Not Being Very Leisurely

Even I, a self-proclaimed lady of leisure, have trouble remembering to take it easy sometimes. The notion that work makes you a good person, and therefore not working makes you a bad person, is so ingrained in me. I am still plagued with thoughts of "What have I done today? What have I accomplished today?" I get sucked in by the critics in my brain that tell me I am lazy, that I haven't done enough each day, you know the stuff.

I've been trying to fit in some "being" time each day, trying to allow some time to just check in with myself and be present. Yesterday, it was so beautiful outside. I had been putting off making this excel spreadhseet for a possible vendor for 2 days. I decided I would just start it, just do a little bit. That's a problem I struggle with, getting things started. I make things into huge insurmountable tasks and then I'm terrified to even begin. So I got the music cranking, started it, and ended up finishing it before I knew it! Then I realized I haven't really been practicing what I preach, I hadn't been doing anything that brought me enjoyment.

I picked up my little folding beach chair and headed out to East River Park, a little gem of a park that has a spectacular view of the majestic City. I bought a good book - The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg - and made myself comfortable. I took breaks from reading to just look at the City. It looks small and quiet from across the water. It felt good to be outside it, instead of trapped on the island in an office or fighting my way through the 34th Street area. I could admire it from afar. I also looked at the clouds alot. There was a pattern in them that reminded me of the leather used on my beloved handbag. It is really wrinkley and textural. It's skin, OK, what do you want. It reminds me of a rhinoceros's hide, and that's what the clouds looked like yesterday at East River Park. After about an hour and 1/2, I headed home and I felt much better about life.

Progress

Leisure Society the company is still a work in progress. I know this, I want to encourage people to live life well. It's not all about working. It can't be! That is so boring. I am freelancing for a company I really like, and still it's a struggle to go to an office every day after working at home for so long. Ugh.

Scott's Lake House

2 weekends ago, I went to Scott's Lake House resort in the Catskills with my best friends. We all stayed in an old farmhouse on the property, and it was the most fun I've had in a long time. Amy and I went tubing, where you get pulled by a motorboat around the lake, and I was so happy! Look at the picture of me in the water above. It was taken right after the tube ride. I felt free. No worries about business or money or family. I was totally in the moment, and it was exhilarating!

The place was so inspiring for Leisure Society, because it was basically a turn-of-the-century vacation compound. Every morning, Matt and I went for peaceful canoe rides around the lake. We all jumped from the high dive, which was a bit scary I have to admit. But I didn't think about it, I just went for it. I thought to myself, I'm going to have to remember all of this and try to bring a little of it into my every day living. At night we played charades in the living room and I laughed harder than I've laughed in years. It felt so good to be with my friends, and to just be myself. No computers, no TV, no phones, just nature and good friends.

If you'd like to see the whole slide-show of the weekend, click here.

I Need a Leisure Getaway

I have been dreaming of a beach house on the ocean. What a life that would be. Someday after I do my exclusive collection for Target, I'll get one. But for now, I am trapped in Brooklyn, claustrophobic and sweaty. We all need to have dreams though. I would settle for a house in the woods near a lake. Far away from the neighbors.

Independence Day

This 4th of July could very well be the best one yet! It was the perfect leisurely escape. Matt and I flew to North Canton, OH to spend the holiday with his family. His mom and dad had come up with a truly inspired itinerary of All-American activities that the whole family could enjoy. First, there was the North Canton 4th of July parade down Main St. It wasn't too exciting, but did feature some cool old tractors and Model T Fords. After that, we went back to the house for lawn games. These are fairly new games to me, since I did not grow up with them as Matt did. The games were Corn-hole (not what it sounds like) and Ladder Golf. If you don't know what they are, I highly suggest looking into them if you enjoy spending time outside playing peaceful, not-too-competitive games that do not require too much energy. They are on par with croquet in my book.

My favorite activity of the weekend was the wooden boat race. Matt's dad made us little wooden "boats" out of 2X4's and we decorated them with markers. Little American flags became our sails, then it was off to the stream behind the house for the races. My boat was christened "Bird of Paradise", quite possibly my favorite name ever. Please do not steal it. It had one good run, then became the 2nd vessel to be eliminated. Oh well, it tried its best. Matt's brother's boat "Gunboat" was the winner in the end. It was a very seaworthy ship.

We went to see the town fireworks, which were pretty good. It was all so calm, people so well-behaved. What a difference from the 4th of July debauchery of New York City. It was lovely to watch the fireworks with my sweetheart!

The final day's activity was a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Pretty cool! It wasn't as "rockin'" as it could be, but it was still fun to see all the memorabilia. I got to see a couple outfits Madonna wore on the Blonde Ambition Tour. They were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, the man responsible for my teenage interest in fashion! Yes, one could say it was that one-piece "undergarment" with the pointy bra that made me want to become a designer. And I actually saw it in person that day. My other faves were Johnny Cash's outfits and the "punk/grunge" area.

Alas, all the idyllic fun had to come to an end, and here I am back in dirty, sticky Brooklyn. I should be at the beach. Or at least in the park playing Ladder Golf.

A Clumsy Shy Girl's Dream Come True

12 years ago the one and only leisure activity I was interested in was going to rock shows. I went to a few a week. Ah, the good old days. All those places are gone now - Brownies, Coney Island High, Trammps, the Cooler. Coney Island High was pretty much my favorite place to see shows at that time, because I really enjoyed the pop punk. It was there that I fell for Weston. They embodied everything I loved: nerds, painful crushes, silly lyrics, rock-star posturing, fun. I could sing along with them at the top of my lungs and rock out and not feel stupid for once. It wasn't about being cool at a Weston show, it was about being yourself and having fun. Well, that's what it was about for me. I went to a lot of other indie rock shows at the time, ultra-cool bands like Blonde Redhead and Magnetic Fields, and that was all about fashion and standing there with your arms crossed.
I was the only person I knew who appreciated Weston's brilliance, and I usually had to go to their shows alone. Sometimes, I could bribe a friend to accompany me. I didn't mind going by myself though, because once they took the stage it was just me and them. I would stay safely on the edge of any mosh pit that happened to form, and jump up and down and bop my head back and forth. I can't believe I just typed the words "mosh pit". Do people even say that anymore? I was going to just say "the pit", but I thought there was a slight chance that a few people might not know what that meant.

Weston made me so happy. Then somewhere along the way I got it into my head that I needed to grow up, act my age, or something. I stopped going to shows, I stopped wearing my uniform of T-shirt, jeans and Converse, and I stopped having fun. I sort of forgot about Weston!
Luckily, 3 years ago I met an amazing, nerdy, shy guy named Matt. In the course of getting to know each other, we talked about music, of course. Turns out he loved Weston too! It was fate. We broke out our old CD's and I remembered every word. I remembered how awesome I felt after a Weston show. We dreamed of their reunion. Little did we know they had already reunited. Did they ever break up?
I reluctantly joined Myspace.com for the 2nd time partly so I could keep tabs on my all-time favorite bands and not miss their shows anymore. Being a part of the Leisure Society affords me much more time to listen to music, as well as obsessively search the internet. So even though I hated it at first, I have to thank Myspace for getting me back "in touch" with Weston. For it was there that I learned that they were playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ Friday night. Yeah. And they were going to be recording the show for a live album. It was gonna be a sing-along. And this time, I wouldn't have to go alone. I could go with my sweetheart!

I was super-nervous for them. I always got nervous before shows. I knew they would open with "Retarded" just as they used to. I was standing on the bleachers on the side of the room at Maxwell's, and as they played the intro I was overcome with the physical memory of just exploding on that first crash of the cymbals. I almost fell off the bleachers. It was like no time had passed. They played all the hits, Dave Weston did his famous strum-and-point move that I had forgotten about, and we all sang our hearts out. The silly jokes were flowing, my favorite being "Who's D to P?" as in the abbreviation of "Who's dying to party?" I think they had as much fun as we did.
We got home at 3am, which is the latest we've stayed out in years. We couldn't hear a thing for 2 days, and my neck was sore from rockin'. All true signs of a good rock show. Thanks Weston!!

Dreaming of the Beach

Today is a rainy day and it's making me daydream about the beach. A beach on the ocean is where I feel most like myself. That's it for today. I have to do my Italian homework.