One Place - Everything But The Girl

A summer evening; I walk past the window,
Baby's crying; Someone's cooking dinner;
There's laughter on the TV
Someone's learning the violin.
How at home, it heals
At times like this, I feel that...



I would like to live like anybody else
In one place
And I could be happy and fulfilled
In one place

So I get the map out
And draw a line of where we've been
It goes thru sea and sky
Twenty-five planes this year
And it's only July...
This is not some Bible, like on the road
It's just a song about coming home
And whether...

I would like to live like anybody else
In one place
And I could be happy and fulfilled
In one place

And you know that I have found
That I'm happiest weaving from town to town
And you know Bruce said
we should keep moving 'round
Maybe we all get too tied down, I don't know
Hell, I don't know
I'm happy to be home (Still alive)
Happy to be home...

In the end, if you take care
You can be happy or unhappy anywhere

And I think we maybe all rely too much
On one place
I know I never would deny the need
For one place

So I get the map out (get the map out)
Yeah I get the map out (get the map out)
C'mon, get the map out (get the map out)
Get the map out (get the map out)


source: http://www.lyricsdownload.com

Drifting Away

Spring break was over like a breathe of fresh air after entering the white elevator of an old library building. But my rambling thoughts are still bringing me back to the dear moments I spent with close friends from back home.
I left the college on Thursday evening after work and headed to New York with friends from school. Napping in the car and holding the hand of my best Brazilian friend, Amanda, I realized how much I have missed traveling. It was like something that I had subconsciously sought but hadn't pursued after Christmas break. Since I had embarked on most of my trips alone, I had completely forgotten how it felt to have a caring company sitting next to me and drinking from my apple juice box.

After we were dropped off at Grand Central, Amanda and I headed towards the closest Starbucks. Having faced a couple of unsuccessful attempts to find seats in a decent cafe, we decided to rest in front of the Museum at Bryant Park. At 9 p.m. with suitcases and backpacks on the ground and wind messing with our hair, we couldn't have felt any calmer. We just stayed there, not thinking about anything in particular and absorbing every sound and smell. The kind of feeling that you get from knowing that the world is breathing with you and it is okay to pause and enjoy its breathing.
Actually, we knew that what awaited us after this moment was going to be wonderful. Amanda was meeting her boyfriend from another state and I was meeting with friends from high school and my hometown, Varna. We looked at each other with smiling eyes, slowly picked up the bags and left the park.

Take a deep breath

I walked into the library hurriedly, took the stairs on the left and looked at the big clock in the reading room. It was 3:10 and I was late for work again. I continued skipping with a faster tempo and then it hit me. I felt the sweet fragrance of a familiar perfume.

I forgot that I was in a rush, late for work, or that I had to finish a comparative
essay by 5pm. I was frantically spinning in a circle to spot the source of this heavenly scent. Or rather - spinning in a circle in my mind to remember what this smell reminded me of. Was it the perfume glass bottle in light blue labels that I used the summer of 2005? No, I am sure it had a different fragrance. I used to be obsessed with it and applied it every time I went out at night.


My heart began racing in a whirlwind of emotions and memories. Was it the gentle odor of the fabric softener a friend from high school used? But I remember it so distinctly and I would have recognized it immediately! After all, we spent 5 years of high school together.

It is 3:15. Okay, okay - I think I got it. This reminds me of the air in the New York apartment I was staying at this January. Its mixed aroma of bath and beauty products, new furniture and coffee lingered quietly in all rooms. Nah, it wasn't that.

I looked at the clock again - 3:20.
"That's enough," I thought to myself and continued climbing a second staircase to get to my office. No, wait! Take a deep breath for the last time. The scent will be gone in a moment together with all those memories.

Roommate Affairs

I have been sharing my small college room with someone else for two years. We have been studying different subjects, believing in different religions and going to bed at different times. It has been wonderful.
Last year I was a confused freshman who had just arrived at "the US oldest higher education institution for women" for the international students' orientation. Overwhelmed by the amount of new information I had to absorb, I closed the door of my half-empty room, pulled down the white plastic window shades, and went to bed. A loud knock on the door woke me up on the next morning, and I met Danielle - a French-Canadian horseback-rider with bubbling interest in politics and mellow blue eyes. Danielle also turned out to be one of the most absent-minded, intelligent, funnest and messiest people I have ever met.

Danielle quickly filled every empty space of our room with decorative pillows, elephant necklaces, posters of Bob Marley, and books about urban legends and ghosts. My rooming experience with her exceeded my highest expectations. At the end of the year I had to collect from the room everything that Danielle forgot, decided to leave behind, or asked me to keep in summer storage including her gray fridge, full-size mirror, CDs, and jewelry. Danielle and I missed the deadline for forming a moving group to room together for the next academic year, so we left room 314 with nostalgia and headed towards a new dormitory.
Luckily, now we live in the same building but on different floors. Danielle has a sweet spacious apartment which she shares with a Republican rugby player. I got a small converted double on the third floor which I later ended up sharing with our mutual friend, May.
May doesn't only have a spring-like name. She carries a pretty spring-like spirit that makes her cuddle, act goofy and ask many questions. If you enter our room at any point you will probably adopt a look of confusion because of the mixed odors in this small space. The smell of powerful Tiger balm, green tea, natural hair products and all kinds of herbs are very common here because May loves Chinese medicine. It is yet to be seen what I will find in the room when the academic year is over. Somehow, I am not worried.