Hello friends and family!
It has been a while since I have emailed (now posting) an update. Well, much has happened in the past 6 months! At the end of April, I quit my job at the Graziadio School of Business and Management of Pepperdine University to move to Italy! I wanted to experience living in this beautiful country, improve my Italian (which is pretty awesome now), and take time off to relax and work on some creative projects before moving to NYC. My months in Italy were unforgettable! I studied at a the Istituto Italiano in Florence, met remarkable people from all over the world, and improved my photography skills tremendously! I traveled to over 30 cities including the island of Sicilia-which I am in love with! The people, hospitality, nature, and culture there are truly amazing! I will be sharing a selection of my Italy pics soon!
After 4 months in Italy, I went home (Puerto Rico) for a couple of weeks to visit family, soak some good island sun and vibes, and recharge my batteries (sort of like a vacation from my Italy vacation :). In August, I officially moved to NYC. On August 19, my sister Viviana, married Jared Ramos and it was one of the best days of my life!! Not only cause I love my sis, but the ceremony was truly meaningful ceremony and guests were deeply touched. Most importantly, God’s presence was felt throughout the celebration! Most of our family from PR and Miami were able to attend. We had a blast before, during, and after the wedding. Five days of pure fun with the fam in NYC and Jersey! Can’t beat that!
All in all, I am really loving my first months here. I am living solo in a beautiful studio in Midtown Manhattan, 37th st. and 9th ave. Nonetheless, I miss living with housemates, especially my compadres in LA: Justin and Ryan. My location is prime, a couple of blocks away from Madison Square Garden, the NYC Macy’s, and the Fashion District. I am kind of in between the Fashion District and Hell’s Kitchen, the former has an interesting history of gang violence (inspire the classic 1961 film Westside Story), but today is a trendy and hip area with tons of restaurants and pubs. I have a plethora of amazing Thai, Indian, Moroccan, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Italian restaurants within a 2-block radius! And for those fellow photography/video aficionados, BNH PhotoVideo (the coolest and largest store ever- the Toys R’ Us for grown-up geeks) is jut two blocks from my house…can even see it from my window 🙂
I’ve been under the radar (on the DL) since I moved, working on several projects. I will be posting updates soon [only] on this BLOG.
On a different note, I’ve found a great church in Redeemer Presbyterian. They meet in the Upper West Side and at Hunter College. Pastor Dr. Tim Keller is great, recently published a book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, which is getting lots of national attention (not as much as Obama, Palin, and Paris of course). The church is heavily involved in social justice/community projects and they have a faith at work and social entrepreneurship ministry that is straight down my alley. Some of you may know this is an area of great interest to me, which I have been researching and reflecting upon for the past 8 years. This is one of the reasons I went to seminary and became a leadership personal/life coach-working mainly with entrepreneurs, professionals, and artists-under Leadership Fuel, a company I established in 2006.
I am happy to be in NYC, although I miss my friends and community in Los Angeles very much. I am now close to my sister Viviana and husband Jared (10-min bus drive) and a short/inexpensive flight to Puerto Rico! My sis and hubby have an exciting group of friends whom I look forward to get to know better. As far as my peeps in NYC, I haven’t had time to connect with many of them, since my projects are getting the most of me now.
Until the next update…
Love and blessings,
Jorge