Where Are You?

I’ve done this before but not since 2004. I’m yearning to envy.

Where are you now? Where would you rather be? What is your view?

I’m in Brooklyn. I’d post a picture of my view but it’s basically just a wall and a dark TV screen. But the picture below pretty much sums it up as of late. (Sleep whenever you can. Everything needs to be cleaned. Baby in bed with you.)

If I could be anywhere else right now, I’d like to live in a small town in the Northeast but with the comforts of home, ease and familiarity I have with State College. Vermont seems appealing. Although, I’ve never been there.

I keep threatening TJ that he might come home one day to find an empty apartment and a full car. Now that I have a child, I’ve been flirting with an easier life.

37 Comments

  1. Now: In my apartment in Beijing

    Looking at: Sponge Bob speak mandarin (海绵宝宝)

    Would rather be: I’m tempted to say “anywhere where I don’t have to mentally/verbally prepare for 2 days to get a haircut” but instead I’ll say … meh… nowhere… It’s okay here.

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  2. Currently in State College getting ready to move closer to family and the ocean.

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  3. But you should really considering buying or renting a place in SC so when we finally just lose our minds here we’ll have somewhere to run off to and hide.

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  4. bob – what if we move to state college? :)

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  5. I’m in a small villa in Santorini, Greece looking out over the Mediteranean Ocean.

    I love your bed! Do you mind if I ask where you bought it?

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  6. The mattress is from W Hotel. (It’s awesome) and the Frame came from Crate and Barrel.

    How totally envious am I of you right now? Holy shit. You could make this worse if you had pictures…

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  7. We just arrived this morning, been looking forward to this for months! No pictures yet but soon I’ll have some up on Flickr. We seem to have found the only villas in town with WiFi!

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  8. I’m sitting at my desk in Port Charlotte, FL, on the west coast. My view is the window in the conference room with the palm trees that I love to see. Just starting to get the feeling of cooler weather, a hint of the completely fantastic winter in Florida. As for where I’d rather be, I just moved from PA last year, so this is where I wanted to be for a while now. Away from the snow and ice, nearer to my family and cool, dry winters watching gorgeous sunsets 10 minutes from my house. Can’t beat that.

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  9. Sitting at my desk in Gainesville, Florida. Wishing I were somewhere cold!

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  10. Where are you now? Where would you rather be? What is your view?

    I live in the beautiful mountains of Boone, NC. I don’t think I’d rather be anywhere else right now, but when I finish up my Masters I’d like to move to a suburb that’s just close enough to a city. I’m not sure I could deal with big city life. My view right now is my office, but usually it’s the beautiful scenery that Boone provides. Here’s a picture of my small garden last summer right outside my basement apartment. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/JoshRountree/IMG_0625.jpg

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  11. Josh – My friend Nick Browning is from Boone. He’s in DC now.

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  12. That’s cool. Boone is an amazingly wonderful place to live if you can afford housing. I’m finishing up my Master’s in CS, so I will probably will be forced to move to somewhere like DC when I finish :

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  13. I’m up in Westchester, sitting in my cube avoiding working on layouts and dreaming of my walk at lunchtime on this beautiful day. I see a computer screen full of non-work surfing and lots of beige.

    I’d really much rather be anywhere but here, Central Park would be nice or the mountains or the beach…

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  14. Don’t ask. i have a love/hate relationship with Detroit and right now i’m full of hate. i’d rather be on a farm raising chickens. At least chickens don’t steal the aluminum siding off your neighbors’ house… do they? Maybe city chickens do.

    We went up north a few weeks back and sat by Lake Michigan. I could get use to that. Buy a sailboat and sail from lake to lake… escapist fantasy i guess.

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  15. I’m currently enjoying a crisp fall day in Ottawa, Ontario watching the leaves outside our apartment turn to shades of yellow, orange and red. The cat is snoozing, the apartment is clean, I got a special coffee delivery this morning and there’s no where else I’d want to be. Seriously.

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  16. At home in Vancouver, British Columbia (or thereabouts), waiting for our windows to be replaced, checking on a peacefully sleeping toddler. The sun is struggling to come through the clouds and the leaves are starting to turn.

    I have a day off work, and I’m glad to be at home in my quiet, peaceful house. Not much of a view, except the neighbour’s houses, and the trees and bushes in our own yard.

    But it’s home.

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  17. Must represent the former city you wish you never called home, San Francisco. :)

    I’m working (sometimes) at home in our guest room / office with my baby boy on my arm. I’d rather be soaking up some sun by taking a walk with my family in Golden Gate Park. My view outside is a bright, cloudless sunny sky with the tips of still green trees. Inside, my desk is a mess, but I have beautiful bouquet of purple and orange flowers Mr. Cobra got me to cheer me up. He had to work a lot this week and I’m a little lonely these days.

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  18. Sitting at work in Columbus, Ohio trying to work. But it is so beautiful outside, I can’t wait to pick up the kids and play in the backyard tonight!

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  19. What’s this backyard you speak of?

    Mrs. Cobra, sorry you’re lonely. I am here. Let us chat from coast to coast.

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  20. Mrs. Cobra and I are doing the same thing in the same place, but my “guest room/ office” is my couch. Oh, and my “baby” is really a toddler now.

    (Mrs. Cobra, if you want good ideas of ways to meet new moms in SF, I can give you some.).

    I’d rather be outside.

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  21. You definately need to get out of the city and buy a house with a swingset!

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  22. You had me at ‘city’

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  23. Where am I now?

    Sitting at my kitchen table in San Francisco.

    Where would I rather be?

    Somewhere where the weather is starting to feel like Fall. It is 75 degrees here and sunny today. Normally I wouldn’t mind but I need some “real” fall weather…
    But if I had to choose I guess it would be somewhere back East. Probably back to DC. We keep threatening to move but that would mean selling our house first and the way things are going I have a feeling I will be here for quite some time. :o(

    My view?
    I just see the houses across the street. I can hear my one-year-old telling me she doesn’t want to take a nap. I am trying to decide if I should let her play in her bed for awhile until I have to leave to pick up my other daughter or if I should give in and go get her….

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  24. Nicole –
    love to hear some ideas on meeting some other new moms. I see them every time I go out and most of them, like me, are by themselves during the day. Ironic isn’t it?

    MiBou –
    Let’s all meet in the middle of the U.S., buy cheap houses, and take over a nice little town. We’ll give the town some coast culture and our boys will grow up like Irish Twins :)

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  25. Last time you asked, I was sitting at my desk in Harrisburg. Reading it this time, at 6 at night, I’m on my back porch swing in New Cumberland, listening to the acorns fall; just a mile away from your middle school…

    For a visit, I’d rather be in Rome, with a view of the Vatican or any of the other hundred old churches there.

    I’d never want to be anywhere else for good, though, I’d miss my family too much(as it is, they are an hour and 2 hours away – which is too far sometimes!)

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  26. Ah, New Cumberland. I just brought that town up while talking to my father today. Miss the number of lightning bugs there. And the green! Oh, so green. Buggy but totally worth it.

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  27. Mrs. Cobra… email me at posthipchick@gmail.com and I’m happy to provide you all my ideas.

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  28. I bet Emory would loooooooove the lightening bugs!

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  29. It’s funny you mention Vermont, because I lived there for a while, while my boyfriend finished up college. I can tell you with confidence there is nothing appealing about it. Have you ever seen the show “Northern Exposure”? It’s like that…not even kidding. After a week I was ready to abandon ship. It is desolate with no “comforts of home”, let alone the bare minimum needed to survive, and there are no jobs to be had anywhere! The winters are bitter cold and have been known to drop to 90 degrees below zero (with wind chill) on the deepest darkest winter nights. I believe what you are looking for can be found in CT, PA, suburban Mass. or upstate New York (which is where I grew up, and currently live). Upstate is remote, peaceful, affordable, has great schools, super green grass and trees (homes with yards!) and is still only a few hours away from NYC. I thought about moving out of upstate NY to someplace warmer, but after living through another summer here, and trying to imagine constant heat with no end, I realized I would miss it. Sunshine is great, but lets be honest, when it comes to snuggling up by the fire with a quilt and nice cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night/day, nothing pales in comparison. And fall, with all the beautiful foliage, hot apple cider and apple pie and great fall fashion (like wool pea coats, YAY!)……I would miss the hell out of that. And Christmas would never be the same. So back to the topic at hand (sorry, I always get carried away):

    Where are you now?
    In my living room in the capital region of upstate New York (Troy, NY—right next to Albany) sitting in my recliner. It’s 8pm, and a clear 70 degrees with a nice cool breeze coming through the window (I live right near the Hudson so the breeze is to die for). I am about to put my son to bed (he has school tomorrow), and then make myself a hot cup of tea, and curl up on my antique Victorian hand-me-down couch with one of my pregnancy books that I keep putting off reading….
    I am pretty content here.
    I am on the second floor, so right outside my window are the top branches of a tree, on which the leaves have already began to change color. Beyond that I can see the public library which is across the street.

    What is your view?

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  30. Where are you now? Where would you rather be? What is your view?

    Aloha everyone!

    At the moment I am at my office in Kona, Hawaii.

    I would much rather be at home in Captain Cook, Hawaii.

    My view at the moment is the monitor on my desk at work.

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  31. y’all are killing me.

    Morgan, you know, I think you might be absolutely right with your comment(s).

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  32. I’m in Vancouver, BC. I’m sitting in my recliner watching tv and listening to the baby monitor.

    I’m not sure where I’d rather be. I’ve been longing to return to London, Paris or the villa we rented in Tuscany. I love this city and I can’t imagine moving anywhere else in Canada. Now if I could find work overseas I’d be uprooting my family and heading out, but I’m sure that we would return to Vancouver one day.

    Outside it is dark and raining, but during the day I see our front garden, the school across the street, a few of the taller buildings in the city and the mountains in the distance.

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  33. Vermont is wonderful. I fantasize about living there with my ten babies and five cats and however many other animals, and then I realize I’m a hippy at heart but have always lived in big cities, and therefore I’d probably get bored eventually.

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  34. Now: In Vancouver, in a cubicle, doing some temp work. I’ve been living out of a bag for the last 10 days as I don’t have anywhere permanent to live until October 1. It’s been like this since June 1 – extended holiday. Last night I slept on my friend’s couch (surprisingly comfortable!)

    I’d rather be living in a tiny house on a piece of land, near the ocean, with all of my things put away in their place.

    Sandi is right – it’s dark and rainy.. but that’s what makes Vancouver. And I love it that way… there’s something about fall arriving and knowing that it’s time to put on a sweater, cozy up under a blanket, and stay indoors that is comforting.

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  35. MiBou – Let’s all meet in the middle of the U.S., buy cheap houses, and take over a nice little town.

    yes yes! move to the middle. in the middle’s where it’s at!

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  36. In jersey, looking at an almost full moon lighting up my garden. I wish I was in the middle. How about Iowa City, IA? Fantastic university town. Quality of life is awesome, great arts scene. Home of the writer’s workshop. Great co-ops and plenty of chickens to farm.

    Let’s do this. Oh and grandmom and grandpop are about 30 minutes away so Grace would be stoked.

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  37. I am sitting in my dark, basement “office”, my view in one tiny basement window is the steps to our new deck – so no view. the other view is also black at the moment, but when the sun is up i can see some frost killed irises. I love it here, for every reason you can think of. I love being in Canada, I love living in a thriving place where work is plentiful and house prices are high (b/c we have a house i guess). My onlly complaint, and it is a big one. I HATE how long winter is. HATE IT HATE IT.

    I have been lucky enough to go somewhere warmer every spring. I prefer San Francisco.

    Oh and yes! Grandparents 9 blocks away. Blessing and Curse.

    I wish you were wherever you wanted to be. TobyJoe holding the baby and the babycat is sooo cute.

    xp

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