.SOMETIMES RAW.

“No matter how long you have been here, you are a New Yorker the first time you say, That used to be Munsey’s, or That used used to be the Tic Toc Lounge. You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it.” – Colson Whitehead. 

Yesterday morning the probably friendliest postman in Norwalk brought our mail and I received this book sent by my husband. I would say a nice start of the day. I fished the book yesterday. Yes, I am reading quite a lot and I am usually up way too late because I take advantage of my son’s sleeping rhythm these days. Last evening I took my son to bed, put some comfortable clothes on, made myself a cup of tea and curled up on the couch. Is there anything better? Not much 🙂 Let’s dive into the book review while it is still so fresh on my mind. 

If you love New York and think that this crazy, hectic life mixed with a lot of dirt and smelly streets and the occasional homeless person this book is for you. I have never read anything by Colson Whitehead before but I love how strong his writing is and how this book is somewhat a love letter to New York City. Whitehead takes you from “City Limits” all the way to “JFK” with a total of 13 essays or short stories. You walk with him through “Central Park” after surviving the “Subway” ride when the “Rain” starts to pour down and washes the streets of New York clean. Not all of his stories are directly about New York – more about living (or surviving) in the Big Apple. 

“It stops. From the river you can see the clouds haunch over adjacent boroughs. What transpired is a problem of sewers now, out of sight and out of mind. Snapping the umbrella open and closed as if it will scare the water off.[…] They walk out of the movie theater and say to teacher other, Did it rain, pointing at puddles. Yes, they are sure of it, something happened and they missed it.”

Once experienced, you will always remember the umbrella-war walking through the streets of New York when it rains. It all does not matter because it makes me want to go back there and do it all over again by just reading the essay “Rain”. I think Whitehead writes in a real clever language that was at first a bit difficult for me to understand I have to admit. Sometimes his writing seems like a long poem of some sort. He has this great skill with language that makes you just want to read more and more by him to appreciate his sharp observations. 

The book is short and sweet (158 pages) and at points I felt like I just spent a weekend in New York walking around and taking it all in again. His style of writing is as fast-paced as New York is so get ready to read some sentences twice or three times. Simply a wonderful read that makes you want to go back to New York City. 

I am fortunate that this city of yellow cabs is just a short car or train ride away. 🙂 So my son and I will explore this city that never sleeps together while walking and walking and trying and see some of it through Colson Whitehead’s eyes for just a New York- minute or two. 

Enjoy! Let me know your thoughts if you pick up the book! 

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those mourned him positively.” – Bob Marley 

Throughout my journey of owning less the view I have of myself and others has changed immensely. How does society define success? The people who spend and make the money and keep all these resources to themselves are the ones called “the successful ones.” Some of the real successful people are simply richer because they have decided to focus on having less material things. So I guess they are not successful in worldly terms but who cares. In this capitalistic world people want more and more. Better, faster, higher and always the latest gadgets. I think it is important to focus on other than just materialistic things. I want to share a little list of things that just do not matter to me anymore. Maybe you get inspired. 

The fancy house. I believe that a house provides a base, stability, shelter and safety. This does not mean necessarily a lot of square footage. I have moved many times in my life already and I like creating a nice home for my family. There is just a certain pride in all this to provide a nice environment for everyone. I am just not really impressed by these mansions people have. “Good for them,” I think. I am happy with what I have and where I am in life. 

Clothing and accessories. I am a woman and I do love nice jewelry and clothing. I do have two nice rings. The one my husband gave me for the engagement and the other one for the wedding. But does it matter how expensive these rings were? Do I really put myself in debt for a wedding ring and make sacrifices every day do pay of said debt? I do not even want to go into a big wedding party and all that. The most important thing is the vowels we made to each other – to simply trust each other and love each other. The ring is not that important. When it comes to clothing I have to say that it is not important what brand name is written in or on my clothing. Where it is manufactured is important. Have you ever looked where your $200 Burberry jeans is made? Yep, China. With clothing it is definitely quality over quantity for me. Do you want to become a walking billboard? I don’t think so. I am not really impressed by the watch you wear, the shirt or any of that stuff. I love it however if you wear something timeless and you wear it with confidence. You want to make an impression by WHO you are – not what you wear. 

Retirement. Is it important to count down the days or hours until retirement to wait for the big trip that you are going to do? To retire seems like the ultimate goal for people. You ask anybody and they tell you: “I have several [….] years left to retirement.” Many people dream of all these nice things that they will do once they retire. You live HERE and NOW. Try to make it work HERE and NOW somehow. Don’t wait until retirement! Who knows if you really reach it! I got towed today because my car got stuck on the highway and the tow tow truck guy told me that he works TWO jobs to get his family by. (His wife has to work too now just to make ends meet). I asked him about his retirement. He said that he does not know when this will be. Probably when he is 75 because then all his mortgage will be paid of along with his student loans. Sad! The American Dream I guess. 

Your cellphone and the photos you share. The other day I waited for the UPS delivery because my husband told me I have to sign for the package that is going to arrive. The package arrived and in it was a brand new iPhone 6. Say whaaaat? Yes! I used his old iPhone 4 for the longest time now and I was fine with it. He simply got an upgrade for his phone so he sent me this new iPhone 6. People look what kind of phone you have and judge. On the playground, when you take pictures, it is just the weirdest thing. Like who the hell cares! Many always want the latest technology and the latest gadgets. Not me. I was fine with what I had but then came the new phone. It still takes me a while to get adjusted and I like it. The key is though that I did not need it and I would not have gotten it for myself. Recently I heard about this app you can download on your iPhone – YouCamPerfect! There you have the option to change your selfie into the “perfect” you. Change your appearance, your hair, the shape of your face blablabla… how about showing your face the way it is? The way you really look? Who are you hiding from? Yourself? 

Overall I would say that the dollars in a bank account are by far not the greatest measurement of success. I think it is more important to accomplish an amount of good in our little lives while we are allowed to play around on this planet earth. We should not try to impress others with all these things we own and maybe start to inspire them instead by the way we really should live our life. 

This week was all about running around getting thing done. We need vaccinations to visit my husband in Kinshasa/Congo which needs to be scheduled after a ton of paperwork has been filled out. Visa applications, phone calls to make, places to go and of course many playgrounds to check out. 

First I want to share a playground that my son and I visited which is really great. 

1. Playing around: Cherry Lawn Park in Darien/Norwalk. This park is for now definitely #1 on our list. You can find tennis courts, basketball courts, a big community garden and a wonderful playground area which my son loved. He is not even two years old and he did it all… slides,towers, climbing everything, playing in the sand and many toys that always remain at the playground. We spent two hours there and time flew by. He was so exhausted that all he needed was a light dinner, shower, two stories I had to read to him and he was out – perfect.  Another great part about this park is that there are clean public restrooms, even with changing areas. 

2. Reading: This awesome book by Haruki Murakami: “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage.”  Book Review will be out on Sunday. Also read this article if you like –  Agatha Christie at The New Yorker:  Agatha Christie – The Queen of Crime. 

3. Watching: This.  Because all you need is love. Period! And this. As a huge Michel Houellebecq lover this documentary is a must. It is in English with German subtitles. 

4. Enjoying: Watching my son plays with his latest toy. He is occupied with this toy for up to 45 minutes which is great. 

Another add- on to the “enjoying-section”: SUSHI. Lots of sushi. I know the oceans are polluted, the fish is probably not as fresh as it is supposed to be and maybe it is not even healthy but sometimes I just love to have it so I do. Simple as that. The sushi at Oishi Sushi & Izakaya in Norwalk CT was indeed very fresh and delicious. My son and I ate there during lunchtime and the restaurant was not packed but not empty either. Just comfortable. The staff was very friendly by being attentive but not overly on top and stopping by every five minutes to ask if we want anything else. The selection is plentiful. Check their menu before you go there. For lunch I had: edamame salmon avocado roll, uni sashimi, tuna and salmon sashimi and a Dragon Roll. My son had: Butternut squash soup and a bowl of plain rice. I highly recommend this restaurant.

5. Listening to: This song.  So whenever I feel lonely or sad I listen to this song. My husband and I made this ‘our’ song. 🙂 Feel free to make it yours. 

Have a great weekend.