So Much the Gay

I love the onset of summer, if only because the gorgeous weather allows me to wear skirts and show off my (rather nice, in my humble opinion) legs.

I bought this particular skirt at the Gap a few years ago, a simple pleated khaki and white plaid in homage to my schoolgirl days. It was grown-up enough to wear to work (with heels), but young enough so I can indulge in my fantasy that I’m still in high school (with knee-high socks and Mary-Janes). It appears to a be great favourite for everyone: every time I’ve worn this skirt, I’ve always received compliments on my legs. For instance, today on my way into my building, a young-ish man in a grey pinstriped suit said (somewhat incongruously):

• Conservative Corporate Man: Hey Princess, nice legs.

I smiled back and stroked my burgeoning ego when I stopped and thought about what had just come out of his mouth.

Hey Princess?

Of course, Sarah means “princess” in Hebrew, but there was no possible way he could have known my given name, and if by some magical means of telepathy he found it out, he would also have known that I haven’t responded to Sarah in five years.

Which then forced me to ask the question: Do I look like a princess?

But not like, Grace Kelly princess or even Rapunzel princess; I mean the dreaded “prep princess.” You know, the girls who are clad in J.Crew from the tops of their blonde heads to the bottoms of their impeccably manicured feet, who also accessorise themselves with Coach purses and a discreet strand of faux-pearls.

And then I glanced at my Coach purse and fingered my strand of faux-pearls and thought, Well.

Last night, the girls of the writers’ group of which I am a part played Tea Party, as introduced to us by the fabulous Wicked Cool Kelly. In order to play Tea Party, you must have a theme, and invite thirteen guests (and only thirteen, no more, no less). The guests can be fictional, historical, living, or dead. Seating arrangements also matter.

So we played The Tea Party Of People Who Are Not At Work and Are So Happy About It.

Our guestlist:

1. Dumbledore
2. Jayne (from Firefly)
3. Jeffrey (from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
4. Ms. Norbury (from Mean Girls)
5. Sylsbie (spelling?)
6. God (from the Old Testament)
7. The Hamster of Personal Aesthetic
8. Hans Solo
9. Steve Irwin
10. Captain Planet
11. Donna (a literary agent we know)
12. Holden CaulfieldDante (from Clerks)