as a point in space...

...one has to wonder what their surroundings really mean to them. Fairly often I find myself looking around and thinking about how and why I've gotten to where I am. Is it something about myself that has brought me here, or is it something about "here" that has brought something out in me?

Roaming the streets of downtown I see a lot of familiar faces. People I've seen for years, people that have come and gone, and come back again. Out of towners that always find themselves here, homeless, the super rich, people whose names I know yet have never spoken to and people I've spoken to frequently whose names I've never gotten. In common, we have stories that have led us here to this point in time and, more significantly I think, this point in space.

I think that's where the comfort comes from. That feeling of belonging that defies the common misconceptions people have about living in the bustling core of a city. For the most part we are here because we are the same people. We like culture, we like people, we like to see and be seen. We like to live in an ever-changing environment that never fails to surprise but always feels like home. We like that we are here and we like that we're surrounded by people who feel the same way.

I wonder what places I'll end up in during my life, but considering my experience thus far in DtO I don't wonder what I'll be doing or who I'll be doing it with. The names and faces might change, the time surely will. The name of the place might change, but I will always be in this point in space.

Please pardon the mushy nostalgia and reflection. It's about to be 2013, and this IS a blog, after all.

*knock knock*

Soooo...

It's been 1.75 years since I posted...it really is amazing how time flies. I suppose I could go on a philosophical rampage about the pace of life "in the city," and its effect on one's perception of the passing of time...

...but I'm tired, and it's late.

As for the extended absence. Part partying, part traveling, part working; some photography, some motorsports, a good bit of grad school and last, but probably should've been first, I suck at blogging.

Well at least I remembered my password.

P.S. I now get to suck at this from my phone and this nifty little Blogger app! Today's photo is a nod to this, my first mobile blog post. Also, the suffocating, desolate concrete jungle that this tiny urban area can be at times.

I'm old in a young city!

I turned 26 last week...AWESOME. I am now a fully-fledged working adult in his late mid-twenties. To be honest, 26 is turning out to feel exactly the opposite to how I thought it would...I'm actually quite happy about this new age...but this isn't really about my age. It's more about what I'm gonna do during this year.

So I had a frightening experience in the San Diego area a couple weeks ago. As I'm riding shotty around Encinitas and enjoying the company of ridiculously awesome people I began to actually NOT LIKE Orlando. Whoa whoa whoa...yes I realize this goes against everything I just said [*by "just" I mean 3 months ago in my last blog post, naturally] but, hold on, I can explain myself. The grass is always greener on the other side. Except, in this case, there wasn't really much grass. Just beach, rocks, and cliffs. And awesomeness.

I basically live to experience so, you see, for me there's something unavoidably enjoyable about new experiences and environments. Somewhere amidst the awe-inspiring geology and the refreshing coastal culture the idea that I live in a boring place crept into my head. I mean, let's be honest here...I live in a place where the steepest slope to be found is on ADA sidewalk ramps and finding anything built before Disney is getting harder and harder by the minute.

So I've been locked in thought ever since, trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong here. Trying to figure out why I was so down on my beloved DtO and had fallen in love with a city that is 3000 miles away and, truth be told, not so appealing economically or logistically. I'll nip the thought process and cut to my conclusions.

First of all, I've spent the last 17 months holed up in nightclubs and highrise condos consuming what was, in hindsight, preposterous amounts of vodka. I'm not a drunk and I know my limits but really, what I've managed to put down lately is downright impressive. For the last 7 months my daily commute has consisted of a two block stroll to work and back. Lunch is at Publix downstairs or maybe a restaurant on Central. Dinner is at Publix downstairs or maybe a restaurant on Central. The party is at my condo, or a bar in the CBD, or both. I've kept myself in a pretty homogeneous environment which has resulted in a pretty homogeneous state of mind. This turns out to be the true foundation of what was a brief discontent with Orlando and what it has to offer, and in realizing this I found a little jewel that's allowed me to let go of what quickly turned into an overwhelming desire to drop everything and move out of state.

Check this. I got back from Cali and was all like, "man this place [Florida] sucks!" I had just experienced so much that I had never experienced and I was hurtin' something fierce when I got back to the daily grind. I figured it was cheaper to think through it than to pack up and move so here's what I've come up with: I was infatuated, and Orlando still rocks.

I had to slap myself in the face. Dude, SoCal has just as much potential to be home to an extremely boring, unfulfilling, one-dimensional life as any other place in the world. Wellll..I'm gonna have to subset places like Siberia, the Sahara, both arctic poles, and Los Angeles out to make that statement true. I would inevitably get bored with the zen gardens, surfers, and frigid ocean and have to go through the same process I'm going through here. Not the weather, though. I'd never get tired of that. It was perfect. Almost fake. Just weird, to be honest.

Also, I have learned a hard lesson about Life in DtO. I haven't been too careful and those routines that I mentioned earlier, while pretty damn fun (and let's not forget convenient!!), really flatlined my lifestyle. Now I've made a resolution to ensure that I don't put myself in a position of temporary insanity again (due to an impending enrollment in grad school...again...I'm pretty much stuck here for a while even if I wanted to leave). I am now making it a point to get back in touch with Orlando and all it has to offer and just enjoying doing it from the quintessential center of it all. Enjoying this city is all about seeking out that which is not emblazoned upon t-shirts and marketed to out-of-towners. This is something I've always known but have somehow lost track of. There are places right here in downtown that I've never been. Yeah...that doesn't make any sense...this place is tiny. So for 2010 I'm going to go everywhere. Yup. Everywhere.

Also, I'm gonna try and post more often. Promise. Even though nobody's reading, haha.

Does Orlando...

I didn't think I'd get to this point already, but here I am. Where I'm at is wanting people to be following my blog here so that when I post this I'll get some responses with input. *Sigh*...I promised myself I wouldn't do this. On we go...






So I've gotten to thinking about what Orlando does for its residents and visitors. More specifically: what Downtown Orlando does for its residents and visitors. A common thread of conversation about our little fledgling urban core is comparison to larger cities with more established centers. Fair or not it happens, and the argument is generally on the topic of diversity and functionality or, as many are so quick to say, Orlando's lack thereof.

What about big cities? New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia...these are cities with identities: The Big Apple/The City That Never Sleeps, Beantown/The Hub, Second City/The Chi, The City of Brotherly Love/Illadelph. As legend has it, these are cities that inspire. These are cities that have no limits, no ceilings, endless opportunity. These are great cities that make great people. Moguls, tycoons, world-renowned artists, the uber-talented.

Where does Orlando fit in? What are we known for? Does anything "great" happen here? Does this city make people? It's really hard for me to avoid the prevailing train of thought. That Orlando is a city of transients; a stepping stone. A small fish going through a massive identity crisis. Well...I'd be a lesser man if I didn't recognize the validity in those opinions. However, I'm one of the few that I know that will defend this city to the end and extol its merits and values.

Personally, I love this city. I love the fact that it's like a small child, learning the ropes and trying its best. A lot of us wanted to be like big bro or big sis; mom or dad. We tried on their clothes, we acted like them, ate what they ate. But here we all are, grown into ourselves, developing our identities all the while keeping the lessons we learned from our bigs at the core of who we are. Learning from example is the foundation of life, so I can't possibly fault my city for doing the same. I think the opportunities for happiness, success, and balance are all here. As for the magnitude of those opportunities, I'll admit that it's apparent that we're still a small fish. However, in the same breath I challenge myself and everyone one else to redefine the roles of city and resident. If our city doesn't provide the opportunity then why not create it? Turn the tables and be the inspiration.

A little dedication and loyalty can go a long way in creating the type of environment that so many of us admire. One at a time the people who finally claim this city as their own and take pride in living here will add to the momentum that I believe will ultimately transform Orlando into...well, whatever nickname it eventually comes to be known by because, the truth is, great cities don't make great people. Great people make great cities.

Still Alive...

Downtown hasn't killed me yet...

Just popping in to say that I haven't abandoned my little project here, I just haven't had much time to sit in front of the computer. Maybe it's an indicator of this downtown lifestyle, maybe it's proof that I'm horrible at time management. We'll see...

this would have been a mobile blog post...

...but there was no time!!

So I was cooking dinner last night, and I got to thinking about the part where I would need to take that can of tuna sitting on the counter, open it up, and mix it in. Try to ignore the fact that the dinner I was cooking involved canned tuna for a second and lemme run with this...

^^this was the moment where I realized that every can of anything that was ever opened at my previous place-called-home was not opened with my trusty can opener that would be in the drawer to the left of the stove, because I do not have a trusty can opener in the drawer to the left of the stove. What I had was an amazing automatic electric can opener underneath one of the cabinets which is still nestled under said cabinet, 3 miles away, probably being enjoyed by the new tenant.

I looked at the stove timer...t-minus 7 minutes 33 seconds to dry, overcooked orzo. Folks, what I'm about to tell you is a true story based on real life events and, quite possibly, full blown singular justification for my choice of The Paramount as my current place-called-home.

In 7 minutes and 33 seconds I was able to:

1. stop panicking
   
2. throw on jeans and a tee
3. grab my wallet, a belt, my cell (because I'm neurotic), and flippies
4. set the timer on my iPod for 7 minutes
5. hop the elevator downstairs to Publix
6. check the timer
   
7. find the can openers in Publix
   
8. make the excruciatingly difficult choice of which can opener to buy (if you've ever been shopping with me, you know that this was inescapable)
   
9. check the timer (I've still got time)
   
10. second-guess my choice
11. check the timer (okay cutting it close now)
    
12. purchase said can opener (which, in hindsight, was definitely the right one to get)
13. check the timer (holy crap!)
    
14. run down the sidewalk, wave hello to a business acquaintance (can opener in hand)
    
15. hop the elevator back to my place
16. open tuna; drain, stir, continue to simmer

Yeah. Seriously.

Dinner was horrible, but by no means was that due to dry, overcooked orzo or a lack of tuna because I couldn't get the can open. Nope, I'm gonna go ahead and fess up to my apparent lack of culinary skills. Word on the block is I can follow instructions real well but the minute I try and get creative I can pretty much count on being disappointed.

So there ya go. CONVENIENCE - proof positive.

Life in DtO - 1
Life in the 'burbs - 0

COUNT IT!!

Day to Day

I suppose it's fitting to have this one come on a Monday! Here are some things I've noticed about day to day life in downtown. Well for one, since my walk to work spans about 5 minutes (sofa to desk chair) and I come home for lunch most days, I never actually feel like I'm going to work. I just kinda pop in the office, 4 hours at a time, twice a day, and all of a sudden I'm back home again...AWESOME! With this has come a seemingly inevitable inability to actually keep track of what day it is.

Example:

I hit the town last Thursday night and before dinner was over I was convinced that it was Friday - made for some interesting conversation, made for an even more interesting Friday morning. I ate a lot of words that night.

Overall I'd have to say the day to day is about one thing: CONVENIENCE. Yeah, that's pretty easy to guess, but it's hard to actually fathom without experiencing it. Being so close to the majority of things that I need has seriously revolutionized my life. No more rushing home from work to run errands, no more planning trips to make sure I can squeeze everything in before closing time. Everything seems a lot simpler now. Even if I have to hop in my car the destination is less than 10 minutes away. So "convenience" is already assumed as a perk of living in a downtown area but I'm gonna take it one step further and list not "convenience" as the perk, but rather "a-disproportionately-large-and-extremely-satisfying-reduction-in-stress" as the real perk here. I should mention that Publix is just right down the elevator from me which, admittedly, is spoiling me beyond belief, but I imagine that it's not really that much of a inconvenience for folks in other buildings to walk a couple blocks.

So that's the general bit, but there are a couple specifics about daily life here that I really love:

people. everywhere. all the time. This is really heaven for a person who enjoys environments with a lot of social interaction. On a personal level, I honestly just kinda really like to say hi to random people so I'm like a kid in a candy store. I've noticed that in general the people are all very friendly around the streets and even more so within the buildings.

noise. everywhere. all the time. But it's the good kind of noise! This is really why choosing the right building for yourself matters. I'm in the South Eola area and couldn't be happier...away from the train, massive crowds, and club music I get the calming background noise of the living, breathing city. I sit on my balcony during lunch or after work and it's extremely relaxing. If you like things a little more lively, grab a building in the CBD and you'll get all the action you could dream of! Something for everyone, haha.

me. everywhere. all the time. Maybe it's just the elevation and the fact that I can see everything but, seriously, I feel like I can be in 12 places at once. I like it. A lot.

So that's some good stuff about day to day life in DtO. Now for the bad part...

I feel like I didn't get enough done at work today so that desk chair of mine that's 5 minutes away from the sofa I'm sitting on right now?...yeah, I'm gonna go sit in it for a little bit and catch up. Maybe I'll reward myself afterward with a treat. On that note, if any adventurous entrepreneurs are out there reading: Downtown Orlando needs an ice cream parlor. Like, yesterday. Talk about a serious improvement for day to day life!