Replacement Friends?

Chris and I just got back from my co-worker's wedding in St. Augustine. We left yest around 10:30, and 10 miles into our journey, my car tells me that one of my tires in low on pressure. We pulled over and found out that I ran over a screw and already my tire was going flat. We passed an autoshop a few miles back, so we turned around and tried to get it fixed. My gosh, if Chris weren't with me, I would have freaked out! I would have had no idea what to do! I don't know how to change a tire! Anyways, the tire got patched (for only $10) and 30 minutes later, we were back on the road!

I got so excited when we got to St. Augustine! We rolled down the car windows and turned the air conditioning off. The beach breeze and the smell of the ocean was amazing! We found our hotel, the Castillo Real, checked-in, changed into our bathing suits, and walked 100 feet to the beach! The hotel was seriously right on the sand! And it was only $99/night! The sand was so soft, the water was cold, there was only a handful of people, and it wasn't even that hot. Chris and I frolicked in the water and just layed in the sand.

After nearly three hours at the beach, we went back to the room to get ready for the wedding. The ceremony was at Anastasia State Park right on the beach. The guests were asked to wear white, and everyone did. Just as the sun was going down, Shanon walked down the "aisle". It was really pretty. Shanon's husband, Gustaf, is from Sweden, and Shanon is from Montana, so there weren't a lot of guests there. Maybe not more than 25. No flowergirls, bridesmaids or groomsmen; just a best man and a maid-of-honor. At the end, the minister asked all the guests to pick up a shell from the beach, make a wish on it for the newlyweds, and throw it into the ocean.

The reception was at a restaurant called the Conch House. No sit-down dinner, just appetizers, and each guest was given 3 drink tickets. Each ticket was worth a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. If anyone wanted a real drink, they would have to pay for it. Chris and I sat with the Borders gang and we all actually had a lot of fun. Because nearly the whole store was at the wedding, Stephen (the new guy) had to work that night, which was actually his 23rd bday. Derrick decided to prank-called him, so with an amazingly good and terrible fake country accent, he called the store and asked Stephen to find 5 things: a facepainting kit, a specific Bible that doesn't even exist, a specific movie, a cat journal, and a box of Skittles. I suggested the cat journal b/c I know that we have 5 different kinds, and I knew it would be difficult for Stephen to find the right one! After seriously 20 minutes, Stephen found everything. Derrick told him to put the items on hold with the message "Happy Birthday Stephen. From Derrick" and then hung up. Within minutes, Derrick got a text message from Stephen that was laced with profanity and death threats. We laughed for a long time.

When it came time for the bouquet toss, Chris told all my female co-workers to make sure I don't catch the bouquet. Lame. Anyways, I didn't catch it... a 12 year old did. She totally pushed other people out of her way to get it too! I drank a little too much and was really loose and having fun. Yes, I remember saying that my head was "sloshy". That's my word of choice whenever I drink a little too much.

It was 11:00 by the time the reception ended, and I thought that everyone would call it a night. Chris was tired so he wanted to go lay down in our room. I thought that was that, but instead I was invited to hang out with the Borders gang some more! It turned out that they got a room in my hotel. I mentioned that I was staying in the Castillo Real earlier in the week, but I didn't think they would book a room there too! I thought it was really nice for them to invite me to hang out with them. They could have kept their plans to themselves, but instead they invited me to hang out with them! We went down to the beach and just hung out. I didn't get back into my room until after 1:00.

When Shanon gave me her wedding invite more than a month ago, I felt kind of weird accepting it. I had just started working at Borders and I didn't really know my co-workers well enough to feel comfortable hanging out with them. But over the past couple months, I've begun to feel so comfortable being myself around them. The day after Walf left and I cried at work, I kept saying that I have like no friends anymore. The LOEF is more-or-less gone and I never really branched out enough at UF to made new friends. But while I was crying in the Borders breakroom, Ariel and Beckie kept saying that they were my friends and that I can always hang out with them. At the time, I just figured they were trying to make me feel better, but after last night, I really think that they may be new friends. Sitting with Beckie, Ariel, Derrick, Marcus, and Katie on the beach felt so natural. I wasn't self-conscious about what I was saying or even about the impression I was making, because I think they are finally accepting who I am. If they didn't like me, they wouldn't have invited me to spend time with them.

They still call me Nicole. I would love it if they called me Nicki.