Egypt is nothing short of mouth watering delight!

Alright, so you’re weird, I get it. I’ve always gotten it, I think that’s why we’re friends.

Talking about Egyptians, I live in a Middle Eastern Neighborhood. The locals call it either Little Morocco, or Little Egypt. All I know is that the streets are lined with Hookah bars, even the coffee shops have people smoking Hookah at 8:00 in the morning.

All the grocery stores, the liquor stores and even the laundry mat have cute little ladies with surreys on. My favorite is the lady at the laundry mat, I wave to her ever time I walk by. She’s Awesome, I really like her.

Anyways…I live in an amazing restaurant area, the only problem is they’re all ethnic, so most people won’t like them. But if you’ve got good taste, and love food, there is no better place to live in all of New York.

There is this tiny little restaurant on the reverse side of my building (if I sneak through the alley way (where we put our trash) and through a whole in the fence and through the alley way on the other side of the building I exit next to this amazing restaurant.. Its called the Kebab Café, and it’s probably has the best damn food in the world. Seriously, and even better it’s really cheap. Its $7 for a Kebab steak sandwich (well Pita) filled with really good grilled vegetables, sauces, and other unrecognizable Egyptian garnishes. I can’t believe how good it is. I’m slightly stunned to tell the truth. After talking about it so much, I come to find out its a world famous restaurant. Ranked top ten by the travel channel. Its nothing more than a whole in the wall place that has two tables, but It’s as good, if not better than every other restaurant in all the world.

Holy Cow!

This cow is as large as an elephant. And it's real!

I'll Eat Dodge Ball for Breakfast

So it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged, and for those of you who read this I apologize. I’ve been really busy since I’ve been back in New York and haven’t found the time to type about my day/experiences.

I’ll start with my new found/old but starting again hobbies:

1. Kickboxing. They put a kickboxing gym in down the street from my house, and one day I was walking by and I stopped and looked in the window. I then proceeded to keep walking, only to find myself turned around and walking back. I then looked through the window again and by this time the receptionist knew she had a deal in the making. She came outside to greet me and tell me about the studio. I thanked her and walked away. Two days later, I found myself back in the studio purchasing 15 weeks of classes. Wow, didn’t see that coming, but it’s a lot of fun, and a pretty good workout. You can never argue this point: “The best investment a person can make is in their body”.

2. Sailing. I’m joining a NYC sailing club tonight. I’m going in front of the board after work to give a short presentation/speech as to why I want to join. Hopefully they’ll let me in. I have no doubt that they will, I’m a good sailor, and it’s what I like to do. No, scratch that…it’s what I love to do. Plus, it’ll be a great way to make new friends.

3. Dodge ball. Last night I went to the New York City Dodge Ball Championships and it was AWEOSME! I had so much fun. I tried to sign up/join, but the season is over and doesn’t start up again until September, but you can bet in September I’ll be there! It’s exactly like the movie, only better!!!

So long Grandpa Wayne.

Well...I'm in California, but not for a good reason. My grandfather had a stroke this last Friday. It's not good, in fact its horrible. Today we decided to take him off of life support, but we're waiting until tomorrow to do it so all of his friends and family can come and say goodbye if they choose to.

He's an amazing man, my best friend. I love him dearly and he impacted many peoples lives in a very positive way.

I love you grandpa, I always will.
All my best.
-Ren

Passion?

I’ve always considered myself a hard worker. I’m a firm believer of the theory that in order to be better than everyone else, you have to try harder, practice more often, and put in more effort. Some sort of combination of all of that will equal success, however that’s not always the case. In order to be successful you have to have one other flame of a burning desire. That flame is passion. Without passion, hard work, dedication, and effort don’t really amount to anything…especially if you’re lacking heart.

It’s always hard to find a passion; very few people actually every find one. I was lucky enough to find sailing; it was something that I was passionate about. It was something that I loved, something that gave me the determination to try harder than anyone else, to put in more effort than anyone else around me. With this attitude I got better, and better, and better. It was an exponential growth of bettering my sailing. It was an amazing feeling, especially when I was able to hand my coach and my school their first ever regatta and division wins.

I miss feel passionately about something. I’ve been researching sailing clubs here in NYC, but haven’t really found anything yet. I’m sure I will, and I’m sure I’ll relight my passion, but I’m really yearning for that form of physical exertion that I’m passionate about. I can run around the park for hours, but I don’t enjoy it. Sailing is what I need, its what I want. I’ll go and get it….I’m making that promise to myself right now.

China Town…is my FAVORITE!

I have no clue why, but for some reason I love China town. I spend a lot of time in that region of the city. I am a frequent visitor (at least once a week) to both Number 87 (my favorite Vietnamese restaurant) and DIM SUM (Chinese Brunch on Sundays).

Dim Sum is what I believe, may be the world’s largest restaurant with a maximum occupancy of 872 people. The best thing about the entire experience is that the only utensil that they give white people is a fork. If you turn your head to the right, then to the left, you’ll see that all the Asian people have chopsticks. But, no, not you, you’re white, “you must have fork”, and “no shrimp for you!” “What? I can’t have the shrimp”, “I say, no shrimp for you.” How could you not love a place that makes you eat with a fork, and won’t let you have shrimp? It’s quite fun.

Crooked Teeth, Stripper Song, and Winter

Crooked Teeth is a song that reminds me of Monterey, and of sailing. I love sailing, and I love Monterey. Stripper Song is a song that reminds me of Myrtle Beach, and the MB mafia, didn’t really love either, but enjoyed both. Winter is a song by Joshua Radin that screams New York to me. I love NY. And the weirdest thing is…well one of the women that I work for created and marketed the I love NY campaign. cool, yes that is neat.

More Than A Feeling is a song that reminds me of the hours we use to waste on Guitar Hero, and the time we went cliff diving and drove home with the windows down. Everything is more than a feeling; it’s a feeling with something more to it.

Purpose, hmm…purpose. What is purpose, and why do people strive to have the feeling of purpose? I remember trying to find my purpose, then one day I decided that purpose will find me. I went in search of purpose not too long ago and now here I am blogging in a code that only I understand. Ten months later with a combination of 20,000 miles traveled, 5,000 miles of moving, no money, some money, grandma helping me, struggling, finding my way, looking for where I belong…I think I did it. I’m getting by…barely, but it’s awesome.