last day of work: hopes and dreams

so tomorrow is my last day of work at an office for the foreseeable future. though it really doesn't seem like it's happening, i just had this moment of extreme excitement upon realizing that as of tomorrow, i'm a free woman, and i'm really doing this.

after bursting into dance, i told two of my co-workers of my dream for my last day...it's depicted below (and yes, i know, i should definitely become an art director)

i am really hoping they can pull it off.

(note to reader: this is not a person pooping. it is obviously rachel walking from the water cooler doing the moonwalk with robby-rob on a leash doing the worm all the way to my desk)

i believe in you guys

right foot blue

Prospect Park + blankets + Twister + Catchphrase + hula hoops + dogs + baby + best friends + sun + warm weather + volleyball + newsies serenades = one of the best days ever

I feel so loved - thanks for coming out y'all!

The Past Few Months

So I've been maybe the worst blogger ever for, oh, about the last 4.5 months of my life. No pics from Spain, no last months of NYC, no JWT info. I know that all 5 of you who occasionally read my blog are dying to know what's been happening. So here's a hodge podge of photos documenting it....you can rest easy now. (from most recent to further back)

luke gets another year older - we dance around a table
gearing up for a bike & build filled summer
this is the hard hat dance i made up
on our way to build some houses
i made the yankee hat more famous than a yankee can
who knew cpr class could be so fun(ny)
angela and i hit up the high line, it rains, and this is our rain gear (and yes i am wearing arm warmers)
walking the brooklyn bridge with mr green jeans
cams riding the new bike
max and cam finally meet
indy krafts in brooklyn
we're not as little as we once were - my bro and i trying to fit in the back seat of a smallish car
my best gal cam comes to visit for coll's wedding!
sleeping on the train home after a long day of ride-riding
easter sunday at coney island
wonder wheel
doing times square tourist style
a trip to the circus results in tickets to the UD game - goooooo dayton flyers!
colleen's bachelorette party
i got my hair did - 13 inches goner
party at the grace hotel - like watching a human aquarium....don't get in that pool!
keiji has a party at the new crib...speech!
kathleen and i tearing it up with some swing dance lessons
kristina emulating the lady sleeping at the bar for swing night

new years eve in madrid with ashley - times square style
my peeps from oasis reunited in seville
best flamenco ever - carboneria
seville - sean, me, and josiane - good tunes, good times
becky and i at the arts and sciences center in valencia
beautiful skies in barca
gaudi at night in barcelona
in nyc before heading to espana

mad drama

We went to the Metropolitan Opera last night to see Tosca.

That biotch is crazy. She got jealousy issues, and she kills people. but her voice, it is fantastic and bone chilling. It's too bad she is gullible, lost her lover, and killed herself. (sorry for the spoiler)

boobs McGee (who we aptly named because she has the biggest chest I've ever seen (sans sarcasm), and was practically wearing nothing to cover that fact up (meaning they were literally hanging out everywhere), which I'm not judging her for, I'm just stating facts) was watching.

And so were Lu and I.

But the old man who was watching Boobs McGee's chest was not.

And now we love the Opera and want to go again (not because of the boobs, but the show).

Also - I want the chandeliers below in my house (I know you must be laughing because right now I have no home).

Remember Kings Island?

Remember when you were a kid and your parents took you to Kings Island or some other magical wonderland of a place? Well maybe you weren't a kid, but you were somewhere between being a kid and an adult, and you were going with all your friends. And the girls were going to sleep over at your house, and you had to run all these errands the night before, and then when you got it all done and you were ready you were so anxious (like excited anxiety, the good kind). And then you went to bed and you couldn't sleep.

That's how I feel right now. Except I'm an adult, about to embark on the greatest experience(s) of my life. And I am beyond excited.

I just finished packing my apartment, boxes full of the last 5 years in New York. I did it all without crying (which for me is no small feat). I'm exhausted, sleeping on my mattress with no bedding, me and Rocky, waiting for the reality of this to hit me. Probably it will happen tomorrow when the movers say we're all set, and drive away with all my worldly possessions. And still maybe then I won't realize.

I'm so excited for this next chapter of my life. There are so many great adventures coming my way. I'm going to do it up for my last 3 weeks in New York. Holy Shit. 3 weeks. And then I'm going to say goodbye to some of the best people I have ever known, and I will cry. Probably a lot. No, definitely a lot. Tears of happiness for what New York has meant to me. Tears of sadness for leaving this great city and all of my people who I love so dearly. But there is plenty of time for that.

Dear 83 7th Avenue,

You are the best apartment EVER. I shall miss you and your inhabitants and all Park Slope has to offer. I will not, however, miss crazy neighbors or men masturbating on the front stoop. That would be kind of weird.

I love you apartment 3.

Meet Nina

So it's done. My bike has a name.

Nina Peentz (phonetical spelling so as not to be confused with pints of beer)

Susan suggested I name it after a boat. I chose the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.

Lauren put the icing on the cake when she said I could call it Nina Peentz for short?

That is the obvious answer.

It's heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere

This morning I was working from home (yes I know it's a holiday and I should say F*&^ it). I was feeling over it. What is it? you might ask. Work, slaving away on a holiday weekend, working 7 days a week over and over.

Then the buzzer sounded in my apartment. Lauren asked who it was, and the UPS man responded. He was not so pleased when he reached the top of the stairs, as the box he carried was massive. I, like a spastic child on Christmas morning, jumped up and down expressing my excitement to a man in a brown uniform rolling his eyes at me. I offered him some water, perhaps a snack. Still not amused. I signed on the line, and have now dropped my dreaded work to assemble my new best friend.

This job is temporary. And a few short months from now we shall ride off into the sunset together.

soooo happy to see you!
giant defy 2 - my partner in crime for the summer

storm brewing - heading toward miami

The title of this post is the subject line of an email I just got from my dad. I opened it thinking there is a hurricane heading for Miami or something scary. But when I scrolled down, it was this...



My dad loves the Colts. Go horse!

Shots shots shots shots

Not those kind of shots. The needle kind that they put in your arm.

I just got really excited. I called the doctor's office and made an appointment to start getting some immunizations for Bike & Build, and this trip around the world I keep talking about. Little baby first steps in the planning of this great adventure.

Next week it's Hepatitis A and B, Menangitis, and something else I can't remember the name of.

Then, I have an appointment with some special travel doctor who will tell me what else I need to get. I guess I better get used to needles in my arm. Maybe I should practice?

I just don't know what to do with myself

So I had this really super-awkward exchange in the locker room at the gym today. There was a woman with a really cool tattoo around her upper thigh. The moment I started to ask about it, her towel dropped. So as she's telling me about it, I just felt like I was starting at her vagina right in my face. And it was red (my face I mean). It was a different moment at the gym.