A book, train ride and class away.

Hi there, Today is Tuesday, October 25th, 2022. Are you guys ready for Halloween? 👻 🎃. I will be dressed up as Velma from the Scooby Doo gang.

(This happened on October 11th, a Tuesday)

A phone call awakened me, and It was my father. I haven’t been a morning person for one month now. I usually would wake up to my alarm clock, which I had set up at 6:00 am, but somehow I didn’t bother getting up. I answered the call; he asked if I had class today. I replied with a yes, and he told me to hurry up. My house to the train station is about a 25-30 minute walk. While it’s not a bad walk, it’s cold out early in the morning. ( I don’t have a car right now) My parent’s cars have been handy during these times. As I got ready, I thought of going back to bed, in my warm sheets and cover. I love a warm bed when I wake up in the morning. I’m a weak sucker for that. lol

In the car, dad and I were talking. He expressed his hunger, so we went to La Flor de Jalisco on Westchester Ave. It’s been a while since I’ve been inside. I was starving, too, to be honest. As he parked, I noticed men outside conversing with themselves and holding those disposable coffee cups with lids. Some had pastries in their hand too. As I walked inside, they just stopped and stared. I grabbed myself a large black coffee and a pastry. I was looking for a croissant 🥐 but they had none. We left the bakery happy as can be. I had my breakfast in my hand. I was dropped off at the train station and waited till 7:51 came. As I was seated, I took sips of my coffee and bits of my pastry.

Thoughts came to mind. One of those thoughts was on how lucky I am to be here and have the privilege to take the train into Grand Central. Here, meaning that I am alive and get to live this life. Even though at 24 I am not done with school. (My actions have caused me to this life. I shouldn’t complain. I am responsible for my own life.) You may ask yourself, why travel far to go to school? Well, my friend, I had a low GPA, and Brooklyn College was the college that accepted me. No shame. At least at this time. I’m thankful I get to attend college.

In Grand Central, I made my way to the Subway entrance and waited for my train. At this point, I knew I would be late for class. So, I started reading 101 ESSAYS that will CHANGE the way. You Think by @BriannaWiest. I have seen this book all over TikTok, so I bought it myself to read. I am a few pages in, and I like the book. It’s written well. The essays in the book make you think deep in your thoughts. As my train approached my stop, I put my book away. I made it to school. I make my way to the fifth floor. ( I took the elevator, no way I was walking that many flights of stairs.)

The class was canceled. Ah! How did I not see the email? I was annoyed, in all honestly. I could have slept in today. But, instead, I wasted my time coming down here and the cost of the train tickets. Having a morning class can cost a fortune. The peak hour cost to get to Grand Central is $13.75. (Don’t you hate when that happens?) Next thing you know, I am walking to the schools library. To make up some work that had to be done a week ago. (FYI, it’s done now.) Lots of readings were completed. I stayed there for about an hour and half. It was a good place to get work done. My goal for the school year, is complete all my class assignments. The challenge started after high school. I let myself go. In high school it was rare for me to hand in late assignments or have incomplete work.

I know I’m not the only one. Fast forward to today, and I am back in Brooklyn. Guess what? My class got canceled again—same class. On the bright side, I get to eat my lunch earlier and type on here. It is midterm week for me. I had my accounting midterm yesterday; It was more complicated than I expected. My deck at home was messy and cluttered. Stressed, you can say I was. One midterm down, Three still to go. Still, a lot to cover. I’m not too fond of exams. It simply reminds me to try harder next time. Meaning I didn’t do well, as I would have liked.

As I write this post, I am finishing up my lunch. I plan to head back home as soon as I finish here. I am dropping off my sister’s car back in New Palz with her. That is an hour and thirty-minute drive. Finish that, come back home, eat dinner, and head to the gym. ( I joined the gym.) I leave you with today’s post. Thanks for reading!

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Today’s Thoughts of the Day.

Hi reader. Today is Saturday, October 8th, 2022. A lot is on my mind. I have to tell you. On Wednesday, it was raining again. It’s been raining for the past three days where I am. I don’t know what it is about the rain. Every time it rains, I lose my motivation. I don’t want to leave the house unless necessary; I don’t want to type, read, or do anything productive. I rather eat and watch movies or Netflix series on my phone.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my future. I will soon graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in business, but I can’t entirely say I will go into this field. I’ve been in school for years—Counting High School, Community College, and Brooklyn College. You can say I am not a typical woman. When it came to my education, I knew I wanted to get a degree. In what field, I had no idea. I was the first to graduate high school at the time, so I had to choose something right away. I decided to go into criminal justice in community college. Just for the first semester, I liked it, but to see myself as a police officer was a no. No one would take me seriously. I wanted to be a Detective, just like Olivia Benson. You know Law and Order; SVU.

Eventually, I started to take business classes, in my second year of community college. I didn’t mind it. One class in particular was Business Management taught by Professor Richards. She was the reason, why I liked the class. Richards was a tough professor, she didn’t allow late assignments, unless you asked in advance, no redos on quizzes, and no lateness/absences. She was great. I was a bit intimidated by her, but it was an important class. I had to take her class twice, the first time I believe I got a D. Than the second time. I received an A. I was stoked! I normally, didn’t get As. My grades were a mixture of all letters.

I’m not perfect. I am only human. I would say to myself. I struggled a lot in school. As the oldest, I was expected to do great things. I felt pressured to do good in school. I also wanted that for myself, but somehow the materials wouldn’t stay in my brain when it came to exams. I would hardly pass or not pass at all. In some cases, I pass my exams, and it felt great. I got to say; I did better in English and History than Science and Math. To this day, I think to myself, is school for me? I still have my master’s to do. There are moments I say I don’t want to do my master’s, but then I think will I be the only one in my family without a master’s?

I am thinking of getting a degree in English. I like to write a lot and type here. I would like to have a job where I have the freedom to write whatever I want. I don’t have the perfect punctuation if you can’t tell by now. My spelling is iffy at times too. I started this blog a few years ago but didn’t get into it till now. I didn’t have a lot of inspiration back then.

I hope to find my passion. I like a lot of things actually, but to find income. It’s hard for me. I want to be financially independent, and I really want to. But somehow, I can’t find a job within my profession. So I have gone back to retail. As much fun as it was, I don’t see myself there. I would like to work within a company in social media or writing about their service. Interact with people and just come and go to work. Have a secure and stable job position, I would love.

Writing a book would be fun for me. I thought of writing stories for kids and, hopefully, later on, writing a book about my life. Yeah, that would be a dream goal. What is a dream you have that you would like to accomplish? (use the comments section to answer.) I would love to hear from you. I always say we all have stories to share. Everyone would love to listen and learn from you, including me. That is why I started this blog. To write my thoughts and life.

Now, I leave you to think about your dreams. I hope to hear from you. If you have a page. Please tag it below. Would love to read it. Thanks for reading today’s post. See you again soon!

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A Stroll Around Manhattan.

Hi reader, Today is April 30th, 2022, around 10:00pm. Today I did something different. I went to the city and walked around downtown. My plan was to go with my dear friend Izabela to Queens, but she is not feeling well. (I hope you feel better soon, Izzy.) We were planning on visiting the Queens Night Market, where there are many food vendors. Izzy works for a popular food magazine in the city. She wanted to check it out and asked me to tag along.

I still wanted to go to the city, so I chose to be adventurous at the last minute. I made sure before I left that I fed Kirby and Karlie their breakfast and took them out for a walk. When I was done with my duties, I made my way to the train station, taking me to Grand Central. When I bought my tickets, I didn’t know it would be Off-Peak for some reason. My brain was not working yet. To be fair, I didn’t eat breakfast. At Grand Central, I wasn’t shocked to see people walking and talking. I was surprised to see it packed. On a Saturday? I guess I don’t really know the city as I thought. I made my way to the subway station and took the 6-line, The Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall. My stop was 7 stops away, but I got distracted being on my phone when I got out at Canal Street. (Down-town) I am happy that I did.

Took a quick picture inside the metro.
The top is from Target.

The weather today was in its 60s, and it was very nice. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but that is the fun part! I kept crossing streets right after the other and stopped at a street vendor. What caught my eye, you may ask. Well, it was different colors of brim hats. There was navy, forest green, pink, orange, yellow, white, black, etc. What did I get? I got the orange color. I guess the orange screamed the loudest to me. To be honest, I plan on buying another one. A neutral color, maybe beige or white. That way, it can match anything I wear. Spring is here, and Summer is close by; I need to protect my face from the sun. (Wear your sunscreens!)

I later found a Starbucks near and got myself a drink. My caramel Frappuccino with no whip cream. It’s sugary but good! I sat for a few minutes, took out my writing book, and wrote some notes down. It is incredible; if I didn’t miss my stop, I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to see these people in person. Can I just say, these men and women dress to impress! I could never reach their level. I am in awe of the city. I left the cafe shop and continued my walk. (If you want to live in the city, you will be walking a lot, for the most part.) There were many stores around, known ones, like Brandy Melville, PacSun, Urban, Converse, Footlocker (There was a long line outside.), and many more to look around. I wasn’t looking to buy anything else when I came upon a book store.

The book store is located at 828 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. (If you can tell, I made my way uptown.) It’s about a 25-minute walk from Canal St to the bookstore. Not bad. There were books outside, and people were searching and reading. The entire inside was full of bookshelves. The store was busy, and people were browsing. Now, I am generally not someone that reads for fun, but I am trying to change that. I do believe If I have a good book, I will read it. I have been recently obsessed with Diane Keaton, the famous American actress. Her style is iconic, and I found out she wrote a couple of books. (Have you heard of the term Coastal Grandmother? If you haven’t, check it out, I want to live a life like that.) Also, Diane’s movies are AMAZING!! My favorite film of hers is on Netflix, called Something’s Gotta Give. It is a Rom-Com movie. If you like that type of movie, this is a must-watch. Check out her books too!

On the left is **Tallie Gabriel** and on the right is **Azeki M-J Ali** (Haiti and NY)

Meanwhile, I met Tallie Gabriel and Azeki M-J Ali from Ars Poetica inside the bookstore. I was very excited to talk to them but nervous too. Can you see their smiles? I walked up to them and asked if I could take a picture, and they both said yes. That is the picture on the right. They both were in the bookstore, ready to write custom poems for anyone that asked, like me. Azeki wrote me a beautiful motivational poem regarding my blog/writings. They both ask what you want the poem to be about. (I will treasure it as long as I can.) It made me smile while he read it to me. Both are amazing humans, giving others love and kindness within these unique custom poems. (It was nice to meet you both.) Thank you.

As I left the bookstore, I thought of how friendly people can be towards one another. People in this world are willing to show and give love to someone they don’t know, which is beautiful. It’s a hard thing to do. I like to believe that love and kindness can and will change the world for the better. Honestly, the interaction I had with Tallie and Azeki made me think how fortunate I am to live near a beautiful city. You can never compare New York City with another. New York is the place where dreams are made.

Now, I leave you with this picture. I started to read my book and plan to finish it, as I said before. So I must continue to read. It is currently 11:09pm, and I am about ready for bed. I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about my day. I really appreciate feedback; it can be something small or big. When I finish the reading, should I post a review? As always, thanks for reading! Peace and love.

xx- Shalen R

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Brunch and Pink Trees

Hi reader, It’s always lovely to have you here. On another beautiful day, today is April 29th, 2022, at 2:10pm. I am still deciding if I should have a scheduled time to post on here or write any time of the day? What would you suggest? I guess having a scheduled time would be best. I will figure it out. Hopefully. What are your plans for today? I hope you take some time off of your busy day and relax, go have a drink or read a book. As of right now, I am typing on my computer and trying to remember what I did this morning. The sun is out, and spring has been showing itself more each day.

Today in the morning, I got up around 8:00 am. Kirby and Karlie’s mother left me a sheet of paper to follow their daily routine. I was the one to ask her, and she left it. I like to keep their routine going, even when their parents’ arent here. Their day starts around 7:00am, which is breakfast time. Before breakfast, I take them outside to relieve themselves and for some fresh air. I don’t think their parents won’t mind. They come inside, and I make their breakfast. Which is very simple to make. I had enough practice by now. They have a scope of hard food with a spoon of wet food. I have to add warm water for the hard food to soften so it’s easier to digest. I add their allergy pill to both their bowls. Kirby and Karlie like to have a pinch of shredded cheese on their food. That is that. Pretty simple. They eat very well.

My crewneck sweater says Princeton.
No, I don’t attend Princeton. I wish.

As I get older, I am learning to take care of myself and appreciate my body inside and out. Self-care is something I didn’t enjoy when I was younger. My appearance was not too important to me back then. Today I was able to take a long steamy shower. I love hot showers. Even something as minor as that, it goes a long way. After I got dressed, my stomach was hungry. Lol. I wasn’t in the mood to make myself something, so I went for a walk. Before I stopped for food. I found a nail shop that provides eyebrow waxing. I needed to do that. It cost me $13.00 for the European wax experience. It is basically a wax that helps lessen the pain. I tried it, and in fact, it didn’t hurt. Yay! I can handle a bit of pain, but I had to try it out. It was for the experience.

When that was taken care of, I walked inside a local bagel shop near the nail salon and placed an order. It wasn’t too busy when I got there. I ordered a whole wheat bread toasted with avocado spread and an egg on top. Seasoned, of course! As for my drink, I chose to have a Thai milk bubble tea. It’s been a while since I drank that. I sat down and took a moment to see the outside. It’s nice to sit down and admire the outside world. As of right now, I finished the bubble tea entirely, but the avocado toast, not yet. I am saving it for later when I am hungry again. Do you like that I add pictures on the side? I think it adds something to the page. I am a visual learner and prefer seeing things for me to better understand.

On my way back to the house. I took a picture of these trees. Aren’t they beautiful? Ah, how amazing is nature? If you can’t tell by now, I add a bit of color to my pictures to bring out the beauty. I don’t go too crazy. These trees are planted in a playground park. At my parents’ house, they have a tree in the front of the house similar to these trees. We will have to rank the front for the next few months because the leaves start to fall, and it can get pretty crazy and full. It is 3:47 pm now, and Kirby and Karlie are sleeping on the couch. They are very well-behaved dogs. I plan on going on a walk with them later today. I have to put on pants though cause it’s still windy outside. I had shorts on today for the most part.

Even though today is a great day to go outside and shop or go out. I still have to find time to do my assignments for school. The only bad thing about it is that I procrastinate in starting it. I am sure I will at least finish one today. Tomorrow I won’t have time. I will be heading out to the city with my good friend Izabela! I hope you stay tuned for that. Mostly, the post will be later in the day. We leave around 4:00 pm. I will document as much as I can. Another thing you should know about me is I don’t go out as often. When I do, I like to have a good time. I will be having dinner with my parents today too. My dad said he will be making steak with rice and probably a side of salad or beans.

That is all I did in the morning and early afternoon. I hope you enjoyed reading it! If you liked it, please stay tuned for more. I plan on writing daily, but no promises. Sometimes life happens. I really enjoy writing on here. I leave you with this picture. Thanks for reading today’s daily blog. Peace and love!

xx- Shalen R.

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A Change In Scenery

Hi reader, thanks for stopping by.

It’s another beautiful day to write. Today is April 28th, 2022, around 4:50 pm. At this very moment on my end, the sun is fully out and shining very bright through the windows, though it’s chilly outside. Good thing the house I am staying in has window blinds. I hope where you are it’s the same or close to it. When the sun is out, my mood changes completely in a good way, I feel ready to be productive. It motivates me to wake up and get ready for the day. So thank you, mother nature, for your powers. (Keep it coming.)

Today in the morning, I woke up and got dressed. To be honest with you, woke up later than I would have liked. It was around 9:45am, and that was too late! I had to be at the house around midday. The owners told me they leave at 10:00am. I haven’t even packed my clothes and other small things to take to the place. Once I was done organizing my stuff, I had to order an Uber to take me to my parent’s house. My dad and I agreed the day before that I would stop by and get some food to take and that he would drive me to the place where I would be staying. I’m always thankful for food and a nice drop-off. Who wouldn’t like that?

When I don’t drive, I walk anywhere close by, or if I need to, I can walk a few miles to get to a location. I don’t mind walking; I love it, especially in warm weather. If the distance is far, I take an Uber to get there. Where I am currently staying, which is at my aunt and uncle’s home, is not that far from my parents, but I had a basket of clothes and two handbags to carry. I was not going to walk with those in hand. I wouldn’t make it far. My Uber driver arrived, and I got in the car. For the first time in my history with Uber, it asked my driver for a pin. A pin so my driver can start the route. The pin appeared on my screen, and I gave it to him. I was surprised to see that, but It assured me that the car I was in was, in fact, my Uber driver. So thank you to Uber for making me feel safe today.

The ride was smooth and pleasant. I had a few conversations with my driver. It’s nice to start a conversation with someone new. My driver was friendly, and he gladly answered my questions. I asked him, “If he was familiar with the town? He said he was but just a little. It was a quick ride. We made it to my destination, and that was that. ( I tipped him too, just so you know. Tip your drivers when you can.)

I opened the door to my parent’s house, and my three dogs heard me and started to bark. The house is smaller compared to my aunts and uncles, but there is something about this home that I like so much. The living room was tidy and clean for the most part. I made my way to the kitchen and said hello to the dogs, my 12-year-old poodle, Lucky, 12-year-old Maltese, Osita, and 3-year-old mixed Cavachon, Teddy. Teddy is the youngest but bigger than the others in size. I feed them their food and water. I took them out for a quick walk since I was waiting for my dad to pick me up.

My dad arrived within a few minutes after I finished their walk, and then we started the drive. We made a quick stop at Dig Inn. I love that place. My sister introduced me to that restaurant. My standard order is brown rice, cauliflower or broccoli, their delicious sweet potatoes, their chicken thighs, and a slice of avocado with a pinch of olive oil and salt. Yum. If you haven’t tried Dig Inn, I recommend you try it. It’s on the healthier side.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the house. I would come with my dad or mom and help clean this home. So, I can say I am familiar with the family. It’s been maybe 1 year that I have been caring for the family’s dogs and house. I love it.

As you can see, this cutie in the picture is Karlie. One of the dogs of the house. She is so cute. Karlie shows her love by giving you kisses, attention, and cuddling. She loves her treats. Karlie has to wear this cone-shaped collar because she has lesions around her body and likes to pick on them. She licks it. Her parents have advised me to keep it on, except when she’s eating or on her walks. Luckily for her, her parents bought her two cute cone-shaped collars. The one she is wearing in this picture and a lion one. Ah, so cute! She is a champ with it. She is smart, she finds ways to move around it and touch her lesions, so I have to keep an eye on her. Lol.

This sweetheart is Kirby. He also loves to give kisses and cuddles and loves it when you throw his ball far so he can catch it. Here he is, outside his backyard, looking at the ball I have in hand. Kirby and Karlie are brother and sister. He has lots of energy when it comes to playing outside. Both dogs are older, but they don’t act old. Love that for them. Believe me. I will be caring for these cuties for the next couple of days. I also appreciate being in a home and alone. (sometimes) I get to focus and write here, on my blog.

Later in the day, I visited my sister at school. She lives in the school, about two hours from where we live. My mom made soup and rice and chicken, and my parents asked me to bring some to her. I didn’t mind the drive.

I brought Osita with me for the ride and to see her mother. Gianella, my sister, has been missing her so much. She also has been feeling homesick. I, too, had experienced that living in Brooklyn. Now, the time is around 12:00am, and I am still writing. Today was a productive day for me. I felt useful. I also started a new movie called Enola Homes on Netflix. So far, so good! Starting Millie Bobby Brown.

Again, thanks for reading! I really do enjoy writing about my life. Maybe it doesn’t sound interesting, but I can document it here. I have thought of writing more and maybe other things too. What would you like me to write about? I appreciate the feedback. Any. I leave you with this picture of me holding my computer.

xx- Shalen R.

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