Feel the burn

The other night, one of my BFFs was in town from another state for a Med School exam, part of which included diagnosing people acting as patients with symptoms from any number of illnesses. Sound familiar? Let me remind you of a classic scene from Seinfeld:


"I burned for her..."

We've been joking about that episode in relation to this particular exam for awhile now, which has included the unbridled joy of sending her text messages saying things like, "I hope you get gonorrhea!"

Matthew McConaughey* knows I'm alive!

(I just call him Matty, though!)

Dear World-at-Large:
I may have tweeted my love for Dazed & Confused's Wooderson. I may have even tweeted it directly to Matty himself.

Then, this happened:




Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some auburn highlighting work to do on my hair before Matty takes me to that kegger down at the Moon Tower*.

*It could be an imposter, but c'mon! It's probably not. The internet is a very truthful place.

**Where I'll ask him more about the pitfalls of being a movie star in between air breaks from our huge make out sesh***.

***Don't mess with the fantasy.

Hell, I still love you New York

If you were looking at a CT scan of my heart, this is what you'd see:


Photo ©HouseofJules


On a sunny afternoon at the beginning of summer in the mid-90's, alone (in the sense of being by yourself in a place with 7 million other people, which is possibly more alone than you could ever imagine), but excited after having relocated to the place in which I wanted to live ever since I was a kid; fresh off the train in the underground part of Penn Station, doing a trial run to see how long it would take me to get from my new apartment to my new job in my new city. I had a map in my back pocket and knew the address of the graphic design firm I was to start working at the following week, but literally had no idea how to get myself from where I was to where I needed to be.

All the anticipatory stress I felt about that had been weighing heavily on my mind since I'd unpacked the week before--if not for the entirety of the 6 months I worked after college just to save up for my big move to my new apartment in my new city-- faded away like white noise in the background as I rode one of the escalators up from lower earth to the sidewalk, and the gigantic skyscrapers on 34th street were revealed to me at a slow-boat-to-China rate of speed; my line of vision directed first at their massive entryways, and going up, up, up, and up, trying to take in all the floors of the buildings and the realization of how small I was in comparison, as I was lifted towards street-level. It was a kind of forced-acclimation through sensory overload.

I was able to be still, standing on the right side of those electric stairs, while moving upward and gaping at the buildings, smelling the food being cooked at street carts, hearing the roar of traffic and horns, people hustling and bustling; while my heart was thumping louder than ever, welcoming me home. Finally.

Some people leave their hearts in San Francisco. Even before I actually lived there, mine resided in New York.

If you were listening to my heartbeat through a stethoscope, this song is what you'd hear:

Ryan Adams. New York, New York
Well, I shuffled through the city on the 4th of July
I had a firecracker waiting to blow
Breakin' like a rocket who was makin' its way
To the cities of Mexico
Lived in an apartment out on Avenue A
I had a tar-hut on the corner of 10th
Had myself a lover who was finer than gold
But I've broken up and busted up since

And love don't play any games with me
Anymore like she did before
The world won't wait, so I better shake
That thing right out there through the door
Hell, I still love you, New York

Found myself a picture that would fit in the folds
Of my wallet and it stayed pretty good
Still amazed I didn't lose it on the roof of the place
When I was drunk and I was thinking of you
Every day the children they were singing their tune
Out on the streets and you could hear from inside
Used to take the subway up to Houston and 3rd
I would wait for you and I'd try to hide

And love won't play any games with you
Anymore if you don't want it to
The world won't wait and I watched you shake
But honey, I don't blame you
Hell, I still love you, New York
New York

I remember Christmas in the blistering cold
In a church on the upper west side
Babe, I stood there singing, I was holding your arm
You were holding my trust like a child
Found a lot of trouble out on Avenue B
But I tried to keep the overhead low
Farewell to the city and the love of my life
At least we left before we had to go

And love won't play any games with you
Anymore if you don't want 'em to
So we better shake this old thing out the door

I'll always be thinkin' of you
I'll always love you though New York
I'll always love you though New York, New York, New York

-

Luckily, I made some g r e a t friends there who give me an excuse, if I need one, to visit my heart at least once a year.

The [Cherry] Rides off into the sunset*, but is forever in my heart (and on my speed dial)

Surely you all remember my Boo**, The [Cherry] Ride. If you somehow need reminding, perhaps my 2nd favorite picture of all time will jog your memory:

I know you want to be best friends with him, but back off. I called dibs first!


He has left Chicago behind for the further pursuance of his dreams; which take him--for now--to Washington, D.C.

It is truly a gift to find people in this world who "get" you completely. It is a rare and beautiful thing when that happens, or maybe it's beautiful because it's rare. Either way, Chicago has lost some of it's magic now that he's out East. Our loss is D.C.'s gain. Somehow I've become jealous of our nation's capital. This must be a first. 

Anyway, I wanted to find him something that would accurately express how I was feeling, but it turns out the only 4-letter word that Hallmark carries is "card". Even a Google search was fruitless:

How is it possible there are no card or gift items with the, "Holy F**k, I miss you already!" sentiment?


I don't know what I was thinking. What card company could even begin to encapsulate how much I love that he understands me in ways few people do? 

Like the time I sent him a text message that told how someone spilled a beer all over me, which I summed up by saying, "I smell like college." and just like that, he got it. He gets it!

Like I said, it's a beautiful thing. Much like my #1 favorite picture of all time, as seen in the following screen capture of his flickr page:




If you know me at all, you will know that this seems to have only been created for my happiness (it wasn't, but the universe has a way of making these kinds of things happen). From his photo title, "Me on the Ding Dong", to the fact that it was taken during one of his last hurrahs at Smiths Night... (Ugh, SMITHS NIGHT! Don't even get me started on the greatness of Danny's Smiths Night)! 

And need I even mention his pose? The pose! I giggled so hard at this whole thing that I had tears coming down my face. This one screen capture brings me almost too much joy. 

If only screen captures could hug back! Aww, cue the Sad Trombone.

Alright, Cherry, you know I love you and wish you the very best. You are so deserving of all good things. Kisses and love, sibling! Now, go get 'em, tiger... and while you're at it, find out if he has a brother for me. 


*That's a little dramatic, but this occasion calls for it. Don't argue with me, you know I'm right.
**One of the most adorable moments on TV ever: See THIS video, starting at :30. "I wanna be your boo!"