I was so looking forward to escaping from the city this weekend (sometimes you just need a break) that I pushed and pummeled everyone in my path, on my way to Penn Station. I am slightly ashamed of the obscenities that I yelled but I was a girl on a mission; catching the train on time and transporting myself to the shore.

I met my girlfriends for a low key BBQ Saturday night. I had been in need of girl time for so long and it was comforting to see their beautiful faces. But to be honest, when I got back to my friend’s apartment at the end of the night, I felt more depressed than ever and just wanted to cry. We had spent a majority of the night talking about boyfriends, husbands, mortgages, and job promotions. I thought to myself, “This is not helping at all!” I was looking for an escape and only found myself being reminded of how far behind I am in life. I thought of the scene from Julie & Julia where Julie met her girlfriend’s for lunch and everyone was just going on and on about how busy they were and Julie felt like she couldn’t relate at all. I sat there listening to them over Cream Pie Martinis (mmm) feeling like the loser of the bunch.

We woke up early on Sunday morning and it was the most gorgeous day of the year I think. We spent the day at the beach with an extended group of friends. I even went in the water (!) which I never do until at least August. It was painfully cold freezing yet it felt so refreshing. Around 3, when we had enough sun (and my back was seared), we headed over to Ocean Place hotel to meet a friend who was celebrating his 50th birthday. The setting was so absolutely fantastic, palm trees, lounge chairs, reggae band, and tiki bar. We felt like we had escaped to a resort on an island. We sucked down some refreshing pina coladas and sat in the sun, listening to music. My mood was lifting already.

Early in the evening we got showered up and headed to Sallie T’s for a seafood/sushi dinner. While the food was skeptical (read: the. fucking. worst) I still had a great time with my girls. We had gotten the talks of real life that I’m not included in out of the way the night before. Now we were ready to hang out, make fun of each other, and have a good time. We drank pitchers of sangria at the Tiki Bar until they kicked us out, literally by removing all of the chairs and boarding up the bar.

Monday morning, we picked up some wraps and spent the day on the beach again. I didn’t get much sleep the night before so I was mostly in and out of sleep on my beach towel. We got pizzas for dinner and finished out the night drinking wine and watching It’s Complicated (so cute! LOVE John Krasinski).

I took a train early this morning, rejuvenated and ready to get back to the big bad city. I realized, with my girlfriends, that we’re all quite different and we’ve taken very different paths in our lives, and there will be times where we can’t relate to one another, but even still, we’re always there for each other. After spending a weekend with them, basking in their love and support, I always leave feeling like there’s nothing I can’t accomplish. My former boss used to tell me to “keep your eyes on your own paper,” meaning don’t worry about what other people are doing and just worry about yourself. I’m just the slow kid trying to graduate from the special needs class.

A dear friend of mine started a website called Cupid Lies where readers can write in about their dating gripes or commiserate with other people’s dating issues. He was sweet enough to include a post I wrote on how to get over a break up on his site. I’ve doled out a lot of dating advice on various blogs but I think it’s time I start listening to my own advice.

And yes. Cupid Lies.

Tim and I at Cupid Lies launch party.

“The truth of the matter is that the people who succeed in the arts most often are the people who get up again after getting knocked down. Persistence is critical.”   -Novelist Scott Turow who’s written 4 unpublished novels before he published Presumed Innocent.

“Starting things- relationships or non-profits, screenplays or marathons – takes a certain willing suspension of disbelief. This suspension is hard to maintain, but its perpetuation is Job One. I’ve written two books, and I can tell you that writing one word at a time, when there are 60,000 words to go, requires a state of flat-out dissociation. You’ll need to blow up a nice big bubble and find a way to live in it long enough to forget the world of reason and probability, the world that is staring through the filmy edge of your bubble, barely obscured, mouthing the words “Who do you think you are, anyway?”

-Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place

A year ago today I was let go from my job. Isn’t it crazy how sometimes you can remember a day exactly? I had just moved into a beautiful new apartment where I wasn’t even unpacked yet. My life did a complete 180 after that day. I moved out of my apartment , went to London, and then shortly after went back home to Thailand to spend some time with my family and friends. It’s amazing how much can change in just a year. I’ve had some ups and downs this past year but for the most part, life is good. So I say, Happy Anniversary!