Nola's Ten 2005 Events

2005, Away you Fly!

It never ceases to amaze me that the older I get, the faster each year goes by. This has been some year. I’ve seen new places, met new faces, and even got closer to faces I’ve seen for years now. It seems this was a year of change for everyone. Some good, some not so good and some life changing. I think I’ve personally grown a lot this year. I’m seeing new sides of myself that I didn’t really think existed. And to all my friends, new and old I just want to say, I love you and I’m glad you are all in my life. That being said, here is my Top 10 of 2005 in no particular order.

Mighty Blighty- This was the year that I made another childhood dream come true. I finally made it to London! Court, Can, Sarah and I painted the town red…and blue and green. I don’t think London will ever be the same. It was one of the best weeks of my life! It was also one of the craziest. I never thought it was possible to cram so much into 7 days. Not only did we see London….but we also hit Bath, Greenwich, Leeds Castle, and Paris! (Paris will be mentioned later. It definitely earned itself its own spot). It was great to get closer to my gals, but we also met some incredibly kind and fun new friends. Ian, Steve, Ricky and their friends took great care of us. And I got to receive the title I wear proudly. Yes, I am a dozy twonk! This trip also marked my first memorial away from home. But I think the crowning moment of our trip….was the Tower of London! All my life I have been fascinated by the stories, legends and sad tales of the unfortunate folks who went in but never came out. I learned so much I never knew. All in all, London captured my heart and I would love to go there again and again and again.

American Girls in Paris- Before I get started, I want to state that I will not be telling my same Paris story…again. Instead I will focus on the good points of our day in Paris. Can, Court, Sarah and I woke up extremely early to make it to the train on time. The train ride was a lot of fun. But I think my favorite moment in Paris, was the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The truth is, although I complained about Paris, the moment I saw that I got little tears in my eyes. As a little girl, I dreamed about the Eiffel Tower, and about meeting my true love at the top. But I never dreamed I would actually see it in person. The view from the top was beautiful. Then there was the cute café on the hill. MonMatre was really cool and definitely worth the long train ride. And although I was quite ready to go to the train when the day was through, our cab driver proved my assumptions that the French were mean, wrong and drove us by the Moulin Rouge so that I could see the second site I dreamed of seeing. So, I definitely enjoyed my day in Paris, and maybe someday, I will brave it again. (See Court, I had a good time!J)

Music Mania- This year was a year of concerts for me and all my friends. I’ve never been to so many concerts in one year! I saw Snow Patrol f/ Athlete. And although we were pretty much done with Snow Patrol after the first two songs, Athlete rocked! And it was fun suffering through the rest of the concert with everyone. And who can forget Jack Johnson! f/ ALO and Matt Costa. Jack Johnson is one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever heard. There is no way you can listen to one of his songs and not start bouncing around. Then there was the concert of one of my favorite bands…THE KILLERS! Yes, we all know how I love them, but seeing them live….Brandon Flowers is one of the most entertaining people every! It’s not like a concert, it’s like he’s putting on a show. It was great! Yet they don’t win the prize for the best concert of the year. The award goes to…U2! f/ Keane. There was so much energy in that stadium. Not to mention we practically had box seats. Bono and the boys are ageless. They played just about every song I knew.

RFT PA’05- Philly was a crazy weekend. Top moments?? I have to agree with Courtney, crazy Poe lady was hysterical! It was definitely a twilight zone moment. I think she thought she had a love affair with him. Trying to get to Gino’s for cheese steaks while Courtney was getting a cap popped in her head was scary but looking back at it now, it was pretty funny. Dinner convo’s with Sue, Court and J’aime was hysterical. I don’t think that waiter will ever forget us. Running around the science museum with Tara was great. From making each other nauseous in the simulated airplane ride, to her talking me into riding the sky bike about 70 feet off the ground! I love my girl weekends. I love them so much that it brings me to my next moment….

RFT BO’05- I will never look at Boston the same way again. We saw so much of the city in two days, that a lot of it is a blur. But there were some priceless moments like trying to get Lyssa onto John Harvard’s lap. (The statue that is). Tour guide Sarah, taking us through Harvard town, while Tara and I tried to pretend we were students. And, of course the crowning moment of me actually being allowed to drive a duck. Yup Capt. Covert made the esteemed mistake of allowing me to drive the duck bus boat on the Charles River! It was so much fun. And we all learned that Irish Girls are Best, right Court? J

Getting in Touch with Nature- This year, I did something I haven’t done since I was a baby, and never actually believed I would do. I went camping! I was very scared. I didn’t know if I could hack it; sleeping on the ground, cold and low pressure showers, bears, bugs, and the psycho killer I believed would come find me at night and kill me. But, I threw caution to the wind and went along anyway. It was a blast! I loved sharing a tent with Sue and Becca. I hiked 6 miles 2 days in a row. I got to wear my cowboy hat all over the Delaware Water Gap. And, I managed to stay up all night by the fire with Nina, Sue and Jaime and not be afraid of the bears. Even though I swear that when they made me walk to the bathroom alone, I saw one in a clearing. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Vermont Round 2-Our second trip to VT was as memorable as the first. We just had some more cabin mates. There was the sleigh ride, which Joe purposely managed to fall out of, and the little cabin where we got to play music and the pedal piano. The Blonde Bombshell Beer that I liked the name of so much that I bought it. Late night puzzles, Joe’s singing by the fire that made me get all misty, and sledding down the hill in the back of the house amidst the trees, scared I was going to crash into one. Maybe next time I’ll go all the way from the top.



Finding Out Why I Feel So Tired All the Time- Yes, this was the year of the doctor for me. I had never been for so many tests at once in my life. The verdict you might ask? I have something called Thyroid Auto Immune Disease. I’ll admit it’s not something that I consider a great part of my top 10. But it provided an answer to why I’m always sick and sleepy and all around mushy. I had to take nuclear medicine, which although it was kind of scary I just dubbed myself Radioactive Girl to put a superhero spin on it. And I broke my “never had to have an IV in my hand” streak when I went for a scan and they had to inject stuff into my hand. It was not comfortable. There is one thing I can say about this ordeal that is a plus….my endocrinologist is cute. J

Ch-Ch-Changes- This was a year of changes. There were weddings. Two which I attended. Tyson and Veronica got married. And Greggers and Darleen got married. Then there was the Baby Boom of 2005. That boom brought us Joshua, Lily, Emma and Olivia. And we have a little Adisano on the way! And there were graduations, including my Suzy Q who graduated high school and made her entrance into this crazy world.

Cape May To The 2nd Power-Every year me, my mom and Sue and her parents go to Cape May for Labor Day Weekend. But this year I got to go twice! One was the usual family trip. But the other……thanks to my craftiness, turned out to be Sue’s Super Surprise Weekend. I couldn’t let my best friend have just any graduation present. So I got 8 of our friends together and we took that girl to NJ for the weekend. It was hysterical trying to keep it a secret from her. Especially once we got to the car and everyone kept mentioning the other group that was coming to meet us. LOL! But she was happy and that’s all the counts. We watched Breakfast Club, and swam in the pool and chilled on the beach. It was ggrreat! The second trip to Cape May, our family trip, this year included Vinny, Marge, Danny and Kyle. It was a very chill but very fun weekend. From me and Vinny bickering non-stop and Sue making fun of us. To the three of us having deep and meaningful “learning about each other” convos. And Kyle making fun of me and Sue calling us Frito Corn Chips and Doritos Guacamole feet. Ah. Good times.

So that’s it. My top 10 of 2005. I guess I had quite a busy year. Glad I got a bunch of new memories for the old memory bank. And I can’t wait to see what 2006 holds for me and my friends. Let’s try to top 2005!