365great Day 248: random acts of kindness

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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365great challenge day 248: random acts of kindnessMy fourth year of college, for Valentine’s Day, I was super surprised when I got a delivery. My fraternity was doing one of those fundraisers where you can send a flower and bear in a cute little package to anyone on campus. When one of them came to me, I was sooo confused. Who in the world would have gotten me something for Valentine’s? I didn’t have a boyfriend or even anyone I was seeing. Baffled, I took to the web and eventually got a message from a random friend who just thought it’d be nice to send me something, so he bought one for me to support the fundraiser. How sweet is that? Then when I was in the UK, I joined LoveSoc, a club that some students put together where they’d prompt you to do random acts of kindness, like giving hugs or leaving change. It’s those little surprises that can be so wonderful, especially when they’re completely out of the blue. I really should do more of those. As a kid I was very generous – probably even too generous – and I miss those days of bringing a smile to people’s faces. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Return to New York: Walk Down Memory Lane

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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I thought I could summarize all of our long weekend activities from last weekend into one post, but as it turns out, there are 77 pictures I want to share, so I’m splitting them up into two posts. First off will be the day we spent revisiting my old stomping grounds and faded memories in the areas of Westchester and Brewster. The rest will come in another post! Now, join me as I go down memory lane…

beautiful day for a road trip with clear blue skies and little traffic on the roads

A perfect start to our trip!

large truck with bales of hay tied down

This reminds me of the time my friend yelled HEY while driving… what she meant was HAY (on a truck), lol.

dillsburg tobacco outlet convenience store with gas station

I’d like a side of gas station with my tobacco outlet please.

driving torwards george washington bridge from new jersey side

Crossing over…

free samples of sliced honey crisp apples at whole foods

A quick pit stop at a ginormous Whole Foods leads us to these yummy apple samples.

free samples of tortilla strips and guacamole dip at whole foods

We totally pigged out on the chips and guac alongside some employees. It had quite a kick!

marinated mushrooms with garlic and herbs at olive bar in whole foods

I was sooo excted when I saw marinated mushrooms, but after buying them and trying them, I found they weren’t the taste I was looking for.

venus flytraps for sale at whole foods market

I *almost* bought one of these, but I’m holding off til we move.

holding cart basket with wheels at whole foods

What a fun basket cart you can wheel around!!

colorful kayaks lined up outside ll bean store

Such pretty colors. I’d love to hop in one and explore a river.

driving along small road with trees growing close on both sides

I’d forgotten what it was like to drive on roads like these.

westchester community college parking lot by academic arts building

The first memory we revisited: Westchester Community College, where I had Chinese school on Sundays. I still remember the parking lot area!

westchester community college academic arts building

And that’s the building where I learned many years of Chinese and took a cartooning class, a paper cutting class, an oil pastel class, and more…

brand new wendy's building with very modern look

Whoa, check out that super modern Wendy’s!

freeway exit sign for brewster

IT’S MY TOWN!!!

brewster train station

Good old train station where we’d pick up my dad after work.

former house in brewster hill

Aww, my old house! We were the first tenants; I wonder how many have lived there since.

former house of pearson's in brewster

I took a quick peek at the house where I used to babysit a family of 5 kids. The only family I’ve ever babysat for!

sunset and lake in distance viewed from brewster hill with steep road going down

Our neighborhood is up on a STEEP hill. I don’t know if you can tell but take a look at the person walking up. Great views from here!

henry h wells middle school panoramic

Hello, middle school. This is where I learned how to make tweeties, played full-contact basketball with the guys, and went to some awkward dances.

brewster hill general store

Across the street from the middle school is the deli that I remember so fondly.

brewster hill general store menu of classic sandwiches

They still have my fav sandwich, the Pesature, which I liked mostly because I knew the people it was named after.

holding up menu for brewster hill general store inside store by deli

I love this place because of the deviled eggs. I’ve never been able to find ones that I like better.

pesature sandwich and deviled eggs from brewster hill general store

So of course, I had to stock up on those eggs! The nice lady threw in two for free when I got half a dozen. NOMMMMM

pretty pinkish sunset through bare tree branches

Such a pretty sunset out here.

panoramic of brewster high school

My old high school, which did not have the left half when I moved away. Too bad I couldn’t see the old part, where I knew everyone in my graduating class (and many in other grade levels too), took way too many classes at once, learned of 9/11 (and got sent home), and always had snacks to share with friends.

fidder on the roof poster and picture of cast from brewster high school 2002 performance

I watched Fiddler on the Roof when I was a sophomore and it was cool to find the poster up, albeit at the far end of the hall where it might get phased out in a few years. I still recognize many people in the pictures!

brewster high school pride of 2004 poster for graduating class

If only I’d stayed to graduate from this school, I might just have made it on this poster.

stone brewster high school sign lit up at night

It was a brief visit, but good to see my old school. Go Bears!

tuned to z100 radio station in new york region

Tuned in to my radio station from back in the day. Over a decade later and I still like what they play.

stew leonard's world's largest dairy store storefront at night

I only vaguely remembered Stew Leonard’s and I really wanted to show Panda the singing cows.

panoramic of stew leonard's interior section with fruit stands

It’s massive inside and like an IKEA, where you follow a single path winding through the store. Tons of electronic animals will sing to you as you pass by or press a button.

stew leonard's checkout aisles

It’s such a homey feel in here.

stew leonard's christmas trees all lit up and stowed away in tented area

As we were leaving, I caught a glimpse of Christmas trees that were hidden away in a tent. I just had to investigate!

There were so many memories that came back to me, like that pizza place we JROTC kids used to walk to and the trek from the middle school to the high school for track practice and the peacock farm near the high school and the hidden trail that we’d run on for gym sometimes and the few driving lessons I took (including the awful mistakes I made) and riding my bike into town and volunteering at the library that was practically smaller than my house and hanging out with the guys from the group home and all my crazy nicknames (like China White, which I’d completely forgotten) and so much more… coming back after getting a better sense of where things are on a map really helped me with my scattered memories. I was able to piece a lot back together and I had a ton of random stories to share. It was a fabulous time!

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