"...that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone." How true this is, especially when dealing with the stupidest little things in life. Like bandwidth. Lord knows I knew going from a cable modem to dialup was going to put a crimp in my Internet-based rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but I didn't think it would be this much of a deterrent.

There were several reasons I was reticent to move back to Connecticut, and today I was forced to face up to one of them.

Yes, it's true -- I ran into an ex-girlfriend from high school.

I guess in some ways, it was embarrassing for the both of us. I was obviously sick and not looking my best. She was on the other side of the cash register, bagging my groceries. Truth be told, I'm glad our positions weren't reversed, though it was kind of hard for both of us (we didn't part on the best of terms). We both kind of quickly smiled at each other and gave each other cursory updates on our lives. My tales of leaving for Los Angeles sound so grandiose in this small town -- it's like in those movies where the kid leaves his parents' farm to go to the Big City for college or something.

Truth be told, I don't think I've ever broken up with someone on good terms. It's always been uncomfortable. I'm not really on speaking terms with most of my exes, and there was one who I even ran into at a SpeedDating event. How embarrassing was that, you ask? Well, it was damn embarrassing.

There are times when I really do believe in the When Harry Met Sally principle that Men and Women Cannot Be Friends. It's kind of odd for me to say that, since those who know me know that there are times in my life when my closest friends have been women. However, in those cases, gender seems to have been lost and it's just two close friends -- as one of my best friends (who is female) says, "Hell, you're just one of the girls." At first, I freaked out when she said that, but she clarified it to mean that I'm as close to her friend-wise as her Inner Circle of Girlfriends and I'm just another member despite my physical "condition." But I've never been able to understand how people can maintain friendly relations after they've broken up.

Despite what we say, men really can be vindictive assholes sometimes. Yes, we do hold grudges and yes, we are basic enough to want revenge if we're wronged. And despite what they say, I firmly believe that women can definitely be the same way. With all this craziness around, it's a wonder the human race is ever able to perpetuate itself. I get the feeling that if humans ever die out, it won't be because of war -- it'll be because we both killed all the members of the opposite sex.