Dream Livin

This is a completely random post but one that I feel like writing. Today I was in a half-sleep nap, you know the kind where you're "sleeping" but you're aware of what's going on but you're not exactly awake. Weird, but anyway, I'm in half-sleep and I start dreaming about different lives, like dream lives, and I've decided to write down these dream lives because I thought why not? Just because it's a dream doesn't mean it cannot become reality. Realistically, some of these are probably unattainable but some of them are future possibilities if I plan my future right. Anyway, here we go, in no particular order with no specific timeframe.

1) Dream life #1- I live in a charming brownstone in New York that is a hop, skip and a jump away from the Hudson River (probably my absolute favorite place in NYC). My location and life in the brownstone is in complete contrast to my career as co-owner of a well-known restaurant, lounge, and club a la this place called Radost in the lovely Prague, Czech Republic. It's not necessarily ubertrendy where I'm dealing with the bitchiest of the bitchy and the 80 lb supermodels but a nice consistently popular place with a good mixed crowd of the somewhat trendy and fabulous but also the loyal and reliable; the type of place that isn't the "it" place one weekend and old news the next but where people know they will always enjoy themselves. In addition to being co-owner of my restaurant/lounge/club, I relax and have fun while getting a workout with regular trips to dance centers to take a variety of dance classes and rollerblading trips down the Hudson River. And in the brownstone with me is my boyfriend or husband and my shih tzu. I go out regularly with my friends and I generally have a great time. Oh and I OBVIOUSLY travel when I get the chance.

2) Dream Life #2- I live in a really nice flat in London, right near Oxford St. and all its fabulous shopping and I have a British boyfriend and I myself may have also acquired a British accent :) I am a BBC anchor (hence the British accent) and get the chance to speak about world issues. On the side I also write a Lifestyle column for a well-respected British publication about the goings-on of London life. I have a nice getaway house in the English countryhouse and (even better) another getaway place in the south of France.

3) Dream Life #3- I have a bangin' ass house in Accra, Ghana, preferably in North Labone or Spyntex (sp?) and, like Dream Life #1, I am the co-owner of a restaurant/lounge/club because nightlife in Accra is pretty big but has very few venues. The biggest challenge: being a respected owner of something in Accra and being a woman. Women are culturally on a different level than men but I would not be affected by these societal constraints. I also help out with the West Africa AIDS Foundation fairly often, help put on events for charity and am a frequent donator to the Osu Children's Home. And I travel around West Africa but unlike the first time, I'm not hitchhiking, I'm traveling in mutha-effin' style!

4) Dream Life #4- I have a nice, secluded house in the Hollywood Hills and am a television writer and/or producer for a show of Grey's Anatomy caliber. Television writers for primetime shows make good money so I'm living pretty well. Or, as a producer, I have more than a say in the writing. But being in the Hollywood Hills, I don't get caught up in celebrity life or what's trendy this week or the next. Honestly, I care less about those things. I live my life while everyone else lives theres and I definitely have my shih tzu and the non-pretentious love interest.

5) Dream Life #5- I am a nomad of sorts, traveling intensely ALL over the world making documentaries about different cultures/people for television, or I am traveling with the Travel Channel as the more international, more stylish and just all around better version of Samantha Brown. Instead of "Passport to Europe," I am the host of "Passport to the World" going to places like Mumbai, Bora Bora, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, CAPE TOWN, Barcelona, Tokyo, the Greek Isles and SO much more, talking about the best places to stay, eat, visit, the people and general information on the great cultures that exist in our world. And on the side I am a travel writer, documenting my adventures in words for both me and those who care to read.

So these are my Dream Lives. There are definitely more but these are the ones I feel most passionately about. And who knows, maybe parts of these will come true. It's just a matter of wanting it so badly that I will bust my ass and do what I need to do to attain either all or part of my dream. I also wanted to write down these dream lives because I truly believe it's important to have dreams. If you don't have dreams than what are we working towards? I refuse to fall into complacency and I just have to keep telling myself this because as graduation approaches, I know it's definitely possible to work and then end up continuing working for a company you don't particularly like but hey, loans need to be paid, bills need to be paid. I am completely aware of the practicalities of life but underneath it all I don't want to ever let go of these or any of the other dreams I have. So as graduation gets closer and closer, these things are on my mind more than ever.

P.S.- In other random news, Jamaica was great! Very family-oriented, as in I was often surrounded by my ENTIRE family, which is great and something I haven't had in a long time. Not to sound corny but Jamaica was a rejuvenation of my spirit and a great getaway from the craziness of life. Pictures to come soon!!!