Here Comes the Sun

The last few months have been tough. And everyone who knows me knows that it's really difficult for me to share stuff that makes me sad.

It's been hard to watch my family continue to recover from super storm Sandy. Sometimes it feels like our whole world has turned upside down. It's impossible to explain how violated it feels to have a natural disaster ruin your home (and essentially your life). Watching my parents struggle with the recovery of their home breaks my heart. They're still picking up the pieces and trying to put their lives back together. My amazing mom has been finding help from nonprofits, applying for grants, and taking the lead in getting the family back to normal. I know they will make it to the other side and there's FINALLY a light at the end of the tunnel.

On top of that, my job at Roundabout basically turned into a nightmare. It went from a work environment that was fun and relaxed to a company in financial distress having layoffs with all of the senior staff on edge. My department itself is full of bullies. The head of our department yells and screams at everyone like a tyrant. One of my coworkers gives me the silent treatment (she hasn't spoken to me in weeks) and I don't know what I ever did to upset the apple cart. My boss's head might explode if it gets any bigger. And a smelly intern (literally, unfortunately) was hired and sits inches away from me. It's not a pleasant work environment in any sense (or scents for that matter). I was coming home from work day after day drained, upset, and defeated. After months of this, and after a long and tedious job search, I am happy to report that I'll be leaving Roundabout for a position at Lincoln Center. The opportunity to work there basically fell into my lap after an informational interview with the director of their Individual Giving department set up through a good friend who worked for her and loved having her as his boss. Since I was ready to make a positive career change and because my potential new boss came highly recommended, I took a job as the Individual Giving Manager there. I couldn't be more excited to start my new job early next year. This position is my dream job - a nice team of people doing the type of work I love at the exact location I wanted.

When Harold's girlfriend, Kristina, moved in with us for good, I knew it would be hard. Between their fighting, her fussy dog, and trying (somewhat successfully) to share a kitchen, it has been a challenge. Alex has been optimistic and has let most of it roll off his back which definitely helps the situation. But we won't have to deal with the loudness at night or messiness for much longer - Alex is closing on an apartment on the Upper West Side very soon! I'm ecstatic about moving into a home with just the two of us! Not to mention, my new commute will be 8 CITY BLOCKS!

I feel like all of the pieces of my life are falling into place again. After a long stretch of time feeling like a dark black rain cloud was hanging over my head, I can see the sunshine again. And it feels good.

Smooth Sailing

Alex has been sailing for many years - he went to a summer long sailing camp for a few years in his teens and spent his weekends racing sailboats throughout high school. He even has a few trophies! So when he asked me if I'd like to learn how to sail, I jumped at the opportunity. I love being on the water and I love spending time with Alex so this was the perfect combination. Before we set sail, we took a little trip to the duck pond in Central Park to check out the mini-sailboats.

On our first trip, after a short safety rundown at Alex's country club with our sailing instructor, Queenie, we headed for the dock to take the tender to our boat. We set sail on an Ideal 18, an 18 foot long sailboat. It was a beautiful, sunny day with tons of wind. I learned how to tack, haul the jib, and even got a chance to control the tiller and steer. It was incredible - sailing on the beautiful Long Island Sound with an expert sailor and our awesome instructor.

We've taken clinics and tutorials. I've learned the ropes (literally!) and am learning to love sailing. It's so natural and peaceful. It's a lot of work. It's fun seeing Alex in his element, reawakening a childhood passion. I can see the pride and excitement in his face as he takes on new tasks and teaches me about sailing.

Summer is winding down. After moving to NYC, summer has become my least favorite season of the year - it's hot, the city is crowded, there's so much to do in not enough days. Autumn. In autumn the city is magical - breezy cool air, no more humidity, when that first leaf turns just a little bit orange. Now that's where it's at. My favorite season is approaching and for the first time in a long time, I find myself already missing summer. Next summer, I already have a fun, adventurous new hobby to look forward to!

The Maine Event

Alex and I took a trip up to Maine to get out of the city. As much as I love living in the big apple, sometimes it's nice to get out of the hustle and bustle and enjoy some peace and quiet.

We took a quick flight into Portland and arrived in the crisp Maine air. The scenic drive up to Boothbay was spectacular. Naturally, the first thing we did was stop for a lobster roll at Red's Eats. We explored Wicasset stopping into a gallery or two and took the advice of one of the townspeople to drive out to the Pemaquid Lighthouse. We were so glad we did! The lighthouse, which can be seen on the state quarter, was quaint and our views and walk along the rocks was amazing. The Bed and Breakfast we stayed at, The Topside Inn, was so adorable. We stayed in Room #6 - the one with the cute little window nook where you can read and enjoy the view. It felt like staying in a really fancy beach house. We spent our first night relaxing and grabbing a bite in the tiny town.

After our first delicious breakfast of the trip, we headed to the water to do some kayaking and headed out to Burnt Island (where kerosene was stored for all the surrounding lighthouses back in olden days). The entire island could be hiked in 15 minutes. We checked it out, got a history lesson from a young groundskeeper, and took in the view before getting back into our kayaks and paddling back to Boothbay. After freshening up, we took a drive out to the Botanical Gardens where we explored and lazily strolled through the massive grounds.

For the evening, we headed to Rockland where we checked out the coolest lighthouse I'd ever seen. We enjoyed an insanely delicious farm to table dinner at Primo to end our second night.

It was hard to leave the beachy, laid back town of Boothbay, but we got an early start and got on the road (after another delicious breakfast, of course!) and set out for Bar Harbor. We took the scenic route to enjoy the views of the ocean and relax. It's amazing how relaxing and exciting driving in a car is after not having done it for so long! When we got there, we took a walking tour of the town via a shore path with little posts that give a history of the huge "cottages" sprinkled along the coast. We arrived in Mount Desert Island and checked into the Bass Cottage Inn where we stayed in Room #9. The house was so warm and friendly and our room was spacious and inviting.

I was feeling particularly ambitious so when Alex suggested we check out Acadia National Park and maybe go for a hike, I decided to go for it. I'm so glad I did! We checked out Sand Beach and hiked the Beehive. This was no joke - we were on exposed cliffs with rungs to climb up. But we did it! And I've never been prouder for pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Who knew I would love hiking?! We spent our entire dinner chatting about how excited we were to take on another mountain!

We woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the sun rise over Cadillac mountain and spent our final full day of vacation hiking Dor Mountain which was a steep trail up walking on gorgeous pink granite. Then we headed to Thurston's Lobster Pound to devour well-earned whole lobsters. Our last dinner was at The Jordan Pond House smack in the middle of Acadia.

It was so hard to leave the slow paced easy going culture of Maine with its fresh crisp air and friendly people. In our cab on the way home, we took a look at the beautiful NYC skyline, fanned ourself in the humid smoggy air, and listened to our cabbie shout at the car that cut him off...Yup, we were back in New York.