draft #4: more small good surprises (apparently never published because it’s a little O: The Oprah Magazine)

i was leaving the wine store when i saw mike i think with his girlfriend. i’ve been half-hoping to run into him whenever i walk outside, but before i had to make the decision about whether to say hi—i didn’t really want to spring myself on his girlfriend, it seemed like it should be his decision—i ran into another friend. she is defending her dissertation on tuesday, the day my exams are due, and deciding about whether she wants to take a big job overseas. she was like “would you take it?” and i said that my life is so far from what i thought it would be two years ago, who knows that i would do. she agreed. then we decided to get drinks when she gets back from her last interview. i think this sounds fun and i am comforted to know that mike still lives in my neighborhood—i thought maybe he had moved away—and now i just have to stay up late and finish this essay and comb over everything tomorrow and on tuesday, at noon, we are celebrating. the reservations are already made and they are outside.