update

I’ve been so busy lately that I legitimately haven’t had time to post. Here’s what’s taking me away from you:

-My driving test is August 28. Here’s hoping I don’t run down any pedestrians before then.

-I’m moving on Saturday to my new apartment. If you have ever lived in NYC you know that finding and apartment is frustrating, expensive and time consuming. Moving will probably be the same but at least I’ll be free of the roaches and Leonard (the mouse in my apartment…there maybe more than one of him)

-Crossing New Years resolutions off my list. Not to be too cryptic.

-Work. Obvi.

-Visiting DC and catching up with two of my favorite people. And seeing the Jim Henson exhibit, which was absolutely amazing. I teared up a little, not going to lie.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m excited about all of the above, including work. But being a busy bee is exhausting. I’m also super excited that Paul Hamm isn’t going to Beijing because it means my future husband Raj Bhavsar is on the team!

back in blonde

For the past two years or so I’ve been dying my naturally blonde hair a variety of browns and reds. I’ve bounced between almost black to fiery orange (a mistake) and most of the people I see on a daily basis have never seen my real hair color. A few months ago I stopped dying and I’ve been letting the blonde grow back in. The response has been…surprising. Probably once a day someone asks if I dyed my hair. “No,” I humbly reply, “I stopped dying it.” Natural blondes seem to be a rarer and rarer sight these days, and even though it doesn’t get me followed around like when I lived in London, it still stands out.

I’m reminded how nice it is to have something other people want. For once, my grass is greener.

(sub)urban jungle

I was lucky enough to take some time off around the July 4th weekend and went home for several days. Home to where there is no cell phone signal, where I wake up to birds in the morning instead of garbage trucks. Where I’m more likely to see a groundhog than another person and my parents insist that I take a late afternoon nap on the deck before dinner. That, plus the free flowing lemonade, fresh corn, grilled chicken and salmonella-free tomatoes (thank you Pete’s Produce) made for one of the best weekends I’ve had in a while. (Not to mention a certain Pixar robot named Wall-E who has captured my heart.)

If you asked where I grew up, I’d say Philadelphia, because it’s more likely you’ve heard of the city than the surrounding suburbs. My parents only live 40 minutes outside the city, but you’d think it was hours away. That’s the great thing about Pennsylvania. The terrain transitions from urban to suburban to country in less that 50 miles. My second high school was boxed in on four sides by corn fields. When Hurricane Floyd hit my junior year, students got called home to bail out the farm. There is still a grange building. And I love it.

Even though I’m living just enough for the city right now, I’m craving suburban life like I crave Rita’s mango water ice as soon as the temperature gets above 70. Someday when I have a very nice camera and maybe a photography class I’ll take some pictures that will do my  home justice. But in the meantime, I will just be missing home.