It’s been over a year since I graced Tumblr with my presence, but there’s no better time than now. So where am I now…

NYC- soon to be East Hampton for 3 months.

Working at lululemon athletica and Soul Cycle.

First marathon completed May 1, 2011 on the West Coast. Time: 3:52:16

I started this blog because I constantly face the battle of where I NEED to live. Where I will be the happiest. Before now, I felt that was determined by location, when in reality it is determined by one thing, ME. So, in reality, the question becomes which coast do I WANT to live on. Do I have to choose? Or can I choose both?

My journey is creating a life that gives me the perfect balance of city and sun. I have already created my first possibility by working in East Hampton this summer. Beach cravings will be satisfied momentarily. 

(via yimmyayo)

Playing with the aperture setting.

Showers: One knob for temperature, one knob for turning on and off/ pressure. Who really wants the hot knob and the cold knob? You end up spending so much time balancing the hot water and cold water, and rarely end up with the perfect temperature. In the Dutch showers, when you find your perfect temperature, you just leave it there because to turn off the shower you don’t even have to touch the temperature knob.

Heating systems: All, well most, have heating in their floors. There have been some American bathrooms that have floor heating, but the Dutch have the whole house. Think about it, heat rises, so not only do your feet stay warm while you walk around the house, but the heat then fills the room from the ground up.

Bikes: A typical Dutch bike has the lock built in it. The gears are covered and the lock is just under the seat. You turn the key, push the latch down, and take the key with you. When it’s unlocked, the key just stays in the bike. Even though you should have an additional chain lock in busy cities, how smart is it to also have a built in lock, you don’t have to remember to bring it, and it’s not a nuisance to carry because it’s part of your bike.

More to come…

My home away from home…

Whoever said you have to face your fears was right. Being a Southern California native, rain has not been on my top 5 list, or top 10, 100. Actually, it was; it was pretty high up on the list of things I truly, utterly despise.

Berkeley was the first experience with extended periods of rain, but I was still able to avoid it. Perhaps by running to the car, skipping class, not hitting up Kip’s for a night, I did whatever it took to avoid at all costs any contact with the rain. My most depressing days at Cal involved rain, and at that time two days would feel like years of nonstop rain.

Then I moved to NYC. I always said, and you can quote me on this, that I would rather it snow than rain. Rain is so wet. Who wants to get to dinner or work or the bar soaking wet? At least with the snow, it can be pretty and just vanish when it touches your clothing. Snow just floats, sometimes flurries, but it never seems too invasive. One may think, how can a water athlete have such disposition for water. It’s not the water, it’s my clothing being wet. If I went to work in a swimsuit, it would be a whole different story. The reality is no job I had in NYC allowed swimwear to work (I promise the bar I worked at turned into a bikini bar, yes you heard me right- bikini bar, after I left.) My  most miserable day, the day rain hit an all time low with me, was when the subways flooded. A 40 minute commute turned into 2 hours. Rain was on my shit list. Well, apparently, unbeknownst to me, I found the solution: grab rain by the balls. Face it HEAD ON…

…and move to Holland.

Now, a day is not a day without rain. If I was the person I was a couple months ago, I would say this is my worst nightmare. When your only mode of transportation is biking, it is impossible to avoid facing that fear. That 2 hour commute to work, when half the time I was in a cab or bus, was put to shame today. 3 hours of biking in nothing but constant rain. Occasionally a downpour, sometimes a little lighter, but raining incessantly for 3 hours as I was completely lost. There is no other option; biking in the rain is inevitable.

In other words, I got over it real quick.

good bye california coast…hello dutch canals.