Sunday at Lelabar

Hungarian Pick Salami, Tasso Ham, Beef Loin, Coppa
from Lelabar

I finally made it to Lelabar.



This visit required the right amount of synchronicity to occur. On Sunday I met up with a friend before he took a road trip. It also happened to be the day before his birthday so quality face time was in order.



The last few times we'd seen each other, we went out for wine. And every time, I kept mentioning a wine bar in the West Village but I couldn't remember where it was. I knew it began with an "L" but that's all I had. This time around when I was off the clock, I was off the clock. My brain just couldn't remember. As we walked west along Houston St my friend pointed out Burger & Barrel as a possible place for us to go for our fix de vino. We both wondered about the New Yorker-to-tourist ratio and kept moving.

Random Musings on Saturn in Scorpio and Mercury Retrograde

                                                                                        

A few days  before Mercury Retrograde even began, I left home one afternoon and ran into 2 former formers--One psycho I'd hope to never see again and the other I think the Universe keeps sending me to him because he has to make right with the situation (He's a Taurus). I'm even more determined to finally use the money saved up for my divorce to file and finalize (ex husband is a Taurus too). Time to end that chapter.

People are lifting themselves right out of my space and some I'm hitting the delete button on emphatically. I've always been pretty good at setting boundaries, putting myself first, not overextending myself to emotional leeches, XYZ, so I'll make sure to continue to do that while I go through this "growth spurt".

Creatively, I've gone back to some old stories. One will remain on the shelf. Not ready yet. I looked it over and... meh. The other one I'm excited to get back to. I'm excited for the adventure my character is going to be on. I'll be including old characters from old work to tell the back story of the characters. Retrograde to move forward indeed. You will love it.

My Personal New Year

I celebrate my Personal New Year today. My Solar Return.

All day I can't help smiling from ear to ear when I hear the newscaster announce the day and date on the radio - Thursday, November 15.

Whoo-hoo!

My vision board consists of post-its on my wall. I add and subtract as needed. I've never had an "official" board, but I always make lists or write notes, have certain themes that recur in my journal entries and things I wish for constantly.

This year I will continue to exercise, learn new skills (je suis etudient francais pour quand je visite Paris), push past my comfort zone and fears, live by my moral code; be my authentic self. I also have a million dollar check to cash as a reward for following my dreams. Yes, travel is on the board too.

The past few months, Buddhism has been popping up all around me. I realized there are parts of that philosophy that I am familiar with. I started my new year celebrations by visiting a Buddhist center. A friend was gracious enough to show myself and a friend around. It coincided with the solar eclipse new moon.

I'll use synchronicities as guides. I will remain aware of them, open to them and proactive with them. Two minutes after my solar return, I received an email about the release of an erotic photography book. They continue.

I might add that at the moment of my return, I noted it in my journal and continued doing something I truly enjoy -- eating.

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The Darker Side of Lust: The Lost Interview

In August 2010, I was contacted by XI Magazine for an interview and book review for their Se-XI section. A few months after the piece went live, XI Magazine had server issues and lost tons of data, the interview and review included. Although the full piece is somewhere out there in cyberspace, I do have the interview portion.


In an email blast I sent to my mailing list, I included this quote from Managing Editor, Okema T. Moore:

Exploring various taboos like mulitiple partners, homosexuality and religion with regard to sex…the book has something for everyone! It’s well written, intriguing and a page turner. It explores lust and passion and even a little love, all while drawing you in deeper and deeper with the vivid language and very detailed descriptions of characters, positions and possibilities. I felt like a voyeur as I read it, because I could clearly see each scenario play out in my mind’s eye.

It takes a talented writer and an expansive amount of liberation and imagination to come up with something that is more sexy and passionate than raunchy and overtly extra. Abigail Ekue is all of that and more in my opinion.

And now, the interview where I discuss my loves, my lusts and my writing (September 2010):

Where's The Love(r)?

Love's First Kiss by Thomas Blackshear 

I want a lover. I want romance.


Maybe I'm mushy because of the Full Moon in Scorpio.


I couldn't stop smiling watching Parks and Recreation; happy and touched that Leslie and Ben finally kissed. Abed and Annie lit something in me as they kissed while showered in orange paint. Sitcoms. This is what brings me romantic flutters of joy? I've been thinking about being wined and dined. Having my feet rubbed. Massaging his back after a long day at work. Toasting to "us". Don't stand to close to me, you might be roped into a hug and then find yourself whisking me away to a far away land.

30 Years In New York City

I got the idea while I was journaling the night before my birthday to go visit all the old neighborhoods I used to live in. Go back to my old addresses and schools and take photos; chronicle what gentrification has done to Hamilton Heights and SoBro (Harlem and the South Bronx, as I know them)


About halfway into the trip, I had already seen a roller-blading professor whose sneakers I retrieved when he dropped them as he clunked his way past me. I saw construction taking place on 143rd and 144th between Amsterdam and Convent which I swear has been going on since the 90's. Took the Bx19 to my old neighborhood going past Lincoln Hospital (where it all began) and had flashbacks to the rides on that bus to and from school. It was amazing, despite all the time that had passed, not much had changed at all.

Period. The Beginning.

There must be someway to celebrate the final menstrual cycle of my 20's. Some sort of ceremony or ritual involving meditation, the moon, belly dancing, donning a special menstrual garment and then burning or burying the blood-soaked shroud.

I believe there are phases in life. Entering your 30's is the beginning of a new phase. As a woman, there is no way to know which period will be your last. You're aware that you're going through menopause but only after the periods stop do you realize that last one was the last one.

My Space In Space

I like astrology. I find it very interesting and clarifying. I'm not big in the telling the future through astrology but I do agree with the descriptions of the individual sun signs; the basic traits people exhibit, who you get along with, who's attracted to you, physical features and all that jazz.