tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82762875268926901682024-03-13T12:56:28.663-04:00eat-it-all"the art of hanging out"GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-10996840843972363712013-07-29T05:48:00.000-04:002013-07-29T05:48:19.766-04:00Discouragements in Hanging Out: Pushing<div>
Your friend is going through a hard time. There are perhaps some life updates that you are really eager to know. You want the dish, you want the scoop. Or you want to put in your two scents, your advice, your what have you. There is space for input from friends, it is undoubtedly valuable. However, sometimes people just want to hang out. They made this time for you in their life to do something together and perhaps they don't want to discuss in detail what is wrong in their lives but rather take a break from it (<i>with you</i>). So a simple <i>"How are you?" </i>suffices and if you are really concerned you can follow up with a simple <i>"How are things going with ______?"</i>. But don't push it and don't force it, causing unneeded strain on their already perhaps taxed heart and mind. They know you are for them and will open up when they desire to.</div>
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I am reluctant to think of hanging out as some sort of break from the norm, a special treat. Philosophically I feel every single moment of your life is important, your entire life a series of special hangs. However, some moments that should be held with some reverence-moments meant as much needed breaks and moments of relaxation from what ails us. Be sure to create them for yourself and your co-humans.GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-23667278325114192022013-07-06T20:36:00.001-04:002013-07-07T04:20:24.075-04:00People to Hang Out With: PIC<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uPcxeGa3QFc/Udi3p-Yo2yI/AAAAAAAAAnE/o4bKFuqh6a0/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uPcxeGa3QFc/Udi3p-Yo2yI/AAAAAAAAAnE/o4bKFuqh6a0/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bathroom graffiti at <a href="http://www.redlanternbicycles.com/">Red Lantern Bicycles</a> in Brooklyn, NY.</i></td></tr>
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Always down for whatever, never any need to navigate conversations, PIC is the person you can silently chill with, the person you can be a dork with, the person you can climb a roof top with and who is generally down for whatever. Partner in Crime (PIC) is the individual who has come out forefront in your life as the creme de la creme of hang out buddies. PIC's are not the average social associate. I developed this moniker with a boyfriend from my early twenties - while it may have been cheating cos we were actually <i>partners </i>not just partners in crime but in all fairness we were partners in <i>crime</i> in that we actually committed crimes together. Petty but crimes nonetheless.<br />
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You know how you have the friends you go to brunch with? The friends you meet in the afternoon for coffee with? Or the friends you talk about your "career" with? This is not that friend. This friend is who you get wasted with at noon. Who suggests that you hop a fence that goes down an obscure looking path. Who you lie around with in your underwear. You take naps together. You cook together. You plan obscure adventures together. They are who you hang out with when you absolutely won't hang out with anyone else. You don't talk about bullshit with one another and you share cigarettes seamlessly and without interruption. I like to think the PIC has access to your darkest and surliest and your brightest and cuddliest. You rove together on this earth like you have been doing it for a hundred years. You know exactly who this friend is to you, now go write them a love letter. <br />
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GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-26807787128993480122013-07-03T08:32:00.001-04:002013-07-03T08:32:28.708-04:00Hang Out Song Break #9 Thanks to my roomie Lamandé.<br />
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-47174613612980326982013-05-12T16:13:00.001-04:002013-05-12T16:13:49.303-04:00One is Silver and The Other's Gold<br />
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When I was a kid one of the first songs I was thrilled with when I became capable of remembering all the lyrics to went like so:</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #bf9000;"> Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold. </span></i></div>
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It's nearly four in the morn and I am pleasantly drunk, sitting in a cozy living room listening to records with friends. I am not sure how the discussion led to this point but I say out loud, "Ya know I use to have a no new friend policy, I thought I was at my limit. And now I think I've changed my mind."<br />
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C and A (<i>golds</i>) nod and then C says, "Because you were here to hang out with your old friends and you ended up hanging out with all new friends while you were here". He smiles wise and takes a sip of his beer and I smile back as C's gentle wisdom has been really comforting to me this past week as he has hosted me up here in the hills of Chattanooga. And he was right. I was making new friends with old acquaintances, getting to know them better. Expanding my human conceptual framework with the input of other's philosophies and perspectives on and in this world. And with my return to New York City after a brief winter time Southern sojourn, the trend has continued for the most part. Placing myself in situations interacting with people I would not had normally and in turn creating new connections and relationships for myself here in this city. The advice here is not "get out there!" because fuck that, "stay in here!" if you wish. But rather know that nothing is definitive and remember that this life is fluid. That new life can be breathed into anything, even what you once thought you had tired of or was dead. <br />
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-48201385101053888282013-02-23T19:47:00.000-04:002013-02-24T16:35:48.950-04:00People To Hang Out With: The Broken Hearted aka BAD MOON <div style="text-align: left;">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"For even as love crowns you </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">so shall he crucify you. </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Even as he is for your growth </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">so is he for your pruning </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Even as he ascends to your height and </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">caresses your tenderest branches that quiver </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">in the sun, </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So shall he descend to your roots and </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">shake them in their clinging to the earth."</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">-Kahlil Gibran</span></b></div>
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My friend with an aching heart says there is a bad moon when I comment there seems to have been a sea of broken hearts around lately. C says "It seems unfair to blame the moon for such unhappiness". <br />
I agree with her but who knows how we are truly affected by this globe we sit on and all the other other powerful bodies swirling around it. At the end of the day it is kind of fun to go around saying <i>bad moon</i> and I am preferring it to saying "well Mercury's in retrograde", womp womp. Traveling these days visiting friends, there seems to be a large amount of heavy souls and broken hearts in various forms from romantic to friendship to internal strife. But alas this blog is about hanging out and not about your soul (<i>or IS it?) </i>, so let's move on shall we.<br />
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Indeed we've all been there, in this need to re-evaluate a situation a million times over to our friends or just to plain sulk for hours on end in plain view. It's okay, it's part of the process. But what to do with these poor love sick saps? They need your hanging out skills more than ever! You can't rush someone along to feel better, sometimes folks need a moment to stare at the ceiling. Yet at the same time there is something nice about a friend saying, "Out of bed! Snap out of it dumbass, we've got <i>plans</i>!" Do your best to find the balance between the two, providing a mix of low key (movie in bed) and high key (roller skating rink) activities. And not enough can be said about the benefits to the heart of just being in nature, in the warm sun if you got it and at minimum some fresh air and cosmic zounds. To ride with the broken hearted one must be willing to have an extended ear if they're a talker or the lovely ability of pretending that you can't feel the sadness emanating from them if they're not. In the end, you just being around at all is so helpful in itself and surely you will receive the same reciprocated assistance in the future.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"I've never had my heart broken but there's so many songs about it that I know that shit is real"- E</span></b><br />
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I am going to suggest a little beer and cigarettes for these hang outs. Not for the friend with the broken heart because goodness knows their brains are not operating clearly enough as is but for yourself. Hard feelings is a lot to take in some times so might as well sedate yourself a little so you can appear as if you are calmly listening. And to you broken hearted, if you know you are going to hang out to discuss such things for an extended period of time perhaps you should be the one bringing the bottle of wine. Chin up everyone, tomorrow is another day and there will be a next time. <br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Waterfall of love each time</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> I fall in love I lose my mind </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tear off all my clothes, get a bloody nose </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">and jump out the window"</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">-Big Kitty, <i>Waterfall of Love</i></span></b></div>
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<i>Personal Note:</i> If you feel I owe you a bottle of wine please let me know asap as I like to settle my debts.<br />
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-72452643325246383952013-02-20T02:56:00.003-04:002013-02-20T02:59:19.726-04:00Hang Out Song Break #8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Chattanooga, TN whilst drinking </div>
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-89367290448986552052013-02-15T11:56:00.001-04:002013-02-19T11:11:09.237-04:00February: Hanging Out in Florida <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-gSv7VIvN5W8%2FUR5IYpE_RmI%2FAAAAAAAAAbk%2Fmi9GEu3RsNA%2Fs1600%2Fphoto%2B2.JPG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gSv7VIvN5W8/UR5IYpE_RmI/AAAAAAAAAbk/mi9GEu3RsNA/s1600/photo+2.JPG" -->GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-12924463115546210852013-02-09T21:20:00.000-04:002013-02-09T21:21:47.960-04:00TIME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sitting, wedged in a shaded corner outside of Publix, eating some watermelon slices, an old white southern man asks me if I need a place to stay and if I am doing alright. In mid-bite I look down at myself with my iphone on my lap and my apparent jogging gear trying to figure out exactly what about me would lead this man to believe I was in need of anything. "Do you want some watermelon? I'm full." I lift up the last slice, offering it to him and he waves it off saying he is on his way to the doctor. We smile at each other. On my way back home I check the star fruit tree a block away to see if there are any new developments in my current addiction. Still green. I'll come back in a few days.<br />
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Here in Florida again I try to determine what my plans for the next year will be and usually this specific thought pattern will lead to one idea after another producing a cranial traffic jam that makes me grit my teeth and if severe enough, lay down. A friend invites me to come spend time in Oaxaca I respond "So many things so little time!" and she says, "I thought you had all the time in the world, or did I miss something?". What is often difficult for me to remember is that I do have all the time in the world. I get so eager to do so many things that even pulling off doing one thing becomes paralyzing. <br />
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TIME. When will we get it all in? At what point will we really accomplish something? At what point will we have a,b,c complete so we can get on to x,y,z? In the panic that is organizing our time for ourselves, the people we love, what we want to do and what we are obligated to do, time can seem to slip away. Instead of developing time management skills, acquiring a life coach or personal assistant, calling it all quits and curling up into a ball between whatever four walls you will inevitably be living in, in a panicked frenzy you are not accomplishing anything valuable and never will-stop your brain and value each present moment and what it has to bring to you. And then the next one and so on. <br />
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GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-75424975215568279942013-01-30T05:09:00.003-04:002013-01-30T13:32:39.016-04:00Tales From The Road: Hanging in DF <br />
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Arriving into DF (for <i>districto federal</i>, the federal district, Mexico City the capital of the country) we are fresh, hungry, excited, and curious making for extensive exploration by foot and sharp minds easily absorbing everything around us. <br />
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Excerpt from travel diary for that day:<br />
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<i>"We pass a string of lunch stands and pausing one calls out to us. We buy three tacos de suadero ($12/MXN), grape soda and tamarindo ($20/MXN). Now in the sun writing. The day so far has consisted of long treks , Paseo de la Reforma through neighborhood of Juarez. DF is stunning we feel like we are in a more arid tropical Manhattan. With the upper class comes heavier guns and the policia presence is very noticeable . In business district there are more food stands but more crowded and full of people in business suits. Juarez on the border of Roma develops a more middle class but liberal feel. High end salons next door to theaters showing </i>"Las monlogos de la Vagina". <i>The streets are tree lined and peacefully bustling . We stop to take a break getting our fixes of cigarettes and sugary beverages. Watching employees rest from the day, the occassional other tourist, and the middles class mexican teens linger in the quiet shade of this other Washington Square in the neighborhood labeled with foreign names running its streets. Young Mexican couple with baby on the way, wife inspecting husbands hands...Other street vendors hawking the usual snacks and patriotic gear in preparation for next week's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grito_de_Dolores">grito</a>. Throughout the day the threads begin to show. We are emotionally affected by a street child wearily playing his accordion and the police presence in the locked down Zocalo*. A street local comes up and hands us a flyer on the history of the centro and lunges into an impromptu lecture I know will ease GA and I drift in and out of his words, staring at a model of DF as it originally existed as I try to center myself in the dreamlike state that is Mexico City."</i><br />
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Here is my travel partner GA and myself enjoying our first street stand taco on our very first full day of our trip. It was a lunch counter we came across in a row of many, at the very beginning of the day. The afternoon was hot and we took shelter in this row of food stands amongst defeños who had started their day much earlier than ourselves and were already having their mid day meal. Amongst our lunch time banter and traffic sounds, catch the crackling of meat cooking on the flat grill, the chopping of condiments, and the radio playing love songs...<br />
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<a href="http://soundcloud.com/santa-gloria/taco-stand-df-030912">http://soundcloud.com/santa-gloria/taco-stand-df-030912</a>
*The Zocalo was locked down due to increasing protests at the time by activists and citizens who saw the election of Mexico's current president, <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/01/world/la-fg-mexico-pena-nieto-20121202">Enrique Peña Nieto</a> as fradulent. GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-68945695045297512912013-01-16T10:07:00.000-04:002013-01-16T20:48:20.143-04:00People to Hang Out With: Roommates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am happily back in the belly of the beast, New York City. Slowly getting my feet wet, un/willingly participating in its rampant capitalism and light schmoozing. My time back in New York has proven to be much different this year as by a series of blessings, I am being given the opportunity to cohabitate in the dream location of China Town. After months of a level of social activity of my favorite sort (hanging out while trying to survive - eat,sleep,fuck)-I couldn't imagine once again residing alone. Returning home to a lovely yet lonely apartment that was filled with no other energy than my own. Thus far have had the pleasantness of sharing in life's little moments, meals, movies, various chores and tasks, etc with roommates. But most importantly being able to feed off each other for inspiration and support, for they are all wonderfully creative people as well as compassionate.<br />
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I had spent two years in New York living on my own, in adorable, warm, small apartments where the most important things were controlled by me- the decorum and the cleanliness of the bathroom. But more importantly I had to face my own short comings with no distractions. From the more deeply profound soul related to the "Fuck look at that, I<i> am</i> the one that sucks at washing dishes", conceding to roommate teasing I have received over the last decade. After this time period of introspection and improved dish washing skills I decided to rejoin the world of living with other humans. Slowly by opening my apartment to constant guests and now being committed to more communal living situations for the indefinite future. In it I am not losing privacy or solitude but extending myself to be a part of other people and for them to be a part of me. When you become comfortable in the blurred boundary that is created in the joining of you and others, will truly be when you have mastered the art of hanging out. <br />
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-70778719573542230542012-12-11T09:00:00.000-04:002013-01-16T20:47:23.205-04:00People To Hang Out With: That's my Dawg!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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This week I found out two sad pieces of news. One that a little friend of mine Piper, long time animal companion of my girl Crystal passed away recently and two, that another friend Amelia, long time animal companion of friend AJ is not well. During my past few months of travel, with regular interactions with Latin American dogs both stray and cared for, my motto on human relations became "I only trust children and dogs". When I can afford the opportunity and time I love to hang out with a dog. They like to get dirty, they like to lie down, and they are always up for a hug. Spending a day with a dog will inevitably lead to spending a day doing things I like to do but perhaps can't get away with being a human (<i>I do want to know what is in that hole!</i> <i>I do want to run for no apparent reason!)</i> and the one thing I can get away with-laughing. To me dogs always look like they are smiling and it makes me happy. Who doesn't want to hang out with someone who always has a smile on their face?<br />
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<i>For my favorite dawgs who have gone: Salsa, Grendel and Piper. </i> GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-71270972679323074492012-12-11T08:41:00.002-04:002013-01-16T20:46:44.771-04:00Hang Out Song Break #7 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>For the style, the hair, the dancing, the striking of poses and the piling up into a small public transportation mini van.</i></div>
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-30649235364689903202012-12-04T12:48:00.000-04:002012-12-04T12:55:16.062-04:00Respond and Rebuild <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Had a chance to hang out with the lovelies who bottom line this, as well as some other folks from all over lending a hand and residents of Far Rockaway. LOTS of work still to be done, go for a day at least if you get the chance. <a href="http://www.respondandrebuild.org/">http://www.respondandrebuild.org/</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cz4fCOvejOg"></a><br />
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GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-79630435413044345892012-11-12T00:22:00.001-04:002013-01-16T20:46:32.605-04:00Hang Out Type: Get Away Hang (Immediate Friends)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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CJ jokes, "That time you were in Portland it was like you were in a black hole. It must have been hard for you to not be in contact with me". It <i>was</i> hard and it was true. I had spent years dipped out of the circle of my oldest friends. On some self induced loner quest through the west coast in search of something that I am not sure of. In these last few years I have been trying to be more balanced in maintaining ties and continuing on my own personal venture. One way to do it is to plan a getaway with your nearest and dearest. Combining the perks of road trip
(stop at random country spot,<a href="http://www.robertishere.com/">ROBERT IS HERE</a> ), site seeing and lounging, the get away allows the space for you to relax and the space for random chat and intimate moment. This past weekend I spent getting some of that keeping-ties time in, having a get-away weekend in the Florida Keys with said old friends.
It pays to make that intentional time with your closest friends, with the folks who know you best. Giving yourself a chance to mend and regroup from the world/community that you normally inhabit that may not know you as intimately or well. You renew your bonds to one another and then at the end huddle up and say "go team" with renewed energy to continue on your own personal journeys.
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<b>Personal Side Note</b></i>: If you have never been to Florida I am sure you want to know, "What's up with Florida?!" I am a fan of the state and while difficult for me to slow down a little bit after the whirlwind that was moving through Latin America and difficult not to be home with the whirlwind that is Sandy, I enjoyed the peace of mind my time here allowed me. For me Florida is real subtle breezes and sun, salt water and springs, tropical fruit and lizards, cruisers and one-story sandy colored buildings. I spent most my time doing yard work in random yards, seeking out fruit and laying in the sun. This was my first time in the keys. We stayed at a woman's land called Sugar Loaf Woman's Village on Upper Sugar Loaf Key, that provided us a totally tranquilo and private space to chill with one another. Among it's variable adorable structures and flora, my favorite spot on the land of course was the outdoor shower with hecka warm water. We spent a day at a dug out quarry full of coral and tropical fish. I didn't move much from my sunning spot but my friends took frequent dips and gave themselves full body masks from a muddy spot on the shore. Plenty of things to do here and if you are ever headed down this way please feel free to hit me up so I can give you the insider Floridian tips on how to enjoy the real Florida.
GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-85391967274278853262012-11-03T15:39:00.000-04:002012-11-13T11:20:20.052-04:00VOLVER
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Playing with these coffee farm dogs was perhaps the happiest that I have been in a decade. I have just returned from approximately 52 days of travel through Central America and nibbled on South America a bit spending a good chunk of time in Colombia (with two travel team mates). Now just three weeks away from returning to New York, folks keep saying "it's a good thing you're not there right now" but I am a bit sad I am not. I have affinity for the city now and it seems wrong not to be there helping in some way but rather spending my hours for the most part lounging in Florida. Currently I am hanging out in Lake Worth, Florida, where you get to see random weird things at sea level.
Much to discuss on hanging out through the epic journey and will get to it little by little. While staying at a hostel at previosuly mentioned coffee farm in Salento,Quindío,Colombia, I griped once again about staying at backpacker hostels to an 18 yr old Mexican girl whose post-high school graduation involved traveling for a few months through Latin America. She says, "I like it because you get to meet like minded people". And perhaps this was the source of my disgruntledness, I was not with like minded people. Meeting world travelers I at first would be slightly intimidated by what they had seen and the multiple languages they could speak. And in general they were fairly impressive and kind people. But after awhile what I saw in them mostly were folks getting away from something and instead of an empowered wander lust I just saw wafting lonliness. My interpersonal solace came mostly from my team mates and from interacting with local folks at every level who seemed stable, clear eyed and generous. My fellow hostel bunking travelers were driftwood and I was looking for a rock. <i>Picture courtesy of Denise H.</i>
GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-39182141862311754912012-08-25T19:40:00.001-04:002012-08-25T19:52:02.849-04:00Spontaneous Family Hang y Me Voy!
When I just need a break in general, to take a nap on a long bus ride and/or to be pampered in the way only a doting Puerto Rican grandmother can I take a quick trip up to Buffalo, N.Y. to visit my father's family. This time around my Grandfather requested the visit and despite my quickly approaching departure date from the States I conceded, even though my time with my Grandfather usually just entails me literally watching him do things- like watching TV (PR gossip television shows,baseball games,Italian cooking shows), strum on his guitar, or pour over highway maps of the United States all while he mumbles and hums to himself. He is adorable. In addition my visits entail my Aunt and Grandmother asking me if I am hungry nearly every hour and bringing me food even if the answer is no and comments that my cousin artfully described as "10% compliment 90% something else". Thus far favorites include my grandfather telling me I look like a tramp (he is not a fan of the tattoos) and from my aunt "Oh-is that what you call a skirt? From the front maybe but from the back not so much". The dry wit I have been exposed to my whole life and I am grateful for it, it reminds me to not take myself so seriously or to recognize people have multiple ways of showing their love that are totally acceptable (just look for it, make note and then you will know when the words that are really coming out of their mouths are "i love you"). The best comment so far is from my 4 yr-old cousin "Why do you talk so fancy? It's sexy", sigh why do they grow up?
This is my last post until I return to Amerika early Novemeber. Good luck til then friends. GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-75699145059268162432012-08-20T08:23:00.000-04:002013-02-15T12:12:24.292-04:00Hang Out Song Break #6No matter how many years go by and how much my musical tastes expand and grow, nothing makes my heart stir (in the way I believe it was meant to) more than the fast and passionate punk. When I need to get my power back I listen to the voice of one of the best bad asses I have ever known. <br />
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Punk note: The band is Dark Lion and the label that recently pressed a 7inch of the original tape version of the recording is Vinyl Rites. </i>GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-34464554099947806292012-08-19T20:27:00.000-04:002012-08-20T13:34:31.343-04:00It's a feeling<br />
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I have uprooted once again, having completely cleared out of my place in Bed-Stuy and plans indicate I will be leaving Brooklyn borders. Excited for new prairies and not sad to leave but grateful I had a chance to live in this legendary cultural center of BK (and the world). I am going to miss some aspects of the neighborhood. Namely, the call to prayer from the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Masjid At-Taqwa</span> </span>mosque located at Fulton and Bedford, my landlord and her family which included Marcel my constant advice giver and morning chat friend and their grandson who would jump out and greet me from a hiding place sometimes when I would stumble through the door at the end of a long day, automatically lifting my spirits. And last but not least Abdul, my friend and parking lot attendant on the corner of Halsey and Bedford always wishing me a nice day. <br />
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Some more things I will miss:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cats named after revolutionaries. I will also miss the laundromat on Arlington.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's the Brooklyn way. One of my co-workers on a walk around the neighborhood, as love seems to emanate from him.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random shit: Just another horse in Bed Stuy. Federation of Black Cowboys pay a visit to the local elementary school. On this same day a block away I came across a Afro-Carib cop trying to settle a traffic dispute between an old ass Orthodox Jew and an old ass Muslim man. There's a joke in there somewhere. I was tempted to take a picture but decided it would be rude but laughed out loud at the sight nonetheless. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colors....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcel.</td></tr>
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GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-12178859549316985572012-08-17T22:00:00.000-04:002013-01-16T20:45:49.673-04:00Hang Out Type: Spontaneous In the moves being made to a) move out of my apartment and b) go on a three and half month vacay, I realize here in New York I have finally built up a network of folks, solid and reliable who make my life here much easier. And that even in New York with a little intention you can build up community to the point that living in this metropolis is starting to not feel so different from the smallest town I have ever lived in-a perk that includes the spontaneous hang out. One of the things I was missing about my small town communities from years back was the random drop in, the impromptu dinners, having friends down the block who were immediately accessible for any random favor. Although geographically my life here is not structured to facilitate this as easily as it was say in Pensacola, FL where all my friends for the most part lived within a seven block radius of one another, here in Brooklyn/Queens a bicycle makes disconnected portions of the city seem seamlessly accessible, fluidly blending into one another. Ten to twenty minute rides providing you fairly quick access to one group of friends or the other. The spontaneous hang is a web of assurance and a nod of reliability and accessibility from a circle of friends that you are cared for and taken care of. And I don't think of myself as being particularly social but I do enjoy good company, keeping me from feeling like I exist in some sort of void but I am reluctant to plan. So having people who are easily accessible and existing in my life allows for the spontaneous hang, that random moment of getting to catch up with your friend. GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-29792470529917797192012-08-11T23:21:00.000-04:002012-08-14T11:55:44.460-04:00SlackerAs a Floridian I hate to admit that New York City summers kick my ass, making me sluggish and slightly disoriented. These last few days particularly difficult for me as I sport a mid summer fever, that as usual is a result of lack of sleep and a brief period of chain smoking. It's almost two in the morning and Files and I are standing on the West 4th humidified platform discussing our very young adult hood, when we first struck out in the world. "How the hell do younger kids just own $2,000 laptops now? I remember barely having enough money to eat", "It's a different time". Then we briefly discuss how dumpster diving was actually done to supplement meager means at the time (well for some of us any way). We just got out of watching <i>Slacker </i>at the theater at West 4th and the film had triggered a nostalgia in us, reminiscing about when our lives were fairly similar to the movie. <br />
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Just an hour before the movie I was eating nachos, sitting in the entryway of a closed Starbucks with an old friend. We reviewed old "love affairs" that had circulated in our friend group over the years and passersby stared at us, their brains trying to process if we were homeless, injured, drunk or all three. Who sits on the sidewalk on 7th and 24th, for a dinner of nachos as if they do it everyday? We do.<br />
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Today ran into a buddy from Chattanooga at a local coffee shop I usually avoid. He was telling me how he is almost done with school and is looking to become a Latin teacher. That the "old guard" is dying and younger scholars of Latin such as himself are poised to take over. I nod and comment approval on his smarts and he responds, "It's just my thing and everyone has their thing". His comment contributes to my internal dialogue of the week, what does it mean to be "special"? Which all began while washing dishes preparing dinner with friends. Listening to a song in Spanish, that our host was translating and interpreting, I'm looking down at my hands and arms, shiny with water and soap, gliding over one green plate after the other. I realized that I had thought the song was a love song, singularly isolated to make only one individual special. He had interpreted it as a spiritual song on how <i>all</i> things were special. This is the correct interpretation. <br />
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There is no time of my life that I don't want to include moments such as these.GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-88531840433277389392012-08-10T15:01:00.000-04:002012-08-10T15:03:11.542-04:00The bonds that tie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week I had a chance to sit for one on ones with a couple of friends who have been in my life for well over a decade. We have not lived in the same town, much less the same state in years but here we are once again meeting up, consoling each other through our ups and downs, helping each other get through our day to day. Leaving me to wonder, what are the bonds that tie us? Is it chemical? Is it personality? Some reincarnated soul gang that rolls with each other life after life? I have no answers here, I am genuinely intrigued as I get older why some relationships are so effortless and others so effortful. When on paper two individuals side by side check out the same, it seems illogical that your connection to either of them should vary by much. Being able to kick it seems less about the activity itself but more about the bonds that exist between you and that person. Sure, yea I would rather be doing some activities over others but getting wasted with your head glued to the bar has it's place in life just as much as spending an evening creating something with friends. In time being spent, I say I am up for whatever, which I am but if I think about it I am really up for people.<br />
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-7045520824965971162012-08-01T13:46:00.000-04:002012-08-02T17:24:33.426-04:00Fuck "Eat, Pray, Love" this is my "Sin Mapas"I say this to Marissa and she replies, "That should be your Facebook status". I don't have Facebook so here ya go. We were standing in line waiting to get into the free Calle 13 concert happening at Prospect Park. We had been talking about my disdain of folks referring to my upcoming venture to South America as my version of <i>"Eat, Pray, Love"</i>. In all fairness I have never read the book nor seen the movie that it seems now will peg all solo female travelers from here on out as desperate, lost, and looking for love in the far reaches of the world (from the western world at least). As I had told Marissa and a few other friends earlier in the week via email , "I was a solo back packing bad ass before that chick even thought of writing that book". This trip I won't be so much of a solo bad ass for most of the trip but bad ass nonetheless with three other folks who I hope to be blessed enough to have with me. <i>Sin Mapas</i> was a documentary that René Joglar and his musical brother Eduardo Cabra Martínez of Calle 13, showing their venture through parts of Latin America in hopes of better understanding the countries they were touring through. I am very much into the pan-Latin vibe of the group, Rene being the Latin Marcus Garvey of my heart. Like the brothers in the film, I too am eager to understand the land and most importantly the diverse array of people that I share a colonized culture with and see what we have in common and what we don't and how I am going to continue that story for myself from this point onward. <br />
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I won't be taking pictures. While I enjoy photography, I find the act of taking pictures makes me feel disconnected from what is happening to me in the moment, much like posting every thought you may have on Facebook, some things are better left in your mind. I do however have plans of documenting my venture via sound! With my lil janky digital recorder-plazas, busses, restaurants, beaches-I hope to bring you the sounds of Latin America by December- and that way you can develop your own pictures in your mind of my trek.<br />
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Link to <i>Sin Mapas </i>- shown in total. Yea it's in Spanish, get a dictionary. <br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdIdYa7i3Qk&feature=youtube_gdata_player" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=cdIdYa7i3Qk&feature=youtube_<wbr>gdata_player</wbr></wbr></a>GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-32998290777259316632012-07-30T21:02:00.000-04:002013-01-16T20:49:29.589-04:00Hang out Type: One on One<span style="font-size: large;">Hermano a hermano.</span><br />
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The one on one is my thing. One on ones you can roll deep , symbiotic with another human, running tasks, eating food, moving forward in one silent in sync motion. Finding moments to share thoughts that seem random like something you read about numerology or ancient Romans or how you remember the first time you saw your mom lie or how you don't think you can ever honestly love someone because you just don't trust a single soul. The most casual comment to the most intimate woven together with ease between the two of you, along with jokes and sound advice. It carries an intimacy that I am addicted to and that I find necessary to gain from most friends in order to feel we gently push the boundaries of our friendship outwards, to a further place. Providing a space for the friendship not just as a pair but allowing a sincere space for one of your partners in living to be distinctively human, where they can say what they want and exist how they wish. <br />
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Groups are solid and it is rad to be able to pull off a genuinely good time with a large amount of people. But one on ones are the essential building blocks to a friendship. Make the time for near and dear and make sure you are readily available, undistracted, open and ready. You can answer that text later. Turn to your pal and breathe slow, do something nice, this is the moment you will remember when you think about them when they are not around anymore. <br />
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Personal Side Note. <span style="font-size: large;">Mano a mano. </span>This dude was reading my palm explaining to me that your left hand stays the same, it's your overall narrative but your right palm changes and gives a heads up to where you're at in the moment. Looking at my hand his eyebrows arched in empathy and he says to me, "You really feel what others are going through, you take in their energy". The comment made me stumble out of my smugness for a moment and I smirk and weakly say "yea". And with even more sentiment he says to me, "No. Like you <i>really</i> feel it, to the point it's unbearable. You might even avoid being around people because of it". My response in this moment was to pull my hand away because being that seen is not my thing but that sentiment is almost always counteracted by wanting to give in, hoping that I have found someone to give into. What he said was true.GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-11911527122586046272012-07-25T15:04:00.001-04:002013-01-16T20:50:29.682-04:00Hang Out Song Break #5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Discovered while hanging out in Ft. Greene Park, late evening, after werk. </div>
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<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8276287526892690168.post-16952507550039171612012-07-15T00:24:00.003-04:002013-01-16T20:50:59.126-04:00People to Hang Out With: Traveling Guest<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cyrus sitting quietly in Central Park</i></td></tr>
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Over the years I have had the pleasure (mostly) of meeting random folks who needed to sleep on my couch. Recently I had the pleasure of hosting Cyrus who made his way into my home as the travel partner of my friend Mel who had decided to pay New York a visit. To entertain ourselves one evening I interviewed Cyrus on hanging out and afterwards we watched a bunch of Sublime and No Doubt videos online.<br />
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EIA: Cyrus so I ‘m interviewing you because we are in my living
room and I told you that I wrote a blog about hanging out and then you-</div>
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C: I got so excited.</div>
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EIA: Yea you got really excited and then you said you like to
hang out.</div>
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C: I did. And I still fancy myself as someone who likes to
hang out although I don’t hang out like I use to. I think that’s part of growing up and burning
out and getting old.</div>
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EIA: Burning out about hanging out – you just said..</div>
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C: That might have happened to me a little bit.</div>
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EIA: Like recently?</div>
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C: No, after I grew up and moved out of said small town. I never really found that community of
transient like street kids, it was such diversity- they were all so funny. All
the kids were really funny and it was just a very funny scene. And I’ve never
found that anywhere else. </div>
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EIA: You were talking about that you like hanging out and
specifically the first example you thought of was when you were younger- </div>
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C: Hanging out in the streets</div>
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EIA: -and you were living in?</div>
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C: Salem,
Oregon</div>
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EIA: And you were like a street kid?</div>
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C: No I would go home in the evening but I would hang out on
the streets in the day. Like after school I would go like go hang out downtown
for a few hours to several hours.</div>
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EIA: And so you were saying like now you feel like you never
found that. </div>
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C: I never found that kind of community anywhere, where
people just sit on the sidewalks and are so full of humor and life, beauty and
joy. </div>
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EIA: Do you attribute that to an age thing maybe?</div>
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C: Maybe, yea. Honestly when I walk past groups of young
kids hanging out in the streets somewhere who look like they are kinda down and
out, looking like they want to get fucked up or something, I don’t really give
them much of a chance or give the time of them day anymore. Ya know?
And I think part of that is that I wouldn’t think that they were as
funny or as cool as the kids were back in the day. And in that way sometimes I kinda find myself
jaded about a lot of things in that way.
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EIA: But is there I mean – when I talked about having a blog
about hanging out you did get excited so-</div>
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C: I did get excited and I still like the idea of hanging
out and in a way I still hang out but it’s a lot less social then it used to be.</div>
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EIA: How’s that?</div>
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C: I think I’ve gotten more shy. And like I hung out all day in Central Park
but I didn’t talk to a soul. And nobody
spoke to me. And that is something that
I liked about the Salem street kid scene
or whatever is that hardly anyone could ever walk past us without being – we would
talk to them or somebody would always shout out to them- there was always some
player interaction with passersby. </div>
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EIA: Antagonistic or just random?</div>
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C: Sometimes yea or
funny though. Antagonistic or funny. </div>
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EIA: So whadya do today?
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C:Today I just sat quietly.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (laughter)</i></div>
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EIA: But you also went to the museum </div>
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C: Yea I went to the museum and I was quiet there too.</div>
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EIA: You had a Central Park day</div>
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C: Yea I did. </div>
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EIA: I guess I’m trying to think of why you used the term “hanging
out” as opposed to saying “I spent the day” – and then you kinda didn’t mention
–initially you really just thought of your time hanging out in the park as
opposed to your time that you spent doing something which was going to the
museum so – why do you think you used those words?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: I think that I think of hanging out as maybe where I
first came across the idea that I was really just loitering somewhere and hanging
out and in Salem there was often this- where the street kids would hang there
was always a battle with the city. The shop
owners were always trying to get people to leave and we were always trying to
have a place to hang out and it was this sorta thing and I think I just
associate, like when I think about hanging out – I mean I can think about
hanging out with friends in a different way but I still think about hanging out
or hanging around as like meaning hanging out on the street and talking with
people who also hang out on the street. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: Right because of that initial experience that’s what
frames your idea of what hanging out means. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: That’s true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: What are your favorite things to do while you’re hanging
out?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: Well I do like to people watch. And maybe even back then part of the
fascination with me hanging out or whatever wasn’t so much me- I think that I came
to know the other people that were hanging out but a lot of it was just
watching them be really funny, interacting with people and being funny. I also just like people watching in any which
way but I also think that it’s more fun when you have somebody to people watch
with because then you can like make up stories about the people who are walking
about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Laughter)</i> I never thought about that- sounds like a lot
of fun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: Oh it’s a lot of fun, we should do that sometime.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: I had a boyfriend
we use to like to go to restaurants and sit really close to people who seemed
like they were going on their first date and pretend that we were also on our
first date– we were basically eaves dropping on people and enjoying the awkwardness
that was going on between them. It was a
little bit-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: That’s fun!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: I felt kinda bad- because you would be like “Oh that was
so painful!” I just always thought dates were so awkward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: And when you hang out somewhere you get to see a whole
variety like in the park today I saw couples and you can kinda like watch them
and be like “Oh they’re not going to be together very much longer” just the way
that they’re interacting. Ya know she’s suddenly
walking ten feet in front of him and ya know it’s exciting to see that
change. And then there’s that new couple
that are shyly hanging out on the bench way off to the side and they look kinda
annoyed when you walk by because you know they wanna smooch or whatever. Or you
see the people who’ve been together- or just voyeuristically are just all over
each other. There is just all different
levels. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: Yea it’s interesting that you use the term voyeuristic I
was in the park yesterday with my friend and he was like “What is it Valentine’s
Day or something?”, there were three couples making out within ten feet of each other
as we walked by down this path and I think one of my favorite things about New York
is use of outdoor space and how people just don’t give a shit about living their lives on the street because
there is not enough space inside or something so people live their lives out on
the street which like gives this new – the hanging out in the street here is phenomenal
like there’s people playing cards or chatting with neighbors or -</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: It’s beautiful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: -yea you just have this really amazing human interaction</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: Spain was like that. I went to Spain when I was young and
people would hang out like every day like outside on their porches or the park
benches and in certain cities like Sevilla people were really just necking
everywhere, people were getting it on! And I thought it was beautiful, I was
just like, “This is really beautiful!” I would so much rather see people making
out then trying to sell each other things or get things from each other—it’s beautiful
to see.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: So right now you are on a short sojourn through the US?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: Well this is an epic journey for me at this point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
EIA: Yea but you’ve only been gone for like-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
C: A week. But I’ve got a long way to go!</div>
<br />
<br />GLORIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16325507281436012228noreply@blogger.com0