ENTRANCE EXAM

Will I or won't I... that's the question of the day. Get this... as we speak, my "sponsors" are filling out forms, in the hopes I'll be accepted for a country club membership. Can you imagine? THEY MIGHT REJECT ME!! Oh man... will I ever feel like an idiot. The THEY in all this, by the way, are the Board Members of the club, as well as the Membership Committee. To even GET to that point, you have to have three current members willing to sponsor and/or vouch for you. Uh oh. Oh yeah... I'm going strictly for the Social Membership, only. As in: dining room/party facilities. I don't play golf. I don't play tennis. And, God knows... I can't use the pool area, given that would require my wearing a bathing suit. SO never going to happen. BUT... I eat like a pro!

In the meantime... thank God I've never been arrested. Thank God I have pristine credit. Thank God they don't read this blog! EEEKS. That alone could do me in, right off the bat. I have to have my entire application in by Monday. I guess I'll be interviewed sometime before October and maybe by November, I'll be judged good enough to join all the others who've already passed the entrance exam to this place. Yikes. I almost feel like I'm going out for Rush Week. What I'm really freaked out about, other than the fancy schmancy folks who will vote on either my acceptance or rejection, is the interview process. OMG... left to my own accord, God only KNOWS what sort of replies may come out my mouth. Kinda like: HAVE YOU EVER INHALED?? To which I'd say... MEEEEE?? COME ON, NOW. SURELY YOU JEST. Afterall... sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. If you catch my drift. On the other hand, forget about my replies. What the hell could their QUESTIONS be, anyway?? I can't even imagine, but trust me.... I'll brush up on my Cliff Notes, but good. HI, MARY? THIS IS LINDA. OKAY, SO WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING TO BE ON THE INTERVIEW TEST? Oh man... this is sooooo like high school sororities. Which I might add, I got into 1-2-3. So, I guess I better cross my fingers and see if I'm allowed in. Lucky for me, I'm thinking the economy sucks so horribly right now, I'll bet the applications are WAY down. If not, I wonder if they have casting couches.

THE NUMBER 40

Okay... so it rained for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah was on his Ark. Also... there are basically 40 days of Lent. Plus, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. And, naturally, my all time favorite... catching 40 winks is basically a perfectly timed nap. BUT... NOW?? Now, the number 40 has taken on a completely NEW meaning ...

As in: after 40 years since college... I HAVE RECONNECTED WITH MY TWO FAVORITE SUITE MATES FROM OUR COLLEGE DORM! Whoa... so never saw THAT coming. It went down like this:

I woke up one day recently, went to my computer and boom. There's a message from Facebook, telling me that Ann is wondering if I'm the same Linda from USF... who shared a suite with her and Susie. BINGO WINGO. Next thing you know, the three of us are going NUTS catching up on the last 40 years of our lives! Uh... no easy feat, I might add. TALK ABOUT EMAILS FLYING BACK AND FORTH! Can you believe it?? After ALLLL these years, I get to hook up with Ann and Susie once again. OMG... what a major event this has been for me! You can't even iMAGine all the gossip we have had to share! It's simply incredible.

I heard names of boys we all loved and lost and names of dorm girls I would NEVER have recalled if you paid me a zillion dollars! I saw pictures of us way back then that show NOT ONE WRINKLE, NOT ONE GRAY HAIR NOR ANY SPEC OF AGING, WHATSOEVER. I got to read letters that Ann kept from all three of us that no one in their mind would have EVER saved all this time. I mean, it's like we have pages and pages documenting our lives in the good ole days of college and trust me... they are definitely incredible!

Oh yeah... Ann has lived literally allll over the world having INCREDIBLE adventures. Susie has worked with folks dealing with mental challenges and more recently, been pretty much hooked into hanging with and managing some pretty nifty musicians. Me??? Uh... oh, well... gee... I taught school, raised my family and socialized with friends. Boom. That's it. Oh man.. talk about being on the opposite end of the spectrum!

Anyway, matters not. For I am so telling you, this entire reconnection experience is right smack UP MY ALLEY. You think we gossiped way back THEN? You can't beLIEVE how much we've gossiped in the past three weeks! And better yet... after 40 years,the gossip is SO much juicier!! I'm a sucker for it all.

By the way... I've reached a pretty profound conclusion, in case you're interested. Just as when Ann, Susie and I were in college, life still comes down to the ONE AND ONLY THING that drives our feminine engines: MEN! Can't live with them, but certainly can't live without them.

Between the three of us, we must have easily rattled off names of 50 men who not only rocked our world, but certainly shaped our world. Some things just never change. We are STILL trying to figure out exactly what makes men tick. And, although we may not have nailed it completely... you can be SURE we are now, far and away much wiser. Why DO we woman fantasize about "what could have been", anyway??? You almost have to ask yourself "will we EVER learn"? Well, actually, now that I think of it... the three of us HAVE learned. Kinda. Granted, the lessons haven't always been easy, but give us a challenge? Whammo... we'll come out on top, every time.

All I can say is YIPPEE. Am sooo thrilled to have Ann and Susie back in my life once again. I am wild for the laughs we've shared in the past three weeks. I'm crazy for the reminiscing we've done in the past three weeks. And as much as I loved my two college suite mates THEN...I love them more even now, thanks to these past three weeks. Oh yeah... I'm also exhausted. 40 years into 21 short days?? Now THERE'S a challenge if ever there was.