city slickin'.

Ahh, how the road smells so different from the home!

I love it!  As good as it has been to live in the middle of nowhere and enjoy the smells of nature and the country sky day in and day out, escaping for a few days a few times in the past few weeks was GREEEEATTTTT!!  I feel secure in my identity as a city person; this identity is reborn and refueled on the energy of a city.

About two weeks ago I took the Amtrak (first timer!) to NYC to meet up with several of my friends from Chicago (some really rad folks!). Most of me really loved seeing my friends, but part of me loved being there, too.  Though I may have just been to New York a few weeks ago, there were some major differences this time around. 1.) I wasn’t suffering from any sort of roid-fueled-rage. 2.) I was with other people of a youthful age and able -bodied (though after all the walking we did each day we could have begged to differ) and 3.) the people I met up with were vegetarians that are into cycling, yoga, not-drinking-tons-of-alcohol and walking where we needed to go (despite the blisters on our toes).

It was so worth it!!! We did so much and had so much fun that it would be so hard to describe it all.  We laughed so much, pretty much from sun up to sun down, for 48 straight hours; joyous!!!  I encourage all friends who don’t get to see each other often (or even those that do!) to take a trip together. As long as you enjoy spending time with your friends.  If you don’t, this wouldn’t be a good thing for you.  It’s also important the people you want to vacation/travel with have a similar demeanor and attitude towards traveling in general. For example, if one person is used to staying at the Ritz-Carlton when they travel (I don’t know these people who do this, but this is only an example) and their friend wants to stay in a hostel, there will probably be some disagreement and hostility involved in selecting a place to sleep. However, if all parties are cool with eating pizza twice a day, don’t mind staying in a hostel and don’t mind walking without purpose, traveling to NYC with laid-back friends is something you might enjoy. 

As mentioned before, it’s usually easy to tell if you were supposed to take a particular trip or not based on if you can feel the “travel magic” upon the beginning of your travels or not.  If things get off to a great start, it is likely that the feeling will continue and follow you along your entire journey.  Travel magic also ensures that the people you travel with were the perfect choice for going to a particular location   It’s hard to describe with words; you can just feel it!  Maybe other people don’t know about it unless they’ve traveled with me (cocky) and I made the whole thing up… (but I’m pretty sure it exists).

I hope my point is conveyed by how awesome of a time I had in the Big Apple (do people still call it that? I might be a bit dated with my NYC lingo)!! We walked to get food, we walked for coffee, we walked for tickets, we walked to Brooklyn, we walked to dinner, we walked to the train, we sat for a few moments to rest our aching feet on the train, then we walked to the hostel, we walked for drinks later. And that was only day one.  Oh, and we tried to find public toilets, haha.  We spent about 30% of our waking, walking hours trying to locate places to pee, as every 30 minutes one of us had to go.

The next day looked about the same, but we ended up taking transit a few times to escape the rain, had less food involved, more exercise (including a yoga class!), record shopping, museum browsing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a concert and much, much more fun. And much, much more pizza.

Though the subway system seems more daunting (and even kind of dirtier) than in Chicago, it really wasn’t that hard to use in practice (letters versus numbers) and the train-cars themselves were laid out more ergonomically and were a little wider than the CTA “L” cars. Way to go, New York! The rumors are true…

The feelings of loneliness and lack of human contact with like-minded folk was healed by spending time with a few people who make me feel like myself and bring out the loveliness in me, as I hope that I do for them. I definitely feel confident in my ability to have and to maintain friendships after this trip! 

The weekend I arrived back in Richmond, I ran the Ukropt Monument 10K (finished in 65 minutes, not bad for plugging along in my first real race!)  and got invited by a friend here to go to Washington DC to hang/have fun/explore over Easter weekend: uh, yes please!!

So this past weekend, my friend Jessica and I drove up to the DC area and took the METRO into the city to meet up/stay with one of her friends from art school. What a blast we had!  We got to celebrate our first-ever Passover (lots of fun to participate in a Seder!), drank til we were thirsty again, danced til our bladders burst, and laughed until our eyes weeped and our rears tooted. Haha, what a time!  The nights were a blur of bars, clubs and beers while the daytime stretched out and blurred into a series of coffees, snacks and museums, only to be followed by another of the previously mentioned evenings. 

I feel so happy from having two traveling, city trips in the past two weeks.  I like living in the country because I get to come back to it. I can go to the city occasionally when I need to recharge.  When I used to live in the city and would escape to the country every once in a while, I would always dread going back to the city to resume my life in the concrete jungle.  Now, I can escape there like a wild animal, then return home to hibernate in my country den. It smells so good and is so peaceful here.  I’m staying put for at least another month. I think :)

Brooklyn, what?!?!

this is a life size bronze sculpture mounted to a wall above a staircase: creepy! hence, the yellow glowing eyes...

screw poison, I'll take the dagger.

neck blood soup, anyone?

sculpture garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

isn't he a sweet little effer?

apparently, this guy rides for free.

scuba steve's "moccasins."

cubbies.

babe.coms...

enter: DC

Video Game exhibit: oh, joy!  after "Bitwars" I was lost...

uh, where can I get one of these in my size?!

orchid exhibit at the conservatory.

tiny baby orchids!

as my friend Sarah from the UK would say: "They look like fannies!" Uh, Sarah, we don't call those fannies here...

See, even the trees are made out of metal in the city... (Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.)

Apparently, "Virginia is for Lovers": we'll see about that.

Where to begin?

The not-so-icy (only on the inside) holidays were blurrier than usual (for more than one reason, haha).  It’s hard to believe I’m already moved in somewhere, settled, really. Working at a job, 8-5, Monday through Friday. Me? Really?

Yes, indeed.  I definitely made the most of 2011, though, let me tell you!!!  In December alone, I graced five different cities with my presence, ringing in the New Year in At-lan-ta, Geor-gia with my partner in crime/brother, the fabulous Mr. Wilson Kirkpatrick!!! We had more fun than we knew what to do with and are probably lucky we didn’t get arrested for loitering. Or voyeurism. Or both. I can’t imagine what fun we would have had if I wouldn’t have been fighting a stomach flu the whole time I was there. Haha, I really know how to “bring the fun!”

Seriously, Wilson K is the KING of southern hospitality.  If you’re ever in the ATL, look that guy UP!!! You’re sure to meet some friends, eat til you’re beyond stuffed, and meet a drag queen and/or stripper. Or two.

The first six days of the New Year were spent running all over Chicago, doing almost exactly what I did when I came home from India: hanging out 24 hours a day and hardly ever sleeping.  But it was SO worth it. Between a dinner party, a few lovely evenings and a Friendship Squad meeting, I saw everyone I could have ever hoped for (even twice or thrice!) and had one of the best, most beautiful days of my life with two very, very dear friends (55 degrees and Frisbee outside in January, what!?!) Chicago was definitely showing me what I was about to be missing.  If I can now count Chicago, my ex-home as an ex-lover, I would definitely want her back. Guaranteed.

I spent about 72 straight hours in the comfort of besties, who gave me an even better send off this time around.  Even though last time I went to India, it felt less permanent than moving to Virginia feels. With India, we all knew there was a time-line of six months attached. Now, here, in Virginia, there’s so much to tempt me, the great outdoors, the sky that stretches on for miles, the roads that wind and twist all over the place, the air that smells so fresh I can’t even describe it, the open field in front of my house, the dozens of trees in the back yard where animals frolick freely, the big bedroom with enough room to do yoga in (!!!), the game room complete with my record collection and a pool table, working in a tiny little office with several lovely other people (all women!!): it doesn’t leave a lot to be desired.

The journey to get here spanned several days, several cities and about a thousand miles.  One day I boarded the Megabus, a few days later I packed a few belongings into a pick-up truck, and the following day my mom and I braved freezy, snowy, salty conditions with those same belongings and a cooler packed into a brand-new Accord.  My mom should definitely be a Nascar driver: she is fearless!  I really cannot imagine how she could ever give me a hard time about my driving, but I guess she doesn’t have to ride as a passenger often in her very own race car.

We had a good time, filled with whiplash, snacks and lots of laughs (that’s right, it took my neck a few days to heal from our journey, haha), and as soon as we arrived in Virginia, I wasn’t nervous anymore.  That’s right, myself, Danielle M. Harkins, was mildly nervous to be (yet again) spanning the lengths of time and space in search of a new home. So what? The nerves were easily soothed by a few glasses of wine. And a few beers. And some more food. By the time I had completely unpacked my (sparse) belongings the following day, I was “cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce.”  I guess after sojourning half way across the world to live for six months in a place where I didn’t know a soul helped to prepare me for a short cross-country move.

I didn’t even have butterflies in my stomach on my first day of work!  This was an all-time first.  It must be because I get to dress up for work and I look pretty good when I try, which equals confidence. Duh. I like to think of myself as jackpot hot, lol.  I think Aunt Stacy was a little nervous about myself and my wardrobe, as for the past few years on the few occasions I’ve seen her I’ve had on my usual uniform (t-shirt, mini-skirt, leggings, tube socks, sneakers).  When I got dressed for work yesterday (completely with clean hair and make-up) she kept remarking how nice I looked and how surprised she was.  It’s amazing what a person can be motivated to do when she is expected to wear something besides a t-shirt with some dorky logo on it (no offense to any who may currently be sporting that same t-shirt with that same dorky logo :] ). Not wearing a name-tag, being related to the boss and knowing where to find (and how to wear!) all of my clothes has a certain degree of confidence attached to it that I’ve yet to experience in my 10+ years of working prior to this.

I must admit, it feels good to be settled!  People are already telling me I look younger, as I’m pretty sure being homeless for the past few months was starting to take its toll on me, both physically and mentally. I was feeling tired all the time and very displaced, waking up like “Where the hay am I?!?!” almost every day. It was fun at first, but after four months, it’s definitely sweet to know I’ll be (hopefully) staying put for a while.  My guitar has a home, my knitting has a basket, my clothes have a consistent place to hang (no longer packing and unpacking them in and out of suitcases), my stereo has a cabinet, my DVD’s have a shelf, my vinyl has a crate, and my writing things have a desk and a chair: whew.  Wow.  I am so lucky and so thankful to everyone for this experience! To Chicago and my friends there for letting me go without too much of a fight, to my parents for helping me move all this way, and to my dearest Auntie for welcoming me by giving me a place to stay, plenty of meals to eat and a job to work.  

This little bird definitely cannot complain! 2012 is getting off to a great start, since 2011 definitely has some GIGANTIC shoes to fill. Succinctly, I’m happy, I feel good, I’m busy and I haven’t had time to get sad about missing/not having my friends yet, since my days are so full.  But still, friends, amigos, lovers, besties: don’t forget me yet, ok? This feeling may wear off in a day or in a year, but I’ll still always be happy to see you, speak to you, poke you, email you, Skype you (despite my hatred for it’s slowness), high-five you, travel with you, etc.

Peace, love, joy, happiness, silliness, spunkiness, sauciness, loveliness to all!!! Oh, and happy trails to you.

Yeah, we're pretty related.

Mr. Southern Hospitality himself. This could be all yours...

The view of the ATL from Wilson's roof: pretty sweet. I also learned what a Belvedere is...

Spinning out of control at the Sun Dial in At-lan-ta.

French Press at Octane in Atlanta.

Rockin' not just one but TWO balls. In his mouth.

AHHHH! I screamed pretty loud when I saw this (in a good way). <3 this girl.

(most of) the Friendship Squad (aka some of my favorite weirdos)

Mostly reminds me of a scene in 16 Candles. If you know what I'm talking about, I love you more.

G.D. Fritos! MSG!

my new bedside table: for pre-sleeping and after-waking (book+dream journal).

My first-day-of-work suit. You can't see it, but I'm rockin' some brand new, big black Justin's.