As Brian and I crossed the border into Maine, the welcome sign informed us that Maine holds the key to "the way life should be." To which my lovely husband replied, "F*** you, Maine! You can't tell me how to live!"

I'm sure you can see why we got married.

We decided to spend our Saturday in Ogunquit, Maine, a "Beautiful Place by the Sea." Brian was a bit leery of being surrounded on all sides by geriatric white people (with the exception of a geriatric version of Arsenio Hall), but on the whole, it was an absolutely stunning town. We walked up and down Marginal Way, a footpath which connects Perkins Cove to Ogunquit Beach and spans a little more than a mile of rocky Atlantic coastline. (Though the video quality is rough [iPhone couldn't keep up!], I captured a few seconds of the kind of stuff we were looking at. Check it out.)

Somewhere along the way, I decided to record some ocean sounds (because what is at all stereotypical about that?!). Soon after I pressed RECORD, the stormy New England weather reminded Brian of the tsunamis in Southeast Asia. I had never before seen the horrifying footage of these natural disasters, but we later found this video: 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. I suppose it's a bit discordant to include something so tragic in my post about our quaint little day trip, but isn't it amazing that something so gorgeously tranquil can simultaneously be so ragingly destructive?

THE SUNDAY SOUND: September 9, Tsunami Talk in Ogunquit.
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It is finally the first Sunday in September and I am thrilled to announce that The Sunday Sound has officially returned to its standard weekly activity. My very necessary "I need to take a break so I can go get married right quick" hiatus is over and I am filled with new ideas and new material (not to mention renewed enthusiasm!). I have missed producing and posting new pieces each week... I hope some of you are still with me after a summer of silence!

Today is a special day, friends (and not only because of The Sunday Sound's triumphant return). Today also marks Brian and I's three-month anniversary. I guess I should say monthiversary. We got married on June 2nd and have now officially made it through the new-hire 90-day performance review. The first fiscal quarter. And wow... I'm not sure where to start. It has simultaneously been sublimely rewarding and sublimely difficult. Brian and I were together for less than six months before getting married, and we had never lived in the same city until we arrived at our apartment a week after tying the knot. Again, simultaneous reactions (elated and terrified). But every time we come together on something, I feel a renewed hope that we'll make it through that whole "as long as you both shall live" thing. And to that end, enter today's Sunday Sound. Join with us in our little backyard ceremony.

THE SUNDAY SOUND: September 2, Our Wedding Vows.
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