Wednesday, October 20, 2004

scrapbooking: one woman's inevitable fate

that's the working title i've got going for the book i hope to someday write. says my friend jon, "i like that - it has humor and sadness wrapped up in one expression." good. that's what i'm aiming for. i think it correctly identifies the essence of life - fully bittersweet.

anyhow, so last night i went to second city with some work pals to see my friend, tj, perform his primetime "talk show," which comedically addresses current political ideas/events/etc. tj and paul - the hosts - are both jewish (purely culturally, of course. tj always asserts that he's never been bar mitzvahed) and will comment on it at every single opportunity available. tj thinks we get along so well because i'm catholic. maybe but maybe not (thanks for that one, jon. you're full of quotable lines tonight).

back to the story - afterwards, tj and i went out for a drink and chatted about the last reunion weekend (he's also an alum). what i loved most was that he was still coming down from his performance high, so he was maybe a little more open than normal. we talked about his high school girlfriend of 3 years who i also know rather well (not that he knows that. wouldn't that make it awkward? i needed to create a safe environment. besides we're better friends than she and i are) . there was a point during his dialogue where he relayed a conversation to me that he had obviously replayed in his head for years. it was perfectly vivid.

don't you wonder what you said in high school that someone is still thinking about?

now, tj is no obsessively-looking-back fool. but those words still echo in the back of his mind. so today i've been thinking about what words echo in the back of my mind. i remember this guy kevin running down the hall after me on the last day of his senior year to share something with me that made my whole high school existence seem worthwhile. i remember my sophomore year chemistry teacher giving me my first and only detention for a crime i didn't commit (he later resented it when i - as the only person who ever did - stopped laughing at his jokes in class). i remember so much - maybe it's more looks that i remember. the way things felt.

but tj remembered full conversations. which makes me wonder if guys really are better at remembering exact words. you know how they ALWAYS know the exact line from a movie? and they can rattle off any one of adam sandler's ridiculous quotes at the drop of a hat? weird. i think that's how you can tell when a guy is clearly NOT AT ALL interested - when they don't remember things you said. i'm not saying that the opposite is true, it's just that this makes sense. maybe, but maybe not.

well it's off to drinks with a friend. yes, drinks many nights in a row. i used to puff out my stomach when i was a kid to pretend i was pregnant. okay, okay, i still do. but my dad always said it was gonna keep growing out if i didn't stop. looks like the alcohol isn't helping any. oh well. i like the way it looks. so i'm happy. maybe i'll make it TWO margaritas tonight. ole.

4 Comments:

At 5:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

More dates, Barga? Surprise surprise.

For the record, WOMEN are notoriously better at remembering conversations. You know that thing...uh...what is it....MARRIAGE! Yea, when two people get married, it's not so much about love and romance as it is about a woman turning the man's existance into Jeopardy: Life Edition.

Yes, yes, you know it. It's questions all day long, cause women be daaaaamn curious, almost like George, minus the monkey-smelling-throwing-feces part.

I'm thinking about Nate right now, the guy I came to Chicago to see (and the only reason I know about this blog at all...so blame him). I can only imagine his life 20 years from now.

*in bed*

"Hey, honey!! Let's talk," she says.
"Ok ok--I'll take 'Three-Minute Conversations We Had Twelve Years Ago At Three In The Morning' for 200."
"OOOO! My favorite," she responds.

Ugh.

 
At 8:14 PM, Blogger erin said...

so cynical pauly. its kinda funny, kinda sad. seems like you need a nice lady friend (one who isn't lame like the woman in your head) to cheer you up. he he ha ha ho ho.

i agree mary, dudes remember movie quotes much better than chicks. sometimes i'm jealous of that. but i remember having a conversation about that specifically once with a male friend not too long ago. i recall him saying something like, we (ladies) don't need to rely on movie humor to be funny, they (muchacos) do. i like that answer. so really we are much more clever, coming up with our own funnies (and of course throwing in a little zoonlander and the like every once in a while).

 
At 9:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No no, don't be sad. I'm only here to be funny, not single and sentimental. But just in case...that "nice lady friend" you speak off--are those, like, mail order? Build-Your-Own? Do-It-Yourself?

Oh, wait. OK--scratch that last one. *blush*

 
At 6:23 AM, Blogger Mary said...

ah, l'amour.

 

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