SOME WOULD SAY I AM CLAIRVOIANT

Ok, so here’s the deal…I was slated to go visit my very good friend in Florida this weekend (side bar: just want to say a few things about this particular friend. She is the type of person who everyone wants to be friends with…she was the cool girl in high school who you always hoped would ask you to sit next to her in the lunch room. The person who people bend over backwards to be around because she is THAT cool. She is somebody I actually never saw myself being friends with, but 5 years later here we are. And she isn’t just ANY friend. She is the one I go out of my way for, the one I change my schedule around for, the one I spend hundreds of dollars on airline tickets to go see…and I do it with no complaints, regrets, or hesitations. I might even go as far as to say she is my BEST friend, or at least one of the very few people who I would even consider giving that label…{second side bar: everyone who knows me, knows that I am not a big fan of the whole labeling of society…despite the fact that in college, I was labeled “semi-cool” by two of my roommates…now are these girls are part of the best friend crowd??? Well…not exactly, but knowing people for 15 years does stand for something…I believe the concept is called loyalty…and as previously discussed, that is exactly how Mav rolls.} Anyway, back to side bar number 1, my “new” best friend…and I only use the term new because there are people who I have been friends with since I was playing pee wee soccer at Randall Park, you know the kind, where all the kids just follow the ball in a huge swarm and the goalies have to wear those foam helmets with the holes in them. So compared to those standards this is in fact “new.” So you might be saying…”Well Mav, you seem pretty keen on her, but what does she think about you?” So what I hear you saying is… [Last side bar: that is an ode to a Professor I had in law school…her famous phrase. Just giving Catholic U a little press!] “What exactly does she do for you?” The answer is simple. She provides a no nonsense, no b/s, non-negotiable type of friendship…translation…she likes me for the person I am, inclusive of all my faults, bad habits and crazy neurosis and everyday she makes me want to be a better individual. And she is not afraid to speak up and tell me when its time to calm down. And believe me, I have really needed some of that these days. She brings out the best I have to offer as a person. We click on a fundamental human level and I have learned in life that is actually rare…So to end this side bar, I would like to say thank you to that friend and let her know how special she is to me and how happy and grateful I am that she is a part of my life.)

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…Yes, right. Florida this weekend. So a few days ago I call my girlfriend and I say:

Mav: “You know I was thinking about canceling this trip. I am getting a bad vibe off of it, the karma just isn’t right.”
Best friend (Bf): “Noooo…why? Am I giving you that feeling? I have lots of fun things planned for us to do. There’s a party. With lots of red wine.”
Mav: {Thinking…damn, she is pulling out the tough guns…how can I say no to lots of red wine?…she knows me all too well.} “It’s just that it seems like a lot of running around for such a short period of time. I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
Bf: {Probably thinking…ok, here we go again. Why can’t you just get on the damn plane and be done with it…[Mav: Come on…give me a break. You know I sometimes need a little coddling, kisses!]} “It’s really not an inconvenience. We really want you to come…”
Mav: “O.k.”

And now…the irony of the situation? Hurricane Wilma swooped into town on Monday causing power outages, destruction and curfews…I had to cancel the trip…I knew the karma wasn’t right almost a week ago…Should I apply for a job on the psychic friends network? Why can’t I have these moments of clairvoyance when the lottery is worth $34 million? I guess it just isn’t part of my karma.