A WEEKEND I’LL NEVER FORGET

Drew came up with the perfect theme to summarize this past weekend, but I honestly can’t remember what it was. And that’s appropriate, I guess, since we started off Friday night by seeing “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. I can’t recommend this movie enough, not only because it’s great, but because seeing it with your boy/girlfriend-spouse-legal partner opens up a whole new realm of good-natured teasing for you and your special friend. Drew and I spent most of the weekend threatening each other by saying “Don’t make me erase you!” and reliving our own memories and imagining how the background components would be wiped away with high-tech effects. “Remember the waiter eating our leftover cake at the Grove? Whoosh! He’s gone!”

Unfortunately, some things are destined to fade away, like my blissful memories of that first night at the new Target just three short weeks ago. I went back for the first time since then, and it just wasn’t the same. The floors, once spotless, are scuffed. The parking garage, once crowded, is now impenetrable. (Big ups to my boy for finding the secret back entrance nobody else knows about. For you locals, enter on Formosa, then turn down the alley. But shhhhh! It’s our little secret, okay?) And the clientele, once featuring Sandra Bernhard and Janet Charlton of the Star, now features the same ruthless aisle-hogging cart-pushers who inhabit every Target. Still no word on the opening date for Best Buy, but given the overcrowding of the garage, I’m almost hoping it never comes. Sad but true.

On Saturday, we saw “Dawn of the Dead”. I’m not a big fan of horror movies, but in this one, the two scariest things happened after the credits rolled. First, I accidentally brushed my hand against the straw in somebody’s soda, which for me is roughly equivalent to what rolling around in rat puke and medical waste for an hour would be for most people. (Don’t look for me on “Fear Factor” anytime soon.) Then, on the way out, we ran into Drew’s ex-boyfriend. Thankfully, he didn’t try to feast on my brain, but he did have that look in his eye.

Then, on Sunday we did just about the dumbest thing you can do, which is to go to an animal adoption fair when you have no intention of adopting an animal. I realized that I’m almost as picky about pets as I am about men. Sure, there were plenty of cute mutts, but I never quite had my heart stolen. Or maybe I just had my wall up — one more reason why I discovered dogs are a lot like men for me. Drew, on the other hand, fell in love with every pooch we passed, especially Topper, a blind English Spring Spaniel. He even practiced saying Topper’s first name with his last name. That night, I discovered Drew looking for Topper on the rescue organization’s website, and for the first time that day, my heart melted.

That’s one memory I’m really going to miss when I have it zapped away someday.