I met two new friends while working on a small movie set this week and after we wrapped our 12-hour day, we walked to get gluten-free vegan pizza, which is thankfully easy to find late at night in Hell’s Kitchen. After eating, we walked to Times Square to catch our trains and one of my new friends, an-out-of-towner, was giddy with wonder at experiencing Times Square for the first time. Like most New Yorkers, I aim to avoid Times Square as much as possible, but I have to say, witnessing my new friend in awe of the place really made me appreciate it for the weird, wild spectacle it is and if that’s not an OOH LA LA moment, I don’t know what is.
Sometimes we need to see the world in a new way through the perspective of another so we can remember how wonderful it is to be anywhere at all. Dare I say, that’s what this simple Substack is all about. The world can be so harsh, and we need to remember beauty, in whatever form it arrives, so we can keep on going.
I took this photo at 11:34 PM on a Tuesday. NYC is weird and cool.
This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: listening to music while driving, banana-flavored things, the colors pink and red together.
Now and then, I drive for work from Brooklyn to New Jersey. We sold our car when we moved to the city, so it’s quite a delight on days when I get to drive because it feels like a change in pace instead of the normal monotony that it used to be. My favorite part of driving is listening to music in the car. Something about the acoustics of the vehicle’s interior plus the freedom to sing loudly that a private space warrants equals a feeling of bliss that is hard to replicate elsewhere. Vehicle owners and drivers, do not take this for granted! I got it in my head to listen to an artist I hadn’t heard for a while and it was everything I needed and wanted. Honestly, doctors should prescribe singing and driving because it’s real medicine.
You likely already know that I’m very into fun beverages, but lately, I’ve especially been interested in banana-flavored things! First I had an Olipop banana soda and then a Koia banana-cream protein smoothie. I was feeling fancy so I poured a shot of espresso over my Olipop soda with ice and it was yum! yum! yum!! I looked it up and these beverages have real banana puree as ingredients which made me extra excited to consume them. I really should get sponsorship deals for my enthusiasm alone.
One evening this week I witnessed a moment that made me giggle. First I spotted a small child in a pink coat next to a red car which sparked something in me due to the sheer delight of a lovely color story. I’m obsessed with color! And I love the colors pink and red together! What happened next made me literally laugh out loud. From the small car door, another slightly smaller child wearing a pink coat appeared and stood next to their sibling. Then, would you believe it, an even smaller child exited the car afterward. Finally, an adult person who had been leaning into the car stood up and - can you guess what they were wearing? - a pink coat! The whole thing was like a little clown car moment with a family all in pink coats, which gave me so much delight! As a teenager, I hated pink because I didn’t want to associate with the “girly-girl” stigma of pink, but these days, I’ve embraced all colors as ,gender-neutral and pink just screams OOH LA LA!
Here’s a shared OOH LA LA list this week….
From Sonia: Lately, I've been obsessed with outer space. I've been thinking about how, as a kid, space seemed so mysterious and marvelous, and it was something I thought, read, and wondered about all the time, but as an adult, that sense of wonder got lost for a while. I love re-uncovering my sense of wonder and daydreaming about the cosmos--a cool book about the topic is Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe by astronomer Philip Plait, which I'm reading right now, and highly recommend to anyone else looking to indulge their inner child with a trip to outer space!
Thanks for reading!
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XOXO,
LJ