gym.

so ned's been better lately. and i've been more forgiving of him. 

we're learning to live together peaceably. 

and i'm beginning to think he's not such bad guy. 

he has good intentions. but manifests those intentions in very unhelpful ways.

and then there's gym. 

gym and i haven't seen much of each other lately. 

and while i know gym is a good guy--a good guy who's actually good for me...well, this girl has a thing for bad boys, ya know?

so i'd been thinking about the book club a lot lately. 

and this led to a dream about an exercise club (yes, an actual night-time dream).

 and i happened to mention this to my girlfriends at brunch last week. and they seemed to think this dream could become a reality. 

three reasons why:

1. gym is really good for all of us

2. this way a week won't turn into a month in which we don't see each other

3. a reason to not sleep in until noon

and so a dream, an idea, a reality was born. 

we met last friday. 

and elliptical and i had 45 minutes of oh-this-isn't-actually-hell bliss. 

and i got to talk to vic and carolyn about life a year after school. 

and then again this morning. and wednesday is looking very promising.

we have big plans. 

dates with central park. 

dates with my newly acquired New York City Ballet Workout DVD (Dancing on Thorns really rubbed off on me). 

and with the pool. pools are such a commodity in this city of ours. so water aerobics and laps and good ol' water fights are in the near future. 

oh. sigh. i can't wait.

This is for Vic, Naomi, Carolyn, and Sarah...

photos stolen from your very own facebook accounts...oh facebook...good for so many things

....because we need to hang onto this as we start off on that path which fate has us assigned...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and  fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. 

You know you have the best girlfriends in the world when...

You get a text message from all the girls telling you the exact location of "he who shall not be named" when he shows up out of nowhere. And the thing is they're letting you know so that you can make the choice as to whether to make a beeline for him or avoid at all costs. 

You get an email from one of your girlfriends regarding the relationship status of another girlfriend, because even if we're friends with the guy--we won't let him screw with the girl.

{I officially love you to Naomi and I'm gonna post it here for the world to see!}

Note to all men: Yes, girls can be awful to one another. But when we work together, they're is nothing more ferocious, protective, and powerful.

Sidebar: these pictures are so old and now that I've taken a liking to my camera again, we must all get together to take new ones.

My fortuitous fortune cookie...

So yesterday Vic and I spent a glorious day prancing around New York City like a couple of tourists. We explored new areas, as well as new sides of ourselves. In Bryant Park I let a total stranger convince me to buy something I totally didn't need. We got lost. Asked for directions. Bought Rob a gift. Rode in a cab. Then got nauseous and had to get out of the cab. We ate outside. Got movie tickets. Got there an hour early just to ensure we would sit together (after all it was a Friday night). Saw Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Ogled Javier Bardem. Ogled Penelope Cruz. Ogled Scarlett Johansson. All in all it was a very good day.

We ate on the Upper West Side trying desperately to deny all ties to the area. But at the end of the day it feels more like home than any other place in the city (at this point anyway).

My salmon was overcooked. Such a disappointment.

But my fortune more than made up for it. Vic reminded me of the custom in which you don't pick out your own fortune, but hand it to someone else. So this is what she passed to me...

"Depart not from the path which fate has you assigned."

It couldn't be more fitting and the grammar just makes it all the better.