The new year is often rung in with deep sighs of nostalgia and lamentation. C’mon folks, let’s face it. Time is a moving target. You can never catch it, wrangle it, or slow it down. Take your best shot while you can.

For me, 2010 was a bulls-eye. Before New Years Eve ’09 had even begun, I had already toasted 2010 to being a year of Awesomeness. Even with such high expectations (Awesomeness, really?), 2010 did a bang-up job.

In January, Kirk and I moved out of the Chicago condo, threw everything in storage (our parents’ basements), and struck out for Australia. Before setting off in a 747 over the Pacific, we rented a car for a two-week jaunt up and down the coast of California, with my sister in tow.

We started off in Huntington Beach,

and crashed on the couch at Brandon (Kirk’s friend from high school) and Brenden’s “hostel”.

After a rainy, yet beautiful drive up highway 1,

we made it to San Francisco. Kelly strong-armed me into walking the length of the Golden Gate Bridge (this is the middle of January, mind you) despite a chilly drizzle that turned into a full-blown gale. Oops. No photos of this escapade, the camera would’ve ended up a goner.

After all the rain, San Diego’s weather was heaven-sent. And just perfect temperature for this hike up Cowles Mountain.

The Point Loma tide pools were my favorite attraction in SD.

And then in February, our adventure in Australia began.

Oh, Australia.

For the first half of our five-month trip, we lived in Manly, a beach town and suburb of Sydney. Every morning we saw this view from our 13th floor apartment:

We did lots of hiking,

Kirk did lots of surfing,

and I got a job waiting tables.

We visited Sydney as much as we could

and chatted with our families from 10,000 miles away.

In April we moved out of our place in Manly and spent a week in Melbourne.

Kirk fell in love with the trams.

I fell in love with the coffee.

We both fell in love with the architecture.

Then, we packed all our crap in a van. From Melbourne we drove the Pacific Highway 2000km north to Brisbane.

Byron Bay became our new home for the end of April and the better part of May. Here we spent most of our days at the ocean.

We went paddleboarding

and beach exploring.

Kirk bought a new surfboard

and caught lots of good waves at “The Pass”.

One of the best parts of living in Byron Bay was our great group of housemates. We had many engrossing cultural and political conversations.

We capped off our Australia trip with a fantastic bareboat charter in the Whitsunday Islands. My mom and my friends Christina and Natalie joined us on the charter.

“Fishy, fishy!”

Picking up Mom from one of her many solo snorkel sessions.

Feeding the batfish.

Mid-June, we said bittersweet goodbyes to beautiful Australia, and headed home to the Midwest. I spent a few weeks in Wisconsin with my family.

We held a rummage sale,

and celebrated my sister’s 22nd birthday and simultaneous send-off to NYC.

Back in Michigan, Kirk and I moved in with TC & Michelle, two of Kirk’s high school friends, now hitched.

In August, we got movie gigs. Both of us worked on LOL, a film with Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore.

And we both learned how exhausting the ‘biz’ was. One day after work we found a grassy hill near the film set and collapsed into a nap. When we woke up, the sun was casting a warm glow on downtown Detroit.

In September our movie gigs ended. There were no more plans. What would we do with our lives next? We spent many afternoons at Borders, contemplating.

In the mean time, we sailed a pirate ship on Lake Erie.

And a normal sailboat too.

Kirk spent a lot of the summer and fall researching residential real estate. In October, he almost bought this house, a real fixer-upper:

We drove to Atlanta for a weekend of wakeboarding.

For Halloween, I was a greek goddess. We still have no idea what Kirk was. He was creepy, that’s for sure.

TC & Michelle’s dog Hank got dressed up as a devil submarine.

In November, Kirk’s mom Val and sister Maureen took me to the town of Frankenmuth, Michigan’s “little Bavaria.”

In December, we went to the Big Chill. Michigan State played U of M on outdoor ice at the Big House.

About the same time we worked as production assistants, we both signed up to work as extras. I worked on a movie called Smooch, as well as the ABC crime-drama Detroit 1-8-7. I even made it on screen! (This aired January 4, 2011.)

Cheers, 2010. ☼

The Motion of the Ocean by Janna Cawrse Esarey

I’m about 50 pages into this bookstore categorized “autobiography”, but it’s oh-so-much more than that. It’s travel, it’s sailing, it’s relationships, it’s fantastic. If that’s not enough, it’s also humorous. She’s a clever one, this Janna, and I would love to write just like her. Well almost. Her wit, her flow, her clarity and diction – ‘style’ would sum it all up – and a little bit of me in there too. Somewhere.

Kirk bought this for my birthday. Spot on, sailor.

It’s been a rather unorthodox year so far. Not in comparison to the previous years of my own life, but instead in contrast to the other 24 year-olds in our society. Most don’t quit their jobs (especially in the depressed economy of today) and fly off to Australia for five months. Then, once back here in Michigan, work on a movie featuring Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore. Since it’s summer, there must be waterskiing (check) and sailing (on beautiful Torch Lake and Lake Erie, check). Oh, and let’s grow tomatoes.

A big thank you and cross state hugs to Aunt Gwen. She gave us a bunch of tomato plants which we stuck in the backyard of TC & Michelle’s house (our current abode.) Despite their initial lack of watering, our sad excuse for tomato cages (kabob skewers tied together with shoestrings), and repeated forced droughts they had to endure when we left town for, well, weeks on end, these little guys still managed to produce some tomatoes for us. And, if you can believe this: they’re edible!

By the way… yes, I met Miley. And no, not like this: “Hi Miley! I’m Lauren!” No, definitely not. More like this: me, “Excuse me, can I get through?” (I have, Ahem, important PA duties to perform.) Miley, “Oh ya, sorry!”

Unforgettable right? More on all that film business stuff later…

Now what’s on the table for the rest of the year? One or more of the following, in no particular order:

• Learning Spanish
• Starting a media production company
• Flying to New York to visit the Grad Student (of similar genetic material)
• Moving to Colorado for ski season
• Buying a rental property in Michigan (not with any of my piles of money, let’s be clear)
• Flying to San Jose, CR to see two special people, a new baby and a dog called Rasta
• …other suggestions?

There wasn’t a complete lack of hygiene. I did once wash my hair in a bucket of saltwater. Other than that, we just had to keep layering on the deodorant. We included Kirk, my mom Heidi, Christina and Nathalie (my friends from Sydney) and myself. A bunch of scruffy sea dogs we were. Though, ask any of us, and each would tell you the same: it was utterly worth it.

Here’s a photomovie of the trip:

Do you know that bittersweetness you feel at the end of a vacation? The idea that memory will remain, but the experience is over. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the case for me on this trip. This particular sailing charter was not just a vacation. (Or, ‘holiday’ as the Aussies say). This week was a big stepping stone. A ‘we could do this for real’ preview of the future. After this trip, I am absolutely delighted for the future. I really feel cruising could be a big part of my life.

Back on solid ground, I turn on the faucets in the shower. Before I step in, I run my fingers through my hair. It’s stiff and caked with time spent on the ocean. Under the shower head the sterile water douses away the last of the salt, sweat and sun. It’s odd to feel squeaky clean. I wonder how long it will be until I’m back on the ocean, on a sailboat once more.

It was a short two-hour jaunt from Chicago around the southern edge of the big lake. After reaching St. Joseph, we headed toward its tiny downtown and then crossed a high bridge to reach Marina Island. There awaited Rubicon, floating in a slip.

Rubicon, a Pearson 40′, belongs to Walt Bartkowiak. Walt is Kirk’s dad’s cousin Marilyn’s husband. I know, confusing. Tim, Walt and Marilyn’s son, usually travels from Detroit every weekend to accompany his dad on the boat. The two of them were nice enough to extend an invitation to us. (And happy to order a pair of newbie crew members around.)

What follows is a photo story of the day. Because, to be frank, right now words are boring me. Pictures are more fun. Also, after our sail, we explored the boat yard. An old wooden pirate boat caught my aesthetic interest.

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