to leah and evan.

the following is the maid of honor speech i made for my best friend this weekend. though i couldn't hold on to my papers because my hands were shaking so hard and i had to follow the best man comedy show, i'd still call it a success. it was such an honor to write this and to be the maid of honor for my best friend.

when i was younger, my brother used to talk me into doing all sorts of things i didn't want to do. so twenty something years ago when he nagged me to come to his friend micah's house because he promised i would really like micah's sister, i figured she was probably awful. i finally gave in just to shut him up. i don't often admit this, but i was wrong...she was great. it was the best gift my brother has ever given me.

leah and i were instantly inseparable. not only did i find a beset friend for life that day, i gained a pretty big extended family, a few extra holidays like hannukah and passover, the other half to our dance duet, a forever ice cream date, and partner in crime. i found the thelma to my louise.

as little girls, leah and i loved to play house. we would always pretend that we were married to twins. that way we could basically marry the same person and be related. while leah clearly didn't uphold that pact, i learned a long time ago it doesn't take blood to make you family.

in thinking of how i could describe what kind of friend leah is, this one story came to mind. you know when your parents say they will get you a pet, only if you take care of it but you don't, so they have to? well i had a rabbit like that and one day i came home to find it had died. i called leah and between my sobs she figured out that noah was dead and my parents were going to kill me. she immediately started running to my house. if you know leah, that is a pretty big deal..the running part. she also helped me figure out hat the rabbit wasn't dead after all. she saved my butt that day. 


she had run to my side and she was there for me. now we don't really live within running distance anymore but she continues to be there for me when i need her most. she's shared her family with me and has been my constant as friends and boyfriends have come and gone for us both. so it's been my honor to be her maid of honor. this day is something we dreamed up for a long time and i couldn't imagine a better prince charming for princess leah.

i remember when leah first started dating evan. she was visiting me in florida and though she was downplaying it, i could tell she was already smitten. calls and texts were going in and out at a rapid pace and her face would flush red when she spoke about him, and as much fun as i am to be around, i could tell by the end of the weekend she was ready to get back to him.

they've been together ever since and i can tell how happy he makes her. if ever there were a more detail-oriented person than leah, evan would be it. i know together they will make lists...and check them twice. but most of all they will always dream together, plan together, laugh together and grow together.

though i'm a few months older, leah's always been doing things first...first kiss, first boyfriend, first real job. what i'm trying to say is that i don't have any marriage advice because leah is blazing the trail once again! however, i do have a few things i wish for you both.

may you always kiss each other good night.
may your journey always be better than the destination.
may you continue to laugh together everyday.
may you always find home in each other.
always remember how in love you are today but may this be the day that you love each other the least.

i learned somewhere you should start with a joke and end with a quote. so'id like to end this with some dave matthews.

see, you and me
have a better time than most can dream
have it better than the best
and so can pull on through
whatever tears at us
whatever holds us down
and if nothing can be done
we'll make the best of what's around
turns out not where but who you're with that really matters

may you always make the best of what's around together.

to leah and evan!

i. went. SURFING.

my first year living in florida, i was on the cover of the newspaper. before and since i have been in the paper has been for much better things but have never made it to the cover. and never for something so ridiculous (and somewhat frightening).

i was at the beach with my fellow americorps member, nghia, who like most guys lacked common sense and even though he grew up near the water in vietnam, remained what i call "ocean dumb." no offense, he was a total smarty otherwise.

there are a few things that become inherent when you live near the ocean. you know how to catch a wave with your body or any kind board, when the tide is coming up, how to dive under an incoming wave, and to NEVER turn your back to the ocean. nghia knew none of these things.

still, we went swimming.

we didn't pay attention to the lifeguards' double red flags nor had we heard about the kid who was missing at sea. immediately i knew we were in trouble. it literally felt like there was a vacuum at my feet and i realized i was getting sucked out at an alarming speed. the logic side of my brain told me that i was supposed to follow the current and spit me back out. the panic side of my brain said GET YOUR FEET ON SOLID GROUND RIGHT NOW.

panic won.

i reached the shore just in time to see two lifeguards running towards us. i stood with one as we watched the other rescue nghia. not only was i glad to be alive, i was completely mortified. we had caught the attention of the entire beach. and lucky for us, a reporter.

when we got back to work the next week everyone was asking if we were ok. i wondered how they knew.

this story, along with a photo of nghia being helped out of the water had made the front page (lucky for me it can still be found on the interweb):

"...With rough waters and a rip current, lifeguards flew the red flag — high caution — and at one point dashed in and helped two Vero Beach residents, Nghia and Jessica, both 22 (and dumb). 'They were getting sucked out good,' lifeguard Matt Resch said. Lifeguards helped Nghia and Jessica struggle back to shore. The beach goers said they might have lost their footing after another minute in the rip current.
'It was like a vacuum,' Nghia said..."

first i would like to point out a few inconsistencies here. i was NOT helped by a lifeguard, though i was grateful for their efforts. i got out on my own powered by sheer will and fear. second i said it was like a vacuum. i do like how they pointed out "high caution" to highlight our stupidity. regardless, that is not how i planned on making a name for myself here, as the girl who was ocean dumb.

(it looked kind of like this except with more fear and less smile. also nghia would be way behind me.)

like i said i've made it in the paper a lot since then, for much better, cooler things. but this goes down as most memorable. it probably explains why my mom totally panicked this weekend after she hadn't heard from me after i went kayaking.

after that i was much more wary of the ocean. nghia wasn't. he went back in the next day with my friend doug and another friend who couldn't swim. doug had to save them both. OCEAN DUMB.

anyways this weekend i rediscovered the joy of the ocean. unfortunately my leg rediscovered the joy of a surfboard fin and i will be sporting a bruise. and who am i kidding, i'm totally showing that sucker off because i. went. SURFING.

and i survived.

and much to my disappointment it did not make the front page of the paper.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT~ Jessica is Not Ocean Dumb Afterall!

ps. nghia, if you are reading this, thanks for the memories. and i hope you live inland :)

pps. you read that right, i went kayaking and surfing in one weekend. i'm not sure which was less more successful.

dreams come true.

now i'm no scientologist but i do have a weird thing with dreams.

most of the time they are completely bizarre and don't even make sense when i'm in them much less when i wake up. but other times they are just real enough to freak me the heck out. like the dream where my mom died. i wasn't right the whole next day even after i talked to her and knew she was fine. i think it was so terrifying because i have a tendancy to have parts of my dream become reality.

ah, if only all my dreams could come true, right?

but when my friend told me she dreamed i had frogs in my bed and that bailey was eating them, i didn't really think much of it. first of all, i've never had/known that someone elses dream about me came true. second, bailey and mallory have some kind of weird connection (as in bailey would like to attach her nose to mallory's hip and mallory would like for bailey to go sit in a corner and leave her alone). and third, bailey would eat a frog if she had a chance.

case in point, last night.

i had a small mound of laundry to put away before i could finally get to bed after the marathon that is extreme makeover. as i folded up one shirt i saw something go flying out and crawl up my bed. cue my blood curdling screams and bailey's ears and nose at full attention. it was a gecko. in my bed.

i'm pretty sure my neighbors thought i was seeing dead people, not a little lizard.

we chased it off the bed and into the corner. bailey really wanted to get her paws on the thing and i just wanted it to get the hell out of my bedroom. i was able to get it out in the hall where i had to take a break to freak out. in that 10 seconds bailey sucked the thing into her mouth.

cue more screaming.

by biggest fear was that she would chomp down and then i'd be dealing with gecko guts. my shrieks freaked her out enough to spit it out into the bathroom, good job dog. i thought about leaving it there but then i imagined it back in my bed...crawling across my face...while i slept... no thanks.

i was eventually able to corner it, trap it and get it outside. with much screaming and jumping around like an idiot. i was actually pretty impressed with myself. i had put my big girl panties on and dealt with it all on my own. apparently it was hard work though because i was sweating like a maniac.

i'm also pretty sure geckos taste bad because bailey really wanted some water.

anyways, i asked mallory if she could dream that i would win lots of money and find a hot boyfriend. because that would be way better than more amphibians in my bed.