Wine Oh Whine

On a free night, with the air still warm from bodies left over from the jam packed holiday weekend sale at a nearby mall, three friends reunite in the cold comfort of the dimly-lit wine shop along Gorordo Avenue.

Their careers, outlooks and intangible baggage are as varied as the drinks at the bar. But they’ve been friends a long time and though sometimes they don’t hear each other, they at least agree on the color of wine – it’s white, this time.

The almost empty bottle of Don Barroso lies chilled in a bucket of melted ice. As their glasses meet and clink for the nth time, they become more and more oblivious to anyone but themselves.

Like a broken record from the popular and multi-awarded musical, AVENUE Q, their conversation flows like this:

[Artist]
What do you do with a B.A. in Fine Arts?
10 years out of college, still I can’t pay the bills,
When I was little, I thought I would be,
A featured artist on primetime TV!
But now I’m 30 and as u can see,
I’m not, oh well,
It sucks to be me!

[Journalist]
You think your life sucks?
Your problems aren’t so bad
I’m kinda pretty, and pretty damn smart.
I like romantic things like music and art.
And as you know I have a gigantic heart,
So why don’t I have a boyfriend when I’m turning 31?
It sucks to be me!

[OFW]
Your lives suck? Ha!
I go to Canada for opportunities,
I work as an aide, though I have a master’s degree
I have an unemployed fiancée and a family to feed
Got two apartments but no home to call my own
Where to go next, I don’t know
It sucks to be me!

[All]
You win! It sucks to be you!
Feel better now,
Here on Gorordo Avenue
Sucks to be us
But not when we’re together!
Here, let’s drink to real life
Till dreams come true and make it all better

And so it goes on for a couple hours or more. Until each one left – numbed with wine and none the wiser. But then talks like this, I believe, is the reason why wine tastes as it does.

-- Published SunStar Weekend, 12/27/08