Fire up the 'blog! We're on the move again...

I knew it had been awhile since I posted anything on the blog, although until today I did not realize it had been since January. As it turns out, documenting even the less ordinary parts of "real life" just didn't seem worthy of the time - which as any working stiff knows is simply too much of a scarcity.  We have kept our pictures up to date, many thanks to Jason, but neglected to blog about the various goings-on in our life since we moved back to NYC two years ago.

But, now that we are embarking on our next big adventure, it seemed time to dust-off the ol' WWW, give it a little facelift, and start writing again. I started this blog when we embarked on our London move,  and now that we're on our way out of New York again, certain to make new discoveries, come across entertaining cultural oddities, and have general (mis)adventures that will hopefully make good stories, I suspect we may have more worth sharing with family & friends near and far (well, mostly far as it turns out).

We're changing coasts, heading west to Portland, Oregon. (I am curious to find out if the cultural adjustment to Portland will be more or less challenging than the adjustment to London.) Before we land there, we're taking a bit of time to do some travel: a couple weeks visiting friends and family in Europe (hello from London!), a cross-country drive from New York to LA just in time for Thanksgiving, and lastly an extended holiday in New Zealand.  Then, we head north from LA to Portland.  After that... who knows!  We can't wait to find out!

(Hi Mom!)

Family Fun Time

Coming out of Christmas and thinking about getting my 2012 pix in order, I thought I'd start with those involving my family - known to many as "The LeMays of Portsmouth."  We had a few long weekends together this year, which seemed like as good a place as any to begin my recap. 

Then, it spiraled out of control. It turns out, I spent a lot more time out & about with my parents than usual this year.  In fact, although I didn't see them from last Christmas until April, after that we were visiting on a bi-monthly basis - probably more frequently than at any other point over the last 10+ years. (Except for, as I'm sure more than one person will rush to point out, the four months Jason & I spent living under their roof last year.  Like I said, 2011 was an odd one.)

So let's get started.  In April, M&D LeMay came to visit us in NYC.  They came for a weekend that started out well and ended poorly, with no fault of anyone's and we'll spare you the grisly details. Let's focus on the good.  We spent a gorgeous Saturday walking down the East Side of Manhattan, enjoying a bit of Central Park, hitting the Burger Joint at the Le Parker Meridian for lunch, and visiting the main branch of the NYPL.  We even happened across a parade!

Because it was a Scottish parade

Because I love a parade

Because it's New York

After that we visited an historic home on 4th Street (from a time when 4th Street was "uptown / the boonies," i.e. the 1850s), and went to a very enjoyable dinner at Hundred Acres (highly recommended). Shortly after, all hell broke loose, so we'll leave it at that.

I can sense already that a post about all the LeMay-of-Portsmouth Family 2012 Excitement is going to get long and out of hand, so I'm making the decision here and now that I will share 2 more events and save the rest for another time.  Like I said, it's my blog, thankyouverymuch.

Next up: Key West - or - Left Early, Forgot My Camera (all pix taken with Dad's camera or my phone).  No later than three weeks after the New York visit did my parents, brother and I descend on Key West, Florida for a long weekend - longer for some than others but we all overlapped for a few days.  Now, apologies to those of you who really love Key West, but Key West is a pretty tacky place. We managed to keep it classy by: 

... watching street performers on the pier - once.

... visiting the Hemingway House and its freakish cats.

... watching a cat stalk an iguana, poolside, for at least an hour.

... dining at Latitudes on Sunset Key.

... hanging out on Smather's beach.

... puttering around in the GEM.

...  buying "classy" shirts for our friends.

... visiting the "Southernmost Point" (you wouldn't believe the line!).

... getting some historical lessons at President Truman's Little White House.

... and, of course, posing with the 0-mile marker for Route 1.

It was actually a very nice weekend away with the fam - good weather, good company, good times had by all!

Lastly up for this installment: Maine & NH. I hopped a plane up north for a weekend in July, just to do some visiting.  Had a nice lunch out with Uncle Drew & Grammie, a typically over-indulgent dinner with the Franklins, and spent some QT with Mom & Dad.  We took an afternoon trip to Ogunquit where we ate ice cream and took a little boat tour out to Nubble Lighthouse.  What should have been a serene voyage ended up unexpectedly exciting due to some rocky seas, which the 2 boys behind us seemed to particularly enjoy. Having laughing kids nearby helps keep things real when your adult mind starts going "oh sh*t!". 

Ogunquit

Nubble Light

For sale!

And, because no trip to New Hampshire in the summer is complete without them, we feasted on lobsters before I hopped an early flight to New York on Monday morning!

Up next time: The LeMays take Charleston!

Is there anybody out there?

Happy 2013!  I'm having a quiet weekend here in New York and decided to take the opportunity to tackle the larger-than-expected project of getting 2012 pictures organized and shared. Also thought I might put a little bit up on the  ol' blog.  

Hey, it's my blog, I can step away for 8 months and pick it up when I want to. Which is not to say I'm not always a little afraid that Google will decide that enough is enough already! and take it down. Thankfully that hasn't happened.

My last post was about leaving Unilever, a pretty defining moment in both my professional and, as it turns out, personal life. My new chosen industry couldn't be more different, including the perks (heavily discounted wine, yay!) and the stresses. And as it turns out, the stresses are more palatable - in fact, more enjoyable - than in the previous life. More "how can I make sure I tackle everything that's important in the best way possible" than "how can I make sure I'm visible and in line to get ahead." And, as Jason will certainly attest, more enjoyable job stress makes for a more pleasant spouse - at least in this instance.

So, things last year were good, all told. We settled back in to NYC, both started new jobs, and are together trying to figure out what this means, now that things are calm again. We thought it was a quiet year, especially compared to our highly unusual 2011. But it turns out we kept ourselves pretty busy. We even managed to uphold our "world wide" status, just a little. And since I haven't shared photos or stories since March, there's a lot of catching up to do. 

Stay tuned!

~Jess

Seven Year Itch

UL. The Mothership. The Big Blue U. These are a few of the more popular monikers, often uttered with a mixture of affection and cynicism, for the organization with which I have associated with since the summer of 2004, and had been employed by since I graduated from business school nearly seven years ago.

Seven years? How is that possible? I cannot think of any other institution that I have been a part of for so long. No one school, no other employer. Heck, not even the institution of marriage (yet). My family is the only clan I can think of having been a part of for a longer defined period.

So no wonder that when I said my goodbyes, I felt like I was leaving my family. Older sibling-like mentors, co-conspirational brothers, distant cousins that are always fun to reunite with. While I'm confident about my decision to open a new chapter in my career, there was a certain uneasiness I felt driving away (rather unceremoniously) without my membership badge that identifies me as a member of this crazy family. I have once again moved on to the ranks of alumni.

I wrote the preceding text 2 days after my departure from Unilever, and time keeps slipping by as it has habit of doing and I've been in my new role for one month now. In fact, the first weeks in my new job have completely flown by, as I put all effort towards learning a new industry, navigating the world outside the lines, and reminding myself to be patient. I was warned this new world would be a little like the Wild West. It's not an exaggeration. But there are perks:

In addition, 3 more cases arrived today. But the above were "complementary"... all part of learning the brands.

When I have time to stop and think, I realize how fortunate I was to have spent my "formative" years at Unilever. I have learned from many talented people - peers and superiors alike - and have developed a sense of brands and business that I know I can be confident in. My only hope is that I've soaked in enough to make an impact outside those walls.

I'm also quite proud of my time at the Big Blue U - and while there is backlash against big corporations today...

This has been making rounds under the title "The illusion of choice"

... I was always impressed with what my former employer chose to do with its size:

No, I don't mean make videos about how great it is.

That said, in the end it was partially this monstrous size - and the feeling of being a tiny cog - that made me open to exploring an opportunity in a fragmented industry, where scrappiness seems to be a key quality of the successful and the barriers to finding opportunities and effecting change are lower. (That and the wine.) And while it's easy to look back through rose-colored glasses, I know that not everything was perfect. Yet I do find a lot of good in the rearview mirror, and regret that I won't be tagged in posts like this any time soon:

That, and I'm already dreading buying my first full-priced jar of mayonnaise in seven years.