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#Beautiful

Life As You Know It

I think the idea that a person lives a single life is outdated and faineant. Life seems more transient than that because if you're really living, at the end of it all you'd have a few lives to speak of. At least it's seeming that way with me. Different periods or eras where things take fundamental, seismic shifts. When I moved from the Bahamas to Ithaca, NY things changed. When I moved from Ithaca to Washington, DC things changed. And, now with my move to London I feel things shifting yet again. It's difficult though. I really enjoyed my time in DC and I came to London thinking that I would lead a similar life, alas that era, like the party flier said, might really be over. I am a graduate student at one of the top universities in the world (where the average amount of books checked out per students from the library, the largest social science library in the world, is 142) and as the Dean of the grad school put it today, this program is going to be a sprint to the finish. For me, that meant that Joey Bahamas, you know the shopping, partying, dinning, traveling alter ego of mine, may have to go on sabbatical...

#Beautiful?

In London

I finally finished Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential...and feel renewed and excited. Smoke slowly creeps from a chipped and burnt tea cup, a makeshift ashtray of sorts. I have inexplicably reverted back to a student's life...well...my student life, like it was seven years ago when I was in small town Ithaca, NY in the middle of farm country, surrounded by mountains and the Finger Lakes. Things are different now. My bedroom window is opened to the damp, chilly London night air over looking the quaint but busy Judd Street in central London. I'm here and Bourdain's book, an extended love note to his passion for cooking has inspired me in the dark, early morning hours to write.

You know, when dreams come true the process is often very similar to what it feels like to dream. Let me try to clarify. Think about how it feels to dream. There is a kind of effortlessness, a speed about the way things happy. There's a blurriness about what's going on and all of a sudden there is some conclusion, you've reached to place only to realize everything that happened before, the smudges of seemingly desperate, negligible actions put you where your are at the end of it. I don't know if that makes any sense but that's how I feel. I was in DC, then I was at home in the Bahamas, then I was on the plane and now I've taken up residence in a new country, living a different life from the one I'd been living for the last year. It was just a dream, a sentence, an uttered phrase that yes, "I'm moving to London." When did this all happen? How did this all happen?

And here I am, two weeks into it all, life continuing as if I didn't really make this great leap, like I didn't uproot myself from the settled life I had in DC, leave everything familiar to me and hurtle myself at 500 miles an hour across the great Atlantic expanse to this new place.


I guess what I'm trying to grasp is the way life progresses; how it can, with the ease of a flowing stream or the violence of a foaming, heaving waterfall move from one period to the next leaving you simply there. There being wherever you dreamed yourself being or wherever you just happened end up. How much control over these things do we have and what does it mean for us when we are given or have earned the fulfillment of those dreams, landing exactly where we intended or where we said we would.

I've been dreaming about being in London for four years now. I said this is where I was going to go and I've made it. And though I'm plagued with the questions of why I was given this chance and what will this mean my future I can only be certain of what I intend to do.

I see this as a journey for me. All my life I've been propelled by the desire to make everyone that has teased me, doubted me, discouraged me and left me behind for what they thought was better or more satisfying, envy me. I'm trying to balance that now with an appreciation for the amazing things that have been set before me. I mean, shit, I'm in London, enrolled at one of the best schools in the world following what I believe to be my calling. Why I've been given these opportunities, I don't know...but I guess my intention is not to waste them.

#Beautiful

On Dreams

Came across this piece I wrote sometime ago. Thought I should share...

On Dreams


Dreams are for those who sleep, its easy work to Create things in your
head. Its lazy, a thing full of excuse. You don't, in the end have to
achieve them because they were never really real in the first place.
Now reality that's where I shine. Not because I can force it or bend
it to my will. No! Reality bows to only those that can make it into
what it has always aspired to be...A Dream. I...we, have something to
offer reality. It wants, and needs our help. And, if we continue to
stumble about in our heads, never wanting, never needing to go beyond
our narrow visions, our flat earths, our earth centered cosmic
systems, our sea monsters, our myths, our soothsayers and nay-sayers,
we have failed reality and ourselves. The challenge is this: dispense
of our fears, that which is the greatest human addiction of them all,
and reach further than our minds tell us we can, outside of the realms
it has imprisoned us in.

Reality isn't so bad, once you get to know it. Reality Is Mine To
Dream, and My Dreams Are Indeed A Reality.

#Beautiful

Friday Morning Walk on Fortune Beach

I forget sometimes how privileged I am to have grown up in what is essentially paradise. It all becomes common after spending so many years in the midst of it. Then you go off and become entranced by the novelty of the big city, then even that wares as well. When you return, you are proud to have grown up here and not in some grey, concrete urban center or dusty small town. You've lived amongst true natural beauty.

This past Friday I decided to get some sun on my skin, a kind of preemptive preparation for London's long and dark autumn and winter, by taking a walk on Fortune Beach. This beach in particular holds a very central place in my memory. I've lived near Fortune Beach most of the time I spent living in Grand Bahama. It was where we took family trips to the beach, and where my father and I would come to talk. I walked the shore recall the many conversations I've had and other things that have happened there. If those sands could talk, what stories they would tell...not all of them innocent.

I ended up spending a few hours, found a restaurant to get lunch and sat out for a while thinking about the past and the promise of what's in store for me ahead. I realized that that beach had become a metaphor for my life's journey, the ebb and flow of the tide, the broken piece of glass I cut my foot on, the school of fish that circled my feet and followed me as I waded through the crystalline waters. All things on a my journey I've metaphorically one way or another come across and the realization that just like Fortune Beach my journey, no matter the obstacles and distractions and all else, take in its entirety is breathtaking. #Beautiful

Alchemist Apparel: Lanvin Swarovski Crystal Cufflinks

Can't remember which blog I found these on, but they are spectacular. Legendary fashion house bringsan elegant and rich take on men's accessories that won't run you much in the $$$ department. Offered by British retailer, Browns, at only £110.00, I find that I'm already thinking in foreign currency. The cuff links are platinum plated and set with two red Swarovski crystals. #Beautiful


Click here for more details.

Vacation Cont'd on the Golf Course

I left Nassau a few days ago to join my immediate family in Freeport, Grand Bahama where I was born and raised. I'm here, mostly relaxing and taking care of a few business items before I leave for London. Since I've been here, I've been staying at another uncles' fantastic family home, with a back yard connected to the best golf course on the island. Spending time with my little cousins, Chloe and Regan, reading and studying while they prepare to go back to elementary school has been a pretty cool experience. I haven't seen much of this side of the family since I left for school, and hopping across the sea to London won't likely lend itself to greater interaction. For now, I'm taking it all in...check out the pics!

Food Files: Snails and a Goose

At my very core, I am a sensualist. One who appreciates indulgences and excess in food, drink, clothing, art and my personal relationships. To me there is beauty in excess. And, while one shouldn't be excessive all of the time, every once in a while giving in to your desires is what makes life worth living.

While staying with my aunt and uncle on Lake Cunningham I had some of the only home cooked meals I've had in months. It had been forever since I last tasted anything but restaurant food. My aunt pulled out all the stops and I was able to snap a few pics of my favorite bites. Whether is was the crab cakes and fried fish at brunch on Sunday or the split peas soup with lobster and conch the night before I left, I took time to savor her gift for good eats.

Heavily featured in this post was my favorite meal of the weekend. A Bahamian take on a French delicacy: broiled escargot and pastries stuffed with brie cheese. The escargot was spiced with rosemary and thyme, and Bahamian peppers for a kick! The pastry was both light and rich simultaneously and the reduction from the escargot made the dipping the pastries perfect. To top it off we came up with our own cocktail for the night using a simple syrup, lime and blueberries...it was summer in a glass!

Vacation on Lake Cunningham in the Bahamas

I haven't had much time to slow the pace of my life over the last few years...even my trips away from DC consisted of high speed shopping sprees and partying. So, for the first time in a long while I'm sitting on my ass doing barely anything. I've found a haven at my uncle and aunt's beautiful home in Nassau, Bahamas on Lake Cunningham. I left the house for the first time today for lunch at the famed Villagio Restaurant. The homes is built on terraced land at the end of winding road. It is the direct product of my uncle's hard work and my aunt's attention to detail and dedication to warmth and comfort. It's a modern and unique space with accents of the island spread around liberally, giving it a cozy, down-home feel. With the beautiful view of the lake, the pool side, and the cozy interiors it's made the perfect getaway for me. I'll be posting some of the amazing food and drinks we've been cooking over the last few days, but for now, enjoy the home.

One Night Only: The King Suite at the Helix Hotel

After vacating my studio apartment during my final hours in DC as a resident, I spent my last night in the Helix Hotels top floor King Suite. As soon as I checked in, the young woman at the front desk exclaimed, "You got the best room in the hotel." With it's spectacular views, and spacious, retro interior, I was inclined to agree with her. The suite was bigger than my actual apartment! Dinner via room service came with complimentary champagne and although I was almost kick out of my room because of it, I hosted a small gathering that lasted until 5 in the morning. If you ever get to DC and you need a fun place to stay, I recommend the Helix. Check out the pictures below!

The Alchemist: An Introduction

I've set out on an interesting and new adventure. I've turned up a very settled life in Washington, DC to move across the Atlantic and pursue continuing my education at the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science. Effectively, I've given up a good job and an okay apartment both located in the middle of a great city-- where I've built countless relationships and a well-crafted, sometimes lucrative reputation-- to embark on this unknown journey.

A few months ago , I picked up a book that has been in my possession for some years: Paulo Coeloh's "The Alchemist". The book details the travels of a Spanish shepherd boy lured by a reoccurring dream into a journey across desert and wilderness to Egypt in search of treasure. Along the way he meets a number of spiritual guides, none so important as the alchemist he meets at the final leg of his journey who teaches him to see beauty and wisdom all around him in the everyday workings of the world. The book, though short in length, is heavy in lessons. In the end, for the young Spaniard the treasure becomes less important than what he's learned on his journey: listening to his heart, reading the omens along life's path and above all following one's dreams.

Now that I'm on my own journey toward the treasure of a dream, I want to document the beauty that I come across everyday...my travels, the books I read, the things I see, the people I come across. I've always said that my greatest addiction is to beauty, this blog is a dedication to that. I expect that this blog will be photo heavy but really it is a collection of experiences and perspectives, the things I find beautiful. The blog won't be edit heavy, you may find mistakes, as in the past I post to share, not impress. My hope is that as other blogs I've written in the past, this can chronicle my newest adventure.

Joey Bahamas