Tonight was proof that the best nights happen when they’re not planned. Let me explain.

I’m sitting here in bed, with a sore throat from yelling and drinking too much, reeking of tobacco all the while. I spent several hours at The Homy Inn this evening for Molly’s birthday. While at The Homy, I ran into a few friends of mine I hadn’t seen in months.

We did shots and talked. We told dirty jokes and flung empty, salty peanut shells at drunk bar patrons.

I haven’t closed down a bar in quite some time. It was awesome.

And what made this evening so enjoyable was that it was, for the most part, unplanned. It was spontaneous and funny and loud and smokey and wonderful.

Thanks Rick and Damien for an awesome evening. And congrats on signing to Saddle Creek.

I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand
Another head aches, another heart breaks
I am so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no

“All These Things That I’ve Done” – The Killers

Join me in wishing my dear friend, Molly Gordon, a very happy 25th birthday today!

In the past few weeks, I’ve been given the opportunity to closely interact and converse with a handful of people about serious, heartfelt issues.

I have determined that in the worst of times, people can — and often do — put their best faces forward. They are most helpful, most concerned, most sympathetic and most willing to listen.

In the worst of times, a person’s gesture can transform the moment into the best of times, teaching me so very much.

This is the gown Ms. Hepburn wore in “Sabrina.” In the movie, Sabrina had just returned from culinary school in Paris and wanted to wow her true love, proving the “ugly duckling” had indeed matured into a flawless swan.

I’d say this gorgeous gown did the trick.

Question: For those of you who read this blog — be it on a regular basis, sporadically or otherwise — at what moment did you discover you became an adult?

By “adult,” I mean knowing the consequences of your choices and actions paired with the ability to choose your own path. Knowing how fiercely you can love another and knowing how fiercely you can hurt another.

{These specific hallmarks of adulthood are just some of many more, I’m sure. I haven’t discovered the other ones just yet.}

I don’t believe I’ve shared this before, but I absolutely love Audrey Hepburn’s style. Her entire look is something I continually strive for, from the cropped hair to the skinny pants and petite sweaters.

I discovered my love for Lady Audrey in the 1954 film, “Sabrina.”

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing “Thank You For Smoking.”

Despite my general distaste for Katie Holmes at the moment, I enjoyed the flick immensely.

{More details: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/thankyouforsmoking/}

Dear Starbucks —

I love you.

I mean, I really, really, really love you. Up until about a year ago, I didn’t drink coffee, lattes or anything with caffeine.

But I discovered you and realized how happy you made me.

You made me trust you, with your delicious drinks (warm and cold) and your satisfying pastries.

You showed me a beautiful side of yourself, in the form of a Cinnamon Dolce Latte, with her sweet flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.

{shiver}

And I fell in love with your Cinnamon Dolce Latte. To the point of crazy/mad love. This single drink made me swoon.

And, perhaps foolishly, I began planning our future together, anticipating the next time I’d order another one. Enjoying a Cinnamon Dolce Latte on a Saturday morning or after lunch on an uneventful Tuesday afternoon.

But on my way to work last week, I swing by my neighborhood Starbucks only to realize I won’t be enjoying a Cinnamon Dolce Latte until December at the earliest.

You have discontinued My Favorite Starbucks Drink for another eight months; yet there’s no guarantee Cinnamon Dolce Latte and I will meet again when this year draws to a close.

Starubucks, you broke my heart.

Until I need another latte fix, and I’m bellied up to the counter ordering a White Chocolate Mocha.

Regards,
-W.

Anyone know if “Strawberry Fields” by The Beatles has ever been remixed? I heard “Strawberry Fields” on CD 105.9 FM (my favorite classic rock station in Omaha) last week and thought it’d be a song a talented producer could have some fun with.