As noted in the previous entry, one of the things my best friends would think to criticize me the worst for is my inexplicable tendency to assume people are somehow "better than me." It's ironic to me now that the two heavy hitters, the two people i feel the most intimidated by, the two girls I have thought for the longest were way too cool to be friends with me, are a) posted back to back and b) two of my best friends; Samara and now Courtney.
Courtney is one of, if not *the* most beautiful, girls i know in real life. I met her, as it appears to me now the more and more posts I am dedicating to my friends like this, at Cup a Joe. Cup a Joe, I have always said, is like homeroom; The place we meet before the action starts. Home base. Where all great ideas are born and then come to die, slowly and honorably to be brought up again years later over drinks and much laughter at outlandishness. The dreams bourne at Cup a Joe rarely ever make it out the door. This is a haven for crazies and daydreamers; lieabouts and homeless artists; trust fund babies and recovering alcoholics . I got my drivers license and Cup a Joe was the first place I came, journal and headphones in hand. I am 33 1/2. I am now sitting in Cup a Joe, writing this blog post. There has never been a time when i did not know or love this place. It's no longer a smoking establishment, but we huddle outside in the winter and laze around sweating in the summer. I met Courtney (aka "Cote d'Azur" or just "Cote") through friends of friends of friends. I can't even remember the exact time or circumstance, I just remember suddenly she was a part of my life.
Every lesbian i know has been in love with Courtney at one point or another. This statement should be given a significant amount of weight, as i know a significant amount of lesbians. I don't know what it is about me and gay people... I'm not sure if it's my innate need to surround myself with those who are repressed or judged unfairly or my constant draw to the underdogs? maybe because i was a theater major or maybe I'm just really fabulous? Whatever the reason, I probably have 3 or 4 close straight friends. Courtney is one of these inexplicably straight ones. I think there would be a major blowup, basically a WWIII of the Raleigh lesbians if Cote ever switched teams, they would murder each other over this girl. Every man Courtney has dated has been the luckiest man in the world. She is now dating Tony, probably the only guy she has ever dated that i would have dated. Tony is fabulous, and by proxy as determined by the above statement; the luckiest guy in the world.
Courtney is one of those people who, no matter how well you think you know her, you just don't. there is so much depth, complexity and energy churning at all times inside her brain and in her heart, so much so that i'm not sure she even knows from one moment to the next who she is. One moment she is a photographer, the next she is a psychologist. A rollergirl, a goth vixen, a pilates fanatic,a book nerd, a vicious card shark, a waitress, a ghetto fabulous gangsta queen, a down home country girl... sometimes she glows with such power and confidence it is blinding and sometimes the darkness in her consumes the room. she is a dynamo, she is a supernova, she is a force to be reckoned with. You will never have a short chat with Courtney, you will always have a full conversation. you will never walk away not knowing exactly what she is thinking and how she is feeling. She is spontaneous, wild, hilarious and humble. like most of us at the ole coffee shoppe, she has the dream-out-loud disease. however, what sets Courtney apart from the rest of us, much like Samara, she made it happen. and she keeps making it happen. she keeps getting more and more degrees and following more and more dreams and travel itineraries.
One of my favorite Courtney memories is driving with her to the Gay Pride Parade in Durham in 2009. (literally no straight friends. seriously.) Along the way I was hitting random on the iPod and came across this song and she and I had middle school dance flashbacks and decided to rock out any and all mid 90s r&b and hip-hop I had. Which we did. I would have never have expected Courtney to know every word, and of course she did. Then she told me crazy stories about high school and I just remember thinking, you know... as long as i have known this girl and as long as I will probably know her, which is forever I hope, I will never know all there is to know about her. Every time I hang out with her, I figure something else out and I am crying I am laughing so hard. Everyone needs a Courtney in their life, If you don't have one, I feel really bad for you, because she is spectacular.
