An Open Letter to Syracuse

Dear Syracuse,

    You are my home.  I have gone to school here.  I have bought a home here.  I have built my family here.  I have lived here for nearly seven years.  But, Syracuse, I am conflicted.  I keep thinking about moving away.  My husband has opportunities in other cities.  Cities much bigger than you.  And while I love you dearly, Syracuse, we don't always get along.  Very few things are in walking distance, my friend, and that bothers me.  Your public transportation is infrequent and does not meet any of my needs.  To be frank, I think your public transportation is pretty horrible, Syracuse.  Combined with that is the fact that everything around here is based on the car.  Walking around is very difficult.  There are all these interstate underpasses, and unkept sidewalks.  Especially in the winter, Syracuse: your sidewalks are a mess.

    But with all my complaints, I have a hard time wanting to leave.  I have invested so much of myself in you.  I want you to be beautiful.  No, that's not it... you are already beautiful.  More than anything, I want YOU, Syracuse, to just see yourself as beautiful.  I want you to see the beautiful city I know you are, underneath all the BS. ...and even more, I want you to see what you could become.  I want you to see how much MORE  beautiful you could become if you gave yourself the chance.

     And that's all it is, Syracuse.  You need to take a chance on yourself.  Leap the cliff.  I know you'll land on your feet.  You already have so much going for you.  You are not the failed DestiNY project.  You are not Syracuse University.  You are a winner, regardless of what the basketball team does.  You have many quality neighborhoods.  You have amazing parks.  And you are affordable.  You don't demand a lot from me as a resident.  Sure, taxes many be high, but land value is so cheap that it all balances out.  Living here, I was able to buy a house at the age of 26.  Most of my peers at that time had small apartments, or were living with their parents (or living in an apartment payed for by their parents!).  Syracuse, you gave me the ability to own my own land and be responsible for it.  You have allowed me to have a backyard to experiment in, and transform.

      You also attract quality people here, Syracuse.  I may not have the largest circle of friends here locally, but the friendship I make here, I know I will have for live.  When I was living in other cities, I knew the friends I made wouldn't stay around forever.  They were in that city for a job, or there as a stepping stone to other places.  But with you Syracuse, I know the friends I make here are friends I could have with me for live.  The people I meet here are committed.  They are of a different caliber.  They aren't living here because it's easy for them.  They aren't here because of peer pressure to living in a "cool" city.  And they aren't here because that's where their job just happens to be.  No, these people are willing to take a chance on you.  They aren't scared of your abandoned spaces.  They see opportunity in your boarded up windows.  They see the beautiful you that I also see.

     So take a chance on yourself Syracuse.  Because there are a lot of people here willing to take a chance on you.  And if I must leave in a few years to be with my family, please make sure that I can always come back to you.

Love,
A City Resident.

Multiple Magazines

Below is an email I just recently sent out. Life is ridiculous sometimes:

to subscriptions@asla.org date Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 2:49 PM subject Multiple Magazine Copies mailed-by gmail.com

Hello,

I called earlier this year and complained that I am getting sent two copies of Landscape Architecture Magazine every month. While it is nice to have a second copy for scrapbooking purposes, I find it an incredible waste of ink, paper and natural resources in general. The double issues, however, kept coming. And now, the July edition just landed on my desk. All four copies of it. I don't know what is going on with my subscription, but can someone please sort this out for me? I fear for an exponential doubling of issues getting sent to me, and imagine years from now, that my friends will find my body suffocated under a pile of LAMs. Clearly, I am trying to make light of this, but it does bother me regardless. Someone please clear this up for me. My member number is 1084011 (on all four copies, yes).

PSM

Morning Pages

Dear Systems Observations blog,

We have a great thing going. I love you dearly and feel that we get along really well together. Spending time with you has helped me learn about myself. I feel I've improved at articulating my thoughts. You really have improved my communication skills. But I owe it to you to be honest. I have a new love: morning pages.

Who is this two-bit morning-page hussy, might you ask? My friend M (or should I call her Y?) introduced us. On New Years she told me that morning pages would be perfect for me. M/Y went on to tell me about the book "The Artist Way," which introduces the morning pages technique. Morning pages are three handwritten pages done every morning, the earlier in the day the better. The idea behind them is that they clear the brain of clutter and help one become more creative during the day.

What does this have to do with you, lovely blog? Well, I find that with morning pages I am writing a lot now: 800-1000 words a day. This is much more than I write with you. With you, I feel I must censor myself. I must have a cohesive thought. I can't be sloppy around you. But morning pages? Ahh.... I can be free. I don't need to use full sentences. I even have spell check turned off! Granted, a lot of what I write for morning pages is nonsense but it's streamlined my brain. Since doing morning pages:

• I got a friend to repair the hole in my kitchen ceiling.
• I've re-started going push-ups on a daily basis.
• I've figured out a great way to keep myself from spending too much time on the computer.
• My wedding planning has become more organized.
• I've started renovations on my half bath.
• I've started repainting my full bath.

But Observations.... lovely System Observations... you too hold a special place in my heart. I share you with my friends. You contain links to the world! Morning pages retains her beauty through her mystery. She cannot be shared with anyone. Blog, you are my day, while morning pages is my night. I can not be without either one of you. Please understand that while our relationship has changed, it has not ended. I look forward to a bright new 2009 with you.

Sincerely,
PSM