Episode 31: The Joys of Spring

Sunday, March 29th at 11:04am:
Location: Logan’s Circle, NW
Scene: Diane in her car looking for a parking spot.

I was beginning to realize that I needed the patience of a bride searching Filene’s Basement for the perfect wedding dress, if I was going to find a parking spot at noon (aka peak brunch hour) on a weekend day in Logan Circle.  I only decided to put myself through this headache because Cindi thought it would be a good day to walk to the nail salon on U St. ‘We have to enjoy this unexpected spring weather’, she rationalized. I agreed since the forecast for the following week called for wind and rain, but after 30 minutes of searching to no avail, I was frustrated, thirsty and annoyed.  About to give up on my parking quest, I looked up at an empty spot only to see the ever present homeless guy signaling me to park there. Where was he a second ago and why did he think that this was his lucky day and without him I could not have found the spot myself?  (Which I did) When he saw me angling my car towards the middle of the space, he moved out of the way. When I stepped out of the car, he held his hands out for change.  When I did not give him any money, he said something about messing with my tires. When I heard that, I got in the car again and told Cindi to bring me a bottle of water for my thirst and that we would be driving to U St.  Go figure.

On U we were able to surprisingly find parking right away since those attending church services were all in the process of moving their cars. Finally Murphy was on my side.

As I stepped into the Shangri-la Day Spa, I was led to an empty pedicure station. The warm water on my feet was just the de-stressor that I needed. I sat back as the nail technician started the seat massager and proceeded with the task of making my feet beautiful.  I was in heaven. I tried not to think about Jaz’s book club meeting this afternoon, but that was an unattainable goal.  Neither Cindi nor I had read the assigned book, “Act like a Lady, Think like A Man” by Steve Harvey. Jaz was sure to be upset with us, but although she was gung-ho about this latest project, I gave her a month to tire of it or until the start of summer when the need to parade on the Washington Harbour in Georgetown on a Sunday in a floral halter dress topped her priority list.

Sunday, March 29th at 11:51am:
Location: Shangri-la Day Spa, U St., NW
Scene: Diane and Cindi getting their nails done.

The call from Chris this early on a Sunday was unexpected. I let it go to voicemail. I called him two weeks ago and he was only now returning my call. I knew since last week that I no longer wanted a relationship with him but the question still remained as to how I would break it off. He started, “hey honey, are you home right now? I thought I would stop by for a second or two.” I rolled my eyes and pressed the “delete” button. The more I speak to him the more I realize he enjoys being single and has no intention of settling down anytime soon.  I guess I should have known this was the case when we started dating, but I chose to ignore the signs of always wanting to be by himself, no interest in doing what I wanted to do and disappearing for days even weeks on end. Time to move on!

I turned to Cindi to see if she was ready to go but she was refilling her acrylics so I knew we had at least 30 minutes to go before we could leave. I opened the latest Cosmopolitan magazine and started to read the mindless relationship tips. I guess I will need them for my next try.