And the living is easy...

I do realize it's the morning of July 1^st, but I finally feel as though the summer has begun. Waking up to the soothing, melodic sounds of the digging Brooklyn cranes, wearing a ex-boyfriend's t-shirt and no pants—yes, in that outfit and still sleeping alone—I breathed in the humid NYC air and thanked God to be alive. Between rehearsals in Maryland for my upcoming puppet show, mother's 50^th birthday in AZ, and working double shifts at the bar, I missed a whole little month some like to call um, June. So it was on the last day of the month I overcompensated with a few adventures: with friends on the rocks with a splash of love.

I've never regretted my decision to leave all, penniless and love-less and head to New York City, but the harsh winter in this town tends to make you homesick and longing for something else. The mantra between my friends and I became, "It's going to be so awesome in the summer when we can finally (fill in the blank)..." Yet many a midsummer night's dreams later, I was too busy to live and too hyped up to rest. So I found myself in one of any three of Times Square's dive bars (yes, they exist) after work, blinded and hypnotized by the flashing lights, sipping and waiting patiently on the world to change.

After my adventures yesterday, I realized NY is like that. It's like you are trying desperately not to blink, but if your eyes are open too wide, it will still all pass by in a haze. I was in need of a more relaxed stance. So from a little Italian lunch at an adorable outdoor patio with a new best friend, to standing on the rocks at the Williamsburg shore of the east river, to leaning over the edge of the top deck of the South Street Seaport peering at the Brooklyn Bridge and its new waterfall (in a dress that the wind so sweetly embraces), to finally becoming crown princess of karaoke while making new friends at the local gay bar... Somewhere along the way I confirmed, "Yes. This is the life for me."

Yes. It's going to be so awesome in the summer when we can, finally.