Archive for February 4th, 2009
Leaving, On a Jet Plane …
View of Vernon from The Cliffs, part of App. Trail
There’s just something about the house you grew up in, that makes “going home” feel so special … no matter how old you are.
Not to mention, I haven’t been home since April, and haven’t seen my family since Thanksgiving (which was wonderful, but not spent at our house — so wonderful as it was, it wasn’t the same experience). My brother lives in L.A. so I won’t see him, but my sister lives in NYC and she’s coming home, too.
The moment I see the gorgeous Manhattan skyline come into view from the air, my heart usually starts to pound with excitment, knowing Newark Airport is minutes away (just like it would when we’d fly past San Salvador Volcano and jut out over the Pacific Ocean before turning back and making a landing at Comalapa Airport).
I know my parents will be waiting for me at the baggage carousel … (just like my then-boyfriend, now-husband would be waiting for me after customs)
And ok, I know the “smell” that is this part of Jersey will be greeting me, too.
People like to rip on my home state for its bevy of strip malls, wild, road-raging drivers, stand-still traffic, big-haired/attitude-y women, “guidos,” the beautiful ports of Newark/Elizabeth (a sorry first sight for many of N.J.!), and the ubiquitous Parkway and Turnpike exits from which everyone seems to live off (and The Sopranos only fueled some of those stereotypes!).
But where I’m from — about an hour from Manhattan in northern N.J., it’s rural farm-country and beautiful. My home town (Vernon) is a ski resort community — dotted with mountains and lakes galore. My high school was a 20-min. bus ride and the nearest mall/movie theater is 45 min. away. Until recently, there was only one stop-light in the whole town. But it’s home. (more…)
15 comments February 4, 2009
Sleep Cycles & Exercise
For the past four years, I woke most mornings at 5:15 to exercise … after getting 5-6 hours sleep the previous night.
Part of me loved/craved that feeling of virtuousity but the truth was, at the height of my exercise addiction, I feared if I didn’t exercise first thing … other things could pop up that would impede my workout because in my disordered mind, ‘I-need-to-burn-x-calories-today.’
It was pathetic.
I mean, I pride myself on my devotion to fitness and any time one can get it in is awesome … but I was crossing a line. I was going to bed at midnight and waking five hours later to repeat the same cycle over and over again. (more…)
9 comments February 4, 2009
