Noodles and Sauce

WARNING: If you are my friend and have ever lived in Atlanta, you will either love or hate this post. But after buying my recent flight to the ATL, I started feeling a little nostalgic.

Once upon a time there were 4 girls, living in a big city, working in the real world, and learning how to balance work and play. Their names were Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda Carrie, Melissa, Kate and Maggie. These classy ladies filled their days with advertising and their nights with cheap booze, dancing at CJ’s, taking $80 cab rides to the middle of nowhere, and overdrafting their bank accounts. Sunday’s existed for early morning conference calls recalling the night’s events, and eating queso from Taco Mac. They played kickball, went boating, and after too much queso, forced themselves to join bootcamp. The definition of Renaissance Women.

   

Note - we had to take this picture of ourselves because we didn't have any other friends. 

 In 2007 things really started to pick up when we added 2 new faces to the group: Enter Jones and my fave roomie, Carreen. The additions brought a few new things to our routine: Sunday Bloody Sundays in our comfies, late nights at Atkins, beer pong and flip cup at 3am, sticky red counters from kool-aid and schnapps mixtures, and Halloween parties with sparse attendance. They were the best of times, they were the worst of times, and above all, they were the blurriest of times.

 

  

   

Members of IPPL came to Atlanta in waves and with them came the VaHi crew and the infamous John Harrison. Throw in John Coggin, Schmelter, a few part time love affairs, fellow NAM coordinators and other groups of co-workers...you've got yourself a great group ATLiens (yes, I said it). Suddenly we had enough players for our own kickball team, and a garage code known by 10% of the Atlanta population. People actually came to our parties!! Proms, Furthdays, Luaus, Easter Brunches, and cookouts on the back patio. Sometimes we were too busy planning the next party that we could barely remember everything that was going on. But no matter where we were or what we were doing, I always loved the company of my friends in Atlanta.

   

Over the years, many of us have left the great city of Atlanta. Atlanta is known for being a transit city, but mostly it was just a city of change. We grew so much throughout the years, and changed more that just our hair (photographic evidence above). For me, it was the city where I really found myself. I learned how to make it in the real world on my own, how to make meals other than just noodles and sauce, the difference between a cab and a cop car, how to bail your friend out of jail, and found a love of white queso. I learned that the Gator Nation really is everywhere, Publix is better than Kroger, gossiping is best over sushi and Crystal Light powder makes a terrible mixer. And mostly, from my friends, I learned what it means to love, forgive, trust and take risks, and I will always remember the four years I spent there to be four of my favorite :)