For a moment there, you weren’t sure if the week would ever end, but it did. You worked late and weren’t paid extra, your umbrella broke in Katrina II, you forgot to go to the bank and missed your bus when you finally remembered- definitely one of those weeks. Your friend calls to remind you of a party that you absentmindedly agreed to attend, and all you can think about is how lovely it would be to curl up with a DVD and a box of Mike n’ Ikes, but then something crosses your mind… Jan 2009, New Year’s resolutions (I KNEW I would regret publicizing those damn things) to expand your horizons, say yes, risk it all. Risk it all? Wasn’t that what I was doing, clinging to my bottle of Stoli as the bus lurched through Leaside?  

You arrive at the party, which is to say, you were the party, as you stroll into a house that screams “Why am I sooo cool?” (Not unlike a T-shirt you once owned with same self-loving slogan ironed on the chest), and surmise that it’s going to be that kind of night, when fun is just out of reach. But then, it happens: In between funneling vodka Redbull and dancing on the couch, you think, I am having fun and, who is this cute boy? What’s that – It’s your party? Your farewell party? Of course it is! Life wouldn’t be life if it was all pep rallies and proms, it’d be an episode of Saved by the Bell. Before Zack could tell Kelly “See you in September”, time was up, leaving this former high school v-ball player and one-time waitress wondering: how do you get to know someone via long distance? Sorry Madge, but I like my lovers a little closer than 6 thousand miles away.  

The reinvented 2009 me says “que sera, sera” but my neurotic 2008 self nags “It’s been 3 days… he thinks you’re crazy… how can I flirt via social network!?” (“Hey baby, I’m following you on twitter”? I mean, really.) Crazy and calm finally call a truce and it is decided: a little faith in my inherent coolness + occasional reminders that I exist = carefree summer. And if you’re having one of those weeks, when you work late and the umbrella breaks, just ask yourself “Why is she sooo cool?” Chances are, he will too.