stephenAmurphy.com

Originally written: 01/08/08 (Tuesday)

Megan and I arrived to Stigler yesterday. I’m excited to get to work, so I convince her to go to a basketball game with me. Stigler at Pocola.

Megan, born and bred in Southern California, walks into this game with me wearing a nice white coat, a fashionable purse, and of course huge sunglasses. To put it simply, she looked different than most of the other ladies in the gym.

It was commented on as soon as we reached the ticket counter. The girl looked up at her.

“I love your purse,” she said.
“Thanks,” Megan responded.
“You look like someone,” the girl said.

We waited to hear whom she looked like. The girl couldn’t think of the person at first, but she was determined to get it before we left. I noticed the people behind us in line getting antsy.

“Oh I know, you look like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada!” the girl said.
“Thaaaannks…” Megan drawled out sarcastically.
“I meant that as a complement,” the girl said, clearly surprised by Megan’s reaction, as we walked away.

“Why were you so mean to her?” I asked Megan, only I probably used harsher language at the time.
“Anne Hathaway is the ugly girl in that movie,” Megan said.
“She meant her by the end of the movie, when she was beautiful and fashionable,” I explained.
“Oh,” Megan said.

Eventually, we found a rare open spot in the packed bleachers and watched the game. In the middle of the second quarter, Megan left to use the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later, looking a little shocked.

“The cheerleaders attacked me,” she said.

I asked her what she meant. Apparently, when she left to use the restroom, a swarm of Stigler cheerleaders surrounded her and asked her where she bought that jacket. When she responded Los Angeles, they all simultaneously gasped. Megan, feeling awkward and looking to change the subject, asked them where the bathroom was.

“Well, for most people, it’s right there,” a cheerleader said. “But you should use the one down the hall. It’s the nicer one.”

It was amusing that Megan got the Hollywood treatment, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. These were clearly the girls that craved the LA lifestyle. In fact, at halftime, they all huddled around a Seventeen magazine, learning the Cali ways.

When we left the game, they stopped us again to ask a few questions.

“So you’re the one with the New Jersey license plate?”
“Were you at Ruben’s (the Mexican restaurant in town) the other day? We saw you.”
“Why did you move to Stigler? Actually, how did you even hear of Stigler?”

God bless the good ole’ internet and journalismjobs.com.