Happy Holidays from New York City!

turban and photography by: inez galvez

Hello World!

This is me wishing everyone a very happy holiday season from the greatest city in the world: New York City. Well, actually, at this very moment in time, I'm sitting in the only Starbucks in Northern Brooklyn, i.e. Greenpoint. What the hell am I doing in a Starbucks, you may ask. Well, I had every intention of going to El Beit on Bedford, but by the time I got there, they would be closing thirty minutes later, so I decided to come to Starbucks instead.

Two hours have passed and I just started to write this post. In the last two hours, I spoke on the phone to my good guy friend Adam, my Dad and then Adam again. I heard some pretty upsetting news about my grandmother and a family friend. My grandma suffered a serious fall yesterday in Hong Kong and she was rushed in the hospital. It saddens me because if I was there, I think I could have prevented the whole thing. But I'll never know. I just felt so helpless when my dad was telling me over the phone. I hope she recovers soon. There were other disheartening news, but I won't go into further detail. I really don't like to think that 2011 has to end on such a bad note. I really hate to think that any year should begin or end on a bad note, because it's a transitional period and everyone deserves a smooth transition.

2011 was an incredible year for me (with all the ups and severe downs) and I hope it was an incredible year for everyone else too. I always like to reflect back on the past year and see what I've managed to achieve in my life. I also like to reflect back on 2011 in world news and events. I shall do that in the next few days. But for now, I just want to express my sincerest thanks to humanity and life. I've been writing in my memoir and I had written that life is a random opportunity and we should be so grateful for this chance to live it. Life is fleeting and life is fragile and soon we will be gone. So we should seize every opportunity or else there is no meaning whatsoever.

I love life. I love the simplicities and complexities of life. I love that life is such a fascinating and mysterious experience and chance. I want to live life to the fullest. My goal for 2012 is to produce and direct my very first short film. I'm going to quote myself in my movie. I hope my dialogue will inspire at least one person. I want my film to be an open dialogue regarding our social economics and human interaction, I want it to be substantial and thought provoking, but not pretentious by any means. I can see how it may and definitely will alienate some people and/or not interest some at all. But I'm fine with that. This film is for myself and for people who understand what my intentions are and it's my love letter to life.

Thank you world for this amazing opportunity. I am grateful every day that I get to experience another day. This very thought does scare the bejesus out of me, but I am eternally thankful. Thank you to life, my family, my friends, readers out there, for being a constant inspiration, for the encouragement and unconditional love and support. To know that I'm not alone is a beautiful motivation for me to keep going, to keep living, to keep fighting, to keep hustling, never ending. Enjoy the rest of 2011. Please take care, be safe, stay healthy, be happy. Happy Holidays, everyone.

Much Love Always,
Avalonne