The Skipped Girl's Night Out

My gal pals arrived at 8:30. I had promised them the typical G-Lo kind of night - driving too fast, playing and flirting. We got in the car. I stepped on the gas pedal and we roared up Bouquet Canyon. Halfway up, I started winking at some teenagers in the car next to us. I flicked my chin at the road ahead and the guy next to me revved his engine. When the light changed, both cars jumped over the white line and zoomed up the canyon.

Then a white SUV pulled in front of me. I hit the brakes, losing the race.

Something about that SUV killed my impulse to party. We arrived at the mall, but I begged pardon from my friends. I didn't want to be G-Lo. I just wanted to be me. They were disappointed (I'm the guy collector since every other woman in the world apparently fears flirtation. Not me. I live for a broken heart.) but kind about it.

I gathered my red curls in a ponytail, wiped off the lipstick and traded platform heels for flip-flops before entering the local Borders bookstore. I am nowhere near the bibliophile most of you are, but I love books. I wandered through each aisle, picking up the books that caught my attention.

There were new bestsellers, old bestsellers, and classics. I waded past the children in the reading corner, and paused a moment to review the activities on Harry Potter day (July 16!).

I laughed for a moment when I saw The Beauty Myth next to the book So, You Want to be a Lesbian (link not available). I could naught but shake my head at the perversion of feminism.

Off the politics shelf, I read several fascinating chapters in God's Politics - a book on how politics abuses religion and vice versa. I added the book to my library list and the author to my love letter list. For balance, I then read the final chapter of History of God.

Finally, I grabbed a copy of that book Cate and I were talking about and headed to the music section. As Diana Krall filled my ears with Besame Mucho, I remembered why it's silly to be a girl about things. I finished flipping through the "guide to seeing reality" then picked up the soundtrack to Spamalot.

At the checkstand, I bought G-Lo a little gift. The book If It's Not About Me, I'm Busy jumped into my hand. When I flipped it open, I read the following: "Keep a daily journal. It can help enhance your life, make you a better person and lead to self-discovery. Today I achieved total exfoliation with a moist towelette. Then I snacked." Yes, it may be my second favorite little book, right behind Looking for Mr. Right (Best line: "It's no wonder, then, that trying to have a quality relationship with a man can be the best way to bring on a migraine.")

The laughs I got from that little book felt like a renewal of spirit. I got in the car, flipped in the new CD and sang I'm Not Dead Yet at the top of my lungs. I actually had to pull off the road while This Is the Song That Goes Like This played. Monty Python always makes me laugh. You can laugh, too, by listening to the samples here.

Night's final laugh: Irrisistible quote from Kim Possible "So, you've won this round with superior dibs calling, but I'll be back."