My Summer 2025

Hello everyone! What a hell of a summer, it feels like I did everything and yet nothing.

To start, I’ve officially graduated!

You're looking at an official Pace University alumnus! After five tedious and hectic years, I finally have my BA in English and Film Studies, and at a great time too! The unemployment rate is at an all-time high! Huzzah! 

Luckily I was able to get back into restaurant service. By July 4, I got hired at Grand Lux Cafe, which is essentially Cheesecake Factory's smaller cousin. Not the most glamorous, but their seating system is much better than it was at Applebee’s. Bathrooms are still gross, though. 

But I think I’m doing well. I was hired along with some other recruits, but I think I’m the only one with previous restaurant experience, so they trust me with stuff, and I'm fitting in well with my coworkers. So much less stress than hosting at Applebee’s was, to the point where it almost becomes a little boring. Almost, because last Sunday, someone tried to bribe me with twenty bucks over a thirty-minute wait. Man, some people can’t handle no. 

This summer was the first summer that my family and I were not members of the beach club. So, there was a strange sort of melancholy in not having the beach always available. I do miss it, but luckily, my aunt and uncle, who are still members, let me borrow some guest passes so I could go myself on a free guest day, as they are called. So I’ll take what I can get. 

There was a bright side, though. Every summer, my aunt and uncle offer the family time slot to spend a week in the Hamptons, staying in my late Pop-Pop's house. We’ve never done it before because we always preferred the beach club, but now we had time! It was a nice stay-cation of sorts; it had its bumps, but overall, I enjoyed having time to do nothing in a nice place.

The houses (my pop-pops' and uncle's house) sit on the edge of the Hamptons, with a rickety old bridge that gives us access to the stream, and a quiet, there is this rope hammock nailed to two trees, overlooking a rocky beach. Between the houses their is this rope hammock nailed to two trees, overlooking the all of this. It was a heavenly place to be alone. Seriously, the naps I took in it were top tier.

My middle sister finally moved out, so the house is a bit different with just me, my folks, and my cats. Libby and Nova don’t break up the monotony much. 

Speaking of which, the reason my sister moved out was that she got a cat. Meet Charlie Torres folks! Found in a tire and named after his Charlie Chaplin-esque mustache. 

Additionally, I was invited to not one, but two weddings! 

Yeah, big whoop right? Well, I don’t usually get invited to these things, not in the adult way, though. Always just barely missed the cutoff, always grouped in as “The Torres family”. 

The first was that of a family friend, for whom my sister was a bridesmaid, and the second was my cousin’s “official” ceremony. He’d actually gotten married two months earlier, but now was the time for champagne and a party!

Speaking of champagne……

Look who made it to Paris! 

I’d been promised this trip since I was little, and now it has finally happened! We had five days, a hotel next to the Eiffel Tower, and so much to do!

Internally, I’m already yearning to go back one day. There's simply too much to cover in France in five days. But here’s a brief overview to what we did do 

Guided tours of 

• The Louvre Museum

• Notre Dame

• Catacombs

• Eiffel Tower

• Palace if Versailles

• Artist Claude Monet’s house and Garden in Giverny. 

As Well As:

• A show at the Moulin Rouge (with champagne)

• Les Invalides, the French Military Museum

• Napoleon’s Tomb. 

• Luxembourg Garden

• Fancy Boat Dinner on the Seine (also with champagne)

• The Avenue des Champs-Élysées

• The Picasso Museum

At one point, I had time to grab a Lime Bike and cruised along the Seine, all the way from the Notre Dame back to my hotel, and during golden hour. It was wonderful!

Of course, the moment I return home, Belly heads to Paris in The Summer I Turned Pretty. I did it first, Conklin, just didn't look as cool while I doing it.

But anywho, back to everyday life. I promised myself I’d take the summer to relax and have fun, then I’d start the awful task of job hunting in the fall. I actually have a Zoom conference with a Career Services Counselor in a few minutes to proofread my resume. Wish me luck! 

Soon enough, I’ll tell you all the things I can look forward to in the fall, once I remember them. 

Until next time!

~Jamie Marie