I want to ride my bicycle

After a year of living in New York, I have FINALLY begun biking again!

I have had the bike itch since I moved, seeing as how it's pretty much one of the best-equipped cities for bicyclers in America, but I never had the resources to purchase a bike. Thanks to a generous friend who just happened to own a bike that still had the tags on it, I am now a bike-owner.

Sunday, I picked up said bike in Harlem. I then proceeded to ride it down the East River to the Queensboro Bridge, then came the adventeure: Second Avenue. The bike map is a bit confusing, and the bike paths in midtown Manhattan are not well-marked, so I ended up riding from 59th to 14th via 2nd Avenue. Fortunately, New York drivers are much more biker conscious than those in Baton Rouge, so it wasn't as dangerous as it could have been.

After a stop to thank the previous owner and return his apartment keys to him, I rode down the river some more, under the FDR (where I had a minor spill), and then to the Brooklyn Bridge. I forced the little bit of energy I had left to get me over the bridge, and managed to get home safely. The whole trip from Harlem to Carroll Gardens took about two hours. I'm hoping that as I get into better shape and my legs warm up to biking with hills, I will be much faster.

Our Graffiti Staff Fun Day was in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this morning, so yet again, I ventured out on my new toy to Prospect Park. I really have to say that I LOVE Brooklyn in ways I cannot describe. I am very proud to live here. It's one of those places that really sticks with you if you let it. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Graffiti family, then I browsed the main branch of the Public Library before taking a mini-tour of Prospect Park and its trails. I am now pretty exhausted, as my body is still not quite used to all this biking, but I'm excited about the new places I will get to explore. Exploring is so much easier when done on wheels :)

So here's to a new adventure as a Brooklyn Bicycler! (thanks to Dr. Chris)

One year

So, I made it. I survived one year in New York City. I fully intended to update as soon as that happened, but as we all know, my life is INSANELY busy. The little time I have to update I chose to do other things. Seeing as how my readership is down to like, zero anyway, I don't think any of you (or YOU, singular), really cares all that much. That said, I'm going to try to be more faithful.

So a few things the Lord has taught me in this up and down year:

1. Home will ALWAYS be New Orleans. In the words of Dee-1 and Shamaar Allan: "Whereva you put me 504 home." The cool thing about that is, God has allowed me to go home so many times that I know that no matter where he's placed me, home is always there waiting on me.

2. Faith. Faith. Faith. Sounds so cliché but its so true. When I moved here, I had no idea how I would survive. I figured God would give me a job. When he didn't give me a job in the way I thought he would, I panicked. That said, I knew he was on top of things. With the exception of a few truly difficult weeks in August, I never lost hope. I knew he had something waiting in the wings. Then, when he did provide, he provided in an unforeseen way that allowed me to still be at Graffiti WAY more than if I had a classroom of my own. Job-wise, not ideal, but in terms of recognizing the true reason he called me here, AFFIRMING. That was exactly what I needed, and I am thankful.

3. Above all PATIENCE. I've always been one to rush my life. Run run run, it's one of the reasons I moved here. Things move at a faster pace, one that keeps up with my way ADD brain (which can't focus on the same thing for long enough to settle). I have a whole list of things I feel like I should have done by now, and I've always stressed myself out trying to get them done. I feel like by this time, I should have a five-year plan that works, a man in my life who could potentially be there forever, a pretty steady job..... I should have been to Europe, I should have an idea of when I'm going back to New Orleans. I need to move back to New Orleans before it's "too late." Etc... Etc... Etc.... but the truth is HE IS IN CONTROL no matter how long it takes for some of his answers to unfold. Instead of building up unnecessary stress in MY brain and body, I can turn it ALL over to him. All of it. And he's got me covered. There is no reason to rush. I'm young. He's gonna take care of it. I should just enjoy the ride.

Those are a few of the top things he's shown me, but there are MANY MANY MANY more. I just know that if I started trying to put them all down, I'd lose track. Easily. So there, in a nutshell, the biggest lessons.