Northern Exposure

I'm headed to Asbury Park on Friday, and will be spending the weekend in AP and roaming around towns north and south. I have a rough outline for the weekend, which will involve work, shopping for a Mother's Day present (mom, I waited until I was in the Ocean Grove area to shop for you -- not being lazy!), and meeting up with some folks I've connected to via Twitter. Yes, twitter. I wrote a piece about who to follow in South Jersey -- if you're interested.

This weather makes it impossible to pack. Will it rain or won't it? If it does rain, will it still be humid? And if so, do I dress for the temperature, or a little warmer because of the mucky air? If it doesn't rain, how hot will it be? And will it still be humid on top of that? Plus I'm packing running clothes...egads. No wonder I take a lot when I travel down the shore. I never know what I'm going to get!

Mother's Day Weekend should be a busy one at the shore, almost a Memorial Day Weekend preview. I can't think about that right now -- I have to get through this weekend and then go to Key West next weekend (CANNOT WAIT) -- THEN I can worry about the official open to the shore season.

Is it really here already? That was fast...

News from Around the South Jersey Shore

Atlantic City's Garden Pier is now closed.

Still no answers-- but more information -- about the death of Tracy Hottenstein (she was found dead the day of the Sea Isle City Polar Plunge).

And more information in the sinking of the Lady Mary.

This guy was a very bad guy.

The Borgata is in a world of hurt. They had to shut down the new fancy pants Water Club mid-week during the off season. These numbers don't help.

But this is good news: Atlantic City is doing well in a down travel economy.

Shore Break: Goodbye, Scrubs

Tonight was the final episode of Scrubs. Yes, there's word that there will be Scrubs after this year's season finale, but not with the same cast. It might still be funny, but it'll never be the same without its star, Zach Braff, nor its brain, Bill Lawrence. It will never be the show that wound itself around my 20s and served as a steady sidekick over the last year years.

I started watching Scrubs from the beginning. Eight season ago, I dated someone who looked like Zach Braff. We met in college and were determined to stay together even though he was in medical school in Maine and I was in graduate school in New Jersey. Scrubs, with the first year resident who looked slightly like Tom, was another connection to my far away boyfriend.

The relationship unraveled, but I kept watching the show. Braff's resemblance to Tom wasn't so much a reminder of the failed first love, but a companion. The show was funny. It was wacky. And it was about a group of 20-somethings going through the same things I was going through -- even if I didn't wear scrubs.

A lot's happened since then. I quit my job to become a writer. I endured a tortuous relationship. My grandfather died. I also got a dog, wrote a book, bought a house, and you could say that I found my calling. Through the worst of these 20-somethings, Scrubs was a constant. After every breakup, after every heartbreak, after every setback, I put Scrubs into the DVD player, and let the characters and the well-known story lines carry me through. Even if my life changed faster than I could track, the show was always there (even if the characters were in as much flux as I was).

I'm not sure if there should have been an eighth season -- the creativity dipped even before the show moved from NBC to ABC, but I'm glad that the cast and crew had a chance to do a true finale. NBC's send off didn't live up to what the show meant for so many people, especially for me. I hate to admit this, but I sobbed through the last five minutes of tonight's show. I don't know what opened up in me to bring out crying so loud it frightened my dog.

My best guess is that I felt a transition happening in me. By the show moving on, I was leaving those crazy years behind me. I let go a part of my past, just like J.D. did as he walked down that corridor of former show characters. As I let that go, I thought ahead, as J.D. did with flashes of the future playing across a banner. I remembered all those nights I laid in a ball on my couch, broken and watching the show with a plate of nachos and a beer to keep me company. I spent one Valentine's Day just like that, upping the volume every few minutes to drown out the amours adventures of the people downstairs. It didn't quite work, but at least I had a co-pilot in trying to push through the pain of another lonely Valentine's Day away.

Like the show, my life is changing. A part of my crazy 20s that wound around so much relationship drama is ending. You might have noticed that this guy has popped up on the blog a few times. We met through the website dailymile.com -- not a dating site, but a web log for athletes. We both signed up for the Ocean Drive 10 miler, so followed each other's training. I then friended him on facebook and saw that he, too, had been at the Golden Nugget Ceremony, hence that post. Soon after, we agreed to go running. Instead, we met at an LL Cool J concert at the House of Blues, and we've been dating ever since.

Our first date:



After the Ocean Drive 10 miler:



So why post all this? First, because a "friend" of eight years -- Scrubs -- has passed, and I watched all the DVDs I had of the show after I wrote my book to help me figure out what to do next, or at least take my mind off figuring out what to do next.

Second, I don't want to be cagey about why the tall, dark and handsome man previously featured in the blog is popping up in a lot of pictures, so "that guy" -- Bill -- shall now be known as "my boyfriend."

And, heck, maybe you've felt this way about a show, a movie or an artist -- that it was so tied to a part of your life that you were sad to see it go. I am sad, but I am also happy to put that part of my life behind me, and head out into a great new adventure.

Ocean City Paints a Street

Check it out:

Stretching

On Friday night, I was hunkered down at the bar of Daddy-O in LBI, interviewing patrons about why they go there. Regular readers of this column know that LBI is generally north for me since the blog has traditionally focused on the South Jersey Shore. That's about to change.

This year, I was asked by several magazines and newspapers to write articles about the entire Jersey coast. Of course, I obliged. I'd explored much of the northern part of Jersey's Coast last spring, summer and fall, and I made trips back to check things out this winter. As much as I don't like some smarmier towns at the shore (you can fill in the blank there), I grew to love towns like Sandy Hook, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and, yes, LBI. It wasn't a prejudice against northern beaches that kept me away. My book was about the Southern part of the shore, and I write for Philadelphia markets, so that's where my focus stayed.

I'm not abandoning that southern bent, but I'm going to stretch, especially in weeks to come. I'll be up on northern shores this weekend, and roaming around the area for the same reason I was interviewing people in a bar in LBI on Friday night: work. It might not be as fun as it sounds talking to quasi drunks in a bar, but it's a living, and I'll take it. Stretching's good for you, right?

Oh, and my Daddy-O tip: Make sure both headlights are working properly when exiting the bar. I made it about three blocks before an officer pulled me over. I had this happen in Avalon, too. Shore cops are vigilant, and anything wrong with your car can be a red flag. He let me go without a ticket (as did the officer in Avalon -- I wasn't drinking, which they have to be looking for, and I have a clean driving record), but make sure you learn from my lesson and make sure your car's in tip top shape before heading down -- or up -- the shore.

Rain Delay

Please pardon the momentary break in blog posts. My legs are still aching from yesterday's Broad Street Run. I finished the 10-miler in 1:19:21 -- my fastest time ever, and am I paying for it? Maybe. I went out too fast and struggled to keep it up to the end. I was so happy to see that finishing line. The toughest part might have been walking back to the car with this guy. The humidity seemed to drop, and chilly air rolled back in its place. Not the best option when you're soaking wet and wearing shorts and a tank top. We looked like zombies.

Here's a picture of my growing collection of race medals:



So more soon -- and remember: I'm speaking at the Collings-Knight House in Collingswood tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. And it's free! Hopefully my legs will be back in gear then.

Also, I'm toying around with the idea of doing a "job post" -- listing what places are hiring for the summer (as much as I can since I won't be able to write up every sign put up in the windows of shore shops!) Thoughts?

Hagglers, Start Your Engines!

Little known fact: I love yard sales. I love routing through the leftovers of other people's lives and plucking out items for my (still not completely decorated) home. Aside from the monkey candle holder my brother bought me from Target, it's provided the most interesting items for my house: a ceramic orange cookie jar, a wooden Jack Russell Terrier toy on wheels, bright orange and green lawn chairs that hang out in my back yard (and were on the front porch until I took a patio set off my neighbor's hands when they moved e.g. grabbed it from the curb).

If you're like me, or if you like bargains, head to Wildwood Crest this weekend for its annual borough wide yard sale. Hopefully the rain will hold off so you can haggle to your heart's delight.

My only yard sale regret? Not claiming my grandmother's three wheel bicycle before it was put out in the yard sale. It had a basket in the back to carry anything picked up while running errands -- or, with a few modifications, a Jack Russell Terrier.

Oh, and No Doubt is playing at the Borgata this weekend. Not exactly a bargain, but should be a lot of fun. And dry.

Also, quick update on yesterday's post about jobs at Dusk: the Chelsea in Atlantic City is also hiring.