Well after months without posting, this will be my last post. This has been an enjoyable first stab at the blogosphere, but its gone off-course in a disappointing fashion. What set out to broadcast continual updates of my experiences in New York City became a platform for self-absorbed rants, which largely reflected a slew of frustrations with my life situation.
My experience here has from one standpoint been a long bout of bitter self-pity, punctuated by brief victories and luxuries: NYC beer week, days in the Upper West and nights in the Lower East, overhauling the PR of NYC’s best-known dating coach, running a half marathon having never been a runner.
But zooming out from the peaks and valleys of the past year, I see rolling hills of continual growth and personal evolution. Gaining work ethic and discipline in my 40 hours a week at Aroma. Gaining financial integrity and budgeting skills on minimal salary. Gaining peace of mind and a healthy body in my daily commitment to Bikram Yoga. Gaining emotional control over delusions of helplessness. Gaining confidence rooted in the core of who I am rather than the circumstances and titles of what I do.
This has been a blog of short-term reactions rather than long-term reflections, and it has served its unintended purpose as an outlet of raw expression. But I no longer need it for that crutch, and I doubt any readers will miss such erratic content.
Especially because I am turning it over to a new blog, no longer talking to myself about myself, but to you, dear reader, about another one of my passions: MOVIES. The new blog is called Reel Riffs, and you can check it out at http://reelriffs.wordpress.com.
But before I go, one last contribution in the style of VIP Loft. For well over a decade Eminem has been among my top five favorite musical artists – he is perhaps my #1 favorite lyricist of all time. He’s been blasting through my headphones non-stop over the past few weeks, with the release of his comeback album Recovery (after the disappointments that were Encore & Relapse), which is overwhelmingly good. It’s the best album of the year in my opinion, so if you have any interest in rap at all, get it.
I have always admired three qualities about Eminem: first, his lyrics, which are so clear and crisp that they can send you into a trance just listening to them; then his beat, which always gets my head bobbing and evacuates stress to the back of my mind; last but certainly not least, his ability to rap unfiltered about his life. Not about “guns, 40s and bitches,” to quote Paul Rosenberg’s summary of hip hop content, but about what he’s experiencing as he experiences it.
His first album captures the hardship of being broke and basically screwed, the follow-up album is his reaction to fame and its effect on his life as well as the lives of his fans, etc. His most recent album details with heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking clarity his path from the grief of his best friend’s death; to a near-fatal drug overdose; to sobriety and a triumphant return to hip hop.
And for those of you who still don’t care about Eminem, I’ll get to the point…
I was listening to all of his old stuff, along with the new, and it’s amazing to see the transformation. They’re equally important, but dramatically different records.
And like the early days vs. the present of Em’s career, the early days and present of my time in New York City are equally important, yet dramatically different chapters of my life. In fact, I relate to his most recent album (Recovery) at present, as much as I related to his first album (Slim Shady LP) a few months ago.
So I’ll close this blog out with his lyrics, which profanely yet elegantly articulate my thoughts and feelings about where I was then and where I am now.
Where I was (Rock Bottom, from Slim Shady LP):
Where I am (Not Afraid, from Recovery):
Thanks for reading, over and out! 
