Two Voices, One Vibe

Road Trips and Runways: Mishaps and Memories

• Nikita & Lina • Season 1 • Episode 4

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What happens when two fashion enthusiasts embark on a European road trip? Plenty of laughs, unexpected encounters, and a fair share of wardrobe mishaps, that's what! On this episode of "Two Voices, One Vibe," we kick things off with an amusing look at our love for Aerie's comfy clothes and the surprisingly tricky trend of all-brown outfits. From the art of accessorizing to the dreaded search for the perfect black jeans, we share relatable and hilarious moments about the quirks of fashion. Plus, you'll hear about our pre-podcast antics that are too wild to keep to ourselves!

Our travel tales take center stage as we reminisce about a chance romance on a 2006 family cruise that led to a lifetime connection. The unexpected journey continues with a chaotic yet thrilling European road trip from Zurich to Budapest, where everything from car rentals to cultural customs kept us on our toes. Despite the hurdles, the excitement of a race weekend and spontaneous adventures highlight the unpredictability and joy of travel. These stories remind us that sometimes the most chaotic plans lead to the best memories and connections.

We wrap up with spontaneous travel adventures and the joys of serendipity. From reconnecting with an old friend through MySpace and jetting off to Germany, to receiving an unexpected bachelorette party invitation that leads to newfound friendships in Miami, our tales underscore the magic of unexpected turns. We also share our bucket list dreams, from exploring Southeast Asia to the thrill of bungee jumping in New Zealand. With heartfelt moments, infectious laughter, and unpredictable twists, this episode is a delightful reminder to embrace life's surprises and cherish the journey. Join us for this wild ride!

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Nikita:

Hi, I'm Nikita and I'm Lina. We're two best friends with endless curiosity and plenty to say.

Lina:

Join us as we dive into everything and anything life throws our way From hilarious stories and pop culture, hot takes to life lessons and deep dives.

Nikita:

No topic is off limits. Whether you're looking for a laugh, a new perspective or just some fun company, this podcast feels like a chat with your bestie.

Lina:

Get ready for unfiltered conversations, lots of laughs and a whole lot of heart. This is Two Voices, one Vibe.

Nikita:

I can't

Lina:

you good.

Nikita:

No, why do our podcasts always start like this?

Lina:

Because we're funny bitches.

Nikita:

And on that note, are you ready to start this?

Lina:

Let's do it.

Nikita:

Welcome back to two voices,

Lina:

one vibe, sorry I had to

Nikita:

welcome back to two voices.

Lina:

One, vibe

Nikita:

, how are you?

Lina:

I'm great. Nikita, how are you.

Nikita:

I I'm trying to compose myself and I clearly can't do that today.

Lina:

You're trying to keep it together. I'm too funny,

Nikita:

oh my gosh. Our shenanigans before podcasts start are always entertaining.

Lina:

I feel like the pre-podcast is probably the best meat and potatoes of the podcast. Usually it's not playable.

Nikita:

No, and I can't even save it for bloopers at the end of the year, because it's just not safe for work or children or youtube or life.

Nikita:

Anyway, how are you?

Lina:

I'm fabulous.

Lina:

How are you?

Nikita:

I am just wonderful. Thank you,

Lina:

you look great

Nikita:

thanks.

Lina:

I really like this waffle knit thing that you have going on

Nikita:

. It's from ari.

Lina:

I love it

Nikita:

I love a lot of things from ari. You got me the sweatshirt Mm-hmm and I have a couple of shirts from Aerie. They're just, they're comfortable.

Lina:

I know I got these sweatpants from Aerie.

Nikita:

That are covered in dog hair.

Lina:

They're the flower ones yeah, your dog hair, mostly Mm-hmm, but I could live on them they're. I think they have like maybe six or eight different colors.

Nikita:

Oh wow, really.

Lina:

But some of them are just really random colors like brown and yellow,

Nikita:

brown's like the new color, though, is it?

Nikita:

I've noticed some of my girlfriends at work. They're all wearing like brown leggings, and I'm like, actually, there was a girl at work today she had head to toe. She comes in, she goes. I look like a turd.

Nikita:

I was like what.

Lina:

That I was like what that's interesting comment to yourself

Nikita:

and I. It was six o'clock in the morning and I was not expecting that.

Nikita:

I was like, um, okay,

Lina:

yeah, I'm not sure that I would know how to accessorize or wear all the brown.

Nikita:

I could do like a top. Yeah, I don't even know that I could do brown bottoms, unless they were like khakis or something like that Even khakis, I'm really weird about.

Lina:

I feel like if I wore like a light colored khaki, you might think I'm naked. Since I'm so white, you'd be like are she wearing pants? You know, it might be a little bit of confusion, but I feel like I could do a brown top. I could definitely do like brown boots or a brown belt and accessorize with it, right, but I don't know, am I gonna wear them with?

Nikita:

a white shirt or a cream colored shirt

Lina:

? It's possible.

Nikita:

It was like that blue two-piece set that you just recently bought. You're like, what do I do? I'm like you wear the top with one thing, you're like, but it's a set. I'm like you don't have to wear it

Lina:

together so it sinks because the color is gorgeous.

Lina:

It's like this beautiful royal blue color yeah, but when I tried it on I'm like it's really cute and I like the top and I like the bottom and I like the way it looks, but it just was a lot. So I'm like I don't know if I could wear it as a set, but then if I were to bring it up, I don't know. I'm really weird about wearing blue with jeans. I know that that might sound weird, but I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like blues and blues don't always match.

Nikita:

I think it depends on the color right the shade like, yes, the shade, or the shade of the top?

Lina:

yeah, but yeah so we'll figure it out. So I did end up ordering another one of the same set that I got in that royal blue in black, because I feel like it's just kind of a classy color and it'll always kind of go.

Nikita:

You know what you need to get, though

Lina:

tell me

Nikita:

black jeans.

Lina:

I do need to get black jeans. Yeah, so our last trip to the mall when we went shopping, I was was like, do not let me buy jeans. And then I walked out buying three pairs of jeans. And then when we were going to go to the mall after that, I was like I really need black jeans. You're like, nope, you're not allowed to buy jeans. I'm like, but I need black jeans. And you're like you can't buy them.

Nikita:

You told me you weren't allowed to buy jeans.

Lina:

I know, but now you know I really jeans with your money. So I feel like I need maybe like a pair of black skinny jeans and then a pair of maybe like black flare bootcut jeans or wide leg or ripped yeah, wide leg kind of jean kind of thing too yeah,

Nikita:

it's hard being a girl

Lina:

most difficult.

Lina:

Yeah, guys have like two pairs of jeans and they wear them for their whole life and they look great. They just alternate them with their three tops and they always look good. And nobody ever says is that the same outfit you were wearing yesterday? But, god forbid, we post and pick in an outfit that we wore on a vacation. They're like oh, my god, didn't you wear that when you were in Bermuda? And it's like, really, fuck you, why, why can you tell that

Nikita:

? Tell me how you really feel,

Lina:

really. And people notice that. So that's like on my upcoming trip, I'm buying all these new clothes because I'm like I don't want people to be like, oh, that's cute, but it's the same outfit you wore last time.

Nikita:

Meanwhile, I'm wearing the same bathing suits in Thailand that I wore on the last four vacations that we've taken.

Lina:

But you're also only packing like two or three bathing suits for like 15 days. I don't know how you're doing that. I think I'm packing six bathing suits for six days.

Nikita:

Because you're psycho?

Lina:

No, because I like photo ops. I'm not going to look like this forever. Let's be serious.

Lina:

I'm only getting older every day from here on out,

Nikita:

but you're still younger than me, so there's that.

Lina:

I'll always be younger than you and I'll revel in that.

Nikita:

Thank you,

Lina:

you're welcome.

Nikita:

Thank you,

Lina:

you brought it up, not me.

Nikita:

What

Lina:

you brought it up, not me

Nikita:

Anyway.

Lina:

I love you, though we're so cute,

Nikita:

um, so I thought today we could talk about travel, since we love travel. Uh, yeah, and you are getting ready to set out on a travel expedition and I am getting ready to travel to the other side of the world. Yeah, I thought it might be fun to reminisce on some of our old trips and maybe retell some of the good stories, horror stories, all the stories.

Lina:

Well, that's great. So I think one of the stories that comes to mind most when I travel is when my friends and family will say please don't come back with a husband.

Nikita:

Oh because do we think you're going to do that?

Lina:

Anything's possible, really? I hope not. Maybe Depends who it is, is you know? If an opportunity presents itself, why not? No, I'm kidding,

Nikita:

oh my god.

Lina:

But um, I did go on a big family cruise with a bunch of, you know, my cousins and my aunts and uncles, my parents,

Nikita:

thanksgiving?

Lina:

No, no, this was. This was many, many years ago.

Nikita:

Oh, okay,

Lina:

uh. So this was back in 2006 and I met a guy on that cruise who I ended up marrying. So that was the big joke. Yeah, yeah. So I had met him.

Lina:

I was, yeah, I was walking down one of the quarters on the boat and he was walking past me and I said hi and he said hey and uh, I was like how you doing? And he turns around. He's like better now that I've seen you. And I just bursted out laughing in his face like the horniest pickup line you could ever see, and just kept walking right past him. He turned around, he tried to talk to me and ignored him. So I went, I sat down at the bar and I started talking to this older gentleman that was sitting at the bar and he started buying me drinks and I mean older, he's probably in his like 60s or 70s, like,

Nikita:

and how old were you at the time?

Lina:

Um, I was 18,

Nikita:

okay.

Lina:

So, um, I was talking to this older guy super nice, and he's telling me how he's on the trip for his retirement. And I'm like, oh, that's great, what did you do for a living? And you know he's talking to me and in comes this guy from the hallway you know whatever it was half an hour earlier and he sits next to me. So now all three of us are kind of conversing and talking to one another and both of them are buying me drinks and, you know, having a really good time and dancing and singing and laughing and the music's going.

Lina:

And, um, I had made a joke to the younger guy and said you know, you better be nice, otherwise I'm going home with this guy tonight. And he was like that's disgusting, yeah. And then I felt really bad. I'm like how could he talk like about this older gentleman? Like that was really so. I turned around and I was like that was really rude of you. And he's like that's my father. I had no idea. How was I supposed to know there was a seat in between the two of them? Like when I sat down, nobody was there, and he sat down on the other side of me, so it's not like he was even like oh excuse me, could you move over so I can sit next to my dad. And when I started talking to them, at no point did they say hey, this is, you know, my son. So-and-so like they had never even introduced each other and they didn't act like they knew each other.

Lina:

I was talking to them both independently.

Lina:

So here I was. You know, take a shot with this one, take a shot with this one. This one's buying me a drink. I'm laughing and having a good, I'm just having a good time in general and had no idea that that was my future father-in-law,

Nikita:

oh my God.

Lina:

So, um, when I asked him where he was from, he was actually from the town that all of my family is from in New Jersey.

Nikita:

Okay,

Lina:

so when we were getting off the boat, he had made a comment that he drank so much. He was like I drank so much, it's going to take me another six days to sober up. So I actually didn't give him my phone number,

Nikita:

which is probably a smart decision,

Lina:

did not get my phone number, actually, was not interested in ever seeing him or talking to him again. About four days later, my dad tells me oh Lina, you had a phone call, somebody called for you today. So I said who? So he tells me his name and I'm like who's that? And my dad's like you know the guy from the cruise. And I'm like what? I'm like no, I didn't give my phone number. So my dad shows me the phone number and I'm like you gotta be kidding me. So I called find you.

Nikita:

How did he find you?

Lina:

Yellow pages.

Nikita:

Oh my gosh Like the actual phone book.

Lina:

He opened up like the yellow pages and the white pages section where the people were and we had carted each other on the boat. So we were 14 years apart. So when he found out that I was 18, he didn't believe me. When I found out that he was 32, I didn't believe him. So we actually pulled out our IDs. So he looks at my ID and he goes why is your ID vertical? So back in the day a New Jersey license was a vertical if you were under the age of 21.

Nikita:

They still are, though is

Lina:

it still

Nikita:

? Yeah,

Lina:

I don't know, I'm so old now that I wouldn't have any need to know that. Um, but it was vertical. And he's like why is it vertical? And I'm like because when you're under 21 it's vertical.

Lina:

And so he didn't believe me. I didn't believe him and he had saw my last name on it and I have a very unique maiden name. So he went through the white pages and he found the name and of course, there was only one in the town that he knew I grew up in and he called and it was my parents landline

Nikita:

. Oh my god, it's so funny.

Lina:

So, basically, like I cursed him out on the phone and I'm like you stalker, I can't believe you did that. And I freaked out and he was like I just wanted to make sure I had the right address, because I was gonna send you flowers. And then I kind of felt bad, and then that's how we started dating each other. So anytime I go on vacation now I get a warning by my friends and family and they're like please don't come back married. So now I'm like I'm gonna try my best, but I'm not making any promises, because sometimes Lena's just as surprised about what she does, as you guys are like, sometimes it just happens.

Nikita:

You know, yeah, let's not get married anytime soon.

Lina:

Yeah, I'm gonna try not to

Lina:

okay what you got for me.

Nikita:

Well, I thought I would share. So I went to Europe over the summer with my boyfriend, right, and our initial plan was we were leaving from Newark and we were flying to Frankfurt, germany, okay. And then from Frankfurt we were going to Budapest. And I will preface this with saying and I know, budapest is like a random place to go, but we were going to an f1 race.

Nikita:

So we go to the airport, we get checked in, we're sitting at the airport and our flight gets delayed. I'm like all right, whatever, you know, we're waiting. Then our flight gets delayed again and we're like what the heck? So then we found out that, excuse me, we found out that the plane coming to norc to pick us up got delayed because of weather. Mind you, it wasn't raining, it was perfectly nice out, yeah. So now we're scrambling because we have to make a connection flight in frankfurt to go to budapest and the flight was delayed like two hours or whatever it was, and we weren't going to make our our connecting flight.

Nikita:

So I'm on the phone with united and I'm like um, I need to get to budapest. And I need, because we had three day tickets. We were leaving. We were supposed to leave Wednesday night. So this is all going on Wednesday night and they're like, well, there's nothing we can do. I'm like, what do you mean? There's nothing you can do.

Nikita:

So now I get on the phone with United and the lady that was on the phone with she was so nice she's like oh yeah, yeah, I can put you on a flight to zurich. I was like fine, I don't care what city we go to, just get me to budapest. Like I don't care how you get me there, just get me there. So we wind up going home. No, I'm sorry, before that happened, they put us on a flight to brussels. So so we go to the new gate and we're like all right, let let's wait. And we're waiting for our flight. Now it starts fucking pouring, pouring, thunder, lightning the whole nine yards. Our flight gets delayed. We had a four-hour layover in Brussels. Okay, no problem, you know, whatever we'll make it. Flight gets delayed again. I'm like, oh no, flight gets delayed a third time. Finally, the flight gets canceled.

Nikita:

My boyfriend and I look at each other. We're like this can't be happening. So he's online at the ticket counter waiting, and so is half of the airport at this point. And I'm on the phone with United. I'm like, listen, I need to get to Budapest. I need to get to Budapest by Friday, because the tickets start Friday night. Get me to Budapest, I don't care how you get me to Budapest, get me there. So they're like, oh well, we could put you on a flight tomorrow to Zurich. And I'm like, is that my only option? And they're like, yeah, I was like, fine, give it to me. So now we go home, spend the next day, because now it's a night flight.

Nikita:

So Thursday we go back to the airport and we're like all right, we're going to get on this flight. So we're online and we're about to board this Zurich flight and I happen to look out the window. This is totally random, this has nothing to do with the flight, but it was just one of those random things. I'm like, huh, I happen to look out the window and Trump's airplane was across the airport. I'm like, what is going on right now? It was just random, anyway. So we get on the flight to Zurich, get to. It was just random, anyway. So we get on the flight to Zurich. Get to Zurich and we're exhausted.

Nikita:

I didn't sleep at all on the flight, which is not normal. Usually I can sleep on a flight. My boyfriend slept the whole flight. We grabbed some food. I go to the bathroom, I stop and I look at the board to see if our flight connecting to Budapest is on time. It's still on time. Check back for your boarding this, that and the other thing. Okay, great, go back to the table.

Nikita:

Boyfriend has to go to the bathroom, so he goes and he comes back and he's got this shitty grin on his face and I'm like what he goes? You're not going to believe this. I'm like don't you dare? He's like I don't want to tell you. I'm like what? What do you mean? Now we're in Zurich. I'm like what do you mean? Our flight was canceled. I said I just went to the bathroom and I looked at the board and it said stay tuned for more information or whatever it said. He's like I know, but now it says canceled. I'm like you've got to be kidding me.

Lina:

That's terrible. More information,

Nikita:

oh my gosh.

Nikita:

So now we're like well, now we're like stranded in Zurich, how are we getting to Budapest? We're like racking our brains. We're at each other's throats. You ever travel with a significant other? Oh, it brings out all the things. So I'm getting snippy. He's getting impatient with me, understandably. So.

Nikita:

So we go down cause. So in the Zurich airport, the train station is right on the bottom level.

Lina:

Oh, that's pretty cool.

Nikita:

So we go and we look into getting a train and they're like, oh, we can't get you there until whenever. So then we go back upstairs and we're like, well, let's see if there's another connecting flight.

Nikita:

Well, I go upstairs and I come to find out it wasn't just our flight that got canceled. Do you remember? Last summer there was that massive like it thing

Lina:

. Oh, yeah, that like cyber attack.

Nikita:

Yes, the cyber it affected us. This is why we got stranded in zurich. But we didn't know that until I went upstairs to see if we can get our flight. Yeah, I get another flight. So my boyfriend got our luggage and he came upstairs to me and I'm like what are we gonna do? He's like I don't know. I don't know what to do. So we went and ate ate McDonald's for the fourth time we ate so much McDonald's, it's not even funny. So, uh, now, maybe that was the second time we ate McDonald's. Anyway

Lina:

, did you have hot shits?

Nikita:

No, I was good. Actually, do you ever have McDonald's in?

Lina:

Europe. Oh yeah, it's nothing like McDonald's here.

Nikita:

It's delicious. I remember eating. I was like this is the best McDonald's I've ever had.

Lina:

They have like servers and menus and it's totally different

Nikita:

Well, not in the airport.

Nikita:

But anyway. So now we're like sitting. And now my boyfriend has the idea well, maybe we can rent a car and return the car in Budapest. Well, they don't do that in Europe. It's not like in the States, where you can rent in one city and return it in another. So now we're like alright, maybe we could just take a train. Again, the trains couldn't get us there. Then we had the bright idea well, what if we rent a car, drive to Budapest and then drive the car back to Budapest To Zurich

Lina:

Sounds like a terrible idea.

Lina:

I'm in.

Nikita:

Do you know how far of a drive it is from Zurich to Budapest?

Lina:

Oh no, hit me,

Nikita:

it was like 12 hours, oh my God. So here we are, taking off at 7 pm, driving, driving After I didn't sleep at all on the flight he slept, thank God. So here we are, tag teaming In foreign land, in foreign countries. We went through Switzerland, lichtenberg, or how are we? Liechtenstein? No, no, lichten, liechtenstein, sure, okay, germany and Hungary. 12 hours. And then we stopped in Germany to get gas. Do you know? You have to pump your own gas in Germany.

Lina:

Oh yeah,

Nikita:

do you know?

Lina:

that pumps aren't the same.

Nikita:

Oh yeah, they aren't the same. Nope, not the same. And you know how, in the States, you pay at the pump. You don't pay at the pump, no, no, you pump your gas and then you go in and pay.

Lina:

They trust you. It's the honor system

Nikita:

pump your gas and then you go in, and they trust you.

Nikita:

It's a whole different world out there, and so we're trying to figure out how to put gas in this car that we are not familiar with. And there's this random german guy I'm like can you help us? And he's talking to me in german. I have no idea what he's saying. Right, he was so. He was a saint, though. He came over and he helped us. And then we paid and we got on the road. When I tell you, every two hours we wound up switching. I was drinking Celsius, energy drinks, trying to stay awake, coffee, eating snacks. So we finally get to Budapest at 5 am, get into our hotel, sleep for a couple hours, and then we were at the track that day for practice. That's crazy, it was insanity. Then we get through the weekend, get through the race, had a great time at the race. That's a whole nother story. Blast at the race. Now we have to drive back to zurich.

Lina:

So how long were we actually in budapest?

Nikita:

for 48 hours but wait, we had it booked, originally planned that we would have a couple days before the race weekend so we could sightsee. Sure, we didn't get any of our sightseeing and we had pizza on the streets of budapest, like we didn't even have any traditional, like budapestian food. I don't even think that's a word, but whatever, um, like there was a couple of things, goulash, that yeah, hungarian food, that would be the word I wanted.

Lina:

You just talked to your eastern european friend over here. I got you.

Nikita:

I forgot about you um, we didn't have any of the like. There was the you ever heard of? Um, do you ever hear of chimney cake? I wanted to try chimney cake. Yeah, then there was like this like flat dough thing that they put sour cream on Like a pancake. Yeah, yeah, pizza pancake thing. Wanted to try that, didn't try that, anyway.

Nikita:

So after the race weekend now we were in Budapest and the way our trip was planned out, we were a few days in Budapest and then we were going to Germany. We were spending some time in Munich and then we were going to where did we go from Munich? We went to Prague. No, another town in Germany, oh my gosh, I can't even think of the name of the town. Berlin, oh my God. So then we went to Berlin for a few days. Berlin Wall, yep, we saw the Berlin Wall. And then from Berlin we went to back home. Yeah, yeah, we flew home from Berlin. So we were driving back from Zurich. We stopped in Berlin because we drove literally right through Berlin, right, dropped off our stuff at the hotel and then drove the rest of the way back to to Zurich, because now we had, we were getting on a train in Zurich and taking the train to Munich, madness, oh, it was insanity.

Lina:

I think I would have just given up at that point,

Nikita:

you know, there was a couple times during the whole like panic of how are we getting to Budapest? And we were like, well, maybe we just don't go to the weekend, we don't go to the race and we just pivot, right, you know, because we I mean mean there was a point where we were seriously considering selling our tickets because it was just complete and utter chaos.

Lina:

But I was gonna say I'm sure you could have sold your tickets and at least recoup some, if not even made money off of it yeah,

Nikita:

yeah, but neither one of us really wanted to do that, because we were both really looking forward to this trip and the experience, you know, and and it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience although, granted, we went to two races because we went to the hungarian gp and then, when we were in cologne, we went to the spa gp, which was amazing too. So, but, yeah, so that was, that was my europe trip. In a nutshell, it was rather interesting

Lina:

. Yeah, I probably would have canned that one.

Nikita:

Yeah, no, we didn't.

Lina:

We said where else can we go? And just kind of went to a map and thrown a dart somewhere and said, yep, there.

Nikita:

But you know what, once we got to Munich, we were back on track, back on schedule and nothing else, thank God, went wrong.

Lina:

That's awesome.

Nikita:

So it really worked out really well. And munich have you ever been to munich?

Lina:

I have not.

Nikita:

Oh my gosh, we loved munich really. It was. We wished we spent more time in munich than we did. Really it was so nice, the people were nice, the city was clean, it was walkable. And then, like I said, we went to. We went to ber, and the one day we must have walked 30 miles, like no joke. We walked all over Berlin, yeah. And then we were in Cologne for a couple days and then we went to the other GP at Spa, which was in the forest. That was interesting. Literally a Formula One track in the middle of the forest. It was the coolest thing.

Lina:

So random,

Nikita:

oh, so cool though.

Lina:

I have been to Germany, but it was really only as I was driving through from Poland to Italy. Okay, there's kind of a pass through, but I never really kind of stopped or explored or sightseed anywhere. So, right, need to go back for sure.

Nikita:

Yeah, germany we want, we want to go back to Munich, so hopefully we get there soon.

Lina:

Yeah, oh, very cool.

Nikita:

What other stories you got for?

Nikita:

me.

Lina:

So when I was going through my divorce, my really good friend and my mom both said we need to go away. Take your mind off of stuff. Let's go away for a little bit.

Lina:

So we went to Puerto Rico and we had a great time. I think we were there for like nine or 10, nine or 10 days and, uh, the one night we're there, we go out dancing. There's this really beautiful place that has the best sunsets at their bar and they have these things that are called piratas and they're giant coconuts that are alcoholic drinks. So we're all drinking and dancing and having a really good time and I'm on the dance floor with my mom and my mom and I are killing it. So my mom actually has a Latin and Bolton dance studio on the side, so we're really dancing. So sometimes it's kind of funny because people will be like, oh my gosh, look at you guys actually showing up the Puerto Ricans. So we're dancing and all of a sudden some man grabs my mother from me on the dance floor to start dancing with her.

Nikita:

Oh no,

Lina:

I was about to throw one of these piratas at this man's head and like go full on fighting

Nikita:

. I can just imagine,

Lina:

until I realized it was one of my childhood best friends' dads.

Nikita:

How does this happen?

Lina:

How is that the most random thing ever. So like I'm literally about to fight this man who grabs my mom on the dance floor and I look at him and I say his name and he looks at me and he says my name. So I just look at him and give him the biggest hug ever and it was just absolutely crazy, like we never skipped a beat. And turns out that he has family that lives in that area of Puerto Rico. So we weren't like in San Juan, we weren't in a real touristy area, we were on the East Coast, not the West Coast, of Puerto Rico. So that was just kind of a really random thing.

Lina:

But anytime I travel with my mom we run into people. She knows it's the weirdest thing. One time we're in Aruba, we're on a family vacation and we're about to cross the street and somebody yells my mom's name and it turns out it's this German couple who did Argentine tango with my mom.

Nikita:

Oh, that's wild,

Lina:

from Germany in Aruba. And then one of the other really weird things that happened to me and even to this day I still get chills thinking about it. We were at the same resort in Arubauba and it was in the hot tub. And this girl comes in the hot tub and she says Lena. And I'm like there's no way that girl just said my name. I'm going to pretend that I didn't think that I knew that, because that was really weird and she's like Lena, do you remember me?

Lina:

And I look over. And it was a girl that I met in the teen club a year prior on a cruise that me and my family went on

Nikita:

. Oh my gosh,

Lina:

so super random. She was from like Iowa or Wyoming, somewhere, really weird. The cruise was out of Florida. It's not like we were even anywhere close. It wasn't even the same week of the year, like everybody took vacation the same week and we hadn't kept in touch because back then we didn't have cell phones or you know texting each other or any ability to do anything like that. So it was the same girl that I met on the teen club of a cruise the year prior, in the same hot tub at the same resort in Aruba, not even a day after my mom ran into the Germans that did Argentine tango in her.

Nikita:

That's crazy,

Lina:

isn't that weird? Yeah, that like made my skin crawl. I was so freaked out. And then I had a friend for the whole rest of the trip because her and I kind of hung out and it was really cool. But I just don't know how that happens. Everybody says there's six degrees of separation, but I don't really believe that. I think it's definitely more like three, maybe two

Nikita:

For you.

Lina:

Yeah, I feel like the world keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Nikita:

Speaking of trips after divorce, so after my first divorce I had a flight credit from a trip that I was supposed to take with a friend way back when we were supposed to go to the DR and she wound up having to cancel. So I had this flight credit. So after I got my first divorce, I was talking to who is now my best friend. One of my other best friends and her husband and I went to high school together. We were bio partners and we had, and I had switched high schools halfway through my sophomore year. So you know, I was like kind of like the odd man out and he didn't have a bio part, he didn't have a partner and I happened to be sitting next to him. So we inevitably wound up being bio partners, wind up being one of my best friends in high school. We graduate, he goes into the armed forces, goes about his business. Lose contact with him. Find him and his now wife on MySpace, do you?

Nikita:

remember MySpace?

Lina:

I do. I never had a MySpace page, but I had a MySpace, wasn't that? Like your friend, tom George, I think it was Tom.

Nikita:

Oh yeah, the MySpace friend. I was like I don't know, are we just naming people now? No, no, it's Tom. So I find my friend and his now wife on MySpace and me and his wife start BSing

Lina:

. Did they have a joint page?

Nikita:

Yeah, back in the day.

Lina:

Oh, that gives me cringe.

Nikita:

Yeah, but you know what? They did it? Because it was just easier with keeping in touch with family, so I understand why they did it. Sure, so they both have their own private Facebook account, like it was literally just a MySpace thing. So, anyway, so me and her become pen pals, essentially, and we were talking back and forth and we became really really good friends. So I was going through my divorce and I was complaining to her and the divorce got final and I texted her. I'm like, hey, what are you doing? Such and such date? She's like nothing. I'm like, yeah, you want company? She's like sure, fly out to Germany, because they were stationed in Germany, spent a week and a half out in Germany, had the best time ever, have a new best friend, reconnected with my high school bio partner, and we've been best friends ever since. There you go wild. So you're not the only one with crazy reconnection stories.

Lina:

Yeah so I have a crazy reconnection story too. I am sitting home one day and I get a group text message and I hate group text messages, I am not a fan. So I open it up and all I see is, hey, it's jamie gabbs, m-o-h. And I'm like I don't know anybody named Jamie anymore. I'm like I don't know what a gab is and I'm not really sure what a mo is. So I shut my phone and I just kept about my business. So next thing, I know people are replying to this group thread and everybody's sending their email address. So now I open it back up and I'm kind of curious, like what is this? So I start reading the texts that I stopped reading and it starts talking about how they're going to go to the Fountain Blue in Miami, which is one of my favorite hotels and I love Miami. So I'm like I'm not sure who these people are, what they're doing, but I want to go to Miami. So I just replied back with my email address. No idea what's going on,

Nikita:

oh my God.

Lina:

So next thing, I know they're putting together pricing and then like if everybody who sent their email address and is going to go, this is what it's going to come out to per person person. So I'm like, wow, that's super reasonable for five days in Miami. And I'm like, can I really do five days in Miami with a bunch of people I don't know? And I'm like I can't. I'm like, but I can definitely do like three, I'm pretty likable. So I booked the trip. Oh my God. So I get there two days after everybody else had already gotten there. So my flight arrives.

Lina:

It's about 11 o'clock that I get to the hotel, the Fountain Blue, and I'm knocking on the door because I know everybody has already checked in, but I don't have a key or any way to get in. So I'm banging on the door. Nobody's answering. I mean, it's going on like five minutes. I am banging on this door and I'm like this is a terrible idea, I'm going to be stranded. Opens, but not all the way. It like unlocks and somebody walks away. They just opened the door and walked away.

Nikita:

Did you walk in?

Lina:

So I opened the door and it's pitch black. Like I said, 11 o'clock in Miami, it's pitch black inside. So as I opened the door, the light from outside is shining into the room and there are girls passed out everywhere. I mean girls sleeping on the couch, girls sleeping on the floor, and I'm like, wow, this is another really bad life decision from Lena.

Lina:

I'm like, but this one's like really bad, because I'm stranded here for three days and I don't know any of these people and like I don't know, are they on drugs? Are they dead? Like what is happening? So I literally have my suitcase and I'm climbing over bodies, oh God. So I'm like, okay, I'm just going to go hang by the pool. So I go out, and you know, I'm hanging by the pool and then a couple hours later, this group text starts up again hey, where's everybody at? What's everybody doing? So I replied I was like, hey, I made it in, I'm by the pool. So you know, next thing, I know there's a bunch of people coming down and they're all wearing like the same kind of shirts and we had to send in our shirt size. So I sent in my size. They ordered a shirt for me.

Lina:

So I start talking to, you know, a couple of the girls that are there, and the one girl was from the same town that I grew up in and I'm like, no freaking way it turns out, I went to high school with her sister. Oh gosh, I'm like how does this happen? It is such a small freaking world. Yeah, that's wild. Um turns out the bride, who's Gab was a nickname of the bride. The bride was marrying my cousin and, yes, somehow I got invited to the bachelorette party. So I'm like this is great, I'm totally here for this. So it really made me laugh because they were all probably somewhere between five and eight years younger than me and I had already gone through a divorce and I already had a kid. So they were looking at me as like the mom of the group and like, asking me advice. I'm like I'm not really sure you want to take marriage advice from me. I'm divorced and stuff like, but like you've been through it all and you have a kid and you're so cool and I'm like, oh, thanks. But um, I really did feel like the mom of the group but it was great. So the next day we had chartered a private yacht to, you know, go out and just kind of be on the water and sunbathe.

Lina:

So when we had gotten back, I see the mayor of Elizabeth, new Jersey Stop, yeah, chris Bullwich, who was the mayor at the time, right, and I did a lot of like critical infrastructure and key resource work with my prior job and we had a building in Elizabeth. So I knew him, so I see him, and I was like Chris and he's like Lena and I'm like what are you doing here? And he's like a mayor's conference, what are you doing here? And I was like bachelorette party and they're like only you would freaking know a mayor in Miami and I'm like I know, I'm like I don't even know anybody that I was on this trip with, but I knew the mayor of you know down here in Miami. So that was a great trip. So it definitely made the wedding a lot more fun. Yeah, because then I knew all of the bridal party and, like I said, the groom was my cousin, it wasn't even the bride.

Nikita:

Did you even know that this wedding was?

Nikita:

in existence.

Lina:

No, well, I knew that they were getting married, okay, but I didn't know that this was their bachelorette party because I, I would be invited,

Nikita:

right, um, and when did you know the bride? Like,

Lina:

I knew the bride from, like you know, family events and stuff like that, but we had never hung out one-on-one. And when they called her Gab, I didn't recognize that as her name. Right, that was like a nickname of her, so I didn't know. And when they said, you know, this is Gab's Mo, I didn't know what a Mo was. Come to find out. Moh, maid of honor. But I didn't put it all together. Oh, that makes sense. And the maid of honor who reached out in the group text, reached out from her cell phone and I'd never met the maid of honor right so and I didn't know any of the phone numbers that were on that group text and the bride wasn't on the group text because it was

Lina:

her. It was a surprise. It was her bachelorette party. So I literally didn't know anybody on that group text and I was like, yep, I'm in going to Miami with a bunch of girls I don't know. I'm like what could possibly go wrong?

Nikita:

Everything?

Lina:

Yeah, this is great.

Nikita:

Only you,

Lina:

only me. I don't know how these things happen to people and I feel like what are the chances that something like this would happen? But then I think like it must be pretty good, because this happens to me all the time. Yeah, right, yeah, but to anybody else, like slim to

Nikita:

none yeah, I don't have any crazy random people texting me.

Nikita:

Let's go on a trip.

Nikita:

Okay, I'm in,

Lina:

yeah no, I mean, but that's happened to me a couple times within the last couple months too, right, yeah, yeah. So I mean, it just kind of happens. You just got to go with the flow. You know what are the young kids say these days YOLO, baby, yolo, wasn't that big.

Nikita:

That was like a thing. Yeah, that was a thing.

Lina:

Right, I mean, that's not how I feel. I don't feel like I'm going to like take absolute crazy chances, because you only live once. But I do feel like I love to travel, I love to see the world, rather have an experience over something materialistic oh, 100, you know. So, like you're looking for a birthday gift or a christmas gift, I'm all about let's make an experience over. This is a thing, yeah, um. So I love to make memories. I love to experience new cultures and foods and sightsee and just got get that you know cultural background that you're not going to be able to get otherwise,

Nikita:

right well, there's nothing.

Nikita:

There's nothing like that, though. Yeah, like yeah, I'd much rather go on a vacation somewhere. I have a whole bucket list of places I want to go.

Lina:

What's on your bucket list?

Nikita:

Australia?

Lina:

Oh, that's a good one.

Nikita:

Um, I want to go back to europe where um, I want to go to london and I want to go to france. Nice, um, australia, like I said, thailand, which is going to become a reality and I also believe it, or not. Want to do iceland and I want to do tahiti, the philippines, okay, cambodia. I want to go to anchor watt in cambodia. Do you know what that is? Oh, yeah, it looks amazing. That's awesome. Yeah, what?

Nikita:

about you.

Lina:

So I definitely want to do French Polynesia. So, whether it's Tahiti, bora Bora, the Maldives, fiji, one or all, I just kind of want to experience that whole area. There's a girl that I went to high school with. We weren't, you know, like friends in the sense that we hung out or anything, but we had classes together. We were always really friendly, and she's a photographer and she lives in New Zealand. So she had just recently posted on social media that she was looking for a model to photograph for her portfolio. So I'm like, well, if it includes a trip to New Zealand, I'm in. And she wrote back and she's like, well, I wish I had that much money. I don't. She's like you'd make a fantastic model.

Lina:

I'm kind of like tossing around the idea of flying to New Zealand. That's a long flight too. It'd be a really long flight. Um, I can stay with her and she's got a beautiful family now and, like I said, we were never really friends in high school, but we always got along really well and she was always really nice. So I think it'd be pretty cool.

Nikita:

I mean, I'll go with you,

Lina:

nikita. This is gonna be the beginning of something, because I know you don't mess with me.

Lina:

When somebody says I'm going to go with you,

Nikita:

but we have to go bungee jumping.

Lina:

I'm going to bug a bitch. I don't know if I can bungee jump since my back surgery, whatever but we'll do something equally crazy. If I can, I'll find out. If I can

Nikita:

, you're going to eat bugs,

Lina:

no, no, I don't eat things that make me gag. Do we need to edit that part out?

Nikita:

No, I'm not editing that out.

Lina:

I'm just saying I don't eat things that make me gag. And, by the way, if you guys heard the story about how my New Year kicked off my dog gagged and I fell down the stairs and I'm all banged up. So we're not going to go back there, we're moving forward. Yeah, let's take it easy on the gagging Please and thank you.

Nikita:

Oh God, Well, this is an interesting conversation for sure.

Lina:

Definitely is an interesting conversation. I see travels to New Zealand in our future.

Nikita:

Well, you got some major things coming up

Lina:

. I do so.

Nikita:

You got to get through that first. I have some major things coming up that I need to get through first. So maybe I'm the back end of 2025. Because our winter would be their summer too.

Lina:

I'm here for it and our winter is also our birthday

Nikita:

true, two weeks apart.

Nikita:

Yeah, three weeks. Two, two, two.

Lina:

I don't do maths no, no, clearly we've had this conversation before I did maths with your daughter today, though

Nikita:

how'd that workout,

Nikita:

for you

Lina:

killed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nikita:

What was she doing?

Lina:

We were doing long division. I was so good at it, though that's because there was no letters involved. Yes, I'm really good at math and there's no letters. Yeah, yeah, there could be decimal points and numbers and all sorts of stuff. I'm here for it. You throw a letter in there, I'm out.

Lina:

Yeah, I'm out.

Nikita:

Speaking of being out.

Lina:

Yes,

Nikita:

I think we better be out before this goes down some other tangent road.

Lina:

Well, I thought I was gonna go somewhere when you said the back end,

Lina:

but

Nikita:

I can't I have no comment.

Lina:

I know, I know you love me. You wanna hug me,

Nikita:

miss congeniality.

Lina:

I love sandra bullock and also wanted to be an fbi agent all my life. Did you know? I went to the fbi academy

Nikita:

. Yes, did know that

Lina:

great story. We can save that for another day. Or maybe we just won't tell it because if I tell it I might have to kill you.

Nikita:

In Quantico,

Lina:

yes or DC,

Nikita:

and then we can go to Alcatraz.

Nikita:

Although you already did Alcatraz,

Lina:

I was there, yeah, in September. Awesome, super, super cool.

Nikita:

All by yourself,

Lina:

all by myself.

Lina:

All, all by yourself, all by myself, all by myself.

Nikita:

See, I went to I'm All Alone from. Was it in the Lion King with the parrot? The parrot, yeah, is that a parrot? No, in the Lion King he was in the little rib cage of the dead animal. No, I think.

Nikita:

I'm thinking of the wrong movie.

Lina:

Yeah, I'm not sure what you're thinking of, but I'm not quite following it. No, I, I think I'm thinking of the wrong movie.

Nikita:

Yeah, I'm not sure what you're thinking of, but I'm not. No, I know what I'm thinking of. I'm thinking of donkey from shrek.

Lina:

Oh, yep, that would do it on that note

Nikita:

, I think it's time that we say goodbye.

Lina:

I think it's time we go. We cut off nikita from whatever it is that she has in her yeti

Nikita:

water.

Lina:

Yep, that's what she says

Nikita:

not tequila,

Lina:

because tequila is to kill you oh,

Nikita:

my god.

Nikita:

All right, on that note, thanks for watching and we will see you next time. On two voices, one vibe.

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