Life Happens

I realize I have been a total slacker and my posts are getting fewer and further between.  I promise to be better at this, especially since I made Sam do all the work to duplicate the original Reese photo!  The problem with New York though is that it literally never sleeps – the adage is true.  Life is constantly going, going, going, and it can be hard to find the time to sit down and write something.  I’ve lived other places and do not want to be snooty to say that people outside of this city don’t lead busy lives, but I do believe there is more opportunity to constantly have a packed agenda.  It’s what you do with your time that determines whether or not you’re living up to the full hustle and bustle of this city.

Take for example, my friend Ash.  She is always on the go.  She is always peppy.  She is always up for whatever.  If you’ve seen the movie “Election” with none other than this website’s namesake, Reese Witherspoon, she is the epitome of Reese’s character, Tracy Flick (one year, Ash even dressed as Tracy Flick for Halloween – priceless).  She is incredibly ambitious, competitive, and ultimately successful.  She packs her schedule to the minute of every day, with sleep being on the lower end of her priorities. 

Then there’s me.  I consider myself to be busy and keep a tight schedule, but this is nothing compared to my aforementioned friend.  The difference?  Operating hours.  This city may never sleep, but thanks to a variety of genetic reasons, this girl does!  I require more sleep than most of the ladies in a nursing home.  This limits how much my body allows me to accomplish in a day. 

During the week, I go to the gym early in the morning, work during the day, make dinner at night for Sam and me, and may grab a drink with a friend once in a while after work.  After that, I’m spent by 9 or 9:30 and crash, just to start it all over again the next day.  One night a week I tutor after work (refer to previous post about Henry), and I spend the other weeknights/weekends actively involved in the Mizzou NYC Alumni Chapter, volunteering at events, attending happy hours, attending chapter meetings, and playing on our co-ed softball and football teams.  Sundays usually involve a trip to our (awesome) church, meal planning for the week, grocery shopping, and laundry.  I also recently started volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association’s NYC chapter.

All that may not seem super time-consuming compared to the lives of those reading this, but the other thing that takes up a lot of time is commuting.  Even living in central Manhattan, it takes on average 30 minutes to get anywhere because of the density of this city.  If you have the money to cab places, you may save time, but being reliant upon public transportation leaves you vulnerable to the delays of the loathed MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and can make a two-mile commute take 45 minutes.

That brings me to the title of my post: life happens.  So you will have to forgive me for the lack of consistency in my posts.  Plus, I want to make sure they are interesting and not just writing to have something. 

That’s my brief post for now; next to come: my take on the Windy City vs. Gotham…