It all started the week after my birthday, when my friend Rose tried to think up of ways to make up for the drama I encountered. And the number one idea was…drum roll, please…a trip to Las Vegas! Of course, the trip would be the week of her birthday, but it was a free trip, nonetheless. And since the word “F-R-E-E” is my favorite four-letter word, next to “S-A-L-E”, how could I refuse?
Just thinking about partying and living it up in the City of Sin had me all giddy and so thankful I took that seasonal job at Gap. I became even more giddy, when my friend Kelly introduced me to Rod, the party host at The Mirage during a seasonal party. Man, talk about being in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people who could get you into the right places at the right time. Seeing the way Kelly laughed at all of Rod’s bad jokes and the way she tenderly stroked his arm, despite the fact that he was wearing jeans from the late 80s/early 90s, it was nice to know I could count on my friends using their whorish ways to gain me free access to clubs while in Vegas.
And speaking of all things good and free in the City of Sin, a local radio show was holding a contest, in which the 49th caller would win tickets to go and see that Canadian Showboat, Celine Dion along with a three-day, two-night stay at Caesar's Palace. I had to win. If only for the free night's stay at an internationally known hotel. Unfortunately, after listening to Soft Rock Hits of the 70s, 80s, and 90s for hours upon hours the only place I placed was second and ended up winning a pair of tickets to a motivational conference and passes for the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training. The person that did win? Brenda Lewis. Ugh.
Next to Isabel Dior, Brenda Lewis ranked just as high on the mortal enemy list. There was just no reasoning with someone who would never forgive or forget past petty differences. That’s when I got an idea. Maybe I could become "friends" with an enemy. A frenemy, or enemend, if you will. It would be like one of those old war movies where a stunning and captivating spy infiltrates the enemy camp, gains access to all things guarded and private and escapes in the nick of time to great success. Of course, I knew it was the stuff of Hollywood dreams, but dont some dreams come true?
Meanwhile, across town, a friendship was being renewed via cellular. After hearing of Isabel's newlywed status, Maria felt that, as an old friend, it was her duty to congratulate the bride and groom. And as my friend, it was Maria's duty to fill me in with all the gossip. Suffice to say, Maria learned that marriage had changed Isabel. It actually made her way more mature. According to Maria, Isabel had finally recieved her much needed reality check and saw that the world wasnt her own big, giant playground as she once thought it was. She had grown as a person and Maria felt that maybe this time around, we could all actually sit down and have a polite and cordial dinner, forgetting our hurtful past and creating a better future.
Of course, I had different plans. Maybe if I was able to become friends with Isabel, then maybe that would be a way for me to fix things with Brenda and then maybe that would be a way for me to try and convince her to give me the Celine Dion tickets and three-day, two-night stay at Caesar's Palace and maybe, just maybe, justice would be restored. I mean, would it be so terribly wrong to become friends with somebody in the hopes you could get something out of it?
Later that week at eight, I was dressed to the nines, waiting for a party of ten outside of NoRTH, with my friend Maria. She and Isabel had combined forces and planned an impromptu dinner party at one of Tucson's hottest restaurants and I was bestowed an invitation to what would be an interesting night. As Maria had predicted earlier that week, married life did wonders for Isabel. She spoke with a voice that was more calm and less shrill and in a surprise I never saw coming, Isabel was less, dare I say...selfish? She was actually listening to people's stories rather than trying to top them and she was…well…just less selfish. You had to actually know Isabel in order to fully understand that last thought, but trust me, if I’m able to say that the girl who convinced her parents to let her "disappear" in Mexico for a couple of months during her senior year because she was "overwhelmed" and "stressed," was less selfish, then she was.
But being less selfish wasn’t the only change I saw in Isabel. During her barely three-week old marriage to Ed, Isabel had actually gained confidence. Not that she wasn’t confident before, but there was a sense that she was much stronger in spirit than before. Isabel was actually walking the walk, rather than just talking the talk, a task that was once believed to be as unfathomable as Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. But she was.
Like when she told Brenda’s new husband at work, he was wearing a nice shirt that complimented his biceps, that was something Isabel would never have done before. When Brenda called Isabel to ask why she was checking out her husband and Isabel told her to calm down and to stop being so paranoid, that was something she never would have done before. And when Isabel called out Brenda’s bluff, as Brenda tried to come up with a lie as to why she did not invite Isabel to her small wedding nuptials, despite the fact that it was Isabel who introduced Brenda to her husband, that completely let me know Isabel had changed. Getting those Las Vegas tickets now, would certainly not be an easy task.
Isabel had gone from mortal enemy number one to someone I could actually respect and, dare I say, like. Not that I didnt like her before, but obviously when we stopped being friends, she stopped being liked. The weird thing is, if she acted the way she does now, back when we were in high school, I dont think I would have been her friend. But now that she's changed...does that mean the qualities I look for in friends has too? In which case, that would mean I've changed. But I havent changed...have I?
Just thinking about partying and living it up in the City of Sin had me all giddy and so thankful I took that seasonal job at Gap. I became even more giddy, when my friend Kelly introduced me to Rod, the party host at The Mirage during a seasonal party. Man, talk about being in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people who could get you into the right places at the right time. Seeing the way Kelly laughed at all of Rod’s bad jokes and the way she tenderly stroked his arm, despite the fact that he was wearing jeans from the late 80s/early 90s, it was nice to know I could count on my friends using their whorish ways to gain me free access to clubs while in Vegas.
And speaking of all things good and free in the City of Sin, a local radio show was holding a contest, in which the 49th caller would win tickets to go and see that Canadian Showboat, Celine Dion along with a three-day, two-night stay at Caesar's Palace. I had to win. If only for the free night's stay at an internationally known hotel. Unfortunately, after listening to Soft Rock Hits of the 70s, 80s, and 90s for hours upon hours the only place I placed was second and ended up winning a pair of tickets to a motivational conference and passes for the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training. The person that did win? Brenda Lewis. Ugh.
Next to Isabel Dior, Brenda Lewis ranked just as high on the mortal enemy list. There was just no reasoning with someone who would never forgive or forget past petty differences. That’s when I got an idea. Maybe I could become "friends" with an enemy. A frenemy, or enemend, if you will. It would be like one of those old war movies where a stunning and captivating spy infiltrates the enemy camp, gains access to all things guarded and private and escapes in the nick of time to great success. Of course, I knew it was the stuff of Hollywood dreams, but dont some dreams come true?
Meanwhile, across town, a friendship was being renewed via cellular. After hearing of Isabel's newlywed status, Maria felt that, as an old friend, it was her duty to congratulate the bride and groom. And as my friend, it was Maria's duty to fill me in with all the gossip. Suffice to say, Maria learned that marriage had changed Isabel. It actually made her way more mature. According to Maria, Isabel had finally recieved her much needed reality check and saw that the world wasnt her own big, giant playground as she once thought it was. She had grown as a person and Maria felt that maybe this time around, we could all actually sit down and have a polite and cordial dinner, forgetting our hurtful past and creating a better future.
Of course, I had different plans. Maybe if I was able to become friends with Isabel, then maybe that would be a way for me to fix things with Brenda and then maybe that would be a way for me to try and convince her to give me the Celine Dion tickets and three-day, two-night stay at Caesar's Palace and maybe, just maybe, justice would be restored. I mean, would it be so terribly wrong to become friends with somebody in the hopes you could get something out of it?
Later that week at eight, I was dressed to the nines, waiting for a party of ten outside of NoRTH, with my friend Maria. She and Isabel had combined forces and planned an impromptu dinner party at one of Tucson's hottest restaurants and I was bestowed an invitation to what would be an interesting night. As Maria had predicted earlier that week, married life did wonders for Isabel. She spoke with a voice that was more calm and less shrill and in a surprise I never saw coming, Isabel was less, dare I say...selfish? She was actually listening to people's stories rather than trying to top them and she was…well…just less selfish. You had to actually know Isabel in order to fully understand that last thought, but trust me, if I’m able to say that the girl who convinced her parents to let her "disappear" in Mexico for a couple of months during her senior year because she was "overwhelmed" and "stressed," was less selfish, then she was.
But being less selfish wasn’t the only change I saw in Isabel. During her barely three-week old marriage to Ed, Isabel had actually gained confidence. Not that she wasn’t confident before, but there was a sense that she was much stronger in spirit than before. Isabel was actually walking the walk, rather than just talking the talk, a task that was once believed to be as unfathomable as Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. But she was.
Like when she told Brenda’s new husband at work, he was wearing a nice shirt that complimented his biceps, that was something Isabel would never have done before. When Brenda called Isabel to ask why she was checking out her husband and Isabel told her to calm down and to stop being so paranoid, that was something she never would have done before. And when Isabel called out Brenda’s bluff, as Brenda tried to come up with a lie as to why she did not invite Isabel to her small wedding nuptials, despite the fact that it was Isabel who introduced Brenda to her husband, that completely let me know Isabel had changed. Getting those Las Vegas tickets now, would certainly not be an easy task.
Isabel had gone from mortal enemy number one to someone I could actually respect and, dare I say, like. Not that I didnt like her before, but obviously when we stopped being friends, she stopped being liked. The weird thing is, if she acted the way she does now, back when we were in high school, I dont think I would have been her friend. But now that she's changed...does that mean the qualities I look for in friends has too? In which case, that would mean I've changed. But I havent changed...have I?
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