Memoir | Virtually Gina

Lessons Learned from a Year in New York

April 21, 2018 by Gina Marie

I’ve always loved cities. I love the hustle and bustle, the cool architecture, the colorful street art. When my husband and I made the decision to move from suburban Monmouth County, New Jersey, to the crown jewel of all American cities last year, it seemed like a dream come true. From the very beginning, I knew that there would be sacrifices. Steep housing costs and cramped living quarters were just the beginning. In preparation, I got rid of as much […]

Categories: America, Humor, Memoir, New York, New York City, Personal, Recovery, Urban • Tags: Humor, Memoir, New York, New York City

The Bridge That Glows Golden

February 14, 2016 by Gina Marie

It was nearly midnight on my last night in Budapest, and I was perched by a bay window in our room at the Sofitel, where my new husband and I were staying on the final night of our honeymoon. The room had a magnificent view of the Lanchid, or “Chain Bridge”, aglow with golden lights that spanned the Danube river. As I gazed out the window, I felt tears welling up in my eyes. * * * My father and his family […]

Categories: Ancestry, Budapest, Europe, History, Memoir, Personal, Photography, Travel • Tags: Budapest, Family HIstory, Hungary, Memoir, Photography, Travel

Boston: A Love Note

November 17, 2015 by Gina Marie

The architecture was what struck me the most: miles of Back Bay brownstones, Victorians lining the Emerald Necklace park system that sprawled along Commonwealth Avenue into the heart of the city. Boston changed forms with the seasons: glistening in the wintertime with continuous nor’easters, pink with flowering trees in the springtime, green and quiet in the summer when students had gone home, bustling and colorful in autumn when they returned in September. I was one of them for a time. I had come to the city to […]

Categories: Architecture, Boston, Color, Journal, Life, Memoir, Photography, Prose/Poetry, Random, Thoughts for the Day, Travel, Trees, Writing • Tags: Boston

Farewell to a Wooded Wonderland

May 30, 2015 by Gina Marie

Four years ago, Philadelphia beckoned. With its historic streets, ample museums, and plethora of restaurants, there was never any reason to be bored. What surprised me the most, though, was the vast geographic area the city took up (135 square miles, to be precise). Living in the northwest corner of the city, my husband Jeff and I often cruised a stretch of road called Lincoln Drive, which passed underneath a deeply forested area that reminded us of Jurassic Park. I […]

Categories: America, Boxers, Dogs, Journal, Life, Memoir • Tags: Dogs, Hiking, iPhoneography, nature, Philadelphia, Photography

My Kind Of Town . . . To Visit

March 15, 2015 by Gina Marie

That Toddling Town It was half a lifetime ago when I made my first visit to Chicago. I was 18 years old, a college freshman on a road trip to DC with a group of friends. We crashed for a night on the outskirts of America’s third largest city, and I marveled at the unfamiliar, slightly gritty, architecture and the way the buildings all seemed to crowd together. On our way out, we drove past a billboard on 1-90 which […]

Categories: America, Chicago, Memoir, Photography, Travel, Urban • Tags: America, Chicago, Memoir, Photography, Travel, Urban

Just One Tiny Bite

August 9, 2014 by Gina Marie

Summertime 2006. I was with my friend Dylan, who suggested that we go out for ice cream. “I’m trying to lose weight,” I reminded him. “Ice cream is strictly on the ‘forbidden foods’ list.” “So just come keep me company,” he suggested. I shrugged and followed him to the car, taking my usual spot in the passenger seat as he drove the approximately three miles to the nearest Dairy Queen. At the drive through window, he ordered one large Heath […]

Categories: Food, Friendship, Humor, Memoir, Short Story • Tags: Humor, Memoir, Short Story, summer

A Storm of Herculean Proportions

January 3, 2014 by Gina Marie

Ah, the post-holiday afterglow: Chrismas lights still adorn houses, the air is cool, presents have long been unwrapped, and New Year’s toasts have all been exchanged. It’s time for a fresh start and, apparently, a fresh snowfall. (Thank you, Winter Storm Hercules.) I’m a Minnesotan by birth, so I should be used to this. Still, even I–who have lived in Philadelphia going on three years–was surprised by the intensity of last night’s storm. I attempted to capture it from my […]

Categories: America, Earth, Holidays, Life, Memoir, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Photo Essay, Photography, Trees, Winter • Tags: America, Earth, Hercules, Holidays, Life, Memoir, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Photo Essay, Photography, Storm, Trees, Winter

One Week Ago Today

January 27, 2013 by Gina Marie

Sunday morning, 6 a.m. Streetlamps still flooded Lexington Avenue, and the first hint of light was barely detectable in the skies overhead. In search of an elusive breakfast joint, I settled for a medium coffee from a national chain known for their remarkably strong brews. My husband, Jeff, was trying to hold out until we could find the restaurant. With the styrofoam cup nestled snugly in the crook of my palm, and my Nikon D-SLR swinging from the strap around […]

Categories: Memoir, New York City, Photography, Travel • Tags: Memoir, New York City, Photography, Travel

Modern-Day Time Capsule

January 13, 2013 by Gina Marie

Recently, I received access to the data files from an old flip phone on which I had stored several low-res photos. Viewing the newly-rediscovered images was akin to unearthing my own personal time capsule, placed unwittingly in the bowels of this technological dinosaur (otherwise known as a Samsung SGH A157) by a slightly-younger me only to be discovered several years down the line. I share a few of these newly discovered images with you, dear reader. This was a mural […]

Categories: Art, Color, Memoir, Minneapolis, Photo Journal, Travel • Tags: Art, Color, Memoir, Minneapolis, Photo Journal, Travel