I'm in Miami, bitch!

How the hell did I end up down here? I thought this to myself after my first trip to South Beach. Some friends and I were walking back to the beach from getting drinks at Starbucks when we saw a topless lady showering herself at the outside showers (you know, the ones that you use to wash off all the beach sand). Yes, I know South Beach is a topless beach, but for a 300 pound 40 year-old lady that you couldn't see her knees because her boobs were in the way? I think I threw up in my mouth at that time.

Well, my new Miami life all began in this magical place called Las Vegas. I was on vacation with two of my teammates and we were just returning back to the Barry Manilow Hotel (or the Hilton) from an awesome night(or early morning) of hanging out in VIP at LAX when my boss called. I decided it probably wouldn't be the greatest of ideas to answer the phone in my state of mind, so I decided to wait until later on after I got some sleep. Being on the New Stores Team, there is a time limit usually lasting a year, and me having been on the team for a year and a half, I knew my call was coming. I liked to think of my boss as being Ryan Seacrest and I, the American Idol contestant being told my journey ended here(which after I ending my phone conversation, I sang my last song, Boys to Men, End of the Road. Pretty sure I was still under the influence from the night's festivities.)

I was offered a position at our newest brand, Gilly Hicks(a bra and undies store by AnF) at Aventura Mall. I knew I would not be living in Tampa after the team. I had been living in Tampa for 6 years, and I needed a change. I had lived in my hometown of Frostproof my whole life, and when I moved to Tampa for college, I knew there was no moving back to my small town. I loved big cities. Not that Tampa is all that big, but it was just big enough for me to get used to living in a bigger and more populated place. I loved living in Tampa, but I needed to move on from my college life.

So, on the 1st of December, with the help of my parents, I loaded up the Trailblazer and started a new journey. A 3 hour journey that landed my nomad life to a life of normalcy and stability. At that point in time, I was ready for my new life. I was tired of eating out every single day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was tired of waking up and forgetting where the hell I was. I was tired of getting up at 2:30am to make my 6am flight and then working until midnight. But mostly, I was just so damn tired.

Moving to Miami was the biggest adjustment of my life. Okay, maybe moving to Tampa after being sheltered in my 3,000 people town my whole life was a big adjustment, oh and traveling to a new place around the country every single week was even more of an adjustment. In Miami though, I had to adjust in so many ways. I had to adjust to living a normal life again. A normal life of going to the grocery store. Of cooking my own food again. Of paying rent and bills again. Of driving my own car and having to pay for my own gas. Of cleaning up after myself and not having clean towels and my bed made when I came home every night. Of working normal hours and actually getting more than 5-6 hours of sleep each night. Of being in a real running store and helping real customers in a bra store that I had no clue about the product I was trying to sell.

And then, there's Miami. Miami: America's melting pot. My mom warned me. She warned me of the tourists. Of the rudest people you'll ever meet. Of the bad drivers. Of the language barrier. Of sticking out like a sore thumb with my blonde hair and country accent. Of the grocery cart bumping. Of the skipping you in line. Of the non-existence of patience. I didn't listen. She has never lived there, so how did she know? Oh, but how mothers know EVERYTHING!

So, after moving down to this foreign place and getting settled in to my 22nd floor apartment, I knew my life was about to change. At first, I was pretty depressed. I missed traveling to new places every week with all the awesome friends I had made on my team. I missed people watching at airports and leaning against my window on the plane, watching the city I was about to encounter below me. I missed the excitement of new places, new people, new memories, new challenges awaiting me. I missed setting up perfect stores that I would not have to see getting destroyed by hoovering buzzard customers, picking at their clearance priced prey. I missed lobby cocktails(only 3!), racking up Hilton and airline points, and time warping back to Tampa. I missed my baller rock star type of life.

After living here for 7 months now, I think I have finally adjusted to my new life. I still get a little depressed at times and would do anything to be able to travel again, but thank God I had friends here and have made new ones along the way. They make my Miami life fun and every night out down here is a new adventure.



Here's a few pictures from my travels with my team:


Mel, me and Joe in San Antonio, TX. At that point, Mel and I had worked 25 days straight. We definitely needed a night out, even if it was at a couple gay bars. Chris M. gave Joe and me a celebrity name of "Jella" because we were inseparable. Sucks that we're separated so far now :(


Kelly, me, Betzy, and Joy in TN. That openning was way harsh. I worked my longest shift: 8am-2am, and then again 8am-midnight just to get this store open! Loved this team though. The Southern Belles plus Kelly.

What's a hazmat? How do I know if I am driving a hazmat or not? And is Chevy Chase named after the town or is the town named after Chevy Chase? And who the hell is Jack Meoff? Good times in Maryland with Drew, Alex, and Amanda. The Baller Team.

Oh KevEv how I miss you! Shut the front door! Really? Did you really just go crop dusting?

AH VEGAS! Oh how I miss thee. Lobster for breakfast, who does that? And I only lost $4,000 of someone elses money, no biggie. Can't wait for our annual Vegas trip this year!