Jones Beach: An Epic Journey

My friend and I went to Jones Beach this weekend to reconnect with our inner teenagers and see No Doubt. It was awesome. However, being that I am a total dingbat when it comes to navigation, I managed to turn the trip into a hilarious adventure. I quickly made a flow chart (see below) to chronicle my day.


I wasn't feeling well on Saturday, so I will blame the events that transpired largely on my NyQuil-induced stupor...

I left my apartment, hopped on the L train, and transferred to the 1 train at 6th Ave. However, I absentmindedly transferred to the uptown 1, not the downtown 1. So, I got off at 23rd St. and headed back downtown. From there, I managed to completely zone out and/or fall asleep; I missed my transfer at Chambers St. and rode the 1 all the way to South Ferry. So, I stayed on the train and went back uptown to Chambers and got on the 2 train.

An hour and a half or so later, I made it to Flatbush, and Sarah and I got on the LIRR, headed to Freeport. Once we arrived there, we realized we had no idea where we were going. There was no beach in sight, and after wandering around Main Street and getting nowhere, I phoned for help from my sweet friend, Chad. He directed us to a bus that would take us to the beach. We happily climbed aboard, and we were on our way. However, we weren't sure where to get off. Consequently, we missed our stop and realized we were on our way back to Freeport. Yep, we rode all the way to the beach and back—without getting off. (This was also the exact moment that I realized I had left my concert ticket sitting on my couch. Awesome. Thank goodness for the lovely customer service rep at Live Nation who sent another ticket to Will Call for me.) We rode back to the beach, and the bus driver made sure we got off at the right stop. (He got a good laugh out of it.)

We were so excited to be at the beach, until we realized that it was CLOSED DUE TO LIGHTNING. Seriously!? As a consolation, we ate chicken fingers and french fries at Friendly's, which were quite delicious. Then, the beach reopened, and we relaxed on the sand.

After a few hours in the sun, we headed over to the show. Both of us could not wait to see No Doubt. We had purchased our tickets months ago. Oh, and guess what? When we bought them, we never thought about buying them together so that we could sit together—we were seated in totally different sections. (Again, seriously?!) We sadly went to our separate seats.

I was so bummed, but I eventually managed to sneak over to Sarah's section, and we got to see the show together.

So, all in all, it was an awesome day. No Doubt was amazing, and it ended up being quite an adventure.

Forever

I just got back from a trip to Indianapolis, where my dad had a heart procedure. (He refuses to classify it as surgery, even though I'm pretty sure that's totally what it was.) He is doing well, and I want to thank everyone for their warm words and thoughts. My family and I are so lucky to be surrounded by such an amazing support group.

A few years back, my dad became obsessed with the Chinese symbol for "forever." (He loved the meaning, and he thought it kind of resembled the letter K, for Ken.) In a Prince-like fashion, he signs it on everything he sends to me. Anyway, this song lyric made me think of him. This project kept me busy while he was in surgery, much to my mother's chagrin—apparently I'm not good company while I'm messing around on the computer.

Ft. Alafia Antiques & Country Store

(Front)

(Back)

I designed this business card this week for a store that Haylie's mom and aunt are opening in Florida. Haylie, her mom, and her aunt are all insanely talented ladies, and I'm sure the store will be super cute. You should check it out if you're ever in the area! (They open this month.)

Playground Love

This is the kind of stuff I do when I can't sleep. Some people have Ambien, I have Micron pens, paper, and a lyric from a song that has been stuck in my head for days.