Category: MUSINGS

Morning Walks: Blossoms on Concrete

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People may think concrete is not able to ignite inspiration, but concrete cracks and cracks let life bloom, releasing a wave of what can only be admired with open eyes.
Concrete may not make you a poet, but it can make you think and that’s always a necessity. It can highlight small beauties and nurture little secret corners of good will.
The world needs more things that inspire, simple oddities that ignite a never ending train of thought and cause wanderers to stop and admire simple beauties found in concrete.

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Photos from my morning walk in the West Village | NYC

46 Days Without Facebook

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It felt like a tragedy when I made the decision to give up Facebook for lent. I thought I was crazy and there was no way I could do it.

This Easter morning when I logged back in all excited for my return, I went into my account, took a quick look around and thought to myself: “That’s it?”

First, the number of notifications waiting for me was quite sad. (Except for my dear girls who loyally kept me on their inbox chains and left a couple of hundred entertaining messages to catch up on).

Then I thought, “I did it? I truly went on with my lent sacrifice?”

You know what, it was not as hard as I thought. Yes, it was hard to find #TBT pictures with my limited iphone content, yes I forgot birthdays that I am not proud of, but overall, I was still a part of this world and things still happened in my life. There were a few sad news which I received with delays, but I was still connected with the people I love.

If you are thinking I had an awakening and have now decided to give up Facebook forever, you are greatly mistaken, relax.

The thing about Facebook versus Instagram, I realized, is that Instagram is full of more positive content, overall. Facebook gives you that status space to easily and quickly write whatever you please. Someone gave you an attitude today? You can just type that up, nice and easy. It is so easy to find a Facebook feed infested with negative comments and things that bring you down. Whereas a negative Instragram feed takes more work, you actually need some kind of visual proof. I had never thought about it that way until this morning as I waited to log back on Facebook.

I’m obviously back and running, I will try to upload some pictures eventually and all those routine tasks, but I’m actually glad I went through with these 46 days (yeah, there are actually more than 40 days in Lent).

Hello, my name is Cristina Nogueras and I went 46 days without Facebook and the world still went on. (Shocking, I know).

Happy Easter!

 

 

Dear Doctors & Med Schools, I Have Something to Say

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Setting: Walgreens prescription counter

I hand the technician my prescriptions and she laughs. Yup, she laughs. I ask what’s wrong.

Technician: “You’re going to have to give me a moment, I don’t know what any of these say.”

The magic is dead.

All my life I have believed this magic tale of technicians and overall medicine people having this special power to read a doctor’s handwriting. All my life I had trusted them to know what magic jelly beans I was putting into my mouth.

Lies.

What’s the point then? Why can’t doctors write clear? My theory for the secret code of the world of medicine is dead, obviously. So what’s the deal?

Thank goodness I’m not dying or anything (Although this morning when my ears and eyes were swollen I swore I was, you know, typical Thursday morning).

I would like to petition all med schools to update their curriculum with a new simple little course called: Calligraphy, the art of making letters understood by the magic jelly beans dispensers.

So yeah, here I sit at Walgreens. Waiting to be called and be given God knows what. I think I need a new nail polish… and some other five things that I surely don’t need but will purchase on my wait out.

Hello, April

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Another month I go over my budget… surprise, surprise!

I love Mint.com, it helps me stay grounded, but if I go over my personal budget even when I track it regularly, how do people live without a budget?! Oh yes, they must be rich.

I can be very good one week, bring my home cooked meal to work, deprive myself of shopping and only do happy hour specials… but then there’s one day that I feel like I can rule the world and I decide instant gratification is the way to go, so I indulge in tasty meals over $8 and splurge in this cute summer dress I can’t even wear because hey, it’s still winter. March didn’t get the memo, I hope April does.

So yeah, today I say hello to a new month, with a blank economic canvas waiting to be filled with overpriced purchases of everyday necessities… life in New York City.

Here’s to April, may it finally bring Spring to us!

 

* photo and image edit by Cristina Nogueras

Being Assertive & Humble

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Our generation needs to keep learning. The people with the loudest voices and biggest mouths are the ones on the spotlight blasting their ideas and “knowledge” at anyone with eyes and/or ears. Seriously, I’m all for confidence and self-respect, but some people out there are way too entitled.

I have a love and hate relationship with the HBO show GIRLS, the last episode being more on the hate side. Hannah, the main character, is a writer and a little too entitled for my taste. She had been working at a big magazine in an advertorial position, was feeling creatively limited by her role and at a brainstorm meeting, she just snapped and got fired. She rambled on about how this job was basically making her rot, how her creativity was dead and so on. I found that SO rude and unprofessional. I am sorry, you may hate your job and you may feel trapped, but there is a difference between standing up for what you deserve and being an entitled little brat. Seriously, not cool.

There is a lot that we can learn from Hannah’s breakdown or little girl tantrum. We should certainly work towards fulfilling our passions, but success is also about having that perfect balance between being humble and being assertive.

Life is not easy, everybody knows that. I know she is a fictional character, but geez, I was pissed. I believe this character reflects what a lot of people in my generation act and feel like. We might need to make some adjustments and have more respect for each other. We are an awesome generation, don’t get me wrong, but we are setting ourselves for self-destruction if we keep streaming this line of fake success and self-proclaimed mavens.

Educate yourself, get some experience, be humble, stay grounded and please, oh please… just chill out for a bit.

Peace, Love & Diet Coke

 

Warning. This thing called wanderlust, it’s getting worse.

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Oh yeah, and by the way, I booked a trip to Croatia.

As much as I wish I could say this was a crazy moment of enlightenment in which I decided to book a flight to a random country, it was not all quite like that. I’ve been wanting to jump back to the other side of the Atlanitc for a while now, it was a matter of getting around the decision of where to go (and with what money, of course).

Turns out, there is a reason for credit cards and tax returns. That reason is so that I can go to Europe. I am beyond thrilled to be able to explore a new country outside my beloved European classics like France and Spain.

It’s booked. It’s happening. It’s getting closer.

Life is too short to live on the extreme, think about it. Too much saving wont get you moving places and too much wilderness and abandonment will leave you with no savings. So take this as a sign if you’ve been saving to travel for a while, or if you’re extremely broke then also take this as a sign and open yourself a nice little savings account.

Have any recommendations about what to do in Croatia? Comment away!

Also, be sure to follow the blog on Instagram @peaceloveanddietcoke

 

Image Credit – http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/beaches/croatia-island-beach-holidays/vis-island-croatia

 

Pretend

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I write to make sense of the nonsense in this planet
Dreams chatter every day
We learn to play the game
Smile when we have to
Take what needs to be taken
Maybe we’re all fooling ourselves
Lost in a sea of pretending not to pretend with endless empty laughter
Screaming inside
Planning and planning, with no set date to fly
Maybe we are not, maybe we know
We choose to play the game,
To keep going and beat the drain
Maybe we know when we’re set to sail,
Just let the breeze prevail…

I don’t know how to forgive. Forgive, but don’t forget?

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If you look at it from a physical perspective, letting go is quite easy. Holding on to a cup? Release, let it go and it will drop away from you. If only emotions were just as easily to let go of.

I have never really believed on the whole “forgive and forget” idea. It does not make sense to me. You do not need to forget to forgive, if you forget then it’s like you did not forgive at all. I believe that in order to forgive, you need to fully acknowledge what happened and be fully aware of what it meant in your life and then you make the decision to let it go. You forgive because either it does not hurt anymore or you’ve decided that there is something more important than the pain.

I’m not an expert at forgiving. It takes time for me to let go of the pain. It’s not my choice to hold on, believe me, I do not like to carry it around and remind myself about the pain of the past. Forgiving sounds selfless, but it’s really selfish. You forgive so you stop feeling hurt, you forgive to let go of the pain and find inner peace.

Maybe I have it all wrong, maybe that’s why it’s so hard for me to forgive. Maybe I do not even know how to do it.

Nothing says love and hate for me right now, like New York City

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HGTV, the cause of all my suffering. Seriously, as much as I enjoy watching people find the house of their dreams, I always end up questioning my own situation.

This couple was hunting for the perfect beach bungalow and by bungalow, apparently they meant mansions as the properties were extremely beautiful, spacious and right by the beach. As I was not watching super intently, I don’t know where it was, but it looked freaking gorgeous.

My point? The house was renting for only $1,000 a month… seriously? That is basically what I pay for my below average apartment, of course I am paying for location because for some reason I think it is the best thing ever to live 15 minutes away from a city that doesn’t even sleep.

This makes me question my situation and I ask myself, is it worth it? Why am I living by Manhattan when I could basically afford a house by the beach somewhere where the sun is always shinning and the weather doesn’t make you want to cry each morning?

These feelings are of course intensified when you are watching HGTV on a plane coming back from a teasing 3 days in sunny San Diego. I am actually considering making an official list of the why reasons I live where I live because I obviously have reasons, I’m not stupid. Maybe it can be a little laminated card I can keep in my wallet and pull out whenever I am doubting myself.

Maybe it’s my island roots screaming for sun and fresh tropical air. Having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, snowy winters are not particularly what you’re thinking of when you are laying on the warm sand.

What is it about New York City that makes everyone put up with the stupid cold weather? No one is really stuck there, except maybe the statute of liberty and even she is sort of in New Jersey. People even say that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. So, why do we stay?

Why do we put up with crowded subways, questionable smells, rude people, overpriced drinks, overrated fashion trends and ridiculously high rent? Because somehow, with all that crap, New York City is pretty awesome. It’s a city full of cliches, twisted together with some of the best original ideas in the world.Possibilities are endless and opportunity is just around the corner, or maybe a subway stop ahead.

So for now, I’ll keep my stupid lease and I will continue to try to become better and happier everyday, aiming to discover the secret of teleportation so I can forever escape the cold, yet continue to be challenged (or kicked in the butt) by a pretty amazing city.

Image Credit – http://sketch42blog.com/2011/08/lovehate/

An Unexpected Valentine’s Day

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Surprise bouquet at the office, delicious candlelit dinner at the fanciest restaurant with the finest bottle of wine and a night out dancing and strolling by the water…

That was not my Valentine’s Day.

I have been sick for the past week, but don’t worry I will not bore you (or disgust you) with the details.

Somehow, I was still able to have a pretty damn sweet Valentine’s Day. Boyfriend brought me flowers and some grape juice, which I enjoyed in a fancy wine glass while I ate a dairy-free and fairly unseasoned pasta on my freezing kitchen. I could not eat chocolates or any other sweets for that matter and all the dancing I did was from the kitchen to the sofa, where I killed that grape juice while we watched nothing else but the Valentine’s Day movie (permission to gag).

Yes, I was upset about the food choice and evident lack of wine and cheese. Yes, I wish we could have done the long weekend road trip we originally planned, but you know what?

Sh*t happens and you still are able to smile. I wasn’t able to stuff my face with complicated dishes, fancy cheese and gulps of wine? Eh, I saved the calories?

In all seriousness, I’m grateful I could even eat. I also had love, which is kind of the point of this so-called Holiday, so why was I complaining? Oh yeah, because I am obsessed with cheese.