Sorry

I have been officially reprimanded for not telling the world in my previous post why I was in NY in the first place. I went to NY to visit a friend of mine who goes to school at West Point, the military academy. I've been thinking about posting on how much I respect the men and women that attend West Point and how amazing the school is. However, since I don't particularly care for reprimands, or being told what to do, this is all I'm posting about West Point.

No More

I don't want to be strong anymore.

I can't be strong anymore.

It hurts too much.

I (heart) NY

I just got back from New York City last night, and I must admit, I'm a little sad to be home. I absolutely love NY. I know that a lot of people find it dirty, smelly, and congested, but I think that all of those attributes just add to the character of the city.

Kathryn and I spent Friday just exploring the city. We had no particular agenda, and nothing specific that we wanted to see, so we just wandered. It was fabulous! You come across some very interesting things while you're walking the streets and we were definitely entertained. We started off in the Village, then headed down to Wall Street, made a couple of stops in Times Square, and ended our day in the Upper East Side. We basically covered the entire island in a day.

My favorite part of New York is by far the Village. I have definite aspirations of living there someday when I finish up school. I fell in love with a little neighborhood off of Bleeker close to Grove St. It was so perfect. Brownstones lined the street, there was a little corner market selling fresh flowers (even in the winter) and a little park that I'm sure is full of families during the warmer months. I could just picture myself walking up to my stoop everyday after work carrying fresh flowers to decorate my apartment.

Times Square is my least favorite area of NY. I don't mind the crowds and the noise, I just don't feel like you get as intimate of a connection with the city. It's definitely invigorating though. You can't help but develop of sense of self-awareness while you're standing admist all of the glitter and lights. You can almost feel the blood and adrenaline pumping through your veins. Times Square is good at making you feel alive.

Always There

Every day it's the same.

I wake up and think about him. I go to work and think about him. I sit in class and think about him. Sometimes it makes me cry and sometimes it doesn't. I never know when the crying will begin and I definitely don't know when it will stop. Most of the time the crying is inconvenient and I can stop it very quickly.

Today was a crying day.

It's interesting because most of the time I can talk about him without crying. I'm just relaying information. I can talk about his sickness, his treatment, his funeral, and even his death. Just information. There's no emotion or memories attached to that information. I could be talking about anyone.

But then, the memories start, the emotions follow, and crying is inevitable. This morning is a perfect example. I was sitting on my floor putting on my make-up before going to work. My mind started to wander and I remembered that last year during Fleet Week, April was trying to find volunteers to help shuttle sailors to different community relations events. I had mentioned it to dad and he said he would like to do that. Unfortunately, I told him about it too late and he missed the deadline for background checks. Dad said it was no big deal and that he would do it next year. That's when the tears started.

My friends don't think I cry enough, but I just don't cry in front of them.

Male Restroom Etiquette

I had no idea that using the restroom was such a critical social issue for the male population. The video is long but well worth your time.

Sidebar

As an addition to my previous post I would like to make everyone aware that today I had two jean short sightings. One was at the gym and the other at the beach.

Definitely the worst places to be sporting the jean short.

I have been advised that I should open up the floor to discussion about this wardrobe faux pas and I am more than happy to do so. If you have any sort of reason why jean shorts should not be a thing of the past, please feel free to comment. But be prepared for the backlash.

Fashion 101

A friend of mine has recently been set up on a blind date. It's a friend of a friend type of deal, but he doesn't live locally. He was in town recently and came by the house. Now I've seen pictures of this guy and he is not unfortunate looking. However, when he walked into my living room, he was wearing (insert drum roll, Jaws soundtrack, or any other ominous sounding music).....jean shorts. Yes my friends, jean shorts.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that jean shorts are not acceptable for any male over the age of 5. That's right, 5. Little boys look cute in them, but grown men look completely ridiculous. There are two camps of men that refuse to let the jean short revolution die. Redneck men that spend a Sunday watching NASCAR and men from Florida. I don't know what it is about Florida boys thinking that jean shorts are an acceptable wardrobe choice. I've met guys from all over, and even those boys in the Midwest who aren't exactly known for their expertise in the world of fashion, don't wear jean shorts.

Now don't get me wrong. There are plenty of trends down here in the Sunshine State that need to be abandoned. White linen pants, for example. Skinny jeans. Silk shirts unbuttoned low enough to show chest hair. Screen printed t-shirts telling the world how big it really is. But none of these can even compare to this atrocious misuse of denim.

I cannot stress the importance of burning every single pair of jean shorts that you own. They can be easily replaced by a pair of cargos, khakis, or even a good camouflage. Trust me. They are not cool, they are not comfortable, and they will not get you a date.