absolute swine.

Men really need to learn that disrespecting women is not okay. I’m sure even women with 2 teeth in their mouth and a shaved head still sometimes have to deal with men oogling and cat calling them. I can rant for days about this; it’s near the top of my list of things that don’t make sense in the world. My highly scientific theory tells me that “hollering” at women must work about 10% of the time for these scumbags to continue doing it.

Let me start by saying that my friend and office-mate at work has a very voluptuous figure (AKA lots of curves in the places men want to see them)! She literally cannot take two steps in public without men giving her constant attention. We were walking to the store during lunch time, which was 3 avenues away. In this time, every single man we passed either stared blatantly at her behind or actually verbalized their perverted “appreciation” for her body.

After a man driving some type of work truck insisted on driving alongside us at our pace trying to talk to her, I decided that this behavior is beyond obnoxious. Really, dude? You are driving at a walking pace in your fucking dry cleaning delivery truck trying to yell out your window at a classy lady on the sidewalk about how amazing her ass is? Not. Gonna. Work.

At block 3, two older men were sitting in their car and started yelling at her out the window, “Hey baby...” I yelled back. “Shut the fuck up you’re so disgusting!” In my moment of anger, that was all I could think of at the time. She was laughing because she didn’t know I had it in me. Five steps later another man on the sidewalk told her he wanted to place a choice body part of hers directly into his mouth.

I usually don’t get as angry as I did today over men being pure swine, but it took every inch of class I have in me (which is a questionable amount) not to stab about 13 men in the jugular AND they weren’t even talking to me! I truly feel sick to my stomach that she has to deal with this on a daily basis simply because she has a curvy figure.

Do these men not know that she probably hears this on a daily basis and nothing they could possibly say concerning her body is original? Men should know that just because a woman is beautiful it does not mean that’s all she has going for her. If you really want to get a woman’s attention, compliment her fabulous shoes, her eyes, jewelry, pretty much anything BUT her body.

What little faith I had left in men is absolutely depleted.

lust.

So I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but I fell in love with so many looks from this past slew of "fashion weeks" that I'm already thinking about what I want to look like next fall/winter. Here is what I'm lusting after...

la ciudad respirando.

When I was younger I used to believe that there was one special person for me (hell, I even thought I knew who he was). I also used to believe in fate. I’m a bit jaded these days; I’m not the type that believes in soul mates or fate anymore. However, I’ve recently discovered that I do believe I have a soul mate, but not the kind you’d think.

After six years in New York, it’s due time we made it official. Now, I haven’t been to that many places in the world but I don’t think I need to have traveled the globe to recognize that this city will always be my lifeline, my main source of inspiration and energy.

I remember the night I realized that NYC is where I belong. In November I made a trip back to my hometown and went out to a local club. As the DJ played Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind”, every person in the room (in suburban Pennsylvania) was singing along. I immediately felt this surreal, overwhelming sense of pride and love for my city. Everyone was singing this song about my city. Most of them have never been to the places mentioned in the song and will never walk the cracked sidewalks of BedStuy or pass by the high-rise condos in Tribecca.

I live in a pretty rough neighborhood in Brooklyn and I honestly wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love the crazy things I see on a daily basis; people struggling to survive. My life is the absolute opposite of “sheltered” and I thank New York for a large part of that.

I felt sad that the people singing along had no idea how relevant the words are. They couldn’t possibly fathom the feeling I had at that moment unless they walk the streets of my city every day and feel the energy I feel.

“Escuchela, la ciudad respirando.” I breathe better when I’m home.

 Myrtle Ave + Bushwick Ave, Under the M train.