Boy Has My Life Changed

My life and my perspective have changed dramatically since leaving NYC only 7 months ago.  So many things that were important then, are just no longer important now. 

I used to be a clothes hound…I owned 20+ pairs of shoes and I always wore a matching belt.  I shopped exclusively at Barney’s and Saks.  I used the same salesperson at Saks (Claudio Sevilla) for the last 9 years; he would put Isaia and Brioni suits and jackets aside for me when they were on sale because he knew what I preferred.  I only wore Thomas Pink shirts (a former client) and one of several Tag Heuer watches (also a client).  I knew my dry cleaner by name (Alan) and he knew mine.

Now I don’t wear socks and I own a $35 waterproof Casio watch that tells me the phases of the moon.  It’s important to know when the full moon will occur, just in case we want to plan a night trip to the beach to look for nesting sea turtles (flash lights distract the turtles).

I used to be all tucked in and pressed, now that the average heat index where I live is 98 degrees, I’m neither.

I used to keep extra shirts in my corner office so I didn’t have to go home if I had an evening event, now I love to come home and wrestle with our two dogs on the dining room floor before we go out for pizza.

I used to enjoy Belvedere martini’s after work (another client), now I enjoy the local beer (castel’s).

I used to be on my blackberry 24/7, now I’m lucky if we have an internet connection 3 days in a row (although it is very irritating, especially if I have work to do or blogs to post).

All of these changes are positive, NYC is not so much the center of the universe anymore.  I feel like I have a greater understanding of the world around me.  I am much more open to outside help and opinions, I am more often early than late and I care more about who I am with rather than where I am…although I would still prefer a Belvedere martini over the local beer.

We'll see what the next year brings.