Who is this Willy person, and what's his obsession with coconuts?

I hardly remember the flight... I remember getting off one plane... Getting on another, and then landing. And being extremely nervous.

My friend, my person, and possibly my soul mate was excited to have me come to visit. I couldn't wait to see her, that much I knew. In the days leading up to my visit, she had me talking to one of her friends that she had met down there through her new boyfriend. His name is Eddie, and he is a really genuine guy. She was already getting me to talk to people and get them to convince me to make my trip a little more permanent...

I remember the plane landing... and once they said it was okay to use cell phones and other gadgets, I turned my phone on. I looked out the windows... Dark. But I could still see palm trees surrounding the buildings... Palm trees. Florida. I felt automatically like I was home. My phone vibrated, and then screamed. Man, I miss that ring tone... It always freaked everyone out. Really, all it meant was that I had a text message.

"Let us know when you land."

It was from my person! I was so excited... I wrote her a text as fast as my little fingers would let me....

"PALM TREES!"

I finally noticed what time it was... Around ten. The two hour time difference still had me wired, even though I had been flying most of the day. I did have a couple cups of coffee... They said they already had plans for that night.... I couldn't wait to drop my things off, get ready and see what all the fuss was about with Florida... Even though I loved it already... Palm trees, for crying out loud! Not Pine or Maple or Spruce! PALM!

My phone screamed again...

"LOL you must be here... We'll meet out outside of baggage claim!"

"PALM TREES!"

"LOL"

I walked off the plane... Dazed. The air still felt so warm and humid. So much more humid than I was used to. It was like taking a drink of water every time I took a breath... but things like that were easy for me to get used to. I had my Strawberry Shortcake backpack strapped to my back and my purse hanging on my side... and it felt like I couldn't get there fast enough... I waited to get on the train, (a train? in the airport?) and my foot was tapping... I couldn't wait to see her.

I walked past security, on my way to pick up my MASSIVE suitcase, when I heard screaming... Good screaming! It was my person! She noticed me first, and I saw her doing our happy dance through the crowd of people... Dancing on her toes, and hopping up and down. Once it was finally okay to run, she and I booked it straight into each other's arms...

"DARLING!"

"I've missed you so bad!"

"PALM TREES!!"

"I know!"

I couldn't let her go... Tears started to form in my eyes, and I knew I never wanted to go that long without my best friend again. So much had happened in such a small amount of time, and she and I really needed each other.

Eddie was standing behind her, which meant that her boyfriend, Jamie was in the car. Even though we still didn't know each other that well, he gave me a hug. My person and I could not stop holding on to each other.... We made our way to grab my bag, our arms still wrapped around each other, and then finally to the car...

Jamie was waiting outside. We threw my things in and climbed inside is Mazda. The air was so humid! It took a little more effort for me to breathe.

"Fa...fa... family butt time!" Eddie called from the seat next to me.

"Say what now?" I had no idea what he was talking about... but once the rules were explained to me, this game, I knew, would be the death of me.

"Oh dear... we're getting her started early...." Manda, my person, groaned from the front seat.

Jamie just started laughing. They were all pulling cigarettes out from their packs, and I couldn't be happier. I hadn't smoked since before I left Salt Lake City. Windows down, humid air streaming in, and me watching the palm trees fly by as we headed to our next destination.

"Family butt time... Any time anyone calls it, whoever in the area that smokes in our little family, or whoever else is around for that matter, has thirty seconds to pull out a cigarette and smoke." Jamie explained. "No matter what they're doing. Seriously."

"They caught me when I was in the shower." Manda started, laughing at the memory. "I was wrapped in a towel, with shampoo still in my hair!"

"Gotcha." I laughed and took a heavy drag. I brought my favorites with me so it shouldn't be a problem. "So... how far away is your house, because I really really really have to change and make it look like I haven't been traveling all day."

"We're not going home." Eddie smiled.

"Uh... k?"

"We're going to the bar! It's part of your initiation to Florida, Love." Manda turned around in her seat to explain. "You have to go to Coconut Willy's. And it's on the way home from the airport."

"Alright...?"

"I want to see how much this girl can drink... Family butt time!"

"Come on, Eddie! I just finished!" Manda moaned as she turned back to face forward.

"I don't mind." Jamie pulled out another one and lit it with his zippo with a smile.

"They don't call me 'Two-beer Mandy' for no reason! Palm trees!" I squealed! I couldn't get over it, still. Everyone just laughed at me.

"Palm trees..." Manda echoed.

Before I knew it, we were pulling up to this infamous bar that Manda had been telling me about while we talked on the phone. Now I was going to see everything and everyone she had been talking about. She didn't say anything bad about Florida, aside from her own person experiences. But those were not typical of every person here... and she still loved it.

Coconut Willy's was underneath a hotel.... There were neon lights, blue and green, with the name in huge letters, and a double decker bus parked in the parking lot, and I could already hear the music blasting from inside... Karaoke. Oh dear... Apparently there were a lot of people from England in the area because of the college program too... Hence the bus sitting out front...

Jamie pulled into the parking lot and snagged a prime space up front, and Eddie called FBT, yet again, as we climbed out and walked towards the doors. They were already being greeted by people lounging around the tables out front... With the palm trees. Names and faces blurred... there were too many to try to remember right now. I knew as soon as I got a couple drinks in me, I would forget them anyway. It had been a long day, and I just needed my brain to stop working.

By the time I finally made it inside with Manda, Jamie and Eddie had already gotten two pitchers of Bud Light for us with four glasses. More names and faces and handshakes and hugs blurred into my mind as we attempted to make our way to the table. They had just pushed another one against two more. So many people. Palm trees. Florida. Home. That's all I could keep thinking. I took a sip of beer... and it tasted like... Beer. Not water, like it tasted in Utah. It tasted like real beer. I knew I was going to like it here.

My glass was never empty. After I would drink even just a little bit, someone would fill it up when I wasn't paying attention, making it almost impossible to keep track of how many pints were actually consumed. I don't remember the shots... I just remember being overly happy to finally be surrounded by people who didn't know everything I had just left behind, and to finally have a grin on my face. I didn't need to worry about running into people here. They were all new. They all had smiles on their faces, and were actually happy. New experiences. New life. New everything. Fresh start.

I stepped outside to take everything in once again... I deep breath in of nicotine, and a sigh of relief out meant only one thing. I wanted to make Florida home.

One little moment changes everything...

I was sitting across from my two friends, Brettley and Jesse.  I've been friends with these guys for years, since my sophomore year in high school when we were all in the same math class.  These boys have been there for me from the first boyfriend, to the last.  And even though we don't talk as much now, I'm sure that we'll always be friends and always be there for each other when we can.  In fact, as we were sitting at the restaurant, they were already doing me a million favors and taking on so much more than I ever expected.

We were eating pizza, I believe at Litza's Pizza, and they were giving me a ride to the airport for my first trip out to Florida to see if I liked it.  My bags were packed and waiting at my apartment with my dog... I knew if I moved I wouldn't be able to take that beloved puppy with me.  It was way too hot for him....  Not only would they be taking me to the airport, but they were going to take my dog for the week... and when I moved, they would take him forever.

"Why the hell did you date McCall??"

My mind had wandered.... "Huh, whatta?"

"McCall?  What did you see in him?"  Jesse had his classic grin on his face.  We had been talking about how things had changed since we were first met, and past memories... which seemed fitting, considering where we were headed in the next couple hours.

"Why didn't you guys stop me?"  I yelled at him, wide eyed.  "I was totally blinded and thought that I liked him, when he was the worst boyfriend ever!  You could have given me some warning.  Worst two years of my life."

"Well... Jesse did kinda try to date you first."  Brett shrugged his shoulders, and started playing with our straws like they were drum sticks.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, yeah.  That's actually how he knew your number..."  Jesse started to get a little shy.  "I was interested in you first and kept repeating it so I would memorize it... and he ended up memorizing it, and realized I wanted to date you, so he started flirting with you to make me mad."

"What?"

"Yeah.  He first started getting all cute with you because I wanted to date you.  And that's just how he was.  I tried to get in there too, but I was too nervous, and just kinda gave up... I guess."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing... My first boyfriend didn't date me because he liked me.  He dated me to piss his friend off.  This is the guy that took my virginity, that I wasted a couple years on, and in the end cheated on me and dumped me the day before Valentine's day... Oh, yeah, then he went on his mission...  Didn't even like me in the beginning.  What a keeper.  I sure know how to pick 'em.  Seriously.

My jaw dropped.  I took a couple breaths... "Are you being serious?  Why did you guys stay friends with him if he was such an ass?"

"We liked his house!"  Brett admitted without any shame.  "His parents were never home and there was always something to do."

"Huh... "  I can't believe he seriously didn't love me like that in the beginning.  What a liar.  "You could have warned me, still."

"Can you imagine how different everything would be if you never dated him?"

I never thought about that before.  If I never had dated McCall... I wouldn't have hung out with these guys.  If I had ended up dating Jesse instead... I can't even imagine how crazy it would all have been.  At all.  If I knew how he really was, and I never dated him, I wouldn't have met Joe.  I wouldn't have had my heart so broken...  I wouldn't have met the people I did, dated the guys I did... tried to move on the way I did...  My entire life would have not been like this.  I wouldn't have met my best friends.  I wouldn't be going to Florida.

We talked about all the possibilities on the way to the airport.  Oden, my awesome dog, was in the back seat.  My stuff was in the trunk... And so many scenarios ran through all of our heads.  Each one seemed so much better than the others.  We still talked about it as they helped me to the check in counter.  

I was completely distracted the entire time as I walked down to my gate.  I hardly remember walking onto the plane, or walking down the isle.

I was still in awe as I climbed into my seat for the long flight...  No McCall.  No Joe.  None of this would have happened.  I would not be here if it wasn't for them...  The damage they did to me, put me where I was that day.

I looked out the window at all the other planes lined up outside, and tried to take in the mountains, yet again.  And I couldn't be more thankful to the guys that messed up my head in the first place to put me in that airplane.

who, what, where, when, and... WHY??

July. 2007.

My best friend had left months before to Florida, and I felt miserable. Sure, I had my own friends. I had an awesome apartment in downtown Salt Lake City. I had a really cool job that would never pay me enough for the work I did, and I was kinda satisfied with how my life was going... But a lot was missing. I still felt empty. The lease was up on my apartment, and I could go month to month (with some extra money I didn't have involved....), I could find a new place, I could get roommates, or I could move out of the state. So how did my decision finally get made? Why did I do what I decided to do? That will come with some more explaining...

My head was a mess. I knew I wanted something new, and that I could do so much better than I had been. I had been in my dark and twisty place for a long time, and couldn't seem to pull myself out of it, for whatever reason. I let the same guys keep messing with my head, and it just seemed to get worse day by day. One in particular had seriously destroyed me, almost beyond repair, and there will be more on him later... or in previous blogs if you care to look. (www.notsogeniusmind.blogspot.com).

It took a lot of coaxing... Maybe I just needed to get out for a little while and see what was out there. Check my options. Listen to the advice of those that knew me best.

I'm not really sure how, but I decided that I was going to move out of the state. I'm pretty sure it was because I wanted to get away from everything that reminded me of Brown Boot... Every time I saw the damn mountains, trees, anything downtown (especially the U of U campus, and sadly enough my own apartment...), bodies of water... Every time I thought about camping, riding a bike, or doing anything, I thought of him. Seriously. My life was tainted by him, and I needed to get out. I needed to forget. And I needed somewhere I had never been to with him. I knew I could never move on if I thought about him every where I looked and every corner I turned. That damn Brown Boot had been walking all over my life and destroying everything as if he were Godzilla...

Or an even better description would be the scene from "Lelo and Stitch" where stitch builds a city, and then destroys it. Mr. Brown Boot had literally built up my life, and was taking his sweet time destroying every little part of it. He built me up, and tore me down... I don't think he'll ever know the amount of damage he did. And I still don't believe that he knows he was a big reason why I left in the first place.

As for moving out of the state, I had three options. Hawaii, Florida, or Oregon.

My best friend from first grade lived in Oregon, where I grew up... and I was dying to live there once again. She had a place for me, she had dogs, and I already knew where stuff was around the area. I was more than welcome, and in fact, she had been trying to convince me to move back.

Someone who used to be a friend, but never really was that great of one... Actually, they were the worst friend I ever had to be completely honest. I'll talk about that stuff at some point. Only we'll change her name so that if she ever reads this, she won't get even more mad at me than she already is.... Anyway. Someone I thought was my friend had moved to Hawaii, and loved it. I used my best judgement, and ruled this idea out completely. I needed something a little less "stranded-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean-away-from-everything-I-know" if you catch my drift.

My best friend, that I had ironically met through Brown Boot, lived in Florida. She hated the Disney College Program that she had originally gone down there for, finally broke things off with a friend that was much like the friend I mentioned in my previous paragraph, and she had broken up with her boyfriend and found someone so much better. She had a job where she made plenty of money, and she was happier than she had been in a long time.They lived close enough to hear the fireworks at DisneyWorld, they went to the beach, and they had a good group of people, and a lot of fun.... She was still having just as hard of a time without me as I was having without her... And her boyfriend, who is amazing by the way, said that he would buy me a plane ticket to come visit for a week and then let me decide what to do. Maybe this was what I needed.

I took the bate for Florida. I needed my friend and she needed me, and some palm trees and sandy beaches wouldn't hurt either. Jamie, my friend's boyfriend, bought the ticket, and I started packing my bags for a trip that would change the rest of my life more than I could imagine.