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Pura Vida

My grandparents aren't like most typical grandparents. When they retired, they didn't think to go to Century Village in Pembroke Pines or 'Millionaire's Row' in Miami Beach. They went were few cool grandparents have ever gone: Jaco Beach, Costa Rica. A small lil surf town known for surfing, the beatle bar, and Tsunami sushi. They are living up to 'pura vida' standards in a phenomenal apartment that has both mountain AND ocean views. Every evening, they have 'un cafesito' and watch the sunset from their balcony.

I want to be like them when I grow up.

me in the sea.
this is NOT a microsoft screen saver.their backyard.
my abuelo cookin' up a storm in the kitchen.

nicole, andrea, and megan. NicAndMeg, Inc.
my lil squit gettin ready to zip line. she is fearless. the world's most perfect living room.
...sigh..

Wake up and smell the mountains.

two lil goldfishes

I love a great foyer.

pensive meg on the balcony.

the problem with the letter 'B'

If you're an outta-towner in New York City,you are instantly more special when you go to the Bloomingdale's on 59th and Lexington.

How special? So special that if you show proof of ID, they give you an 11% discount all. day. long. Even better (or the TRAP, I might say) is that when you spend over $200.00 and bring your receipt back to Customer Service, they give you a FREE gift.

Ive been eligible to receive two free gifts throughout my stay in this glorious city but the one of significance is the first one I got. A Key chain with a Big ol 'B' for BLOOMINGDALE'S on it. Not too clunky, not too flashy, just perfect. The two holes in the letter 'B' even allow for perfect hangin' on our impromptu Key Rack, or shall I say, 4 nails sticking out of the wall.

Minor problem though. I live with a girl named BRETT, and her name also starts with a B. You would think, 'okay that's fine, I mean clearly its a B but that's not reason enough for her to grab the keys just because her name starts with a B'. But no. My roommate BRETT also went to Bloomingdale's, used her St. Louis ID, and also received the Golden Free Gift of the B for BLOOMINGDALE'S key chain. Why would someone get the SAME exact key chain that their roommate already has and not take the other gift, a free BAG,instead, you ask? YEA, SO DO I.

In fact Ive asked myself that question not once, not twice, but FOUR times. In particular, today. When the City is at its hottest, and you just tripped walking up at the stairs at Grand Central Station, isnt comforting to know you can always walk a few blocks home and hide out in the comfort of your dark, air conditioned apartment? Nope, not I. I got out of the subway, fell up the stairs, ran to Duane Reade to buy Dish Detergent and it wasn't until I got to my door did I realize that I didn't have my keys. BRETT must of mistakingly taken them this morning.

To make matters worse, my phone died 30 minutes earlier so I had no form of contacting my roommates who's numbers I have yet to learn by heart. I decided I had two choices, 1. make the best of it or 2. make the worst of it.

I chose option number 1. Me, along with my skinned knee, bruised ego, and heavy container of dish soap walked my happy self 10 blocks over to Chipotle in 95 degree heat. I realized I'd have my tacos and guaclamole (which I didn't have the night before, thankyouverymuch) and maybe some magic would happen that Id come home later and they'd open the door. If not, I was gonna go see The Ugly Truth.

Magic happened two tacos in. I attempted to turn my phone on to try to get Brett's number one more time and all of a sudden I had two sticks of battery, enough to call Brett who knew exactly why I was calling when she answered. In the end, she was apologetic, I was happy with my tacos, and she texted me with " You are my most understanding friend :) " ain't that truth.

So in the end, my friends, when life hands you lemons, go to Chipotle.

finish the sentence.

Hi, my name is: NicoleKatrinaCunningham. And it must be said the way it's read.

Never in my life have I been: one to settle.

I hate it when: I get tired after work and take a nap. and then it takes forever for me to fall asleep at night. I really hate that, gosh.

If you're gonna talk smack about me: it better be good.

When I'm nervous: I laugh, cough, eat, look around in a paranoid manner, creep people out.

The last song I listened to was: Coldplay- Swallowed in the Sea...sigh....

If you were to get married all over again today your maid of honor/best man would be: why do you assume Im married? and lets not ask that question, touchy subject when you have 4 bff's and 2 lil sisters. geez, im eloping.

My hair is: officially fried.

When I was 5: i got sent home from kindergarten for biting someone. they tried to take my toy. it was a warranted bite.

Last Christmas: my family had a gingerbread man contest and I came in second place. in return, i bit the head off of the first place gingerbread man.

I should be: leaving soon to go see the Statue of Liberty ON MY OWN.

Instead I'm: blogging in the comfort of my air conditioned home.

My current annoyance is: people who look down when they type. so stupid. i hate you all.

If I could write a movie, it would be about: The Life of a One Dollar Bill.

I think I: think too much

I think I'm: pleasantly awesome.

Yesterday at work: I sat and stared at a wall for a long period of time day dreamin'

If I had more time in the day: I would take piano lessons, tennis lessons, tango lessons.

If I had one talent I would: write Beatnic poetry.

I should: pray more.

I shouldn't: eat tacos 3 nights out of the week : /

In a perfect world: humans could fly. and people would listen to my playlist when reading my blog.

(500) Days of Summer

I have a new Monday Night tradition, its called Date Night.

A date with myself that is. Yes, correct as in meaning that I take myself to Dinner and then to a Movie.

Its refreshing when you come to terms with the fact that you can eat lunch/dinner alone. I remember eating in my car when I was friendless and working at Abercrombie one summer. I mean, why risk eating alone and looking like a loser with no friends? Exactly. I think we are all too caught up on what others will think if we dare brave the Food Court/Restaurant/Cafe solo.

After moving to NY, however, I think that school of though is only in Miami. Everyone in New York eats alone. They eat alone, walk alone, go to the movies alone, dance alone, lay out alone, everything alone. Its the world's most crowded, loneliest city except loneliness doesn't have that negative connotation that is usually associated with it. Its just a bunch loners doing what they gotta, wanna do regardless if others care to tag along. What a concept.

Okay, okay back to my date. So yes, my old tradition was that Monday night was Carl's Cheese steak Night. I would combat the deadly Monday Blues with the joy and anticipation of a Carl's Cheese steak, Cheese Fries, and Diet Coke ("make sure its diet"). I figured I had all week to lose/mask it so why not splurge and make the week's worst day go by a lil faster?However this past Monday, I had to add the 'date' part. Jimmy spoiled me with 6 full days of him being in the city so this past Monday would have been way worse had I not had the distraction of delicious junk food and wonderful entertainment.

I was heading towards my spot on 3rd ave but I veered off course and straight into Chipotle. There is something about Crunchy mixed with Spicy mixed with Guacamole that can make any girl happy. I even sat on the window seat so I could be entertained people-watchin' the herds of tourist walking by and they too could be entertained at the sight of lonelygirl dropping Guac all over the place. to think some people say I'm selfish.....

After that deliciousness I needed a movie. I'm obsessed with the movies. Nothing I love more than the movies. You want to make me easily happy? Take me to the movies. So I headed to my favorite theater which would of course would be the one smack dab in Times Square. Seriously, that place is magical whichever way you look at it.

I called up my girl Nobbe and asked for a quick review of (500) Days of Summer and I was sold. She even said its the type of movie that is better if you watch alone. So after dinner, Lonelygirl struck again. Instead this time I was that creepy girl who goes to watch a love story all on her own.

What. A. Movie. I can honestly say that I left the theater feeling overwhelmingly smitten. Its charming, witty, and whimsical with a soundtrack that has the ability to change your life. Its not a love story, its a story about love; there isn't the usual 'happily ever after'. it depicts real, factual love. The type us mortals experience. Not the ones dressed up and decorated by Hollywood.

Basically boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl doesn't believe in love. Girls live in her own lil bubble. He pops the bubble. Boy and Girl fall in love...I could tell you the rest, but my momma didn't raise no movie-spoiler.

“The boy, Tom, grew up believing that he’d never truly be happy until the day he met ‘the one.’ This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total misreading of the movie The Graduate.

The girl, Summer, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parents’ marriage, she’d only loved two things: the first was her long, dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and feel nothing.”

That's all I'm leaving you with.
Go check it out. Trust me.

Mean Girl

Its happened. I'm turning into a mean girl.

A couple days ago I posted the Sunscreen Song which stated "live in New York once, but leave before it makes you hard." I've been hearing that sentence since I was 17yrs old and each and every time I thought : impossible.

Me, hard? I'm the softest, nicest girl ever..to strangers that is.

So it was to my grand surprise that the past several times Ive been on the phone with either my mom or friends while ordering my Subway sandwich, they've shrieked at disgust with the way I spoke to these strangers who staffed the sandwich-makin'line.

"MORE LETTUCE!"

"Umm...can you not only put that on HALF of the sandwich?"

" I said PROVOLONE!!!!!!!"

I have no patience, Ive lost it. It disappeared 2 months ago when I was shoved, pushed, and sneered at on the streets of Manhattan. There is no time for niceness here, it literally is a land of the 'eat or be eaten'.

In fact, I don't even mind when a man isn't chivalrous anymore. There is no time. Imagine if a guy had to wait for every girl to get out of the subway before he got out, he'd be in Staten Island and back by then. Holding the door? Yea, if you want a herd of 76 rushing women to take advantage of it. Umbrella-less waiting for a cab? Oh well sista, wait your turn, so has everyone else.

So yea, you toughen up not because NY makes you a mean person, but because its the only way you can get by. There really is not enough loose change in the world to satisfy all the homeless and charities on the streets out there everyday trying to get by. Its unfortunate and sad but its true. At first I tried but its come to a point where it just never stops and you have to start choosing wisely knowing that by the time you get home, you will definitely have turned down at least 10 people.

I'm going to end this on a good note though. The other day I was walking to work and I saw a dollar on the street. I picked it up, not because I needed it for my daily Diet Dr. Pepper, but because it was going to be the dollar that set off a series of fortunate events. As luck would have it, later on that day at Bryant Park, a mute/deaf man came to me with a card saying "Smile!" that also had the entire Sign Language alphabet and a pencil. He 'sold' it to me for my one lucky dollar.

In my dream world, he then used it to pay his rent which then helped the landlord buy his wife the birthday present she wanted which made her so happy then she took her son to the park and bought him an ice cream cone from the student who needed money to pay tuition...so forth so on.

Maybe it went that way, maybe it didn't. But oh well, we all have the God Given right to dream of a happier world. In the meantime, Im off to the streets to work on my niceness... get outta the way.