The end is near...

The end of summer, that is. I wore a jacket to work today. Granted, it made me sweaty when I went into the subway station - damn subway platforms are sooo humid - but it did protect me from the subtle wind that blowing down 7th Avenue today. It's ironic because I feel like I'm just now catching the Summer Bug. The Summer Bug is the itch you get (no, not that itch) that makes you want to go outside and do cool shit. I don't know what happened to me this summer, but I feel like I missed the boat. I only went to see a Bryant Park movie once. I didn't see a single Yankees game and never went to the beach. I only saw one concert...and it was INDOORS...AND, my roommate surprised me with tickets. It was not self-initiated.

Granted, I did get to see some really badass tennis at the US Open. (Thanks, Phill!) And I got to be in Kim's wedding, which was amazing! And I haven't missed a single live performance of Scott's at Still. And even though my softball team sucks, I've had a lot of fun re-acquainting myself with nostalgic memories of Little League. (Except for the pulled hamstring last week...god, I'm getting old!)

But only one picnic in the park. One barbeque on roof. I have no one to blame but myself.

Funny enough, I feel the bug now. How's that for procrastination? I've been really dying to hear some live jazz in some dark and seedy basement lounge. New York is great for that. Or maybe I'll hit up an open mic night and hear some good poetry or acoustic guitar. I should probably focus myself on week day activities since I'm traveling for the next three weekends. I'm a Roadie for the RKS Conference Tour! :)

But although summer is almost over, I can nearly smell the ski season approaching! Now that my folks have moved back to the Northwest, it's going to be a little tougher to hit up the slopes simply because ski season is so much shorter there. But I'm sure I'll manage. My old college friend, Jim, has a place in Tahoe that's calling my name! Maybe I'll have to meet up the SF girls there! Gina and Maia, look out, Ladies!

Well, I'm off to go do my laundry in the bathroom sink. I leave for D.C. tomorrow to visit Kim and Mike, Debbie, and the Danger Crew! The laundromat closes at 10pm and it's 10:30pm now. I really miss having a washer and dryer!

Everything falls into place...almost.

Have you ever experienced a time in your life where everything seems like it's beginning to fall into place? I haven't had that in a long time. But this week, I did. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but things just seemed to be going well lately.

Identity

It's funny how little you know about yourself until you really test your identity. I had an eye-opening experience this weekend during my trip to Boston. All I can say is that I never regret trying new things. It has only brought me closer to my understanding of who I am and what I want out of life. I'm now feeling rejuvenated and ready for anything!

Everyone loves live music

I saw Scott perform at Still Bar last night for the third time. He keeps sounding better and better. For those of you who didn't know, Scott from the Rae Group, has a regular gig at a bar in NYC! I was very pleased when he busted out "Save Tonight" by Eagle Eye Cherry. It's a personal favorite.

Last night was also cool because I was able to reconnect with an old friend. He's the first and only real, genuine cowboy that I've ever met. At least he used to be one... He told Chris P and I a gruesome story about watching a kid get his face broken by a 1500 lb bull. Hard core. Max used to date one of my old Portland friends in high school, and his brother also dated my sister. We were never really friends growing up, but I met him again at Emily and Devin's wedding last month in Portland and learned that he lives in NYC! It's always good to know Northwesterners in the city, so we hung out last night and shared stories about growing up in Oregon. Good times.

Today at work we got the EXCELLENT news that we have received the MEPI grant which means that we have the funding to now start up AIESEC in 2 new countries in the Gulf! I'm so thrilled for so many different reasons. This is an amazing opportunity to spread AIESEC's mission to two new countries and develop a lot of great new leaders. It also means that Jen is going to stick around with AIESEC for a few more years, which is FABULOUS! Although she won't be living in the US, I'm happy that I will still get to see her every few months when she flies back to NYC. Thank you to Jen, Paul, and Suzanne for all of your hard work in writing the grant proposal!

Going to buy my plane ticket to Portland soon for Thanksgiving. It sucks that tickets are so damn expensive. But I'm super happy that Jen is coming with me! We may be sleeping in my parents' RV while we're out there since they may not have room for us, but hey...that could be cool, right? I need to start compiling a list of things that I want to show her while we're out there... Too bad it's going to be rainy and yucky by then. The rose gardens would have been great to hit up.

Two engagements, a wedding, and about 25 hours of tennis

The title of this blog entry pretty much describes my life over the past few weeks. My big sister got engaged and is now carrying around a rock on her finger about the size of a tennis ball. I'm reeeeeally super happy for her, and excited to be her maid-of-honor.

About a week after I learned she was engaged I drove out to Scranton, PA to be a bridesmaid with Maia in our best friend's wedding! Kim, Maia, and I lived together in Ghana, and ever since then they have been two of my dearest friends. Maia flew into NYC straight after spending some time in Micronesia. We rented a car and drove to Scranton on a Thursday night.

The weekend got off to a pretty exciting start when we spent Friday in the hospital. Poor Maia picked up a nasty bug in Micronesia and needed an IV to get back on her feet! But we made the most of it, by stealing the hospital gown and some rubber gloves as a wedding gift for Kim!

Maia was back in action just in time for the rehearsal where we met our ushers. Mike and I hit it off immediately since we both didn't have a clue what we were supposed to do seeing as how it was a Catholic wedding (he's Jewish and I'm Aetheist). Afterwards we hit up the rehearsal dinner (i.e. free food and booze).

Saturday was PERFECT! We spent the morning at the salon getting gussied for Kim's big day. I was blown away by how HUGE her family is. Her mom is one of a 13 kids so she has a gajillion aunts and cousins. It was so cool to be surrounded by this huge, amazing family. There were women everywhere ranging from about age 6 up to age 70! We got the morning started right with croissant-wiches and Mimosas...mmmmmm.

After the salon we put on our gowns and jewelry (Kim's aunt is a jeweler and made us all some serious bling-bling for the wedding). I felt like a princess. The wedding was beautiful. Mike and Kim are an unbelievable couple. They're so full of love and life. They are such an inspiration. They were both smiling ear-to-ear the entire day, just as it should be.

The reception was a blast. Nothing quite like shaking your thang to "Play that Funky Music, White Boy" in a ballgown. Matt and Louise, who also lived with us in Ghana, were there as well, so it was like a big Ghana Reunion. We drank and were merry until we could hardly stand. And even then, Matt did the worm down the hallway of the Hilton. We're classy folks.

It was amazing to get a text message a week later saying that Hanna too is engaged!!! I couldn't be happier for her! Time to save up for that island wedding!

After our return to the big apple, Phill came to visit for a week and a half. He plays tennis, so his main motivation for coming out to NYC was to see the US Open. So in total, we witnessed about 25 hours of tennis at the US Open. I've always like tennis before, but Phill turned me into a DIE-HARD fan. I saw some amazing tennis over the last week. I saw Rafael Nadal, Robby Ginepri, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, James Blake, Richard Gasquet, Amelie Mauresmo, Mike and Bob Bryan, Guillermo Coria...the list goes on and on... I didn't get to see Agassi live which is a bummer, but I'm glad Blake (who is my personal favorite) went down fighting! Thanks, Phill, for an amazing week!

And to top it all off, work has been crazy! Recruitment is now in full swing and FINALLY the materials are done! (I'm actually in the office now waiting for the info session ppt to send!)

Happy Birthday, Hanna!

This is a day late, but I couldn't let this weekend pass without saying happy birthday to my beautiful friend, Hanna. Hanna, I bonded with you the day I moved to NYC when we spent our afternoon getting drunk in a bar outside of Yankee stadium. You are an amazing, giving, thoughtful, independent woman, and I've always looked up to you as a mentor and the closest of friends. I wish I could be in India with you right now to give you a big hug and buy you a Cranberry Vodka (with a splash of lemonade, right?).

I love you!!! I hope your day was amazing yesterday!!!