Camp 2010 was a very interesting experience. I never could have imagined how weird it was to be gone a year. This whole group of new people came in, and made friends with my friends, but I didn’t know them! Luckily, just as the 2 previous years, that weirdness only lasted halfway through precamp. The whole summer went by very quickly. Which was a good thing because camp was VERY challenging. I wish I could pinpoint why it was so hard, but I’ve tried, and I can’t. I was going through a lot in my personal life and maybe that put an automatic damper on camp? No, I think it was bigger than that. Suffice it to say, that as much as I love camp and (mostly) everyone involved in it, I don’t think I will be too sad to miss the drama this summer

The best part of summer was for sure my days off. I knew going into the summer that my sister and I were making a lot of great plans for concerts that we wanted to go see, but nothing firmed up until the end of spring.

The first show we went to see was Meatloaf in Boston. I had seen him once before, at Turning Stone (the local casino that we frequent, remember this name, it will pop up again in this post). So I knew that he was not only a great performer, but also a nice dude who made me fix his sleeve and then KISSED ME! He put on a great show and played all of my favorite songs, and then some. It’s unbelievable how he still has it even though he is in his 60s. I hope I have that much energy when I’m that age. I hope that I get to see him perform again sometime before he retires, if he ever does. He seems to be the kind of celebrity that would rather die than retire.

The following night, Danielle and one of her friends met me and Kate (program director at camp, and an awesome friend) in Portland, ME to see one of my favorite musicians, Cary Brothers. I’ve been a fan of his since the movie Garden State came out, and with that came the AMAZING soundtrack that Zach Braff put together (which Cary is on). Once I found out that he was going to be so close to me, I knew that I would do anything to see him. Luckily I didn’t have to prod them too hard to see his show with me. I was blown away. He played on a bill with Harper Blynn and Greg Laswell, both of whom I knew of but didn’t know any songs by. I walked out of there a huge fan of both of them too. The best part of that night was meeting Cary Brothers. He was so kind, and even remembered me from Twitter! Not to mention he bashed Central NY, which I am always down for.

Then we had to wait almost an entire month before our next concert. Which I think Danielle would agree with me, was the best of the summer. We drove the over 3 hours from Lewiston, ME to Mansfield, MA to see Lilith Fair. Now as you know me, I have never quite been a fan of female singers. My iPod is full of either showtunes or male singer/songwriters. But I knew how much Danielle wanted to see Lilith Fair so I begrudgingly went along. It’s awesome when I can be proved totally wrong, because it was a mind-blowing experience. It was a lot smaller than I had imagined, but I think it was for the better. The main stage performances were the best, of course. Sara Barielles, Tegan and Sara, and of course, Sarah McLachlan. It was really awesome to see powerful women do their thing. And as an added bonus, at the end of the show they all came on stage and sang one of my all-time favorite songs, “Because the Night”.

Lastly, in the middle of August, we had our last show. This was my most anticipated, but ended up being my biggest letdown. We went back to Boston to see Ray Lamontagne and David Gray. I think I started really liking them around the same time in 2005 or so. Danielle and I had seen Ray before the previous summer when I flew up to Maine from Buffalo. He played with the Rustic Overtones then (another awesome band, definitely check them out!) and it was an awesome show. We were really close and he sang all my favorites. For the show in Boston, we were pretty far back, and he did his Pariah Dogs thing. While I do absolutely love his new album, the whole thing I’m not really into. Especially that RIDICULOUS hat that he has been wearing all the time. But he did sing most of the new album and some of my favorite old songs by him. David Gray’s set was awesome. He sang all but one of my favorite songs and he just put on an amazing show. He is quite a performer. I think it was the atmosphere that wasn’t doing it for me. People didn’t pay attention at all and the people in our general area basically talked throughout the whole show. It was very disappointing, but now I’m going to make it a point to see both of them again, so I can wipe that show from my memory.

As awesome as it was to see all those great concerts, the best part of those days were getting to spend time with my sister, who I feel like I never get to see anymore. Even on the days where we didn't have a concert to go to, she was gracious enough to let me stay at her apartment and take over the TV and just relax away from a crazy camp life.

After summer ended, I moved back home with my parents in Herkimer. This was definitely not a situation of us wanted/planned for. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, and they told me I could stay there for as long as I needed. So I started applying for jobs in the area not only because I wanted to work, but also I knew I’d go crazy just sitting at home all day. I love TV and the Internet, but there’s only so much of that you can take. Finally, in the middle of September, I interviewed for and got a job at Turning Stone. It was my very first retail job! I can’t believe I made it all the way to 23 years old before I ever had to work a cash register. The pay sucked and the hours were worse. BUT I learned a lot while I was there. Both about working and about how dumb people are. I made some great friends there, and as hard as it was, I’m really glad I was able to have that experience.

Check out this beautiful view!

So I’m just about caught up to where I am now. Back in July, while I was at camp, I was on this kick of randomly applying for anything that looked like I could do, anywhere in the country. I was in a big, oh crap, I don’t want to have to move home mode. I had applied for an internship (through Playbill.com) with one of the most prestigious regional theater centers in the country. One that had even won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Regional Theater. I never heard back from anyone there, so in a month or so, I just figured they didn’t like me, and I moved on. Until the end of September, when I got an email from them saying that they would like to interview me for the Development intern position. They had been without a Development Director and they didn’t want to hire an intern without one, so that was why I had never heard back. So over the next week or so, I had 2 very positive phone interviews with them. The first of which was definitely the best interview I’ve ever had. After about a week, I got a phone call saying that they wanted to offer me the position! I couldn’t believe it. I was so unbelievably excited. So I accepted the position and gave my 2 weeks notice at my job. They wanted me to be there as of the 18^th, but due to my needing to work out the 2 weeks at Turning Stone, they let me arrive yesterday, the 22^nd. After saying goodbye to my parents, I drove the 4.5 hours to Southeastern Connecticut and arrived at the campus. It is absolutely beautiful. The campus is like a ¼ mile from the ocean/Long Island Sound and beach. The area is just stunning. I can’t wait to see it in the spring and summer, because it’s getting colder out now. Everyone that I have met here so far (aka in about 30 hours) has been so nice and welcoming. I definitely think I’m going to walk away from this experience with some business contacts, some great friends, and a firmer idea of who I am and where I fit into this crazy world. I’m here until the middle of August, 10 months. I can’t believe it, but I’m definitely ready.

I get to live and work in the front part of this beautiful old mansion!