im baaaaack

Alright ladies and gentlemen...

I am back in NYC after a wonderful trip down south. There will be photos to boot and possibly even video footage to share soon. Along with reporting that I had an amazing trip I also have some other good news! I am extremely happy to say that I am retiring as a NYC Vagabond. There will be no more couch hopping for me within the remaining 6 months because I will be moving into my humble abode in the Boogie Down Bronx this week. Yeeeee haaa! Do you know what this means? I CAN START HAVING VISITORS!



Oh boy oh boy I am tickled with joy.

day six

Hello "y'all". Although I am still on the road I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you what I have been up to for the past six days or so. The south is a wonderful place. Louisiana is like nothing that I have ever seen before. The people are friendly, the weather is mild and the food is out of this world. There is a sense of humbleness that is overwhelming. The reality of giving back and lending not only a hand but also time that will never be forgotten is something I do not think I can ever express completely through words.

Here are a few things I have learned thus far...

I have learned that taking an overnight train is one of the best ways to appreciate the countryside and to people watch as people come and go.
I am learning perspective.
I have learned my strength in operating a sledge hammer.
I have learned to step over boundaries.
I have learned that I miss home more than ever before..
I have learned that bbq beef po boys is where it's at.
I have learned the taste of alligator.
I am learning that my dreams have been getting much weirder and weirder.

And one last thing,

I am learning that things are worth the wait,and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

One day at a time...

MIA

Dear friends, readers and fellow bloggers...

I will be traveling out of town for the next ten days or so which means I will have very limited internet access. I will be traveling to New Orleans to work with Habitat for Humanity. Woot woot. SOO, I will probably need to hold off on blogging until I get back.

I will miss you dearly.

All my love,

Nicole

babes

new roidsz

the three stooges

i found the buried treasure

peek-a-boo...

short stories

An excerpt from one of the short stories I am currently working on...

"The door opens to the auditorium. What seems like thousands were actually hundreds of judgmental freaks that stared, mocked and snickered at everyones expense. Cheap perfume, short skirts and poor taste in shoes filled the area. Tits, bustering biceps and heavy eyeliner camaflaged any resemblence in age. This was the begining of Junior High."

i need to remember to...

times like these...times like those

It's Friday. Hallelujah. If I were to predict the near future this is what I would see...

one last shout out

This is my last post about Ray I promise.




I need to scan polaroids like woah. I've got over 50 of them...

!!! pandora !!!

step one: go to pandora.com

step two: sign in/ sign up as a user if you have not done so already (don't worry, I won't judge)

step three: create a new station and type in 'Ray LaMontagne'

step four: sit back and relax because baby, this is heaven...

day dreamin'

While commuting to work this morning I closed my eyes to catch up on some sleep. Heavy breathing began to form a comforting rhythm. As I shut my eyes all I could imagine was living in the woods in a cozy log cabin, sitting by the fireplace with three beautiful big dogs at my feet. I pictured there to be hot tea at hand with homemade cookies to dip. The warmth of the fire kissed my face while I stared out the bay window to see snow capped mountains and a large half frozen river running along a gate of tall naked trees. Photographs and paintings consumed the wooden walls as I walked around the warm house in my underwear and t-shirt; barefoot. I could imagine baking fruitful pies, and learning how to knit as well as playing the piano while humming the words of a classic love song- the kind that takes you back to when you first fell in love.

Although my day dream is romanticized, I crave it so bad that I can smell the sweet spices of the air...the crisp scent of apples and bark, mixed with pine and brown sugar.

After fantasizing the future I gained consciousness before exiting the train. With the first step off the ramp I smiled and thought....someday.

it's not goodbye it's:

So with that I say, see ya later NH. Until next time...

should I stay or should I go now...

While being home for just about ten days now, I have recently discovered how much I am going to miss it when I leave. After living away for as long as I have, with visiting no longer than a week or so at a time; I never thought I would gather enough thought into moving back. My mindset has changed immensely. What I want, need and strive for has changed within the last six years or so. Growing up we moved around a lot which I believed to be the reason for never wanting to move home again. As much as I crave consistency I have learned that the idea of Home goes beyond the roof over our heads and meals on the table. The ideology of Home is the relationships that are made, the laughs that are shared and endless love that is shown through hugs,smiles,tickle fights,jokes and the comfort of silence.



As much as I do not want to go back to NYC right now I do know that I have a better direction as to what I want. I suppose the next challenge is to figure out how to obtain it...

Good Morning

I love it when a song can bring you back to a certain place in time where you remember the day so clear, the colors and smells all for which make you smile...over and over again.

My all time favorite of all favorite playlists that I have come across (with full credit given to Alex) include these tracks:

Cherry Blossom Girl by Air
I just don't think I'll ever get over you by Colin Hay
January Rain by David Gray
Girls by Death In Vegas
Brokeback Mountain 1 by Gustavo Santaolalla
Diane by Guster
Such Great Heights by Iron & Wine
Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Imagine by John Lennon
Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez
Are You Awake? by Kevin Shields
Gretchen Ross by Michael Andrews
Don't Know Why by Norah Jones
Recycled Air by The Postal Service
White Daisey Passing by Rocky Votolato
Eyes by Rogue Wave
Complainte De La Butte by Rufus Wainwright
New Slang by The Shins
Tommib by Squarepusher
Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens
In The Waiting Line by Zero 7




ALSO : I've been so so so so so into Ray LaMontagne these days.

oh nine

Here is to a year of (more) change, (more) challenge, (more) risk taking, (more) self discovery and (more) romanticizing future dreams…

It's a new dawn...a new day...a new life....

I would like to welcome everyone into the year 2009. Cheers! Another year has passed and there is a lot to look forward to. I cannot begin to express just how blessed I feel to be where I am at and to have such an outstanding support system to help me along my ways. May you and your families have good fortune, health and success for the New Year and many more to come.

Here is to new beginnings, finishing’s and everything in between. I'm not usually one for New Years resolutions but more so about the idea of self reflection and sustainability.

I'd like to first start out with getting my ducks in a row...

A friend recently told me that in order to maintain a balanced lifestyle one must be successful in three areas: Wealth, Health and Relationships. I’d like to believe that regardless if one has all three or not at the same time, that it takes an entire life’s journey to feel completely balanced.