have been surfacing in my life. I was promoted at work {yayyyyyyyy}, the eve of my 26th birthday is fast approaching {as in tomorrow}, and I am taking some risks regarding my future. Through all of it, I feel myself growing.

One of my closest friends arrives this weekend to help me celebrate another year of life. Much is planned and I am confident that we will execute our plans swimmingly, most likely with mimosas in hand at all times. Turning 26 feels comforting. I have been telling people I am 26 for the last several months. Don’t ask me why. It just feels as if I am meant to be this age. The anticipation is real. But more on that at a later time.

Take a look into some of the notable normalcies of my life:

Reads

Before ‘Gone Girl‘ became a major motion picture, I read the novel by Gillian Flynn last year. I was obsessed. It was the first time in a long time that I had really dived head first into a book. I wanted to read something else by Flynn and had my heart set on ‘Sharp Objects’. However, ‘Dark Places’ was the only available book in the Central Brooklyn Library {which, side note, is one of the most incredible buildings I’ve ever laid eyes on}. Well folks, I’m here to tell you there is a reason ‘Dark Places’ was sitting all alone on the shelves in Brooklyn. The ending was unrealistic and anti-climactic and I simply did not enjoy it. BUT, I loved ‘Gone Girl’ and if you haven’t read it yet, what daaaaa hell are youuus doin’? I just picked up two new reads and have been anticipating my morning commute solely so I can escape into the mind of a new character.

Beauty

This past week, Niki and I may have found pure gold. I’m not kidding. On a casual Tuesday night after work, we met at  Beauty Bar, which {as the name describes} is a bar. However, in the middle of the dark, crammed space is a manicurist. Yes. The whole set-up. Right in the middle of a bar. AND THE BEST PART. You can order a drink and get your nails done for… wait for it… $10. So, we ordered a glass of wine and got a manicure in the middle of a bar. And it was fantastic. Obviously you should not set your expectations too high when you consider the deal you are receiving, but for the most part there is no catch. The wine is cheap and tastes like shit, but I’ve had worse. And the manicurist is literally bored out of her mind and makes it known she would rather be anywhere else than sitting in a dark bar reeking of acetone, doing your nails. But eff it. You get your cuticles taken care of, your nails buffed and filed, and a glossy top coat. I left the bar feeling completely satisfied. This is why I love this city.

New York

New York has me feeling some type of way. This past weekend I spent the whole 48 hours inside my apartment. Okay, so I might have left the apartment to take a spin class at the gym, take out the trash, and buy a banana at the bodega around the corner. But for the most part, it was my first ‘lounging’ weekend as a ‘normal’ ‘kid’ in the ‘big apple’. Look how ‘ironic’ my life is becoming. I partook in daily life; laundry, cooking, Netflix binging, and cleaning my room. You know, the glamorous stuff that makes up life in New York.

But honestly, it was the first weekend that I briefly started to feel like I was fitting into a ‘normal’ life that I’ve slowly been attempting to create for myself in NYC. It can be difficult to feel at home in a new city when you constantly have guests visiting the city. I find myself visiting my own city much too often for only having lived here for almost months. I don’t want to come off as if I am complaining. I have so much to explore here and my guests basically give me the best excuse to be the ultimate tourist. But, THREE MONTHS.  A quarter of the year done and dusted, just like that. I have barely scratched the surface of ‘things to do’ and ‘places to see’.

Any form of a normal life feels almost impossible at this point.

So I’ll sweetly wave goodbye to the days of sleeping in past 9:00 AM, and the afternoons spent wrapped up on the couch watching Grey’s Anatomy, and that useless Sunday feeling. Time’s a wasting! And I want it all. And then some.

Tunes

Aside from the normal fifteen-year-old-teenage-girl tunes that I normally listen to, I experienced some more mature, live music this week that left me tapping my toes as I exited the small jazz studio in the flatiron district. My Uncle and I have made it a regular occurrence to see live music or a live performance of some kind. It has become something I look forward to weekly and the shows we attend make me feel extremely ‘New York’y. This week we saw Bucky Pizzarelli, a 91 year old jazz musician who strums a guitar like a 29 year old. This man was incredible. He needed assistance walking on the stage, and yet with a guitar in his hand, he transformed. As far as the daily tunes, on the list this week was ‘It Ain’t Me‘ by Kygo and Selena Gomez, ‘Someone Like You‘ by Adele {an oldie but a goodie}, ‘Still Got Time‘ by Zayn, ‘Mo Bounce‘ by Iggy Azalea {don’t judge me too hard}, and ‘Happier‘ by Ed Sheeran.