Claire Conger

Note to self: When a good looking and interesting guy asks you for a beer, say YES!

I decided to try skiing, so yesterday I did! It was so fun.

Manny* ski instructor extraordinaire from Australia (woo woo!) took me from beginner to intermediate in four hours. I didn’t even fall! I was grinning and yelling “Whee” with no pretense of decorum.

At the end of the day, Manny asked me to have a beer with him.

Did I say yes? Nooooo. Silly girl. And how did I spend my evening? Websurfing for a new camera and watching Calendar Girls on DVD. It’s a fun little movie starring Helen Mirren, but really, is that stupid or what?

I’ve always been this way, a stick in the mud. I was the baby who cried when a stranger looked in her buggy. I was the kid in second grade who couldn’t talk in front of the class—I would laugh instead.

Now, because I can, I avoid situations that make me anxious, and having a beer with Manny would have put me right over the top.

I flew down the hill, but when Manny threw me a pass, I fumbled.

This is just no way to live.

* Manny is not the ski instructor’s real name. I changed it to protect his privacy.