It doesn't take much to make me happy ...

As I alluded to in my last post, I had a crazy busy week (and weekend) ahead of me, when I wrote the post because now, it's behind me, but oh well .... I apologize in advance if this becomes a rambling mess of a post, but I should really be sleeping right now because I literally worked 28 hours this weekend.  Is that even possible?  Well, I've proven that it is.  But, I guess, other people probably work more than that (for example, doctors), and I've actually worked more than that when I first started practicing ... but I haven't in a really long time, so I'm giving myself some kudos for doing so.  On a beautiful weekend, too, when friends were relaxing out in the sun.

But anyhow, I learned a lot this weekend (other than legal concepts, that is).  One, it doesn't take much to make me happy (thus, the title of my post).  Because despite being stuck indoors in front of the computer, reading and typing away, analyzing case law and statutes and all those good stuff, I felt happy.  Again, is that possible?  Happy working my (bleep) off?  Again, I've proven (to myself) that it is.

Here's my last few days in a nutshell ... it may give you an idea of just how much I enjoyed all of this stuff.  Maybe my friends will be just as jealous as I was a tad bit whenever I took a few seconds (ahem) to check on Facebook and live vicariously through them.  I know, jealousy is not a good trait to have but no worries, I really don't have a strong jealousy gene (past boyfriends actually complained about this - crazy, I know!).  So, before I digress again, here was my weekend in a (picture) nutshell:

Remember my makeshift office space?  Remember how neat it was a few days ago?

Well, by Saturday morning, it looked like this.  Notice the sunlight in this picture, too.

And the Jamba Juice by my laptop (side).

Fourteen (14) hours later, I was still there.  No sunshine, but still with Jamba Juice by my side.

       Then, on Sunday, I moved to my actual office.  This is actually how it looked this morning.

Again, this may make me sound a little nuts, but looking at this makes me happy.

Because that FedEx box you see there?  That means I finished.  

And it was sent to be filed.  Yay!

This I saw when I pulled into a parking space at Staples (the office store).  I know, it's not as exciting as going to watch a basketball game or a Coldplay concert (at the Staples Center), but seeing this as I pulled in really made me happy.  Doesn't it look lovely?  Just puts a smile on my face.

After I sent the briefs off to be filed (and made sure it was not rejected), 

I took care of a few administrative office stuff, then, went home early.  

But, before actually going home, I had to stop by Jamba Juice for their 

Back-to-School special sale.  You see a pattern here?  

Yes, I love Jamba Juice!  And my favorite is what is probably 

their most fattening smoothie: the Peanut Butter Moo'd.

I know I can make the smoothie at home, 

but nothing like someone else making it for me.

And for $2?  I'll take it!

(Again, I was very happy!)

  

I didn't plan on running today because I just felt exhausted.  Even with the smoothie and all that sugar,

my energy level was at a negative zero.  But, after half an hour of lounging on my couch, I

decided to watch Flashdance.  (You see, I wanted to be Jennifer Beals when I was a kid.  I used to

dance around and try to copy her popular dance routine.  Of course, I didn't know that

her character was also a stripper in the movie (I didn't know what a stripper was), but, anyhow,

I watched Flashdance.  And afterwards, I wanted to dance.  But, instead, I went out for a run.

And I'm glad I did because just look at that gorgeous sky!  

Again, I'm obsessed with the sky.  I'm one of those camera-happy people that pulls out their cell phone 

(if I don't have my camera) every time I see something that excites me (which is probably every five seconds).  Here I am pulling out my cell phone in the middle of a run.

But, just beautiful, huh?

This picture (and my amateur photography skills) doesn't do it justice.

But again, just looking at this made me very happy.

It was a happy day.

Hope you had a happy Monday, too!

Starting over

Yesterday was about letting go.  And today is about starting over.  This picture was taken from my hike earlier.  It reminds me that no matter what I'm going through, the sun sets beautifully and will rise just the same.

happy travels!

I know I haven't been doing a great job keeping up with the Blog Every Day in May Challenge.  I tell you, I'm quite disappointed with myself, too.  But, this thing called work (along with writing classes) has kept me very busy these days.  I know, what a stinker!  But, I noticed that today's topic is "only pictures," and I thought, yes, I can do that!  So, thought I'd share some of my favorite travel photos.  Hope you enjoy!

Aww, just looking at these make me want to go on vacation again!

own it | on seeing and describing the world as it had never been seen and described before

Yesterday was a complete sluggish of a day.  I think all of the activities of the past few weeks, on top of the mountain of work I've had to get through, just got to me.  I was exhausted.  Mentally and physically.  So, by two o'clock, I decided to stop pushing myself.  I surrendered.  Gave in to the exhaustion.  And allowed myself to rest.  

So, I watched Thursday's episodes of The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast.  Guilty pleasures are the best!  Then, I decided to go for a long walk around the neighborhood.  And take pictures.  As I took photographs to Mat Kearney playing on my iPod, this thought came to me: I used to be a poet.  

But, I haven't written a poem in a very long time.  

I remember telling a dear friend awhile back that writing a poem is not only about the words and how you structure them.  It's not about rhyming.  It's about feelings.  And to write a poem, you have to allow yourself to feel.  Allow yourself to go to this place deep inside of you that no one else has reached, and then pull yourself out of it and allow those feelings to roam around a world you'd never been to, but had always dreamed of and imagined.  It's about allowing yourself to see the world in such a way that had never been seen before.  Then, sharing it for others to see.  

And I realized that although I haven't written a poem, I have photographed poems.  And that there is no such thing as I used to be a poet.  I am a poet.  

I met this writer a couple of weeks ago, and she asked me what kind of story I was working on.  I told her I was trying to write a fiction novel.  She set me straight, and said there is no such thing as trying to write a novel.  You are writing a novel, she said.  Own it.  You are a writer.  It doesn't matter if you've never published a piece of work.  Or you never, ever publish a single word in your life.  You are a writer.  

And I am a poet.  

around the neighborhood | 04.19.13

Carroll Gardens

I've been sitting in front of the computer all morning, trying my very best to write this memorandum that's due on Monday.  But, my mind keeps wandering to some other place I'd rather be.

I've been feeling this longing, a missing of some sort.  A homesick kind of feeling.  For a place far away from the one I call home, but for some reason, felt more like home to me.

I never really believed in love at first sight.  Others who know me may find that hard to believe since I've been branded as hopelessly romantic, but I've always thought that love took time.  Perhaps, it's the cautious person inside of me who doesn't allow myself to be swept away by emotions.  Because I thought emotions were fleeting. I've always been one who was suspicious of men who fell too hard too fast because as experience had taught me, they were also the ones who were gone as soon as newness seamed into familiar.

But, the moment I stepped onto the sidewalk on Smith Street, I thought this is what love at first sight must feel like.  It took only an instant, a millisecond.  And I fell in love with that corner of Brooklyn.  But, it was more than a feeling or an emotion.  I knew.  I love this place.  And I want to be here.

I want to be there.

Carroll Gardens | October 2012

a photograph and its stories

I've always been a fan of photographs.  I can be pretty obsessed with them.  In fact, I tend to think that if I was braver and more daring, I would have skipped on law school and taken photography classes instead.  I guess my love for photographs makes sense since I love stories and a single photograph can tell many stories - from the perspective of the subject, the photographer, and the viewer.  Then, there's the real story.  

I took this picture while I was wandering around the streets of Rome.  Rome is one of my favorite places to take pictures.  There are so much going on at any given time of the day - so much stories to be found and to be told.  The tourist couple who are turning their heads at every angle trying to capture the history that surrounds them.  The woman sitting by a fountain, smiling after each time she licks the ice cream that is quickly melting from the heat and dripping from the cone in her hand.  The group of teenage girls sitting on the steps of an old church, laughing as a teenage boy dances in front of them.  And the lone girl who throws a coin over her head into the Trevi fountain.  What did she wish for?   

And there was this view from the rooftop of the apartment I stayed at during my last visit to Rome.  It was right before sunset, and we were high enough that the street noise were just muffled sounds, and in fact, at that time of day, almost inaudible.  The only sounds that could always be heard clearly were the bells coming from St. Peter's Square.  Every time I look at this picture, I remember why I believed (and still do) that Rome is a place where hearts can be healed and spirits restored.   

i love new york

Walking around this city does wonders to my soul.

And my heart.

DC part II