I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated this thing!
I'm back in New York City, and every time I look at this photo (taken when I rode the Staten Island Ferry with my mom), I want to start singing "Empire State of Mind." Because I'm a dork, and because it feels so dang good to be home.
A lot has happened in the past four months, and I just haven't been able to keep up. Here's a bit of what's been going on since I last posted:
1. I finished my round-the-world trip with a safari in Tanzania, and saw, among other things, 21 lions in the wild.
2. I came home from traveling internationally, and immediately started jetting around the U.S. (Michigan, New Hampshire, Florida, California, Oregon, upstate New York, and Maine) for work research, moving boxes and boxes of books, and to attend lots of lovely weddings with old friends.*
3. I moved in with Ad. Or rather, we moved into a totally awesome garden apartment together, in my old Brooklyn neighborhood.
4. We hosted several close friends and family members in our new place.
5. My little sister moved to NYC to start the Teaching Fellows program, and we've been getting some quality hang out time in. So sweet to have some family nearby for the first time in six years!
6. I started coaching with Girls on the Run--a terrific after-school program that gets young girls moving and feeling good about themselves. It also motivates me to keep training for those two half marathons I signed up for...
7. I realized I need to actually learn how to be a freelancer and have spent a lot of time getting my files, taxes, healthcare, and workspace in order.
8. I've been working on (and am almost finished with) another exciting writing project. I'm also pumped that Witch & Wizard: The Fire is out in just two more months!
Now I'm really looking forward to a quiet, homey New York autumn, spent working diligently at my new office space, strolling around my neighborhood farmer's market among the changing leaves, snuggling up to the bf (and the cat), and watching way too many movies.
A longer recap is coming soon, I promise. I lost my netbook computer cord, so haven't been able to access the photos from the last leg of my trip, but hopefully that situation will be remedied shortly and I can post a ton of great pics and tell you all about Zanzibar, the Serengeti, and how I felt at the end of seven months of solo travel. For now, I leave you with this:
LOBSTAH!
*Black and white photo credit: Mikey Barringer. Everything else was taken on my very old iphone, which explains the quality.
