NYC... Bye!

Marc Jacobs denim knapsack • Marc Jacobs book bag • YSL duffel bag

After an extended period of time spent in New York City you are left with two options to cope with the stress of living in a big city. Either you drug yourself out of your mind so that the meticulous work of the day to day grind and the stress of balancing a personal life doesn't penetrate your brain, or you escape the zoo every time you see the cage door open. Ghost P and I are currently running from NYC for the weekend and heading down to Pittsburgh to see our brother Judah, the conquering lion.

We have embarked on this 15 hour road trip, due in large part to a 3 hour layover that we have in Philadelphia and the numerous 'leg stretching' stops that we are blessed with in between. The blue MJ book bag seen above is filled with enough snacks to help us make the trip on a somewhat full stomach. The other two are stuffed with more than enough outfits for the weekend and anything that I might get into. Won't be back to NYC until 3AM Monday morning; see you then.

SoHo

Thrifting & Lifting

I haven't been too inthralled with what designers are making this season, honestly I haven't loved something new since '07 (beautiful year for fashion). So I took '08 off, Ghost P and I made a decree that we wouldn't purchase any big article of clothing for the whole year and we survived successfully due in large part to all of the shopping we did in '07. However since we completed the year I have been getting into vintage pieces and as a result I've been frequenting a lot of thrift shops and scoring some really nice finds to add to my collection of clothing. Personally I don't think I need anything because I'm really satisfied with what I have already but sometimes I want to step outside of this comfort zone that I have created so I'll pick up something nice like this varsity jacket seen above. Right now it's a blank canvas that happens to fall exactly at my waist but in a month or so I should have completed the personalization process.

SoHo

Impulsive Thought$

Gucci

Usually hard bottom shoes are uncomfortable after extended periods of wearing but when I slipped my feet into these I knew instantly that we would be very good friends. Ever walked on a cloud? In my mind when I go on my extensive mental journeys of self awareness I walk on clouds often but these shoes were the only thing that my feet have ever felt to reproduce that feeling; amazing. The exterior is brown suede and the interior is supreme cushion comfort stitched by the good people at Gucci. I've owned them for about two months now and the funny thing is that I've only worn them once. That's self control. 

Too bad I can't say the same for their cousins that I abuse at least 5 times every week (work shoes). Funny thing is the day that I purchased them I thought I would have killed the brown pair by now for sure.

SoHo

The Second Coming

The Matrix

When I speak of the matrix I'm generally referring to an industry, a company or a system of control. As a matter of fact I'm referring to all of them at the same time but for simplicity reason's I'll speak of them individually. The way people get lured into the matrix is always by something that appeals to their five senses but it usually boils down to money. Which is why it has been said that "money is the root of all evil" however money is not the root nor is it evil, money is just a factor in the equation it is the human intention that taints the money.

The bait is set strategically in your path so that you come across it and once you show signs of interest you are caught in it's gravitational pull and have no choice but to be sucked in; the harder you fight the deeper in you go. Once you feel the pull it is pointless to fight it, your mentality cannot be changed until you satisfy your curiosity about the matrix.

Once completely in the matrix the first thing that will occur is your image will be warped. You actually like what you see and experience so you will make the necessary changes to fit in. You feel as though you never want to leave; mental utopia. You will disregard the things that brought you joy in the past b/c the effect of this new experience is an unknown pleasure to your mind. You wish to explore every square inch of it not realizing that it is slowly changing who you are as a person. The things that you would cringe at now don't seem so repulsive anymore. The people that you once laughed at are at the dinner table breaking bread with you and the ones that used to laugh with you now laugh at you from a safe distance because you are so out of touch with what is really going on that they don't know you anymore.

After a while you realize that you are eating but you are still hungry; actually your starving. The food isn't filling and the fluids that are being shoved into your hand complimentary of whatever liquor label sponsored the event of the night just isn't thirst quenching. So here you stand hungry, thirsty, exhausted, under paid, over worked but you are still very well dressed in those pieces that you borrowed from the showroom that you mustn't sweat in because they have to be returned bright and early tomorrow morning. You push your body to the point of exhaustion and you need a break but there is no time out, no lunch, no sideline because you are always on. Your life is now completely out of your control, you are just an actor in the grand scheme of things, small role, two words; help me. CUT! That is when you realize what is really going on. When the director yells cut, all the smoke clears, the mirrors are removed and you open your eyes for the first time because your brain feels like it is now safe to show you what it has been concealing from you all the time. Your new friends don't like you, as a matter of fact they are all jealous of you for 25 different reasons. Your real friends don't know you anymore because you are so far from the things that really matter to you, your 10 megapixel digital camera can't picture it. The constant drinking and lack of sleep has taken its toll on your body especially since you've already paid your taxes to overtime. The clothes are all borrowed, the jewels are all rented, the drivers didn't even know that their cars were in the shots and the location is nothing more than a white background.

Now you want out and there is no door that says EXIT. You are so turned around that you can't remember the way you came in so you stand still and ponder. Ponder about all the mistakes and missteps that you have taken. You ponder until you realize that you don't even recognize yourself anymore so you dig at this ghost of the person that you used to be in hopes of pulling the real you forth but this gets you nowhere so in an act of pure frustration, anxiety and hopelessness, you scream. You scream as loud as you can, you cry for help but no one comes running, no one responds. They are there but they won't help you because they don't care besides they are too busy screaming about their own issues. So deal with it.

This is the world that I plan to step back into. I can't help you avoid the pitfalls & potholes if I never fell in any myself. My sacrifices are investments for a better you.

 

SoHo