jueves, 27 de agosto de 2015

Love letter to New York City

Dear New York City,

I recently moved to a beautiful studio apartment near Washington Square Park. The location is great, the building couldn’t be prettier (it has an elevator! Thank you for that), and overall the place is fabulous; but TINY! Tiny as in 300 square feet tiny. This of course shouldn't come as a surprise to you since you are used to people paying obscene amounts of money for petite spaces just to be able to call you "home".

I'm not writing to complain about my apartment. You and I have shared a beautiful on and off relationship for the past sixteen years. You thought me the meaning of unconditional love, otherwise I could not explain why on earth I would put up with your brutal winters, your humid and sticky summers, and your many times rude behavior if it wasn't for the fact that I love you. I just wanted to share with you how living in 300 square feet of wood flooring, Gypsum board walls and windows has changed my persona.

Living in such a small place turned me into a neat freak. When you have to share 300 square feet with a feline, when your bicycle encroaches into your kitchen, and when your "living room", "dining room", "bedroom", and "TV room" are all the same space you have to take organization to a whole new level. Remember that box full of music CD's that I kept holding onto when I was living in Brooklyn? Gone. How about those four pillows and comforters I used to keep on the unreachable upper shelf of my coat closet (what a luxury that is!) in my two-bedrooms two-bathrooms Philadelphia's flat that my guests enjoyed so many times? Gone. I even had to get rid of the guests* because quite honestly New York, they don't fit inside my place. Basically, I got rid of absolutely EVERY single item that wasn't essential to my survival.

Sometimes is difficult to understand that the purpose of relationships is to teach us lessons, and you my dear city had been the best teacher. You thought me how good it feels to live with less "stuff", to consume less, to appreciate more, and to realize that there's really no need (or available space!) to have twenty pair of shoes when you can only wear one pair at a time. Om sweet Ommmmmmm!

I hope we keep sharing many more years full of adventures and happy memories. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be part of your history and thank you for all the good things you've been providing me with for the past sixteen years. My apartment -and my 5'-5" petite body- are living proof that all good things come in small packages (size does matter after all!).

With love,

Gloria

*Unless we are talking about a handsome male guest, in which case one shall make a huge effort and for once be hospitable and allow said guest to spend the night even if that means that the cat has to sleep outside by the hallway.

jueves, 20 de agosto de 2015

The Blog is back!

I decided to create a blog a few years ago out of pure boredom. I'm not going to lie -I was sitting in front of my computer back in 2011 and the only productive things I was doing were using oxygen and warming my chair. So I started blogging. And for many months (maybe years), it was my escape valve. The main idea behind the blog was to write about the things I love. In its early days I wrote about fashion, architecture, art, my cats, my trips, etc. Things were fabulous, I had a writing routine, I had a great photographer -whom decided to quit shortly after I started, but let's leave the details of that story for another entry- and inspiration was flowing freely. Life was a wave, and I was riding it like a pro.

Little did I know my "perfect" routine was about to go bananas and the universe was ready to deal me a hard slap. Now, to be fair, slapping doesn't necessarily need to be a bad thing, depending on your perspective, but the change was still a huge, unexpected turn in my life, and I was not prepared for it.  The things and relationships I thought I would never lose were gone in a very short period of time and I was left with the last precious thing a human being can posses: myself (And also my cats ;)).

But I'm back from my hiatus and like The Phoenix I'm arising from the ashes. I'm going to start writing again -just like before, about the things I love the most. Some of my priorities might have changed a little bit, and in addition to fashion, architecture, art, my cat, and my trips, I'm also going to try and add one more thing: relationships. I'm in no way an expert -but you know what? My heart has been on a wild ride during the past three years, and I think I've graduated with honors from Relationships for Dummies 101: How To Forgive, Be Compassionate, and Let Go. So to all of you out there struggling with a difficult relationship, trust me on something: You are not alone, -This too shall pass. Change your perspective if you can, even if just a little, and trust that this situation is a blessing in disguise. You might just not see it yet.



I'm also becoming my own photographer until I can find someone who can fill Coco's shoes. Those shoes are going to be very difficult to fill, but if you have time to spare, or if you're just as bored as a monkey on a bonsai tree call me, text me, email me, let's have dinner, let's interact!

I'm still not sure where this blog (or life) will take me. I get antsy sometimes and often wish I had a DeLorean time machine like in Back to the Future to be able to see where the wave I call life is sweeping me, but certain things can't be rushed. You need to trust the universe and its divine timing. You can't rush a plant to give you a flower, -it only happens when its ready. But when it happens, it's a miracle. Such is life.

So consider this the un-official re-launching ceremony of The Guayaba Project. Let's agree to inscribe this important event in the record of human history as "The Dawning of the Era of The Guayaba Project 2.0". Let the progeny of my boredom spread its wings and fly. Let the madness continue!