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I’ve been missing Brooklyn this weekend in a serious way.
In looking at Brooklyn blogs tonight, I found this one, talking about Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where I worked. There’s a photo and a short blurb about a 70 year old man who loves BBG and loves Facebook. It then talks about BBG’s Facebook Group, which I started. Something I did in my job at BBG created joy in the lives of this man and his wife.
Maybe I left my mark in Brooklyn, after all.
smalltowngirl at work at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, summer 2008
Good news!
This week, I received a note on flickr from schmap.com, requesting use of one my photos of Brooklyn Botanic Garden:
Lily Pool Terrace at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, photo by smalltowngirl
Check out my flickr pool here. I’ll let you know when this photo makes it live on schmap.com’s New York City site.
An addition to the excitement about the schmap.com selection is the blog that fellow St. Louis Twitter Donna Gamache posted to The St. Louis Design Community Connections blog about me and my photo. Check it out.
Here’s to pursuing hobbies and careers with passion. There’s nothing like being rewarded for what you love to do.
Until recently, I didn’t know that St. Louis had a marathon. I found out about it when I signed up for the Go! St. Louis 5K. The 5K was one of the first events in an entire weekend of family activities, fun runs and competitive runs.
Having not had much to look forward to on the weekends since moving back to Missouri, I was really excited for the run. When Go! St. Louis lost my registration information the day before the race, I was frustrated and disappointed.
A coworker who had registered and decided not to run offered me her number. Though I thanked her more than once, she has no idea how much it meant to me that she let me run in her place.
On Saturday morning, I ran the race in just over thirty minutes, pleased that I was able to run 3.1 miles without stopping.
On Sunday, there was both a half and a full marathon, and God love ‘em, those runners pulled it off on a cool, rainy spring Missouri day. It was exciting to be part of the Go! St. Louis weekend. For the first time since moving back to the area, I felt like I was part of a community.
Eyes burning, but snug at home with my hot tea and fuzzy pjs, I feel good about moving back to Missouri.
I’ve spent two days this week working in various parts of St. Louis; driving in city traffic, eating in city restaurants, and talking to city people.
I’ve spent the other days in small town Missouri; taking my Class E driving test at the highway patrol office, getting my new license at the DMV (I can drive company cars now, woot!), jogging on trails in the woods, and appreciating the mornings’ sunrises.
I’ll leave you tonight with the promise of a horseback trail ride and campout blog on Sunday, and with this photo, taken out of the sunroof of my car in downtown St. Louis on Monday. I love being a tourist in my own city:
Good night, all!
It’s 9:49 p.m., and I’m sitting in my office in Potosi, Missouri after a full day of work, including eight hours in the office and several more with our board of directors. If ever before this year I had been told I would work in Potosi, Missouri, I would have bet everything I owned that you were lying. (And I’m not a better).
If you had told me I’d love my new position working in Potosi, Missouri, I would probably have laughed in your face. (And I’m generally very polite).
Yet here I am, tired after my first week of work here, but tired in the “sugarplums dancing in their heads” kind of way, where I feel an excitement about what’s to come and such a deep peace about where I am in this moment that rest will come easily when I finish this post and crawl into my bed.
This week I have been woken up by the family dog, I’ve had coffee at the kitchen table with my dad before work, and I’ve watched my mom get so creative and excited about cooking really great, healthy meals for us.
Wednesday on my way home from work, I saw a deer cross the road in front of me and run down a hill and into a field. The weather has warmed up here, so I’ve continued to test out my new trail running shoes on jogs in the woods behind the office. Tonight, I held a chincilla in my hands (his little nose was adorable, and his “pricklies” were softer than they looked!).
My coworkers are gracious, thoughtful, and incredibly welcoming. Do not misunderstand me here, they are also hard-working, experienced, many of them very well-traveled professionals. They have brought me into my first week here at the Y with nothing but compassion and kindness, which heals my soul in ways that I didn’t know it was even aching.
Do I miss New York City? Of course I do, in little ways, and sporatically. Do I love where I am though, professionally and personally; mentally, spiritually, and physically? Yes, wholly.
All things happen for a reason, and I believe that my new job and new home are no exceptions.
Photo Credit: Smalltowngirl, June 3, 2008
Sticktuitiveness an unsophisticated term that country people like myself use to describe what New Yorkers would call perseverence, determination, or dedication.
I’m beginning to see how that good’ole core Midwestern value of sticktuitiveness is valuable, especially in a city like New York where perseverence, especially at first, is vital to long term success (and simply to survival).
I arrived in New York eight months ago, and I’ve worked full time for a little over six. I also started freelancing about a year ago with just one single client.
In that time I’ve added three more music and dance organizations and groups to my client roster, and I’ve filled nine hours of every Saturday with teaching piano lessons to students in south Brooklyn. An opportunity has now come up for me to substitute teach a drumline again as well.
My dad and mom raised my brother and I to value honesty and hard work. These values are certainly paying off now, as I’ve stuck to my freelancing, stuck to my passion for the arts, and have seen my freelance and teaching income steadily increase. Sticktuitiveness may be an unsophisticated word, but there’s something to be said for staying grounded, working hard, and doing something that you believe in.
