Phew! It's been an exhausting past few weeks here in NYC: first the insane heat wave that seemed to bring the city to a standstill, then Gay Pride which brought it back to life, and then my two-year anniversary, which no one but me cared about!

Summer in the city is a tricky time, plans are usually comprised with ideas of how to keep cool, and though the warm months bring with it a plethora of free concerts, free outdoor movies, free festivals, a level of lethargy sets in that is hard to shake (maybe it's just being raised in a cold state?). Nevertheless, I've been trying to get out and enjoy the sun while I have it, and dragging my friends kicking and screaming every step of the way. I

 was at a Pride Week kickoff BBQ at Mayor Bloomberg's Gracie Mansion a few weeks ago, and it was one of the most surreal experiences. I know this may sound ridiculous, but to be sitting on a picnic table, in a yard, on the water, without hearing a SINGLE car ... IN Manhattan, threw me for a curve I honestly felt like I was back in MI and enjoying myself at a neighborhood block party -- it was great!