Saturday, October 13, 2007
The Next Best Thing

Last night, while most KW residents were out drinking their faces off in celebration of Oktoberfest, my roommates and I decided to stay in and depress ourselves by watching The Notebook. I've only seen the movie twice and if it were up to me, I wouldn't have watched it again, not after the first time. Of course, everyone in the theater was crying, but I, I was downright sobbing in my seat. I cried on our way out of the theater, in the car on the way home, after I said goodnight to my boyfriend and went in my house, I sat on the edge of my bed and cried some more before I went to sleep. I hadn't been that sad since I saw The Joy Luck Club.

The second time I saw the movie was when I worked as a tour manager, while I was on tour with a school group. The group was predominantly female, and one of them had brought The Notebook to watch on the coach during the long drive home. Not wanting to ruin their fun, I put it in the DVD player and tried to look out the window for as long as I could, ignoring the heart-wrenching story unfolding before me on screen. It didn't work. Halfway through the movie someone handed me a pack of tissues from somewhere at the back of the bus - they had heard me sniffling up at the front.

Last night, I was a complete wreck. I was sobbing into my blanket while my two roommates just sat there, taking the movie in like normal people. I can't explain why it gets to me so much. And even if I could, I wouldn't want to open up that whole can of worms on here again. I was in love like that once, Love Lost, yada yada. (Oy, not again!) I lay on my bed curled up in a ball for a good while, feeling hollow and nursing that giant void in my aching chest until we all decided it would be a good idea to go out for dessert. So I doused my face with cold water and we headed out into the chilly night in search of sweetness.

A giant slice of triple chocolate almond cake with vanilla ice cream later and I was better; sitting there curled up in a cozy armchair, chatting with my roommates about family, travel, and handsome seventy year old men who try to save the world and inspire twenty-something year old girls like us to do the same. We shared stories, joked and laughed and got closer. We left for home feeling a lot warmer and I, a lot fuller.