BRIGHT FOR ALL TO SEE

 

You can affect people's lives even when you're sleeping.

I woke up this morning to move my car for street sweeping, only to find this lovely note on my windshield and this sweet necklace hanging from my driver's side door.

To Minx, who lives near 21st & 8th, thank you!  You are awesome and I love you and I owe you 1 gold star!! Now I just need to meet you.

Do crazy things.  Decorate your car.  Decorate your existence.  Make love to life every chance you get (she knows what you want AND what you need!)

Burn BRIGHT, because you never know who'll see your beacon!

Embrace Your Awesome!

★ RAFAEL & SYLVIA

The other night I went to dinner with some great friends in Washington Heights.  They said there was a Mexican spot around the corner that seemed to have sprung up overnight.  

"It's either there or the Dominican place," Carla advised.

"And I don't want Dominican," Vanessa said with conviction.  

The place was small but decorated with real care.  We kept looking around at how well everything was put together.  It had lovely Aztec mandala on the walls, and a mirror at the end of the hallway positioned perfectly so that it gave the illusion of a larger space without making anyone angled to see a reflection of themselves.  

Sadly we found that they did not have a liquor license yet because the approval process in NYC is so long.  That got us into a conversation with our waitress about the place being so young.  We told her how awesome we thought it was and she seemed really touched. 

When asked if the owners were in she said, with a quietly proud grin, that this was her place she'd opened with her husband.  He was out on a delivery at the time but she said she'd introduce us to him when he got back.

We talked for a time about their journey and how they were doing what they loved.  It was a great night, meeting great new people.

*********************************

This is Rafael and Sylvia, whose gold stars were awarded at their restaurant, The Grito Grill, 1555 St. Nicholas Ave., NYC, on Wednesday November 20th, 2013.  They received these stars for taking a risk, pursuing their dreams and opening a beautiful restaurant that brims over with their desire to nourish people, a beautiful act of giving!! These stars are for making their little corner of the universe a place that burns a bit brighter.

Objects chosen for brandishing of star:

Phones

*********************************

#embraceyourawesome

#armyofawesome

#goldstar

#burningandlearning

★ SGT. TROY DANIEL WALKER

This morning I was sitting in my van, parked on 9th and 29th, waiting for B&H Photo and Video to open.  I was taking advantage of my telephonic device's magical superpowers to make connections with all of the amazing people I got to meet this weekend.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a man approaching my car across the bike lane from the sidewalk.   He gave me the international sign for, "hey man... roll down your window."  

I paused for a brief moment to look down at myself in my thick furry burner jacket, black playa goggles, and tons of bangly things sparkling and jingling in my wrists.  I am trying to start connecting the 'me' that others see with the 'self' in my head more, just before a conversation starts so that I am aware of what they're perceiving.

My window opens to waft in the words, "FIRST OF ALL, lemme tell you that you got the COOLEST van in new YORK!"

Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker was smiling at me, bright and warm.  He started to ask me about the "Burn Your Stars Bright!!!" message on the side, but then he stopped himself mid-word, mouth-agape and finger pointed to the sky in an 'ah-ha' pose.

"Were you wondering what it means?" I asked.

"I... well... I don't know if I WANT to know!  Hahahaha."

"Good point!  It can be different for everyone.  YOUR meaning can be the unknown one!"

We both laughed again for a minute at life, the universe & everything.  And then we got back to it.  That was the windup, and here was the pitch.

"I hate to start your day with a request but... Wait... Is that a FERN in your car?!"

I laughed again.  My plant totally threw him off his game!! "Yeah, this is Lily.  Poor thing.  She has identity issues.  She's a plant with a flower's name."

Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker started REALLY laughing now, to the point that he stepped back and looked at the van again from a wide angle.  You could see him start to question if this was REALLY the version of reality he was in right there.  He cocked his head and looked at the van, then back at me, then returned to his normal talking spot.

Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker collected himself and said that he'd like to ask me a question, but one that might be a little odd.  I said, "Sure!  Go for it!  I LOVE odd things!!!"

"I would like to ask you, if out of the kindness if your heart, you can spare one dollar, and sixty-eight cents."

Now it was my turn to throw my head back with laughter.

"I lovezit Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker!!!!  Why that number?  I'm FASCINATED!!!!"

"Well..well..see I'm gonna trade ya.  I'm going to give you a great joke in explanation."

"Yes!  I LOVE jokes but I've forgot them all!  Tell me a new joke!!"

Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker shifted his weight to his back foot and hitched his pants up a bit.  "So I want you to just clear your mind and forget about whatever you got going on in there and just think about the question I'm asking."

"Ok," I said. 

"What is the greatest nation in the world?"

For the first instant I thought, "I can figure this out.  What answer is he trying to get at? I know the obvious answer is this one, so it must be something else."

Then, in the next instant (and a bit of left over time from the first) I thought, "why am I trying to solve it?  I'm buying the ticket...I should take the ride!  Let's play into his hands!"

"The United States of America?" I question-answered.

"Good choice.. Very popular... That's the SECOND greatest nation.  SECOND greatest.  There's one better.  There's one that beats them all."

"I give, Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker!  Which one?"

"DOnation!"

We both laughed again together and high-fived.

 I looked at the little coin-holder on my dashboard and started grabbing the coins.

"How amazing would it be if there was EXACTLY $1.68 here?" I pondered aloud.

"That would just about blow my mind at this point.  I don't know if i could handle that," he chuckled.

Turned out to be a $1.92.  Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker kept saying I didn't need to give him the additional $0.24.  

I said, "That's OK!  I've got something ELSE for you... A gold star for being AWESOME!!"

He laughed and looked more than a bit confused as I started to exit the vehicle.

I told him the story of the mystery BG actress who started the idea of the stars project, and asked him if I could give HIM a gold star. He said yes.

*********************************

This is Sgt. Troy Daniel Walker, who received a gold star at my car window, on Monday November 18th, 2013, on the corner of 29th St & 9 Ave. New York, NY.  He received this star for talking to a stranger, for trading me a story in the form of a joke and for thus giving me the gift of an experience.

Object chosen for brandishing of star:

Book of matches.

*********************************

#embraceyourawesome

#armyofawesome

#goldstar

#burningandlearning

THE FUTURE IS NOW.

Driving down route 99, back towards my old apt in Jamaica Plain ("JP" if you're from around here) and I see a giant wind turbine looming in the distance against the Boston skyline.

At once I am filled with a giant swell of Eco-pride, and immediately after I am filled with the feeling of an impending battle involving giant robots.  God, that would look cool from here!

#thismessagewastypedwhilepulledover

LET GO

Some mornings you wake up JUST in time to get out to your car and move it before you get a ticket...only to find you've locked yourself out of your host's house. 

While chilling out in my car, utilizing the heat and listening to some awesome radio, I've let my mind wander... and the universe brought it exactly where it needed to be.

For more than an hour I have been furiously typing concepts for my script "THE TIN MAN," into my phone's 'notes' section, and coming to some BRILLIANT and elegant solutions to concept issues I was having. These epiphanies are the product of months of percolation and countless conversations with the brilliant people that are part of my life.

Ugh!!!!  Creation is SUCH a delicious human experience!  One of my favs!!

Like a lot of the best things in life, inspiration is truly achieved not through excessive effort or angst or by depleting your energy...but by learning to relax the muscle of your mind so that it may float whichever way it wants in the stream of consciousness. 

Sometimes the hardest but most rewarding thing we can do with our time is to, simply,
LET GO.

NOTES TO SELF

In accordance with the synchronistic nature of my upcoming documentary, NOTES TO SELF, I happened to meet Juan Murray the other day while organizing all of my worldly posessions for the upcoming journey. 

I was using the same parking lot that Juan owns a Real Estate business in.  We got to chatting and he asked if he could videotape me explaining my project.  Here I am, moments after meeting Juan... talking about the ways in which I'll embrace MY awesome.

Enjoy!