Same Old / May 2022 — Lostinthewoodz

Sitting at 79th and Lex on this picture perfect day.

I’m in the shade at a table outside drinking iced tea and watching people go by. Basking in the soreness of my body feeling the weight of it all slump down onto my ass. I am sinking into myself and it feels good.

I am reminded once again that one of my favorite things to do is sit outside with a cold drink zoning out and watching people go by.

NOTHING BETTER THAN THAT!

Since the last we spoke I’ve been feeling a lot of highs and lows. Some weeks I’m on the top of the world. Other weeks I wonder why I’m even here and whether I should just pack my bags and go back to California or something (just a passing thought).

Now that I’m “settled” back in after having bounced around so much I’m dealing with the practice of Building A Life.

The juggling act is hard and at any moment there are a dozen things I should be doing but it feels good to be building towards something.

The only way forward is consistency. At this point in my life I’ve realized that I can’t rely on anything else—intelligence, charms, good looks, good luck—none of it makes up for being consistent and doing the work.

I’ve set up two calendars on my fridge. On one I mark the days I produce music (1 hour AM, 1 hour PM).

On the other calendar I mark the days I’ve avoided porn. The idea here is to spend the time / energy to date IRL.

Two days a week I lift and I’ve started taking a boxing class on the weekends.

As long as I don’t break the chain there is no way I stay in the same place. Things are bound to get better.

I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been resting on my laurels lately but I’m pretty excited to see how far I can push past my limits.

Same Old

A few years back I flew on the company’s dime on a round trip helicopter ride from Manhattan to JFK.

It was my first time on a helicopter in a long time and I couldn’t get enough of it. The views! The buildings! The dust speck sized peasants on the ground! What a thrill!

But then we landed, walked around JFK a little and re-boarded to return to Manhattan. And on the ride back I felt nothing. In the span of an hour I’d already gotten used to the sights and the fantastic became mundane again.

My life feels like this these days. I’ve gotten so used to the fact that I live in one of the greatest cities in the world working a great company making great money. But I don’t want to take it all for granted.

Not super sure how to change that. How to jolt yourself into seeing the world in a new light again.

Maybe travel? Maybe taking a breather and zoning out for a while. In this specific moment that seems to be working. Especially right now as I write out this blog post from my phone under the shade in UES as families and couples and absolute babes walk past me I’m reminded of how different NY can be. I’ve barely spent time in UES and from certain angles it almost feels like a different city.

Turn the mundane back into fantastic/unfamiliar and don’t take it all for granted

May 2022

Here’s what I’ve been up to since we last spoke:

hosted my aunt and uncle in LIC. We went to Tournesol and had a pretty good meal

Went to Dove’s (cousin) graduation in New Brunswick
Hung out with Rosie when she came to visit. Went to Shiki for Omakase.
- Sushi was good but the unlimited sake they poured was better
- This week was my ballout week. Got Omakase at Sushi Lin with Kelvin about a week later. I prefer this spot for sushi at least
- Caught up with Rosie on the phone after she got back to SF. She gave me some advice on picking up girls in public. Head over with your number on a napkin, say something genuine— “my eyes couldn’t help but wander over to you and I’d like to get to know you better” and drop off your number leaving the ball in her court and keeping the mystery alive. Will it work??? Only time and courage will tell

Saw Ray for a brief evening during his visit from England. Went to Van Leeuwen with him immediately after my massage.
- Felt more flexible that day than I had in months before. Great job masseuse (@ A’s Body Works)
Caught up with Chynna and Chris at El Born. Got drinks at Spritzenhaus33 after.
- Food was good but not great enough to go back anytime soon. Spritzenhaus33 was a nice big beer hall with a good atmosphere. Would go back again
Went shuffleboarding with Kelvin, CJ, Saad and Chaitya at Royal Palms. Went to Shipwrecked mini golf after. Would recommend Royal Palms but Shipwrecked was just ok.

Been going out with my teammates (Simon, Brian, Anthony) roughly once a week after work on Thursdays. This is probably the group I drink with the most. We drink till we’re lit and talk a lot of shit
Went on a few dates. We went out to Sofia Wine Bar (pleasant date spot for those of you looking) for the first date and met up in Fort Lee for the second. Second date was brutally hot and getting over was a huge pain. Still cool exploring Fort Lee since I’d never been.
- Finally got to see what’s on the other side of the Hudson river. We went through the park there. Beautiful area but way too hard to get to

Caught up with Sherry on video chat. We reminisced about how much had changed since pre pandemic and marveled at how far both of us had changed / accomplished since then. This day happened to be one of those days where it’s raining but you still see a lot of sunshine coming through (the official name for this is sunshower). It put me in a bittersweet reminiscent mood.

Hung out with Kelvin and Helen on my rooftop. This was my first time meeting Helen and she showed up at my door with a bottle of wine (a very surprising but baller gesture). We talked about a bunch of thought provoking questions. Pretty interesting to get so in depth with someone you had just met
- How have you changed since the pandemic
- What would you be doing if the pandemic hadn’t hit, etc

Went to Victorias show at Broadway Comedy Club. I think we agreed that she didn’t have the best set but damn… impressive she went up in the first place.

Went to my first boxing class at Box St Fitness with CJ. Super tiring during the class but I felt amazing afterwards.
- I’ve been feeling aggro lately. Nice letting off all that steam on the punching bag
Been watching a lot of the Wire these days
- Pretty good show but I don’t get why people call it one of the best shows of our time. Maybe it was a groundbreaking show for its time?
Caught up with Dan and Tony at Wu’s Wonton King
- Food was pricy but tasty

Biked from LIC —> Manhattan —> Randall’s Island —> Bronx
- First time in the Bronx
- Randall’s Island was a deserted paradise. So far out the way. There were a bunch of families doing BBQs peppered across the park. Some areas felt desolate—almost like a peaceful post apocalypse

Generally want to become more proactive about the things I do. Planning things out. Doing more events. It’s pretty easy to forget that I won’t be in NY forever. Whether I realize it or not there is a timeline for everything.