all things 'ing'

"Until I die -- I'm riding. Observing. Breathing. Searching. Climbing. Building. Loving. Living. Eating. Drinking. All types of 'ings.' Real."- Donnie Wahlburg

Last night was bewilderingly phenomenal. Ashley and I happened the be the oldest 'kids' there. Do older people not love GREAT music? Apparently not. Another thing Ash and I were- uncomfortable. We had the grand idea of planning to go out after the concert so we came in our killer outfits and our killer (literally) heels. dumb.

We came up with all sorts of ideas of trying to not be uncomfortable. We thought a few drinks would dwindle the pain, nope didn't work. Then we had thought up these clever ways of standing that might help out..still not good. Then we did what Mid Western girls visiting South Beach have done for decades: we took off our shoes. I mean we weren't completely standing directly on the grimy, dirty floor but we stood on our shoes and then used napkins for our toes. Creativity at its best.

Foot pain or not, I was in a state of euphoria. They opened up with Phantom Limb and ended with.....drum roll please.........Sleeping Lessons. I was getting kinda nervous he wasn't going to play it because its not one of their biggest hits and not too many people know about it but when I heard that first second of the song, I was literally overwhelmed with joy. I event sent Chantel a voicenote. lol she doesn't even like them that much but I needed to share my joy with someone else. All in all, it was a success and I can seriously die happy.

After that, we went on some yacht for some Pre-Hamptons party on the Chelsea Pier. Only in Manhattan. I love my double life of dirty indie rock n roll concerts followed by glamorous yacht extravaganzas.

That Donnie Walhburg quote above has been sitting in my blackberry memo pad for about a month. I cant get enough of it, it makes me want to seize the day..add my own 'ings'..so that's what Im going to do...

Until I die -- Im reading, writing, learning, loving, laughing, crying, pandering, eating, conquering, falling, working, sneezing, giggling, whispering, driving,lolly gagging, partying, wondering, playing, dreaming, feeling, blogging....

My name is Nicole, and I'm an addict.

A hair dye addict that is.

So here I am, taking the infamous stroll home down Lexington Ave. I randomly stop at some cafe for this Grilled Chicken Cesar Salad that catches my eye. Okay fine, not the usual but ill accept it. I continue walking, making the daily glances at the usual suspects, bumping into tourists starring at maps, diving into oncoming traffic when it happens. I see it. A magnetic force takes over me and pulls me in. A hair salon.

Mind you, I had NO intention whatsoever of doing this but the time had officially come. My roots couldnt take the misery and embarrassment anymore so I think they forced me in there. Deep down I was kinda hoping they didn't take walk ins but today was an exception. Joelle, from Morocco, and absolutely amazing, was about to leave when she insisted she would stay to do my "touch up".

Of course, once you put me in the cape and sit me on the seat, my mind starts racing and thinking back to old facebook pictures of all my different hair colors. She verifies that we are only doing a touch up when I use my famous " no wait! how about..." line and then she joins me in the journey through past profile pics. We decide its summer, Im in a new city, I already landed a job, so why not go blonder? And there we go..on came the bleach and out went my inhibitions. I felt the life rush into me, I was instantly more fun or shall I say 'funner' since I am in fact a blond again. (if you dont get that joke, step away from this blog)

I tell her shes my new favorite person, she tells me I "better keep this color for awhile or my hair will suffer". Joelle and I are an instant pair.

I really dont know what my deal is with the constant hair change. I guess its because I can and why not? or some psychological factor dealing with change or control? Whatever it is, its strange. and expensive. I thought it was a stage but this has been a really long one ever since I chopped all my hair off and left to Paris. I just don't relate to one type of hair color and like to express my different personalities at any given time. its also fun confusing people. Im a James Bond-ish mystical spy with different looks. yea, i like that reason.

Speaking of mystical, you know how I mentioned my intrigue with the "mystical strangers on train 7"? Well with all this Swine talk, im looking at these mystical strangers and wondering what the hell they are doing mystically sneezing all over the place. Everyone was a suspect this afternoon and I think they knew it cause whenever Id hear a sneeze or sniffle, Id sharply glance their way in a face of worry. I saw three people wearing masks and some other people covering their mouth with their sweaters. Me, I just stuck to not breathing. It only held up one stop though : /

One of my Miami friends is in town and were gonna go out for dinner and drinks. I just ate my random chicken cesar salad but whats a second dinner when you have to be in a bathing suit all weekend in the Hamptons? Diet Schmiet.

Anywho, here's a picture of the chosen look that Joelle and I both liked, this is the reason for my compulsive dye job.

now let's have some fun.

I think I'm pretty much a New Yorker.

I walk fast, I think tourists are annoying, and I wear flat shoes to work. I think the last part sucks though. I attempted wearing heels but my one walk down Lexington ave for 6 blocks was a little too much to handle. What a walk though...I think that's my favorite part of the day. There is such a hustle and bustle in the morning, especially when every morning I go to Grand Central Station to catch the 7 train. Have I told you my obsession with public transportation? I don't think Ive mentioned it but its among one of the many reasons I wanted to move to NYC. I absolutely love the metro.

There is something thrilling about being buried more than 50 feet underground in a tunnel inside a fast moving train with complete random strangers who are basically sitting on top of you. I love to observe the different characters and wonder where they are going and where they are from. I think at any given moment I am smothered with people representing over 25 different countries. I like to observe their mannerisms and behaviors and laugh at how no one ever wants to sit directly next to each other unless they absolutely have to. People will literally sit with one full chair between them but you bet than when its 5pm they would rather sit on your lap than have to stand. Its so great. I just sit and stare at them while they sit and stare at a book or just close their eyes. I'm sure ill get over my fascination sometime soon and just drift off into space but at the moment I am way too intrigued by these mystical strangers who frequent the 7 train.

Another thing I like about about my morning commute is the parade of business men that walks right by me everyday. Sometimes we make eye contact, sometimes we don't. Sometimes its awkward, sometimes I wish I had the audacity to say "Hellooooo, Beautiful. Stop right there". But no, after a pro-longed glare, we just walk right by. Everyone in this city has too much pride to ever be one to say " STOP!" I think even if my mystery Lexington Ave man did that I probably wouldn't like him anymore. oh, women..cant live with us..cant live without us..

But yea, Ive pretty much gotten the hang of it all. I was really enjoying my non employed, short-lived vacation but I love to work. I'm an adrenaline junkie and I just love the anxiety and stress of it all. American Cancer Society is just great no matter what city its in, we have the same office characters being played but by different actors. One day, Ill write about them. For now, just know that everyone is great, I'm still a magician, and Marta Gonzalez is being played by Nina Wiener. She probably deserves her own post. Oh, and, they think I wear "diva shoes". Some things never change.

Lindsey hates me cause I'm boring and don't go out that much during the week now due to work but I must say I have been pretty daring. On Wednesday I went to Tonic for happy hour, saw the typical financiers, desperate cougars, and bar-frequenting party girls. Then on Thursday....well..lets just say it was eventful. The night started out by my proclaiming I would NOT go out. After Lindsey and Bar gave me their whole speech about going I was still sticking to my guns. I refused to be tired and groggy any day on my first week of work. The second Lindsey and Barbie left Brett gave it a try and simply said "Come on Nicole, we'll go and then come home early". I said OKAY!

She was bewildered at how easy that was and so was I. The night was destined to be good. We got dressed, met some friends at the Joshua Tree, went to Ciprianis and then to Tenjune. That's when my "2am night" turned into a 4am night. The groggy morning feel was worth it so I am committed to always going out every Thursday for as long as I live here. Friday and Saturday consisted of Smash studios, 1oak, the Frying Pan, and White Castle : / Those burgers are so little and deceiving and trick you into eating four instead of one. They should put a disclaimer. geez.

My Noble Nobbe is getting here on Thursday! Uber excited. We have lots of fun in store. This morning when I was reading the free Metro Paper they hand out everyday (another perk of Public transportation) I read that The Shins would be in NYC on Thursday. That was the first time I freaked out about being 50 feet underground because I was desperate to call ash to book tickets. In between my "undelivered" bbms and texts, she somehow got the message and within 30 min, we had two tickets. Do you understand how excited I am?! This is on my bucket list!! Should I tell them I made a music video to "Sleeping Lessons" and that I listen to "Kissing the Lipless" as if my life depended on it? Yikes, this may be too much to handle. After that, we are going to Spice Market and then out on the town. Probably wake up miserable Friday morning, go to work, come home, go to happy hour, go out, see a long lost friend who will be arriving Friday and thennnnnnnnnnnn....the Hamptons.

Yep, we leave Saturday at 7am and will be staying at Chuck Bass aka Jonathans house. Among other things, there will be a champagne slip n slide. Should be rather eventful. The Hamptons on Memorial Weekend is such a typical cliche but I'm pretty sure I've been excited about this since I was 7yrs old. Don't judge me.

'this is our decision, to live fast and die young. We've got the vision, now lets have some fun'

Week in Review

So as of yesterday, I've officially been a NY resident for exactly one week. And what a week it has been..

Everyone warned me that "visiting new york is alot different than living there" but I dont find that to be true. I like it, i feel like I was meant to live here. When I walk down the streets in the rain I am still at my happiest point. Even when I find myself walking for blocks in the wrong direction.

For some unknown reason to me, I am a dumb ass. For example, when I come upstairs out of metro station, instead of orienting myself and looking around to see where I am as opposed to where I should be, I just bolt straight forward. I have this thing against looking like a tourist but instead I look stupid when I just keep walking in the wrong direction. When I realized Ive walked in the wrong direction, I take a lap around the block instead of just turning in place and walking the other way. Hopefully I get over that soon.

Aside from that, Ive accomplished alot in my one week of living here.

- I'm employed. I am once again working for the American Cancer Society, this time in the Eastern Division. I will be working closely with the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Event..let the magic show continue...

- I saw Shannen Doherty

- I met a hilarious friend named Jon Rifkind who is in the music industry. He told me he was "smitten" by me. Great terminology these New Yorkers use.

- I went to Sbarro in Times Square. I realized my New Yorker friends would probably never allow me to go there so I had to use the excuse of really loving the Sbarro pizza in Times Square to get me there. (my miami friends know me and my addiction to touristy things such as "Bayside" and "Coco Walk". In my next life, I will be a tour guide.)

- I know where the 6 train takes me. I know how to get home. I know how to get to the MET, Guggengheim, CVS, and Times Square. (yesssss)

- Ive walked right by an old Miami fling on my way to work, did the typical "get on the phone and pretend your talking to someone" thing and got away with it

- I went to a "crazy brunch" on Sunday at the Hudson Hotel. New Yorkers have a thing with having day time brunch parties along the likes of MINT at 4am. Its quite wonderful.

- Ive layed out on my roof to tan

and my biggest accomplishment....

- TOURISTS HAVE ASKED ME FOR DIRECTIONS!!

Isnt that great? People think that IM a native and I could tell them where to go? Unfortunately Ive probably sent them 12 streets the wrong way but its the thought that counts.

Tonight I am going to dinner with Laura, my friend that I studied abroad in Paris with. Tommorow is my official first day of work so I made a pledge to myself that I would go to dinner and thats it but there is something about a tuesday night that I find hard to resist. Wish me luck!

My Mom

In the spirit of Mother's day, I will save all weekend updates for tomorrow and solely dedicate this post to the most amazing woman to ever walk the planet, my mommy, Blanca.

Blanca is a Colombian Gemini. Does that say it all? I would think so...If anyone were to ever think of me as a strong, independant woman, I would owe it all to her. If anyone were to think of me as a hardheaded, stubborn woman, I would owe that all to her as well ;) My mother is the epitome of strength, wisdom, beauty, and independance. She moved to the United States when she was only 20 years old to learn english. She left her parents, 7 brothers and sisters, and Colombia all to come explore and see what else was out there. The apple doesnt fall far from the tree..

When she was 24, she met my Kentucky Born father, moved to Miami, and then her lil Nicolita was born. The rest was history, I have been the apple of her eye since day one. Her life completely revolved around me and everyone knew it. Since my father was always traveling around the world for business, my mom and I formed a bond like no other. I was her daughter, her best friend, and the only family she had in America. I would play dress up in her clothes, sleep in her bed, and drive her crazy all day long. She supported me through all my stages of Ballet, Karate, Horseback riding, Tennis, Piano, French classes, summer camps, gymnastics, cheerleading, softball, and anything else I sporadically wanted to do. She was also my stylist and responsible for me being on the Elementary School Best Dressed list. Our trips to Limited Too and Gap were amongst my favorite and to this day, it is really hard for me to pick an outfit without her opinion. I swear.

Shes always not only supported me and my dreams, but pushed me towards them and pushed me hard. I was shipped off to Italy alone when I was 18 and then she sent me again to Paris right after my college graduation. This all from a woman who has never been to Europe herself but has always wanted to. She could have been like some other parents and left me at home to take care of my sisters while she went to Europe but she didnt. She takes the clothes off her back, the food off her plate, and has given the world to me and my sisters. Her beliefs in me and what I am possible of accomplishing are what drive me and motivate me. It is with her blessing that I moved to New York to start over from scratch because she knows how much I want to work for the UN and the MET.

I only hope I can be half the woman she is and I pray that I live up to all the hopes she has for me. Mom, I love you, thank you for being my rock, my backbone, my guru, and above all, my best friend. I love you with alll my heart and with everything that I am, and with everything that I will become. Happy Mother's Day!

so far, so good.

hello. sorry im a terrible blogger and havent been keeping up with my daily posts.

Lets see, well, everything has been great. I absolutely adore it here and it hasn't even been a week. Usually people dont like things at first and then get used to it, not me. I loved it from the first second. I have my metro card, I know how the avenues and streets run, and I know exactly why they named this place Manhattan. Oh my.

Yesterday I had my interview. I think I came across too obnoxious and hyper because she made it a point to let me know that New York is much more fast paced than Miami is and that people here like to get to the point. No more of my elaborate stories and using my gift of gib, I need to start cutting it short. Something Ive done all my life until recently when I began working with the American Cancer Society and started using elaborate language and Best Friending people in 2 minutes. Im going to have to brainwash myself to not be uber sweet and fake, this might be tough.

After my interview and my Thank You email I decided to walk past my apartment and just keep walking until I got tired. It didnt land me too far. I ended in Madisson Square Gardens, found a perfect bench, and just sat in silence for a good 30 minutes. All around the garden people were just sitting alone just observing. It was wonderful, right up my alley. I felt like I was back in Paris and that made me tres tres happy. Ive been using my phone as a personal laptop because im the idiot who didn't bring it. I dont know where the reasoning came from that made me bring random clothes i dont wear, random shoes i dont wear, and belts and hats I thought I threw away; yet I didn't bring anything I actually need in life. Instead I thought "hey mom, why dont you ship all these unnecessary things to me 2 weeks later?" Dumb.

Along in this magical box of unnecessary things that will be arriving next week is one of my gala dresses. Last night we went to a secret society "Eyes Wide Shut" type of party at some restaurant. Im kidding, but thats what I thought it would be like before we got there. Its a group of business men who all gather together for monthly networking events. I was pretty skeptical at first and thought Lindsey was taking me to some brothel/virgin offering type of party but it turned out to be great. Lots of fun businessy people having a great time. Good food, great company. I met Jeremy who is a Parisian who lived in Miami for five years. We spoke about our common interest in champagne sparklers and people dancing on tables, something not too common in NY. People here are more "chill" in their partying. He said this place Bagatelle was like MINT except it takes place on a Saturday at 3pm, im pretty excited.

Karin, Lindsey's friend who's boyfriend is a member of the mens group, is great. We hit it off right away and I can see a great friendship forming between us. Shes witty as hell and we both have a common interest in making fun of lindsey. Just kidding, L.

After the secret society party, we went to Griffin, some place that will be opening next week at Ganesvoort. By that point I was already getting tired and contemplating going home but I stuck at it. I met some really interesting people who are involved in philanthropy. I was invited to some Operation Smile benefit tonight at Ciprianis and of course, anything that would have been appropriate to wear to that is now stuck in a box in the Midwest on a UPS plane. Im off to brave the stores....until next time...xoxo.

LIVE! from New York City..

im. in. love.

I was born to live here, I dont know why I waited for so long. Everything about this place is perfect- the sounds, the streets, the people, the places. The ride over here was a bumpy one though, literally. That damn Wind struck again; it was the most turbulent plane ride I have EVER been on. Plus, I have a severe case whiplash. I dont know why but apparently either teh plane was going to crash into something or the pilot randomly felt the urge to bring to the plane to a complete abrupt stop at the expense of his already planesick passengers. rude.

Anywho, at least I survived. Then it was off to baggage claim, both my suitcases were dark so it would have been difficult to spot had they not each had a big red tag reading HEAVY. yea, so? Due to the heaviness of my bags, and that fact that they were 3, it was a no brainer that I'd need one of those pushy carts to load my life onto. You know how much they are in Miami? FREE. You know how much the use of that pushy cart for 5 minutes is here in NY? $5. Keeping with the traditional $5 was the toll fare, in Miami a nice $1.25 will get you anywhere on the highways, not here. Whatever, even if they charged me $5 to step foot on the streets everyday I would gleefully live my life in debt.

The cab ride was equally amazing. I felt like I was getting home; nothing felt foreign to me, it was wierd and great all at the same time. As we pulled up, I was beyond excited to see the glorious apartment Id be living in for the rest of the year. After 5 flights of stairs, 5!, we made it to the apartment. I always wondered why Lindsay hesitated to send me a picture of the room I would be sleeping in and I soon came to realize why; its a box. Im not kidding you, it is the size of two full beds and half a twin, actually thats being too generous, scratch that last part about the twin. You walk in and if you take 5 steps, your in my bed, if you take two stepts the right, your hitting the wall. Ashley described it as "cozy yet liveable". I dont know if it was the bumpy plane ride or the whiplash but I felt really dizzy walking in there- I have set foot in there only 6 times so far. Ill make it work though, the rest of the apartment is great. We live off of Park Ave and can see the Chrysler building from the bedroom windows. There is wood floor and gorgeous balcony outlooking the brownstone buildings.

The best part about my apartment are my roomates; L, Bar, and Brett. Lindsey, Barbie, and I all went to highschool together. Barbie and I werent really friends and Lindsey used to say gay jokes and try to come up with nick names all the time. Lindsey is still at it with the nick names but has toned it down with the gay jokes. Lindsey is the most helpful, crazy, party animal I know, she introduced me to Marshmellow and I am forever grateful. Barbie is a lil muppets whom I have endearingly come to call Bar in honor of Bar Refaeli. Brett is a witty girl from St. Louis. We hit it off rigth away because she thinks like me and I like that. She also doesn't let me send text messages using the word "awesome" which I think is a good quality to have in a friend.

After the roommate bonding, I had to go to the 'CVS' of ny named 'Duane Reed'. That's awkward to pronounce and I keep calling it Dwayne Wade. I bought some of lifes essentials, took my very first walk down the streets of new york as a resident, and then took pictures as a tourist.

After some dinner, gossip girl and wine, lindsey and I decided to baptise my NY residency with a trip to Butter. You know how I know I was meant to live here? I SAW BRENDA WALSH!! My first night in NY and I see my favorite TV character of all history? Am I in heaven? Other reasons I know I was meant to live here:

-the Costume Institute MET Gala took place last night, the exact day I arrived.
-the S&P 500 hit its highest point since Jan 8th
-I have an interview already set up for tommorow, 11am!

More details on that tommorow. Right now I'm dead, I got off at Grand Central Station by mistake and I tried to act cool and pretend like I did it on purpose. My coolness landed me hurting feet and 100 blocks of walking in the rain. Not only that, but I was walking in the rain trying to disguise a bag that had SHOEGASM written across it. Hey, I was desperate. Smart me left all her booths and closed shoes at home so I had to go to the first store I saw. Who names a store shoegasm?

Anywho, got to start unpacking. Sorry this post is kinda lame, I need my laptop which gets here on Thursday. More entertaining stories to come..

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today.

So I'm in the car on the way to the airport and my mom started singing her Colombian, broken-english version of Sinatra's New York, New York and its finally hit me. I'm moving.

I'm excited yet nervous. Happy yet sad. So many feelings and emotions bottled into one 24 year old girl, or shall I say woman? That sounds old. Maybe I am old? I don't know, I think maturity is a relative concept.

I have gallons of random things stuffed into my suitcases. As I was walking out my house and finding things I just kept stuffing them in. Even a random bobby pin. Who does that? Haha bobby pins, apparently I'm cheap and want to wittle down my expenses, I guess I should get used to it.

I went to the office today at 6am because I'm psychotic. I wanted to check my email for the last time and send out emails notifying people of my new email address. Mind you, they still don't know I'm leaving. This is when the concept of maturity is relative to me. I'm mature enough to move to a new city yet I'm immature when it comes to telling people I'm leaving. I think I put too much emphasis on myself and think they'll care more than they probably will. haha, I'm really cracking myself up today.

Lindsey keeps sending me random texts saying "yayyyyyyy". Others send me texts saying "your kidding me that you're really leaving." Nope, not kidding. Off I go. You can visit me though.

I spoke with someone at the American Cancer Society office in Manhattan. They have a position that lasts till November for their big Strides Against Breast Cancer event. Maybe Carmen was right that I am a "lifer" at ACS. We'll see. I figured I'd just hang out my first entire week and then go on the hustle starting next week. I have saved enough money to last me 2 months. Doesn't buy me too much time but I guess its enough. Ofcourse I always have the support of my parents but I'm 24 and I really don't want to have to count on them. I have too much pride, its my best and worst quality.

Since this post seems to be just random thoughts let me add another one. Maria looked at me this morning and said " you're going to new york wearing that? They're gonna ship you right back here!". Geez, rude. I'm not, nor have I ever, been a "trendy" girl. Occassionally ill like random trendy things but really, its too tiring for me. I like black and white and anything that macthes with that. Now I'm going to be surrounded by uber trendy people all over the place? To add, one of my roomates works at Scoop and the other at Intermix. I might just have to step it up a bit.

Okay, this is my last post as a Miamian. Its time to face the music and see just how much I'm charged for each of my suitcasea being over 186 pounds. Oops.

Well I guess I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when ill be back again.

Just kidding. Yes I do, I'll be back to visit in June.

Ps. I have no spell check on my phone and I can't spell and have bad grammar. I love semicolons. Bear with me.

A Perfect Goodbye.

Today was perfect.

I couldn't have asked for a better goodbye to the city that will never be replaced in my heart. The sun was shining, the clouds were cumulus (my favorite), and the wind was blowing. Actually, scratch that last part. The wind is the reason I'm beyond tired and wonder if I can make it through this blog with one coherent sentence.

Why is wind the cause of my tiredness? Well, in case you didn't know, Wind isn't an early bird; wind likes to sleep in. Therefore, in order to avoid Wind, one must wake up at an ungodly hour.

Ryan took me out on the Ultra Light (sea plane) today. We had to take off at 8am in order to avoid the wind (even though we still got caught in it anyways). I guess it was a final attempt at keeping me in Miami, it almost worked. The conditions were perfect; the sail boats were out, the dolphin's were jumping, and as always, people gasped as they saw the lil yellow plane nose diving in to the sea (some sort of "joke" he likes to play on people, hilarious right?). I love flying, when I get my liscense, I will fly you somewhere.

The morning ended even better with a brunch at Smith & Wollensky followed by my favorite drive in Miami; top down, chrome's spinnin through the Grove, a treezy maze. After that, I went to church with Kathia. I had promised her about 7 months ago that I would attend her church with her one time and of course, leave it up to me to go the day before I leave town. It was beautiful, exactly what I needed, I even did the whole "flip to a random page and the first thing you read is your destiny" game, and I flipped to Romans 8:31, "If God is with us, who can be against us?" Could I have asked for a better destiny? I think not.

Following that, I finally started packing. I gave in to my mom's request that I actually only take two suitcases and she'll ship over anything else I need. I feel naked without having all my stuff so it was a tough decision but I'm really tired and cant function. I forgot to mention, last night, my work event started at 1pm and ended at 1am, all day on the beach, in the sun, kill me.

After the packing ordeal, I went to see EARTH with my family. I'm not going to say anything about that spectacular movie because I want to save it all for one entire post. It definitely deserves it. The Grand Finale of family time took place at Ruson, the most obscure lil sushi place ever that has THEE most delicious dragon roll ever. wow.

Now, I am wondering how I will say my promised goodbyes to a number of people I have promised goodbyes to. I wonder if I can get away with a phone call? I don't know, I'm going to figure that out now. Let me end this by saying that:

TOMORROW, Monday, May 4, 2009 at 3:30pm, I, NICOLE KATRINA CUNNINGAM, will be an OFFICIAL, NEW YORK CITY, MANHATTAN, RESIDENT.

Here...Goes...Nothing.

Everyone Needs a Noble Nobbe.

I have a a Noble Nobbe.

She has long, shiny blonde hair.

To live a life without a Noble Nobbe?

That, I wouldn't even dare.

Ashley and I started off like most best friendships start out; I hated her, made fun of her, traumatized her, and then a simple little radish brought us together. Why exactly did I hate her? Well, duh, Ashley was mean to my BFF Cyrina in 7th grade and once even told her,"GET OUT OF MY WAY, IM GONNA DO A CART WHEEL!!"- I mean, how rude is that?

As luck would have it, Ashley started her 8th grade year at Westminster Christian, the school I was attending, right after the cartwheel battle on the playground. Cyrina also started school at Westminster that year and was officially inducted into the "Kewl Club", a club exclusively run by Me, Lisa, and Christine. Therefore, that meant that Ashley Nobbe would be our Mean Girl target all of 8th grade; it even went as far as "secret double line war" one cold, dark evening.

Then, freshmen year of high school came along and Ashley caught word of my secret admiration for a certain sophomore who had a certain girlfriend. I was staying late after school one night when I realized it was only me and ash in the hallway. At that point, I had matured by 2% so I actually acknowledged her presence. I dont really remember the details of that evening but I do remember that Ash and I stumbled upon a simple little radish on the hallway floor. She suggested we stick the radish in said girlfriend's locker, I agreed, and the rest is history.

Ashley was then inducted into the "SBFs" during high school. A bond was immediately formed after she was the only person who would ever dare to go to Sunset Place with me. Why do I say "dare"? Well, if you went to sunset place with me, that meant that I was going with a mission to see David Caballero and would probably completely ignore you if he was there and paid 2 ounces of attention to me. Ashley stuck it through. She was my constant companion to Knights of Columbus parties , Belen football games, and even 609 on school nights, all to assist with my obsession. She would go out of her way and copy and paste conversations she had with David about me on AOL and email them to me.To say she put up with alot is an understatement.

Time passed and our bond grew stronger.
We ended up living in the same dorm in college and eventually moved into the same apartment for our remaining years at FSU. Ash was my Noble Nobbe. She was always there to listen, always there to make me laugh, and definitely always there to rationalize the consumption of Whataburger at 4am. She understood my need for privacy and would always knock instead of barging in even though I knew she wanted so badly to just burst in sometimes.

To this date, Nobbe and I are beyond stronger than ever. We went from SBFs to Vultures and from nights at Sunset Place to nights at Louis. She is one of my first calls in the morning and my last bbm before I go to bed. Ash has seen it all from me and heard even more and has never once judged, lectured, or critiqued. Although we have our differences, it always simply takes one hour of a BBM war to get over it. Ash is my Nobble Nobbe and I am forever her BH.

Ashley is now an Up and Coming Vintage designer. She takes frumpy frocks and turns them into spectacular works of re-vamped art. She is highly 'Googable' ( a trait I always admire in a person.) and has been featured in several top notch fashion blogs and articles. Prior years, we would always joke about not being able to picture her in work clothes and I guess we must have known something. After two very successful fashion shows and an etsy.com sale's history that most girls would envy, Ash has hit an even bigger milestone; her line is now being sold at Scarlett Boutique. I am so proud of my Noble Nobbe and cant wait to see what great heights she will continue to climb to. Keep her on your radar, she is a Noble force to be reckoned with. If you dont, I will find you and stuff radishes in locker.

Check out her Website: http://www.fabulousfashionfinds.net/

Three. More. Days.

Just breathe. Everything is going to be fine, the bills will get paid, somehow. They will not have CVS but supposedly they will have something similar to it, weird. Lindsey has a great nail lady for mani pedi $25 bucks, wait, but what about eyebrows? Four flights of stairs is not that bad. The Swine Flu will fade away soon, I hope. Youve lived without a TV in your room before, you can do it again. Okay you have one suitcase full of work clothes, another full of party clothes, and another with a big ol' mac computer, a pillow, and sheets, I guess thats all a girl really needs in life? Sofia told me they had Bed, Bath, and Beyond there (dont know why this suprised me.) What am I going to do with my keys if I want to go running around Central Park (to do list: figure that out.) Supposely one doesnt wear heels during their morning commmute to work, so I wear sneakers? eww. OH WAIT! I forgot, all is well, I dont even have a job so I guess the shoes situation should be the least of my concern. Nicole, why havent you told your volunteers you are leaving? Your email is going to shut down on Monday at 5pm and then your emails will go to a blackhole. Quick! Tell them the UN hired you to be the Director of International Human Rights and work starts immediately Tuesday morning. Or tell them the truth? "Hey guys, Im leaving to New York on a whim, nope no job but thatll work itself out. How long have I known? oh just for a over a month now, love ya bye!"