Girls night out and psychotic families

[i_kender]

So, fun night with girls... pardon, ladies... from school who I hadn’t seen for nine years until last months reunion. (I went to Sevenoaks, doncha know) That would be Anna Wynne, Anoush Jakeman, and Emi Hanawa... respectively English (and a harp player), English/Aremenian/Iraqi, and Japanese. We talked about what our names mean (Anna is ‘full of grace’... yeah right, as she said... Anoush is ‘sweet’, and Emi ... I forget) Ha, I refused to tell them mine because it’s sappier than all of theirs put together!! And no, you’re not getting it out of me. Not without copious amounts of alcohol. We also talked about baby names, who we had crushes on at school, who was bullied... all over a nice (and cheap!) dinner at The Bistro, somewhere between Charing Cross and Covent Garden. Then Simon Price who is now a solicitor also turned up, with a girl called Lucy who looked really familiar... I’m sure I recognised her, maybe from Brighton. And we all went to All Bar One or whatever that chain is called. It was a good night. Anna doesn’t drink. Anoush talks relentlessly, I could barely squeeze in a flirting glance here and there. Emi doesn’t talk at all. And they’re all quite short, making me feel like some towering man-hulk-beast. It rained a little. Central London is all covered with lights and decorations. I saw my first Christmas tree of the season, it’s the biiiiiig tall one in Covent Garden market. It was very nice, producing ambivalent tension in me. I waved the girls off at Charing Cross station, and then started the long trek home. It does take forever without a book, you know...

I have now finished All Families Are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland which I really liked. I enjoy Coupland’s style, he has wit, economy, and a strong sense of humour. Here’s a bit:

“Our lives are geared mainly to deflect the darts thrown at us by the laws of probability. The moment we’re able, we insulate ourselves from random acts of hate and destruction. It’s always been there- in the neighbourhoods we build, the walls between our houses, the wariness with which we treat the unknown. One person in six million will be struck by lightning. Fifteen people in a hundred will experience clinical depression. One woman in sixteen will experience breast cancer. One child in 30,000 will experience a serious limb deformity. One American in five will be a victim of violent crime. A day in which nothing bad happens is a miracle, a day in which all the things that could have gone wrong didn’t. The dull day is a triumph of the human spirit, and boredom is a luxury unprecedented in the history of our species.”

Yes... I still think boredom is the enemy, however. I have yet to be persuaded otherwise.

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[spintrian.livejournal.com]

Remember you're supposed to be writing me an Introduction, 100 words minimum? If you're that bored, do it, now.