02.04.10
Post-Script
Post-Script to M’s 00 List … Television Commercials.
I’m not sure how I missed this one, but thankfully, my Dad sent it to me today! Enjoy!
Shell. Ferrari’s 60th Birthday. 2007. Viva Enzo!
Loud Memory (or, Where Art Thou?)
After the spring sun set across the water, taking the breezes with it but leaving the heavy, humid air hanging just off the palms, the island came alive. Wearing little more than a cotton dress and sun-kissed skin, she made her way to Gusty’s, accompanied by a housemate. The two found a table on the deck, overlooking the island below while the dj spun club beats to the revelers on the dirt dance floor inside. Sweat hadn’t yet formed on her glass when he made his way over and introduced himself. Through a thick accent, they exchanged introductions and she accepted a dance inside. One dance led to two and only after they cleared the dance floor with “Bailamos” did they retire back to the deck.
Like dancing, one rendezvous led to two which led to moonlit walks on the beach and dinner with family in the islands, and a reconnection a few months later in Chicago. And then he sailed again.
People come and go in your life. Some leave a lasting impression. Others are so fleeting that their acquaintance is nothing more than a butterfly’s life. And some stay for a while. But there are some still whose memory refuses to be shuttered.
I have one of these.
Pierre’s memory doesn’t fade. It is nearing 10 years since we met, but hardly a week goes by when I wonder what happened to him and where he is now. I learned early on that his name is common in Pretoria (yes, he’s an Afrikaner), and that any search invariably turns up a rugby player, a professor, and the Minister of Health…none of whom are him. In law school, a friend introduced me to Craig’s List and the Missed Connections section. I’ve never written anything.
But I wonder. Should I let my fairytale memory be just that? Or should I post something on Missed Connections and hope against the odds that someone somewhere … ? Do things like this ever work out? Would this be considered The One That Got Away? I generally hold to the theory of “if it’s meant to be, it will be” and more frequently to “everything happens for a reason” … so can these be reconciled with wanting to find someone from another time, another place?
Part of me resigns to letting the fairytale sit. Afterall, it will be a fun one to tell my daughter one day, when she’s old enough…
~M
01.28.10
Meditations in Brief
- Why don’t they make laundry detergent out of the same stuff that’s in Resolve carpet cleaner? I haven’t found anything that Resolve can’t get out… and now I have carpet that has random “brand new”-looking spots where only a few hours earlier there was dog vomit.
- Why is it that those seasonal reindeer antlers & nose are only found on SUVs? I know… I mistimed this one. But mark my words; next year, Rudolph only comes on SUVs.
- Do men’s striped ties only slant from right shoulder to left hip?
- The phrase “you have your work cut out for you” is counter-intuitive to me. If the work is already cut out, and part of it done, wouldn’t it then be easier? Why, instead, is it harder? And what is the origin of this idiom?
- How does falling snow succeed in filling in holes so as to make everything the same level? I may have just shoveled the newest 6 inches off my sidewalk, but if it keeps snowing, said sidewalk will miraculously be level with the rest of the yard by morning!
- Do local police departments really need the Dodge Charger? My little village of 593 people is sporting a new one. However, the next town over, has a Prius. I feel like the Charger is a little overkill; a little too much testosterone in a uniform. Let’s be honest: what turbo-charged high-speed pursuit is going to happen in the 25-mph zone that the entire 1.2-square mile Village is? If the criminal is running west, just radio ahead and the Prius can set up a roadblock.
01.21.10
Different Perspectives (or, I’m So Sorry)
Shortly after New Years’, one of my girlfriends and I were discussing resolutions. Mine is sort of a year-long goal (as any resolution should be), but it’s founded on the fact that in the late fall, I will no longer be a 20-something.
When I announced this to said girlfriend (a year or two younger than I), she gasped and then gushed out a line of sympathy (“I’m so sorry!”).
I think I actually laughed at her.
I am thrilled that I have this birthday coming up! I am excited to enter this big decade! My formal education is finished; my career is underway; I am carving out my adult life and finally am starting to figure things out! And, I have my own money to play with.
So why wouldn’t I look forward to 30?
Said girlfriend and I have always been on different pages. She is mildly bothered by the fact that she is not yet married, nor does she have kids at this point. I believe she thinks she is “getting old.”
I, on the other hand, have spent the last 10 years making sure I didn’t have any kids, and vetting out potential people to get married to. (Clearly none has succeeded).
Currently, I am reading the male version of 30 & single: Aaron Karo’s I’m Having More Fun Than You. Karo, the perennial bachelor, spells out exactly why it’s great for the 30-year old guy to not be married. This book isn’t for the feint of heart. But, I believe there is a flip side to this. I believe that there is a woman’s version. It would go something like this:
- I don’t have to check in with anybody; I can do chickflicks and sushi nights whenever I want
- I don’t have to fix breakfast, lunch, or dinner for anyone (heck, I have a hard enough time unwrapping the protein bar for myself in the mornings)
- I can continue kicking a** at my career and not feel guilty that I should be home ironing shirts or vacuuming
- I can spend my money on frivolous things like shoes, purses, and vintage jewelry (or go “hog wild” at Victoria’s Secret) without receiving the evil eye
Sure, I hear the inherent selfishness in all of this. And frankly, I’m okay with this. I have worked hard to get to this point in my life, and I am letting myself enjoy it.
When the time is right, and the right man comes along, then this story will change. (Or, will it?)
But until then, this whole year is going to be a big party leading up to a fantastic birthday! It’s time for my single, fabulous, women friends to embrace this notion! Why not love the life you have now instead of pining for something you don’t? It may not be as good!
~M
