As recently as a few months ago, I was seriously considering a departure from New York; at the end of last year, I wrote that I wanted something significant to happen in 2011 and I was hoping that it would be a move of this sort. That feeling was persistent for months, although I was relatively passive about pursuing opportunities to realize it. Still, to ensure flexibility and to limit liabilities, I negotiated short-term lease renewals with my management company.

Understandably, those around me here in New York were not thrilled by this objective, but they were supportive nonetheless. I don’t think that any group has demonstrated this more than the lovely people that I have met at Forefront. This is a community that I discovered back in 2009, over a year after I moved down to New York permanently, and it has kept me grounded here since then.

I have made no secret (especially to them) that they are the principal reason why I am still here in New York. As much as work is a part of my life (not that much), what keeps me here is not my salary. I am convinced that I can earn a good living in any number of places, but finding a place like Forefront is very special and I do not take it for granted. Few words can express how grateful I am for the staff at Forefront who have cultivated such a fruitful environment.

So it should come as no surprise that I attribute most of my decision to stay in New York to them. Yep, that’s right, I’m sticking around after all! (In fact, I just called my management company last week to re-sign my lease for another year.) How could I give this amazing community up? Through Forefront, I have made incredible friends, developed musically, served diligently, and learned consistently. This continued to happen through these last few months, even as I had one foot reaching for the door.

I feel that this last point I mentioned deserves more reflection: even when I wasn’t committed to New York, I was still immensely committed to Forefront and I think that is extremely telling. It has been my rock here in the city and, now more than ever, I am willing to build on it.

I am tired of being neither here nor there; it was very unfair to me and to everyone around me while I was tentative with my life. I wasn’t living in New York as long as I thought that I wanted to leave; I didn’t invest as much as I could have, and I was content to just float on in life until something happened. Opportunities were neglected, and ambitions were deferred.

No longer. I’m here. I’m happy. I’m committed. And I’m eager to start living again.

PS To the non-Forefront folks in New York, please trust that your role in keeping me here does not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. Former roommates, friends from work, and other connections are all important!

PPS To those in Toronto and Waterloo, sorry. I know that I teased a return to the Great White North and, while the intent was certainly genuine when I stated it, I can’t have my cake and eat it too. I’m still not that far away from you guys!

PPPS To those who have influenced me from Forefront, seriously, thank you.

When people ask me, “What do you do?” or “How was your day?”, my responses often deal with my occupation. “I am a product developer at Bloomberg” or “It was a pretty busy day at work.” Why do I answer like that? My life is not dominated by my career, nor is it defined by it. I don’t spend the majority of my life with it (and, indeed, it would be a sad day if that were to ever change). Yet, my conversation suggests that it is a central component of my day-to-day.

It’s true that I have spend many years training to be well-qualified for a good job. It’s also true that I am able to live the way I do because of what I do at work. But that’s all that it should be: a means to an end. What I do between the hours of nine (or so) and six or so (rarely five) just enables me to do what I want to do for all of the other hours in the day.

I am truly envious of those who have jobs that have a tremendous, positive influence on the world. Those who have such professions can be completely passionate about their jobs and can find greater meaning in them. Teachers, doctors, firefighters, artists, scientists, and the like can improve the quality of the human condition, and that’s something worth doing. Those of us who just push bits and bytes on a computer and make rich people more wealthy have less of a compelling story.

This, of course, is not to suggest that I am not happy with where I work or that I am ungrateful. But I should learn to put it in its place; what I do with my family, friends, colleagues, and in the community around me is more important. So, the next time you catch me babbling too much about work, feel free to stop me

A couple of unrelated events occurred over the past couple of weeks that became quite tied together in my head. First, Bloomberg had Meredith Danluck and Thomas Morton in as part of BGREEN, its initiative in promoting environmental responsibility. Second, Amazon decided to let Prime members get access to all sorts of streaming media (movies and TV shows, namely) for free!

As a bit of an nerd, I am the proud owner of series like Planet Earth and Life. Plus, the sound of David Attenborough’s smooth voice can lull me into sleep like nobody’s business. I was pleased to find out that the Blue Planet series was available as part of the Amazon Instant Video collection, so I dove in and started watching it.

I continue to be amazed at how diverse and resilient life can be on this planet. Lakes, seas, and oceans can be teeming with life of great varieties, all being a part of complex ecosystems and food chains. Even at the greatest of depths, devoid of sunlight, organisms have found a way to thrive in shocking abundance. (I will say, however, that some of the animals at these depths are among the most hideous that I’ve ever seen; good thing they live in nearly complete darkness.)

Enter BGREEN. Meredith and Thomas were part of a crew that went out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As part of a VBS documentary called TOXIC: Garbage Island, they set about witnessing and researching how industrious nations have affected the makeup of the ocean. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they found what they were seeking: “garbage island.”

Since I don’t want to spoil the documentary for any potential viewers reading this, I’ll stick to my reaction: I was disgusted to see what they saw. We have contaminated the planet in the places furthest away from civilization. Worse yet, there doesn’t appear to be much that we can do to clean up the mess that we have created.

When I looked into how I have contributed to the problem, I realized that it was mostly due to the attitude that I (and many others) have towards waste; once it is out of my immediate vicinity, it all but vanishes from my memory. Indeed, once the door of the compactor chute closes behind me as I walk back towards my apartment, anything I dropped off there ceases to exist.

And that’s the crux of the problem: we fire and forget. For the most part, I have thought very little about what happens to the disposables after they leave my hands for the last time. I often don’t think about how tons of garbage get hauled away towards who-knows-where, and how mountains of waste are being built on a daily basis. It doesn’t usually occur to me how contaminants can make their way into the water table, or how things that aren’t biodegradable can make their way into the oceans.

Now this post is starting to sound like doom and gloom, and the sad reality is that the situation is quite grim. As more and more human beings fill the planet, and as more capitalistic and consumerist societies pop up, the rate at which waste is generated will likely increase. And the number of places where we can put it will likely decrease. Yes, technology may play a big part in curbing the problem, but I am wary of depending on that.

So, just as it is with many challenges of our time, the solution lies in the hands of the individual. It always starts with one, it seems. What can I do to make a difference? Well, here are a few ideas that have come to mind:

• declining to take plastic bags and cutlery from places where I get groceries and food
• eating at restaurants as opposed to taking out
• bringing lunch to work
• using water bottles as opposed to disposable bottles of water
• asking you to do the same

The good news is that, in many places, it is easier than ever to do the little things that can add up to make big differences. Recycling facilities are becoming better and more accessible. Curbside sorting stations are popping up. Companies, like Bloomberg, have adopted measures to dramatically reduce waste while increasing the use of compostable materials. My church has started a recycling program during its services. So there’s hope. We just need to keep that hope in mind, and to do our small part.