Leaving on a jet plane ... or the Metro North

One of my dear friends is (dare I say) leaving the city. She is one of the most interesting people I know and she accepts the fact that I am perpetually 10 minutes late to all our meet ups. I met her through a mutual friend about a year ago, but in this short time frame she's miraculously chopped my mile time by :30 and more importantly, she continuously believes in me.
Of course, I'm coming to the age where I realize most of the things my parents told me were true. Like the ever popular, "you never have more that five true friends" (emphasis on true) and I'm glad to say this lady is a true friend. Anyone that will be ink friends with you IS A KEEPER!
(for those of you non-Harriet the Spy fans, I've included an ink friend connection pic). More than that, she's constantly motivated and is always up for a run in the park (even at 6:20am!). I'm telling this story with lots of parentheses because there are lots of things in between - connectors that have to be called out as such because otherwise you'll think I'm just describing any ol' buddy.

All in all, she never knows how far she can go because she has no expectations of stopping. Good luck my dear friend, write to you soon.

Ageless or Timeless?

I'm inching towards my next decade and as of yesterday; I officially have one more year to complete all the goals I set for myself before turning 25. Not to mention when I was twelve I thought by my twenties my career would be established enough for me to have a penthouse on the UWS. Needless to say, with age comes wisdom...or something like that.
It's all very interesting the way things have panned out over the last few years. Being in the school system for the majority of your life you're paired and matched with people your age and they are suppose to be your friends. You're kids, so your little antics are funny and a bonding point. When you are older and in the real world it's odd when you meet people that are ten years older (or more) and they understand you and accept your quirky little ways. Because let's face it by the time you have a job and you start planning your future you're suppose to know better than do all those silly things like make up songs, right? (Wrong. I still make up songs, my latest hit is called "checklist"- lyrics are available upon request)
I cannot argue that the longer you live (pending your life choices) the more experiences you have to pull from to create your book of wisdom. That's the only way people learn. But what about those people that make age, nothing but a number? The old soul, the person that always seems to be ahead of you by at least 20 years. The same person that convinces you to live your life with carelessness but won't reveal to you how they figured that out. Or the beautiful soul, the person that you meet and wonder how you made it this far without knowing them. Those are the kind of people that are just yours, simply, wholly and un-aged. I like to judge those people by thinking about it like this: If I were to put a memory of them in a bottle and look at it ten years later, would that person be the same? Feel the same? Still make you see yourself differently? Yes, yes and definitely.
 So here I am, still making mistakes, wondering what I'll be when I grow up and loving every year that goes by. You know a better way?

Write a little, run a little

My first post of the new year... Well, this holiday, I spent the season with my boyfriend and his family in Arizona. Oh yea, 70 degree weather! While I was there, Harriet the Spy came on, which is by far my favorite movie - even to this day. The concept is simple she writes because, she wants to remember everything and know everything. This thinking also lead to her espionage, but nonetheless - it's true. Is it possible this movie I watched when I was nine took this many years to figure out what it all really means?
2010 was a year to pick up the pieces, but in the end I figured out a few things. I write because I believe writers understand a truth that not all can see and real writers are able to make this truth beautiful;  "beauty is truth, truth beauty. That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know" - John Keats.
I run because I like the sound that my anxiety and negative thoughts make chasing behind me consistently slower than my own pace. When I run, all my affirmations, day dreams and counting over power so nothing but steady breathing and progression happen in the span of a run.

Get it yet? Two things. Truth and beauty, for me writing and running. At least now I know what I can do to get me through the year.

I resolve ...

 I've been thinking about the New Year and what to "resolve" or more specifically, what  are all the things I want to make different in my life. 

Will 2011 be the year I:

Get an apartment on my own? Add a kitty or two to my one person family? See my family more often?

 I have this friend who grew up playing sports and she lives by the code of decorum teams and the athletic life has taught her, so she's always having us make goals. My three girlfriends and I will sit at dinner and she'll pop up with "OK, so what are your goals for the week?" It's a tedious process because it's almost like saying it out loud makes you act on it, since you know at least three other people in the world will call you out if you slack off. I love it and hate it. In sports you are judged on your stats - so of course the more you points you score per game the more valuable you become. However, you can also gain credibility for at least shooting at the goal, but I'm committed to a sport that only has a finish line... 

There are a lot of things I've started in 2010 - becoming a writer is one of them, becoming a marathon runner, making peace with some of my relationships, etc.  Like any other race these have to come  full circle. So I think this year, I will resolve the following:

• Be happy 360 days a year
• Be a writer to my toughest critics
• Be a marathon runner
• Live in the moment and stop planning so much!

Great. Now I've told at least 30 people and 1 person in India, guess by this time next year I better make good on these.

A note for my dear readers; although resolve means to "clear away, reduce, break with" I suggest only making one of your goals this year a reduction and the other resolutions should add to your life - just something I learned you're more motivated to do something positive than negative!

Happy New Year, write to you soon.