Daydreaming with Jaclene Paolucci

This week's Daydreaming feature is particularly special because it is on one of my very best friends.  Jaclene Paolucci and I met while working in a wine bar on 27th Street when I had first moved to Manhattan.  We were both young, solidly reckless and after our first night out immediately knew that we would be friends - best of friends even.  She is the kind of person who, after a particularly awful break-up, will feed you a lot of tequila, go into detail about how much she never liked your ex and then force you out of bed the next morning for an early yoga class.  

Jaclene is a philosophy and history major who somehow ended up designing jewelry in the Diamond District (check out Maya J - it's amazing) and now travels the country to sell it.  She was born, raised and will die a New Yorker.

5 places you want to visit in your lifetime:

Country Kerry in Ireland.  It's the homeland of my great-grandparents and I believe it's important to pay homage to the past and stay connected to your roots.

Macchu Picchu.

Pyramids of Giza.  For the history nerd in me.

I want to go on an African safari with a definite pit-stop at Mt. Kilmanjaro.

Before I die, I will stay in one of the tiki hotels in Bora Bora.

Four Photos of How I Envision My Life in 5 Years:

This isn't the exact way to respond to the this, but in my early twenties I was fearless, I lived every day like the next would never come, completely absorbed in the moment.  In my mid-twenties, I felt like I was stumbling around a dark room while trying desperately to find a light switch.  Decisions big and small would completely overwhelm me and if you asked me to do this little activity back then, I would have had a complete meltdown.  At almost 29, I don't have the arrogance or selfishness of my youth, but somewhere along the way I developed confidence in myself and also in the knowledge that things will fall into place if you stop obsessing over the "big picture."  At this juncture, I have no idea where I will end up in five years - or even where I want to end up - and I have made peace with that. 

Current Go-To Drink:

Nothing says summer like an ice cold Corona.  I have also been known to add a shot of Patron if the mood suits.

Something I've Been Daydreaming About Lately:

Owning my own house.  It doesn't matter how big or small, I just want it to be mine.  

Currently Listening To:

Anything classic rock or do-wop.  They just don't make music like they used to.

Currently Reading:  

About to re-read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for the hundredth time.  It's a book that I return to at the start of just about every summer - the pages are earmarked, there are passages underlined and I always feel like I am returning to an old friend.