Chill Pill

Saturdays never seem to be very eventful. I wake up with great intentions of exploring all that NYC has to offer and end up staying in my apartment for most of the day. Today I woke up around 11:00 still feeling the effects of NyQuil. I bummed around for a while and finally took a shower around 1:30. Then I bummed around some more trying to figure out how on earth I could feel tired after 10 hours of sleep.

To wake myself up I headed over to Union Square to do some shopping. Big mistake. Let me tell you how shopping in Manhattan works on any given weekend:
- walk into the store excited b/c you haven't bought new clothes in a while and you have a little extra spending money in your pocket
- pick out a few items that catch your eye
- go to the fitting room only to realize that at least 15 people are waiting in line ahead of you, not to mention the other 15 that you'll have to wait behind should you decide to buy something.
- examine the items in your hand, realizing your time and peace of mind are worth far more than the orange sequined shirt you're holding
-ditch the clothes and leave, remembering why you were so reluctant to leave the apartment in the first place

This is why I have to constantly monitor my anxiety level in this city. Because normal activities (like shopping) that were at one point in time enjoyable are now activities to be avoided like the plague. So I think from now on my weekend outings will be limited to walking, eating out, listening to live music and hanging out at friends' apartments. And if at any time one of these causes me unnecessary stress it will be immediately removed from the list, no questions asked.

Speaking of live music, Alex Andrew, Summer, Kurt and I listened to a rockin' blues band at 55 Bar tonight. There was a big black lady named "Sweet Georgia Brown" singing......needless to say, good times were had by all. We also ate "mexican" food at Caliente which filled me up but didn't quite measure up to the high standards of savory Tex-Mex cuisine (hence the quotes).

I'm falling in and out of consciousness so I think it's time to say goodnight. Gotta' rest up for day one of my new "strategery": mastering a stress-free lifestyle in the world's most hectic city...more details to come.