Tinie Tempah

Before I go any further in my chronicling of the journey, it has been requested that I make a disclaimer. Courtney has been unimpressed with her character's portrayal so far, and wants to make sure that I convey that she is, in fact, quite a fun person despite the corporate lawyer path she is currently on. After all, we met in France at the age of sixteen, and our friendship has been largely based on cocktails, picnics, throwing bread at swans, charming the pants off European men, hookahs, tropical storms, goat cheese salad, pub crawls, more picnics, absinthe, Monica Lewinsky shots, more goat cheese salad, more absinthe, ghost tours, and trips to magical forests. She's been known to say things like, "Back at home, I don't wear pants," and "I EAT dogs," and "We need a chaser. Pam, will you chase me around the room?" and, most recently, "I always stalk for at least twenty-four hours before I date."

So despite our many differences, the important thing is that we share a love of food, humor, alcohol, absurdity, adventure, cheesy chick flicks, and even cheesier music. This was made evident during the first twenty-four hours of our drive, as the soundtrack alternated between top 40 hits and gangster rap and everywhere in between, the in between being a certain British rapper whose conception of what constituted the good life was absolutely fascinating to hear.

I'm much more famous than my mom thought;
I drive past the bus I used to run for...
I got so many clothes I keep 'em at my aunt's house...

were some of the more memorable lines, and it was only a matter of time before our car was christened "Tinie Tempah" in his honor.