New York glamour and heat
New York has the potential to be a very glamorous place, but one can also find it to be disgusting, dirty, and furnace-like, ok maybe that last one really only pertains to Alaskans, but it is super hot here. One of the things the Amish Athlete said to me on my first date was that "I was a free spirit." Was that intended to be a compliment or insult, I guess I didn't know what he meant by this, but if he was implying that I had my own agenda and really didn't care what the rest of the world thought of me, I guess he was sort of right.
To illustrate this personality trait and in an attempt to combat the heat I bought this intense Frozenesk fan. I mean this fan is borderline embarrassing, it kind of looks like it was designed for a six-year old, requiring me to exhibit Beyoncé-like confidence.
This is one of my favorite photos because it's not at all timid. I went for it 100% and whipped out the child-like fan. In order to capture this shot I thought that I'd get a security guard to take it, but he was busy flirting with some old lady, so I ended up bothering this nearby smoker. It was kind of hilarious, I was like "I'm so sorry to bother you, but could you take my picture." He was more than kind and when I went to leave I once again expressed how sorry I was to bother him on his break and I told him to enjoy his cigarette.
I must say that I am pretty friendly and foolishly fearless individual, however, one of the traits that I didn't inherit from anyone was a talent or love for cooking. To my future husband I already apologize for my lack of skill or patience in the kitchen. I hope that he likes take-out or yogurt, because I am not about to improve my domestic skills, sorry.
So I decided to do some grocery shopping, and along with being poor comes this great desire to save money in all opportunities. The one great thing about living in Harlem was that everything was significantly cheaper up there. I ended up doing some grocery shopping there and was astounded to see that my total only came to $25.00, I mean sometimes the Amish Athlete and I will go to his grocery store for fruit and drinks and the totals will rival the same amount spent on some serious grocery shopping up in Harlem.
Well before I went grocery shopping I had to visit my favorite deli from back in the day "Nadals," but I was really saddened to see that it was no longer there. I decided to go into the location where "Nadals" used to be located and I was happy to see that things seemed to be functioning the same, they had just undergone a management change and a name change. It was really funny the man working the front counter actually recognized me. He asked me how long it had been and I said that I think it had been around six years.
I must admit that life has really changed since I lived in Harlem, but there is something about life in New York that really brings out in you the desire to strive to conquer your dreams. I have definitely encountered many struggles along the way and it is my ultimate goal to convey to young women everywhere that trying to find fulfillment takes years and is an ongoing struggle. The other day when on a date it was brought to my attention that my life is easy and all I have to do is smile to make everything better. That instantly indicated to me that this relationship has an expiration date. If only life were that easy for anyone, just because I may have a smile that he finds attractive does not mean that I have it easy.
Even though it is a nice sensation to have a man in my life and be treated well, I honestly don't know how I feel about it. I have been single for so long that I have become really comfortable not relying on a man and not counting on him to meet me for events, etc. It is easy, slightly awkward and uncomfortable to go about everything alone, I know I get a lot more accomplished by myself, and I really do worry about staying true to my singlehood brand, but this does feel really nice.
Not long after this picture of me was taken was the 4th of July. I absolutely love the 4th of July because that holiday gives me an excuse to dress up in Red, White, and Blue. In France I bought these American flag overalls which are absolutely a classic item, and they have become a staple 4th of July wardrobe component. The day before I went to Old Navy and bought the Amish Athlete some patriotic apparel. I felt so grown up shopping for "my man," and must admit that I did a pretty good job!
It was the ultimate plan to go to Coney Island, but one thing led to the next and we never ended up making it. At first A. Athlete had to get flip flops, which shaved about two hours off of our departure time, then we had to get breakfast, I had to go to my apartment to get some stuff, so by the time we were ready to go it was already 2:30, at that point he turned to me and asked if that was really what I wanted to do He then suggested that we could see a Broadway show instead, I just smiled, swooned, and immediately knew that he knew how to get to my heart.
Well he wanted to go to "Phantom of the Opera," it was kind of beside the point that I had already seen it twice, a guy actually wanted to take me to a Broadway show! We ended up taking a lot of pictures in front of the Majestic, which he has the majority of, but I did manage to take this selfie of the two of us, which I must admit is not the best. He is doing some weird "Zoolander" look while I just am smiling in a legitimately crazy fashion.
Well, unfortunately for me there were no plays that day. I guess I learned my first lesson on sacrificing for the sake of a relationship. That's something that you most certainly don't have to do when you're single.
