I don't care what the seasonal or school district calendars say: the last day of summer is and always has been Labor Day in my world and mind and heart.
It was the last hurrah day down at our condo on the Jersey Shore, the last day of endless sun, one last chance to enjoy the fun.
Then we'd pack up and head back to Pennsylvania the next day, Tuesday, before school went back into session on Wednesday.
Our vacation condo and the entirety of OCNJ was THE happy place of my childhood and I still miss it so. I spent 20 summers there...and now have been gone 15. Time flies!
Showing posts with label Memory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memory. Show all posts
10 Year Reunion
in:
Memory
I can't believe that 10 years have passed since I escaped graduated from High School!
Had a FABULOUS reunion with some of my good friends from high school - don't we all look great?
And, no surprise, Mom has decided not to come back to Texas with us as she'd planned.
Oh, well. Back to the real world now!
Had a FABULOUS reunion with some of my good friends from high school - don't we all look great?
And, no surprise, Mom has decided not to come back to Texas with us as she'd planned.
Oh, well. Back to the real world now!
September Sadness
in:
Memory
As we head into October (only 7 shopping days left until my birthday...), I am reflecting on two events from September that have left me saddened.
The selfish and self-serving movie stars of today would do well to take a page from the book of Paul Newman, who not only dedicated part of his life to military service but also a huge chunk of his later life to philanthropy. The world loses a great man with the passing of Paul Newman, not just for his contributions as an actor but for his goodness as a human being.
It's like deja vu all over again...Yogi Berra says good bye to Yankee Stadium as the historic landmark hosts its last game. *Sob* I'm almost as sad as I was a couple years ago when the Phillies said good bye to the Vet. I hate that in our disposable society, we always prefer the new and shiny to the old and trusted.
The selfish and self-serving movie stars of today would do well to take a page from the book of Paul Newman, who not only dedicated part of his life to military service but also a huge chunk of his later life to philanthropy. The world loses a great man with the passing of Paul Newman, not just for his contributions as an actor but for his goodness as a human being.
It's like deja vu all over again...Yogi Berra says good bye to Yankee Stadium as the historic landmark hosts its last game. *Sob* I'm almost as sad as I was a couple years ago when the Phillies said good bye to the Vet. I hate that in our disposable society, we always prefer the new and shiny to the old and trusted.
Defeated by Technology
in:
Freelancing
,
Life
,
Memory
,
Other Blogs
A few months ago, I blogged that I'd found this neat article in the blogosphere that centered around a store I worked in on the Jersey Shore back during the summers of 1998 and 1999.
It turns out that the writer of that original blog about Cloud 9, Ann Richardson, came to visit my post, and blogged about it! She then tried to contact me...but that was unfortunately during the time when SBCglobal was busier eating new emails and destroying old emails and locking me out of my account than actually delivering communication.
By complete coincidence, I Googled myself today - something I do every few months or so to see what web sites have linked to me or picked up links to some of my freelancing articles - and found her later post.
I just finished popping off an email to Ann from my more reliable Yahoo address and hope to hear back from her! In any case, she's earned a reader for her blogged related to Jersey Shore Business News - and dear readers, I encourage you to go visit her!
It turns out that the writer of that original blog about Cloud 9, Ann Richardson, came to visit my post, and blogged about it! She then tried to contact me...but that was unfortunately during the time when SBCglobal was busier eating new emails and destroying old emails and locking me out of my account than actually delivering communication.
By complete coincidence, I Googled myself today - something I do every few months or so to see what web sites have linked to me or picked up links to some of my freelancing articles - and found her later post.
I just finished popping off an email to Ann from my more reliable Yahoo address and hope to hear back from her! In any case, she's earned a reader for her blogged related to Jersey Shore Business News - and dear readers, I encourage you to go visit her!
Wonderful Memory
in:
Memory
I spend a lot of time thinking about Ocean City, New Jersey - I spent every single summer there between 1985 and 2001 - as well as many long weekends and holidays. So as a 1/3 year resident for so dang many years, it's one of the places that I consider home.
And, other than my current home, which I do truly love, it's the home that I love - and subsequently miss - the most.
I can't tell you what a different child I was between when I was in PA and then summers in NJ. I was happier, freer, calmer, nicer, and happier - did I mention that already? Just driving over the 9th Street Bridge onto the island from Somers Point was enough to elevate my mood, every single freaking time.
The last time I drove over that bridge, I was headed back to PA after having spent time helping my parents pack up the condo they'd owned for 14 years. Since I was about to graduate from college, and I was using it far more than they, they'd decided to sell and give many of the furnishings to me to start my new life wherever I landed. I was hysterical driving over that bridge for the last time. It's a two-mile-long causeway, and I was crying my head off the whole time. For me, that felt far more like leaving behind my childhood home than when I packed up from Pennsylvania and headed to Texas.
I would quite literally give anything that's within my control - which is not a lot, admittedly - to be able to spend summers in Ocean City with my future children like I spent as a child. I know that's not going to happen - our financials are far different than were my parents when I was a child, and barring winning the lottery, neither of us is on a career path to get rich. (Currently, single family homes on the island start at the mid-$400s; condos around $200) But a girl can dream, can't she?
Anyhow, the point of my post is that I came across another post in the blogosphere that's just about made my day. During the summers of 1998 and 1999, I worked on the boardwalk in Ocean City for a store called Cloud 9. I really think that it's still my favorite job to-date. Picture this: I worked the 4-12 shift. After we finished cleaning/shutting down around 12:30, we'd head over the bridge to Somers Point and hang out at the bar for awhile. (Ocean City is a dry island.) Some nights we'd get pizza and hang out at the store instead. Others we head to the island's favorite breakfast spot for late night munchies. Still others we'd drive 20 minutes to Atlantic City and hang out at the Casinos for awhile. I'd never get home until 2 or 3...sleep a few hours, and get up and go to breakfast at my dad's favorite little breakfast place. I'd hit the beach around 10 AM; sleep on the beach until around 2 PM. Come home, make dinner for us both (mom wasn't with us a lot of the time) and then head to work. Rinse, repeat. I got paid decently well, had a pretty free lifestyle, and LOTS AND LOTS of beach time. One of these days, I'll dig out a pic from one of those summers - I mean, I was brown brown brown!
Anyhow, I did a search on "Cloud 9 Ocean City", and found this post. Please go read it and check out the pictures. I haven't stepped foot in there since my last trip to the island in 2001, but it's nice to see that some things just stay the same, just the way they should. You can read another article with quotes from my old boss, Paul, here. And yes, if you're shocked, I once did care very deeply about trendy clothes. I simply stopped caring when I got out of college and had other expenses to worry about than looking cute! :-)
We're planning to go back to the island for Columbus Day 2008, which is also around my birthday. I can't wait to show Chris the place where I really grew up and had the best times of my childhood!! He's already been warned, however, that I am very, very emotional when it comes to my Ocean City, and he may have to drag me back off the island when our stay comes to an end.
And, other than my current home, which I do truly love, it's the home that I love - and subsequently miss - the most.
I can't tell you what a different child I was between when I was in PA and then summers in NJ. I was happier, freer, calmer, nicer, and happier - did I mention that already? Just driving over the 9th Street Bridge onto the island from Somers Point was enough to elevate my mood, every single freaking time.
The last time I drove over that bridge, I was headed back to PA after having spent time helping my parents pack up the condo they'd owned for 14 years. Since I was about to graduate from college, and I was using it far more than they, they'd decided to sell and give many of the furnishings to me to start my new life wherever I landed. I was hysterical driving over that bridge for the last time. It's a two-mile-long causeway, and I was crying my head off the whole time. For me, that felt far more like leaving behind my childhood home than when I packed up from Pennsylvania and headed to Texas.
I would quite literally give anything that's within my control - which is not a lot, admittedly - to be able to spend summers in Ocean City with my future children like I spent as a child. I know that's not going to happen - our financials are far different than were my parents when I was a child, and barring winning the lottery, neither of us is on a career path to get rich. (Currently, single family homes on the island start at the mid-$400s; condos around $200) But a girl can dream, can't she?
Anyhow, the point of my post is that I came across another post in the blogosphere that's just about made my day. During the summers of 1998 and 1999, I worked on the boardwalk in Ocean City for a store called Cloud 9. I really think that it's still my favorite job to-date. Picture this: I worked the 4-12 shift. After we finished cleaning/shutting down around 12:30, we'd head over the bridge to Somers Point and hang out at the bar for awhile. (Ocean City is a dry island.) Some nights we'd get pizza and hang out at the store instead. Others we head to the island's favorite breakfast spot for late night munchies. Still others we'd drive 20 minutes to Atlantic City and hang out at the Casinos for awhile. I'd never get home until 2 or 3...sleep a few hours, and get up and go to breakfast at my dad's favorite little breakfast place. I'd hit the beach around 10 AM; sleep on the beach until around 2 PM. Come home, make dinner for us both (mom wasn't with us a lot of the time) and then head to work. Rinse, repeat. I got paid decently well, had a pretty free lifestyle, and LOTS AND LOTS of beach time. One of these days, I'll dig out a pic from one of those summers - I mean, I was brown brown brown!
Anyhow, I did a search on "Cloud 9 Ocean City", and found this post. Please go read it and check out the pictures. I haven't stepped foot in there since my last trip to the island in 2001, but it's nice to see that some things just stay the same, just the way they should. You can read another article with quotes from my old boss, Paul, here. And yes, if you're shocked, I once did care very deeply about trendy clothes. I simply stopped caring when I got out of college and had other expenses to worry about than looking cute! :-)
We're planning to go back to the island for Columbus Day 2008, which is also around my birthday. I can't wait to show Chris the place where I really grew up and had the best times of my childhood!! He's already been warned, however, that I am very, very emotional when it comes to my Ocean City, and he may have to drag me back off the island when our stay comes to an end.
