Goodbye 417...

This weekend marks the end of an era, two of my very best friends (Megan & Stephanie) have been living together for the past 2 years and it has been the central hub for so many of my dearest friends and myself. It is lame to compare it, but it is very similar to the season finale of FRIENDS (the best TV show) and many of my very favorite post-college memories have taken place in apt 417 at the West Village, so today I pay tribute to an apt that has become a friend.

These are a few of my favorite memories that took place in 417:

- OU/TX 2008: The legend of JJ. JJ is a friend that I worked with in NYC that had never been to a "real" college football game (this summer I learned that people from up there have greater appreciation for Lax 'lacrosse', baseball, sailing and other random sports) so I can think of no better game in the world to go to as your "first." It doesn't matter who you cheer for or where you went to school, but if you have any appreciation for college sports, OU/TX at the Cotton Bowl is the ultimate experience. Its hard to put JJ's visit into words and it is far more amazing if you actually experienced the weekend but lets just say it included an Oprah style interview on the coach of 417 with my inquisitive and often line-crossing friends and let me tell you a couple of them are not shy and always ask the questions that everybody wants to know, but are often too afraid to ask. Other highlights of the weekend included JJ getting pushed out of a moving vehicle, getting lost on our way to breakfast while almost dying, and sneaking friends in to the Cotton bowl.

- Cooking Lessons: Megan and I decided to cook dinner a few weeks ago now, and by we, I mean Megan was cooking and I said I'd bring a bottle of wine and talk to her while she cooked. Well, upon my arrival, I was thrown into baking the dessert. It involved taking a glass bowl and placing it over a boiling pot of water to melt chocolate (I don't know what this action is called, but I should've just quit when I didn’t understand the first step) anyways, as this all progressed I dropped the glass bowl into the filled pie pan thanks to the grease that had gathered on the outside of the bowl and on my hands. Then the pie had to cool in the fridge, but we didn’t have time to wait so I placed it in the freezer and balanced the pie on a frozen chicken nugget. I thought the ordeal had finished, ooooo how I was mistaken, I opened the freezer only to find the pie had fallen off the nugget and spilled all over EVERYTHING….ooops, its a tiny spill just ignore it!

- The Pantry: While we're talking about food, I always love raiding the pantry at Steph and Meg's because they couldn't be more opposite in terms of food consumption. I always tease them about it, but I secretly love it. I can always depend on Steph's selection of Diet Sunkist, Splenda products, Cheez-its, frozen iced oatmeal cookies, some sort of baked chip, oreos, and Pringles, all of this and she manages to remains tiny, it’s everything and any type of processed food that you knew and loved growing up, it's awesome! Then there is Megan's selection of various cheeses, alfalfa sprouts, canned soups, etc. No matter what you're in the mood for you can probably find some variation at 417.

- Aggie Love: Tyler and Steph's engagement, enough said

- Sleepy Meg: Watching Megan fall asleep at the table while eating Village Burger Bar salads during her days and an I-banker

- JT: The premiere of the Justin Timberlake Future/Sex/Loveshow in HD on HBO

- More Food: Thanksgiving Feasts, need I say more?

- Last Minute Plans: Showing up for "dinner" in scrubbed out sweatpants, baseball hat and a t-shirt only to find a dinner party comprised of 7 attractive girls and me

- Multiple award shows, bowl game announcements, etc

- Tivo: Going through 417's DVR recordings only to find 32 episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8, about 100 weddings shows, Brothers & Sisters, The Biggest Loser, etc….their DVR is the most comprehensive chick collection I've ever witnessed and it will be missed

- Best Friends: The thing I will miss most about 417 is sitting on Steph's bed with Megan and Stephanie by my side, talking about life, work, and the mysteries of the world. I'm glad that I got to do this one last time this past weekend before they turn in their keys. They're 2 of the very best friends in the world and I'm going to miss having them under one roof.

Here's to you 417 and to the people who inhabit you next…may they share as many memories with you as we have…


"The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. "
-Nicholas Sparks