How To GET THE HELL OUT!

Chelsy and Melissa Mitchell: their home in the Hamptons serves as the perfect getaway from Manhattan-- really, perfect!  

Copyright Felipe Cortez

Dear Everyone,

     Forgive me ahead of time for being only five posts into what will undoubtedly become your go-to-guide for thriving in the city, only to dedicate my latest entry to getting OUT.  It's essential to thriving, I promise I'm not only saying this because I just had a wonderful weekend out of town myself.  I truly mean it.  

     Now, many of you may be rolling your eyes and thinking that I have no idea how hard it is to get out of the city when you have a job to hold down or even schoolwork to do, but please, keep your eyes on the Thrive Guide and focus for a minute while I try my best to calm you down.  If you're without a car, the money for a bus or a train, or if you're simply without the TIME to run away for a day or two, it's up to you to remove yourself from the city without ever setting foot on a train, plain or automobile.  Forget about work, forget about school, even if it's just for a few hours one day, and let yourself get OUT.  Out of your own head, my friends.  

     This may sound so incredibly obvious, but it's these sorts of things that we convince ourselves are mere luxuries that, in our busy lives, we should not afford ourselves.  WRONG.  If you're going to keep your head above the water (and the crowd) here, you've got to ban the word luxury from your vocabulary and realize these things we regard as leisurely or indulgent are plainly and simply things we deserve.  I promise.

     On the other hand, if you can catch a ride out of the area, by all means, DO IT!  This weekend I went to Sag Harbor to stay with my best friends here in the city, Chelsy and Melissa Mitchell (look forward to their weekly column right here on Thrive Guide!).  Their home is delightful, their family is always entertaining, and the area is about as close as you can get to an ideal escape from Manhattan.  I've always said that even though getting away is about relinquishing one's responsibilities, there are Four Things One MUST Do: 

          1.) Enjoy the Great Outdoors

          2.) Have a drink

          3.) Meet at least one new, marvelous person 

          4.) Cook

     I hope everyone's holiday weekend was a productive one-- productive in the sense that you took some time for yourself.  This week, we've got a lot to look forward to at the Thrive Guide.  There'll be a new profile on a new, marvelous person named Sarah Dowling as well as the first TwinSay column, by none other than Chelsy and Melissa Mitchell.  Plus, we reveal our first celebrity interview as a part of our Thriving Heros section, and here's a hint: BRINI MAXWELL!  

Best, Best, Best!

Jordan