To My Dearest New York...

Dear New York,

You know I love you, right? I really do, but in order for us to move on in our relationship, I really must get this off my chest. It's been a year and a half that we've been together but there's some things that just annoy me about you. If you want to continue on with our relationship there's just a few things you need to work on.

First of all, your speed limit on all your parkways and major roadways is just way too low. 55 MPH, really? Who made this law, my grandmother? No wonder Floridians get so mad when all the snowbirds invade the south, because all the Yanks are used to not going over 55. In Florida, mostly all interstates have a speed limit of 70 MPH. This means you can go at least 85 without getting into trouble.
This speed limit of 55 MPH is kind of a problem for me. On account of that I commute a total of 2 hours a day for work and on account of I have a medical condition. Don't worry, it's not that serious of a condition but it is a condition I have dealt with since I turned 16. It's condition in my right foot called Lead Foot Syndrome. This syndrome is caused by having lead in my right foot so it causes driving slow to be almost impossible since my foot is so heavy on the accelerator. It's a real condition you guys! Google it if you don't believe me.
New York, it would help me out so much if you could just increase your speed limit, especially on the Southern, Northern, Ocean and Sagtikos Parkways to 70MPH, or even just 65 would be beneficial. You see, with my medical condition and being that if I get another ticket I might have my license suspended I am in a bit of a bind. If you could just raise this speed limit it would mean more sleep for me, less of being late for work, more time for me to get ready for work or go out after work and less time for my friends to have to wait for me to get home from work and less of me having road rage at all the Yanks out there that actually drive the slow ass speed limit.

Secondly, why are your state taxes so damn high? I mean I know you're a little high maintenance and all with your big, busy city but damn dude. I'm not all that great with this tax stuff, that's what accountants are for, right? But I know that when I get my paycheck stub and see my net pay versus what is actually in my paycheck it just down right pisses me off. Where does all my hard working money go? To the schools? I don't have kids so why should my money go there? To the roads? If so, why are there so many damn potholes? And I know my money doesn't go to the snow plowers, and if it is they aren't doing their jobs right because my road sure wasn't plowed right after all this snow.

And that brings me to another topic that's pissing me off, New York. Why you gotta snow so much this winter? You weren't this bad last year. Are you mad at me or something? I know I left you for 3 months but you don't have to show your madness with record breaking snow fall. You're making my commute to work more stressful than my actual day at work, running the boardwalk a slippery obstacle course so therefore I'm not getting my ass into shape, wearing heels outside impossible, street parking a nightmare, stumbling home from the bar more dangerous than it should be, and worst of all you're giving me the winter blues!

So New York, please don't take this post the wrong way, I still do love you. I love your surfer filled beaches. I love your never sleeping big city. I love your defined seasons, especially summer. I love your excitement for sports, even though I'm not a Yankees, Giants, Jets or Mets fan(okay, so I might like the Jets just a little bit). I love your events for celebrating holidays, even if some of them are made up (i.e. Irish Day). I love the way you pronounce your vowels(I gotta say, the accents are growing on me, even though I hope I never talk like that). Trust me, I'm not going to leave you anytime soon. But if you can't do something soon about these things that annoy me, I might have to take some sort of action. I already got a new car just so we could stay together. Where's the compromise, New York? If you don't start making me more happy New York, I might just have to go find some place else that will! Maybe like Boston? Don't worry I'll only be gone for a little over a week. Or maybe Vegas? The trip is already booked but I can always cancel my flight back!

My home in New York. Yes, I live in a barn.

Sunny, With a Chance of Snow

I can say that after a year and a half of living in New York, I am an official New Yorker. This happened after the day after Christmas. My travels had ended and I had just flown back to New York on Christmas day from Florida. I had to close my store and live an hour drive to work. A blizzard was supposedly hitting Long Island later that day so I brought the essentials just in case I got stuck at my store.

The snow was really coming down. While at work, I walked by one of the mall entrances and all I saw was white. This scared the shit out of me. Last year during winter I missed the 2 big snow storms, the first I was in Florida and the second I was in San Diego making fun of all my friends that were snowed in. It did snow a few other times last year but at that time I lived a mile away from work and had a roommate that had 4-wheel drive that I rode with when it snowed.

We ended up closing the store early even though shoppers were still in the mall. These yanks are crazy up here. After we closed down the store, we walked out to our cars. After scraping the snow off my windshield, I was ready to start my journey back to Long Beach. For some crazy reason I thought I could make the hour drive home. I thought my car was invincible. It's a muscle car! It's a Mustang so it can do anything! Maybe in Florida...

After stopping at the first red light, my car wouldn't move. Oh the back tires were moving, but nothing else. Thank God another manager was right behind me and a nice guy was behind her. They pushed me out so I could go back to the mall parking lot to park my car. I rode with that manager to another manager's house to stay the night.

The next day, we didn't open until 2pm. After work, I walked out to my snow covered car. I could barely see the yellow. With no shovel, I started digging my car out with my hands and feet. A security guard stopped and pulled out two shovels. After digging for a few minutes, I tried backing it out. No go. The security guard tried pushing while I hit the gas. No go. A guy stopped and helped push. I only smelt burnt rubber. Finally after them pushing and me hitting the gas for 10 minutes, I got out. My car was free. I started my long journey back to LB.

The drive wasn't that bad, until I got to Long Beach. It seemed they hadn't plowed any snow. There's a million and one stop lights on the way to my house and I thought about running every single one because I was so scared of stopping and getting stuck again. I finally got to the last stop light and turned down my road. I was finally home! Until I saw my road. It was covered with snow. I had only two more houses to go until I was at my house. My back tires were spinning and I was a not moving. There I was, stuck in the middle of my road, my house just a few feet away. A bulldozer started coming down the road. Yes! He's come to save me! "You shouldn't be out on the roads. Especially with that thing. That's not a winter car," he said to me as he reversed and left the street. Thanks for your wise words of wisdom jackass but words aren't gonna get my damn car out! Another guy came down the road and tried to push me. No go. My roommate and other friend came and tried. NO GO! Then I remembered I had AAA. They came an hour and a half later with a tow truck. Finally my car was out of the slush and in front of my house.

The next day, it was back to work I had to go. When I woke up I thought, how the hell am I gonna make it? A kid could drop a snow cone on the ground and my car would get stuck in it. My roommate and his girlfriend tried to help me get my car out of my parking spot. After about 2 hours, no go. Even if we had gotten it out, my car would only get stuck in the slush on the road ahead. I ended up taking my roommate's SUV to work that day. Three days passed and my car was still in the same spot. On New Year's Eve, I knew I wouldn't be in the best condition to get my car out the next day for work in the morning, so I was determined to get ole Sunny out. With the help of a couple neighborhood girls that were having a snowball fight, I got Sunny out! I parked it in a spot I knew I couldn't get stuck in for the next day.

The following week, snow was predicted again. I knew Sunny wasn't gonna make it this winter. She was done. With her rear tires with no more tread, squeaky timing belt, and check engine light on, I knew she was mad at me. She was ready to go back to where the sun shined down on her yellow exterior, where she could drive 90 on the road and no one would stop her, where her Mustang emblem would not get stolen(it was stolen the 1st month I moved up here).

I have the best family ever. My dad found me an all wheel drive SUV and my brother agreed to meet me half way to exchange cars. All I had to do was get insurance, register my car for New York, get my New York state drivers license and drive Sunny to North Carolina to meet my brother. Easier said than done.

After 3 trips to the Department of Motor Idiots, finding out I had a suspension on my license because they couldn't put my Florida street address with the right city(they sent a citation that I had too many points on my license to 22 McCarthy Ave. AVENTURA, FL instead of FROSTPROOF, FL) and paying a whole paycheck worth of points on license, car insurance, and New York state taxes on my new car, I was ready for the trip down to NC.

518 miles, a short pit stop to get new back tires, and 5 states later, I made it to NC. After 5 years of being with Sunny, it was time to say goodbye. Sunny was the best gift I'd ever gotten. She was a graduation gift from my parents when I graduated college. My parents surprised me with her by driving it up in the yard after they had said it was already sold by the time they got to the dealership. She was my 4th Mustang, my first being the Great Pumpkin when I was 15 after my dad thought I was turning 16. He's never really been good with keeping up with ages or dates. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm still 24 and that my birthday is October 17.

I've had some pretty good and maybe not so good memories with that car. Driving to and from Tampa and Miami to FP. The long road trip to NY and getting the shit scared out of me when a bum tried to clean my windshield in NYC. Windows down and music up cruising through Miami. Thinking it was towed from the Wal-Mart parking lot after a long night of drunkeness only to find it in my driveway because my parents wanted to teach me a lesson. 7 tickets; 3 speeding, 1 running a red light, 2 parking tickets, and 1 for my tint being too dark. Flying back to NY to find 2 feet of snow behind my car and not having a shovel or even a brush. Hooking up my Ipod and singing to the top of my lungs while driving 85 down the interstate.

I'm going to miss Sunny, but it's a new year and time for a change. It's nice to have an SUV now, especially up here. No more worrying about how I'm going to get to work when it's snowing or sticking out like a sore thumb when driving on the parkways. I think Mitsy is going to enjoy NY!

Saying goodbye to Sunny.

My new ride Mitsy!

This is what happens when I get bored and find old school CD's. One of my many talents: turning any song into a country song! For your listening pleasure.

The Story of My Singleness

With the holidays comes friends, family, gifts, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, egg nog, lights, cookies, mistletoe, parties, and if you're a girl in your mid to late 20's in a serious relationship comes engagements. I don't know how many news feeds I read on my facebook that had engagement announcements or photos of diamond rings. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy for all of my friends that got a little square box for Christmas, but you gotta see it my way. These engagements puts a lot of pressure on a still single girl like me. My family thinks that I might grow up to be a cat lady, die an old maid, or even that I might like girls! First of all, I don't like cats, if anything I'm gonna be a dog lady. Secondly, have you seen my mess of a bedroom? I am far from being any kind of maid! And most importantly, I love guys. Since I was in pre-school, I've always been a little boy crazy. No matter how many assholes I may meet, none of them could ever turn me to lesbianism. What's even worse is that my grandmother is telling her nurse that I was supposed to be engaged over Christmas.

So Still Single Stella has something to say about herself not settling down. I'm not against getting married at all. One day I will get married and have kids with a house with a backyard and a white picket fence(okay so I might already have my fence, it might be at a rented house and need some paint, but by golly I got my picket fence!) To be honest, I wouldn't mind being in a relationship. It's been a LOOOONNNNGGG time since I've been in one and it would be nice to have someone to cuddle with on a cold New York night, someone to call to help get my car out of the snow, someone to kick it with out on the dance floor, someone I can add to my fb page as being "in a relationship with..."(haha sorry I had to add that). And the truth is, if I really needed to be in a relationship, I'm pretty sure I could be. I don't want to come across arrogant or stuck up, but I'm a picky person. I don't just settle down just because I want to be in a relationship and won't date the first guy that comes along. If I don't feel something for a person, I'm not going to waste my time. At the same time though, I tend to still waste my time. I waste my time being attracted to the wrong guys or having bad timing. Sure, I've been in a couple relationships where the guy wasn't wrong at all, just not a good time in my life for me to have settled down.

Another fact about this single girl: I am boy-illiterate. I don't know how to read them. When ever I'm in to a guy I seem to play it cool on the outside, but on the inside my brain is scrambling with thoughts of: Is he in to me? Is he in to someone else? Is he a good guy? Should I text him? Should I wait for him to call? And when I actually end up going out on a real date with a guy, these are the thoughts that cross my mind:
Is he going to pick me up or should I meet him there? Where are we going? What should I wear? Casual or dressy? What should I order? If I order that will it be too messy? Should I order a drink? Am I talking too much? Why did I just say that? Do I have food in my teeth? Am I drinking too much? Should I offer to pay my half of the bill? Do we kiss goodbye? Do I offer him a drink inside? Are we going to see each other again? Should I text him or wait for him to text me?
Stella+Dating=awkward.

I have also chosen a different route for my life. I've spent time traveling and moving, not really having a life to be able to settle down. I've chosen my career, my independence, my love for travel, excitement, and spontaneity.

So for those of you who wonder why a girl like me is still single, this is it. That's the story of my singleness. Mystery solved.

New Year, New Posts

For 2011, I have made a few resolutions for my year. I have decided like most people, I am going to be more healthy and go running more. I am going to get off my ass on my days off and actually do stuff. I'm going to try my damn hardest to get promoted at work (new motto: shit or get off the pot). And most importantly, I am going to write more.

To me, writing is my escape from the world. It lets me get my thoughts that I've bottled inside out of me so I can somehow make sense of all that's in my head. It makes me sane when I feel my world is filled with a bit of chaos. It lets me express who I am and who I want to become.

And now I would like to apologize for that last paragraph. Okay, so I'm a total cheeseball. I promise my blog won't be all Cheez Whiz and Corn Puffs anymore. I really want to write a funny, interesting, exciting blog about my adventures in life. Now that my travels are over and my life is back to normal, I hope I don't bore anyone. I do, however, have some interesting ideas for future posts. Hopefully I can get my ideas typed up on the computer like they sound in my head(more censored though, of course!)

Long Time No Post

Yeah yeah I know I haven't posted in like forever. I've been busy. So much going on in life. I promise for a longer post later on. I've been doing much better than I was in March. It seems 2010 might actually be a great year. I've moved to a new town in Long Island called Long Beach, which I am in love with, been on a couple of trips like the Bahamas and back to Florida, and now I've just found out I will be traveling once again! This time, it won't just be domestically, but internationally! I will also be a team leader, which means I will be in charge of my own team and making sure the opening goes smoothly and the store opens on time. I'm really excited to be back on the road and do something different than be in one store.
That's all I have time for right now. I will be trying to update my blog more often though and give more details of what's been going on in my crazy life, especially later on this year when I'm where ever my flights may take me.

March Madness(and I'm not talking about basketball)

Oh March, why do you suck this year? It's only the the 17th day of the month and I'm scared to see what the rest of this month has to offer. Hell, it's only the 3rd month of the year and I'm pretty terrified of the next 9 months ahead. I guess after having such a baller February, God decided to mix my life up a bit and make it miserable.

This month started off with the death of one of my part time associates. Everyone at my store was devastated. Monika was such an amazing part of our Gilly family. Always smiling, happy, full of life, beautiful, young, caring, hard working, had so much going for her. I always loved working with her. I still can't believe she's gone.

The same week I found out my District Manager was no longer going to have my store anymore. I've had my DM for over a year now, which I think is the longest one I've ever had. I know it is better for her that she doesn't have New York anymore and I do like my new DM, but she's been there for me when I was at my lowest and has developed me into what I am now.

That weekend, I went out to the city. Man did I need a night of fun after the week I just had more than ever. But, my name is Stella Taylor and I can't just have a normal fun night out. The night started with Sarah, Morgan and I heading to the train station. We thought we might miss the 9:40 train out, but turns out the station was closed temporarily. We had to take a school bus to another station, which turned out to be the party bus ride to hell. The bus driver had no idea where he was going and we ended up lost. We made it to the train station an hour later, and didn't make it to the city until midnight.
The party bus was only the start of my random night. The minute I walked into the bar, I received a text message. A text message from someone I try not to think too much about, and I had succeed so far this year. Yes, he has popped into my head a couple times throughout this year, but my head was clean of him compared to most of last year. Through time, I've thought of him less and less. But that night brought me right back to where I had started. An hour after I received the out of the blue text, he was there. Right in front of me. And all the feelings and thoughts that had so slowly left me came pouring back. I was vulnerable again. I was so unbelievably happy but incredibly sad. Happy because he makes me that way when I'm with him but sad because I knew that feeling wouldn't last. Happy to be with him but sad because I knew I would have to say goodbye. How does someone make me so happy but yet so sad? Like I said, now I feel like I'm right back to where I started, and it pretty much sucks. It's the worst feeling to want something so bad but know you can't have it. That's what I get for being spoiled as a child.

Monday of this week, my roommate finally got her promotion. This means she's off to Japan in less than a month! This is probably the only exciting news that has come out of March. It's an awesome opportunity for her, but I also feel sad that she's leaving. I'm gonna miss all our random moments, conversations that no one else would understand but us, and our baller nights out. Long Island will not be the same without her. Now I'm getting stressed with the thought of having to move my stuff in less than a month and even more stressed about finding a place.

Yesterday is when I knew March 2010 absolutely hated me. I got a phone call from my mom saying she had tripped over my dog and broken her kneecap. She was going to need surgery the next day and wouldn't be able to walk for about a month. She's been through so much with taking care of my grandmother amongst other things. I feel like such a bad daughter that I can't be there to help her recover and help take care of my grandmother. I'm so glad she has my dad and brother to be there for her, it just sucks I can't be there too.

Thank God for my vacation to look forward to in April. I'm definitely going to need it if March doesn't get anymore better! Hopefully I can last that long without having a mental break down.

California here we come, right back where we started from...

In between our Vegas adventures, Sarah and I took a road trip to San Diego. We needed a break from the restless and crazy Sin City lifestyle before we ended up delirious from exhaustion. The morning we were leaving for Cali, I woke up in Vegas from my 2 hour nap and felt like I was beaten up by Chris Brown. I somehow managed to accumulate a hand full of bruises from my castle adventures, along with bruises going all down my arm from my new star bangle watch. I was wearing my "Lost Vegas" shirt with all the holes, which I gotta say definitely fit how I looked and felt at that moment.

We finally got our rental car and and headed out on the open road with our Chevy Aveo. The sights were beautiful but as for the trip, it was pretty rough. Seeing as though I had 5 total hours of sleep in the last two days, felt like a beaten dog, hung over, having to drive the whole trip as my punishment for keeping Sarah up all night, and half way through the drive a monsoon hit, some points of the trip weren't as fun as I thought they would be.

7 hours later, we finally made it to our hotel. Our hotel, the San Diego Hilton Spa, was freakin' baller. It's nice to be a Hilton Diamond member! Exhaustion hit the minute we walked in the door of our room. We ended up crashing until the next morning.

We awoke early the next morning refreshed and ready to go. We jumped in the rental and headed to Anaheim to Disneyland! Yes, I know I am a 27-year-old woman, but who doesn't love Disneyland? While we were there, we rode every single ride we saw, including Space Mountain a dozen times where Sarah broke her camera. By the end of the day, we were exhausted again. We headed back to our San Diego utopia and called it another early night.

The next morning, we did something we joked about doing, but I really didn't think we would actually do it. Mexico was only 20 minutes away and neither had I nor Sarah ever crossed the border. We didn't want to drive the rental car over the border, so we googled how to walk across the border. We parked the rental in one of the many parking lots by the border and headed towards the huge barbed wire fence. It was a lot easier than we thought. We just walked right in to Mexico. It was easier to walk into Mexico than going through the airport security at La Guardia.

When are feet hit Mexican soil, we were definitely nervous. Our friends kept telling us that we were going to get kidnapped. Most of the people were kind of scary. Being that I lived in Miami for a few months, I knew un poco espanol. I know enough to know what "rubia" and "bonita chicas!" means. Our first 10 minutes in Mexico, we were already eye raped by a few dozen Mexicans and offered "medicine". While walking the streets of Tijuana, a little man named Camillo at a restaurant approached us with drink specials and a menu. We decided to check it out.

Camillo was awesome. He spoke pretty clear English but we tried our Spanish with him. He brought us many Margaritas, enchiladas, and tacos and played us some good ole uncensored rap music. I found this funny because we were in Mexico and thought they'd have a mariachi band or something.

After making a new Mexican friend and having a few Margaritas to settle our nerves, Mexico wasn't half bad. It might be a bit dirty, the guys might be a little creepy, and they might have way too many farmacias, but Mexico did have the best Margaritas and Mexican food ever(obviously!).

That night, we walked around Pacific Beach, or what the locals call "PB". We had sushi at PB Sushi and then called it a night. We knew the next day driving back to Vegas would be a long day.

The next day, it was time to pack up and head back to Las Vegas. I loved beautiful Cali and happy I could add another country to my list of places I've been, but nothing can beat Vegas!

Here's some quotes from the whole trip that might only be funny to Sarah and me, but still wanted to post them.
"I love a big Maine Coon!" -Adam, from the Thunder From Down Under, as he puts his arms out like he's holding a huge cat. Yes, this is what Sarah likes to talk to male strippers about.

"You want medicine?" -crazy Mexican guy in Tijuana

"Did you know the girls from the other night were Storm Troopers?"
"Storm Troopers? Really? Amazing!" -Sarah and I practicing our Australian accents in a delirious moment on the car ride home from Disneyland. We had a picture done with our heads on Star Wars Storm Troopers' bodies.

"You girls dance like rock stars." -bouncer at LAX while proceeding to stamp our hands and lead us up to VIP

"I heard the Thunder." -Sarah
"I felt the Thunder." -Stella

"You got any fruit?" -a guy at a mandatory stop in Cali. So many things I wanted to say in response to this, but I was pretty caught off guard. Apparently you can't bring any fruit into Cali from Nevada. Thank God it wasn't vice versa b/c we had a fruit salad on the way back! Might have had to go to fruit jail.
Things I would have said if I was expecting this:
"Well Sarah here is a little fruity sometimes. Does that count?"
"It depends. Would you call a tomato a fruit or vegetable?"
"Nope. But I do have about a pound of coke in my trunk."
"Why? You hungry? All you damn Californians always trying to be healthy!"
"Nope." said with half of a banana in my mouth.
While being asked, roll down my window, throw an apple at his head and take off!