Some days...

Some days, you just need to see a fluffy dog catching a ride on top of a turtle...

Today is one of those days. Happy Friday!

Work/Real Friends

When you start introducing someone as "my friend... who I met at work... but we're, like, real friends. Not just work friends. Real friends," you know you've crossed that unspoken line between professionalism and personal life -- and there's no turning back.

Today marks LJ's last day of working in NYC... the last 3 years and 10.5 months of which have been spent with yours truly.

Yes, it's true -- my co-worker-turned-BFFAEAEAE is making the big move back to Texas to start a brand new adventure in Dallas!

And while I'm so very excited for what's in store for her... to say I'm "an emotional mess" would be a gross understatement.

I'm trying to hold off on anymore tears for now, because I still have 4 whole days of twirly, winky-faced fun before she hops on that one-way flight to DFW. But that doesn't make today any easier... Honestly, the thought of coming to the office tomorrow and not having one of my best friends right down the hall is really... sad. And scary. And... unfathomable.

Who will join me for DDP breaks? And who will send me walrus wakeup texts to make sure I'm up after a near-sleepless Thursday night on the town? And who will I eat a romantic sushi and wine Valentine's Day dinner with after working until 10pm on a Monday... again? And whose office door will I slam closed when I just need to giggle... or, occasionally, cry?

There's a lot to say... and I will. Just... later. Because nearly 4 years of BFFAEAEAE-ship can't be summed up in the 45 minutes that I have left before we head to LJ's Farewell Happy Hour. So instead, I'll just leave you with some happy memories... of the day that we were reunited, along with Jamie, our third musketeer, here at our current agency. It literally seems like just last week and a lifetime ago... all at once:

Sweet Southern Comfort

March 18th, 2009

If you've had a conversation or two with me since I moved to NYC, you've probably heard at least a few of the many tales of adventure/awkward with my co-workers-turned-friends. Since my first day at my first "real" job, I had a feeling I would soon be thanking God for putting Jamie and Lauren in my life. And it wasn't just because they both hailed from below the Mason-Dixon Line (Atlanta and Dallas, respectively). The three of us, well, we just... clicked.

It would take quite a bit of rambling (yes, even more than usual) to recount all of the reasons these girls have helped to make my life in New York as simply fabulous as it is today (and as you'll see, many of the stories have already been detailed for your enjoyment on Lulled and La La La anyways). From Spy Adventures to Wee Mee's to Karaoke to countless hours spent discussing celebs and recapping the previous night's must-see tv, our work days were anything but mundane. (Disclaimer: While we were right on point with our green circled predictions, Jason No Longer = Muffin. GROWL. But that's another rant for another post.)

Needless to say, when the time eventually came for the Showtime Girls to part professional ways (technically for the second time, but we won't speak of The Dark Ages otherwise known as LJ's Eight Month Hiatus...), it could only be summed up as "bittersweet." I know that I for one was anxious to see what the future held, but the idea of not working with two of my best friends every single day?! Two words: womp wooomp.

So it will come as no surprise that my excitement for tomorrow is reminiscent of all those Christmas Eves I counted down the hours until Santa and his reindeer finally landed on my roof. In a strange, wonderful turn of events, tomorrow will mark the day that all three of us are back where we belong - embracing our media nerdiness together. In the same agency.

Love. It.

I have no doubt that our friendship would've easily stood the test of Midtown Separation - Goodness knows we'll always have Brunch Story Worthy Nights - but I am just oh-SO-happy for a return to the days of quarter collecting and puppets.

L.O.V.E.

Love you, LJ... more than any HR Department should allow. Here's to showing the Dallas Media World how we do it in a little place called New York City :)

Happy 5 Years, LJ!

Happy Happy 5 Year New York Anniversary to my beautiful BFFAEAEAEEEEE!

Cheers, my love! So very blessed to have been a part of the last 3 years and 10 or so months of it :)

xoxo

One day

One day, I will spell "enviornment" "environment" correctly. On the first try. Without the aid of that pesky red squiggly line, taunting me and rubbing salt in my grammatical wounds.

Today was not that day.

Is it noon already?

Well. What can I say? This is just the sort of conversation that happens on a Monday when you can yell to talk in a professional volume to your BFFAE through the wall that joins your neighboring offices...

B (upon receiving some extra stressy work-related news): Aaagghhh! Laaaaurennnn! Do you have any tequiiiilla?

LJ: Ohmygosh! Is it noon already?

{{Long, Confused Pause}}

B: Umm. Did you really just hear me?

LJ: Did you just ask for tequilla?!

America The Story of Us Premieres THIS Sunday!

After months and months (and months) of working on the exciting media campaign for HISTORY's America The Story of Us... the time is finally here! The campaign has been going so well (check out an AdWeek article about it here and see a really cool video of the transformation of Grand Central in NYC, Union Station in DC, and the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in CA here. Pictures below :) ).

The Main Concourse of Grand Central Station, NYC

Union Station, Washington DC

Photo Credit: Matt Garbow

Union Station, Washington DC

Photo Credit: Matt Garbow :)

And now the premiere is this Sunday at 9pm on HISTORY... And y'all, I can't wait!

If you know me at all, you know I'm the first to admit to (and embrace) my inner nerd... But honestly, I'd be excited for this premiere regardless because it really is going to tell and depict America's history like we've never seen it before. It's a brand new look at the lesser known events and people who impacted the forming of a nation in a big way. Complete with tons of CGI and reenactments, HISTORY is really going to bring the story to life. You can see for yourself in the trailer below:

You don't even have to take my word for it - the series has been getting a ton of great press, from The New York Times to USA Today to a really great segment on The Today Show last week:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Obama is even introducing the first night of the six-part special event... I mean, how amazing is that?? You can see it here.

All this to say: Hope y'all tune in for the premiere and enjoy! America The Story of Us on HISTORY this Sunday April 25th at 9pm/8pm Central. :)

We're So Sporty

Conversations like this just make it oh-so-terribly-clear why LJ and I are BFF... AEAEAE :)

me: also, any interest in going to a rep bowling thing tonight? and not bowling?

LJ: i have no socks

LJ: and a dress

LJ: and texas is playing bball tonight

LJ: so maybe not

me: don't be silly. we would NOT be bowling

LJ: ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

me: only cheerleading/drinking

LJ: HAHAHAHAHAHA

LJ: then. yes.

It's all about the outfit, really. :)

Oh hello, Outlook Reminders...

Thanks so much for filling my morning with sunshine:

After buying our tickets a month and a half ago, the Texas Independence Day concert is finally just around the corner! Only 5 days until a fab night with all of my Texas/NYC Loves (in case you hadn't noticed, there are quite a few of us)... Featuring pretty much my dream TX Country lineup: Reckless Kelly, Pat Green, Eli Young Band and Roger Creager!! Between those performances, and the many, many cowboys who are sure to dust off their very best boots and Levi's for the occasion, I'd say we're in for a pretty swoon-filled evening.

And "ATLANTA with the girls!!! Weeeeeee!!"... well, that pretty much speaks for itself. Just 10 short days - approximately 240 hours - until LJ, Angie and I are reunited with Miss Jamie in the ATL. There are no words to even pseudo-describe how happy the anticipation for this trip makes my heart. Can. Not. Wait.

Oh, and that silly Time Sheet reminder, you ask? Please just disregard. It's raining on my parade. And the particularly nasty "4 hours overdue" note...? We'll just go ahead and chalk it up as a tribute to the aforementioned trip to see Jamie, Queen of Overdue Time Sheets. :)

I think it's worth noting...

(Part II)

... that I wore 3.5" heels today. For 14.5 straight hours.

And I walked at least 3 miles in them.

I didn't take them off once, actually. Not for a single second.

In my Texas/sorority days, this would have been pretty normal.

But in NYC... 14.5 hours and 3 miles in 3.5" heels when you work at a very casual ad agency...

... is not normal.

So I thought it was worth noting.

Perfectly Validated

twentysomething girl 1: I like that I should really be preparing for this presentation that I have in an hour... But instead, I'm preparing for a fake vacation with my fake boyfriend.

twentysomething girl 2: HAHAHAHA yesssssss.

twentysomething girl 1: Well, really, it's for a fake/could-become-real vacation/boyfriend!

twentysomething girl 2: Yes! So could-become-real, in fact, that you really need a real passport!

twentysomething girl 1: It's good to know my priorities are in check.

twentysomething girl 2: Yes, you're perfectly validated.

"Unless the debate is about whether or not it's ever too late for a second chance, I'm not interested."

Not all friendships have to suffer when it comes to talking politics. No, many agree to sometimes disagree on certain issues. Others find common ground through intelligent and respectful discussion. Then there are those who take it a few steps further... say, by making cute puppets of candidates. Or maybe, I don't know... bonding over the reenactment of a particularly hilarious clip on a late night satirical political pundit tv show... in their cubicles... at work... Just a couple of possibilities, I suppose.

After I watched Stephen Colbert call for the suspension of the Presidential Debate right before the Election last year, I came into work the next day still in a fit of giggles. Much to my excitement, Jamie found Colbert's reasoning just as silly and fabulous as I did. After replaying the below clip many, many times, Jamie took to her chair and did the most perfect impersonation of what happens around 02:52...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
"Nights in Rodanthe" Premiere
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating

I won't ever hear Gavin Rossdale crooning "Love Remains the Same" again without picturing Jamie gleefully spinning around on her office chair, with her head thrown back, arms open wide, exclaiming "Ohhh... Oh! I LOVE LOVING!!" Yes, my readers. That is the picture of true friendship.

And tomorrow night, be sure to set your DVRs, because J and I have VIP tickets to the taping of The Colbert Report! I can pretty much guarantee you'll be able to pick our uncontrollable and constant laughter out of the crowd. I really can't think of a more perfect way to commemorate her last week in NYC...

... Oh and that song! Jimmy Jamie, that theme song! Give me another taste!!

Keep Calm and...

Confession: Life/Work have turned me into a little ball of stress lately. Ok... fine. To be fair, I suppose I'm often a little ball of stress. I guess it would be more accurate to say that lately, I'm just... a... a slightly bigger than my typically little ball of stress. Regardless, when I walked by a store this morning that displayed five of the below prints lined up in the window, I knew it would make the perfect post for today, if for no other reason than to remind me to, you know, breathe. At least every now and then:

from weheartit

It's nothing too earth-shattering - this "Keep Calm and Carry On" design has been floating around the blogosphere for quite some time now, but still... It's pretty. And the perfect little mantra for me to keep in mind. Well at least it was perfect... until I found THIS little gem:

from daydreamlilly

It's so true! It's simple math: Cupcakes = A Happier Bethany. And if worse comes to worst, and there's ever such an occasion in my life that things can't be made even a little bit better by a cupcake, then there's always... magic:

from weheartit

Brilliant! A Patronus Charm - THAT should surely do the trick! (Side note: This may or may not be a slightly obscure Harry Potter reference, for all of you silly non-wizard-loving PTTP readers. Which really, between Megan, Liz, and Jamie finally giving in and jumping on the J.K. Rowling Bandwagon recently, are there even any of you left??).

Alright, back to the madness and... Keeping Calm and... Such.

My Country Music Memory Lane

What do you get when you combine Taylor Swift and Reckless Kelly on a Pandora station, you ask? 

Well, as I found out at work today, I was apparently asking for a serious trip down my very own Country music memory lane. One second I was in NYC working on a campaign presentation, then suddenly...

If I am truly crazy

Don't you know I like my life that way?

And if I'm really going on out of my mind

Won't you hop on board and make your getaway?

... I was swept away to my freshman year at TCU - where I first discovered Texas Country, more specifically Pat Green (Thanks Miss Meredith, a.k.a. Dot! :) ). To this day, "Crazy" is one of my very favorite songs. It still makes me go weak in the knees with all of the memories that come flooding back from that first year in Texas... Then...

Do you love me? Do you wanna be my friend?

And if you do, well then don't be afraid to take me by the hand

If you want to.

I think this is how love goes, check yes or no.

... I was 14 years old, sitting in Courtney's room, complaining about her radio choice of KMPS, one of Seattle's two Country music stations. A slave to the recent Boy Band/Britney craze, I refused to give Country a chance. That is, until I heard George Strait come on and sing one of the sweetest love stories I'd ever imagined. As he told the story of a little note asking him to "Check Yes or No"... I knew Country had me hooked. And suddenly...

Seventeen only comes once in a lifetime

Don't it just fly by wild and free

Goin' any way the wind blew, baby

Seventeen, livin' on crazy dreams

Rock and roll and faded blue jeans

And standing on the edge of everything

Seventeen

... I was back on a Maui beach during my junior year of high school, listening to Tim McGraw's "A Place in the Sun" album on repeat in my Discman. Sure, growing up in Seattle, I might not have ever actually let my legs hang off the Bayou Bridge or fed fish potato chips, but there was just something about "Seventeen." With that one song, I felt like Tim was almost writing the current chapter of my life - I was seventeen, rather hopelessly smitten with a certain boy, and as I recall, the stars really did seem to go off like fireworks...

And with that, I was pulled back to the present and the reality of my looming deadlines. Luckily I had my good friends Taylor and Reckless, providing a familiar and happy soundtrack to take me through the afternoon.

There are some times where good old-fashioned country music is still the best thing in the world.

-Jay DeMarcus, Rascal Flatts

Fried.

Wearing a cute new dress and belt. But no tights. Feel like I could be in Mad Men. But it's freezing. Because it's October. Just finished presenting a major project to the client. Yay, but my brain is fried.

If you need me, I may or may not be snuggled under a deliciously soft pink blanket I keep in my office for just such emergencies.

Not even kind of kidding.

I'm so grown-up.