the women in my life (a tribute to the heroines of Cosmo book club novels)

love has been tackled by so many people in just as many ways that we have formulated our own theories and postulates about finding it, keeping it, and even recovering from its loss as well. we have jotted it down, either on our personal computers, laptops, diaries, online journals, and even on our PDAs. any information regarding love has been materialized in the form of either a marketing strategy, fiction novel, and even in a recipe for an iced cafe latte. but no matter what the form is, there is no sure ball formula on how to recreate the magic of hitting it off with another person and having sparks fly with the promise of true love shining on the horizon. some women however, have had a more successful encounter with the love game, and their stories only prove that in the end, love does prevail, and that there's always someone for everyone. they're as much a friend as the dating gurus that they are. but the funny thing is, i haven't met them before. they have taught me so much without even knowing it. Kach, Monica, Karen, Teri, Mia, Hilda, and Rudie, the women of the Cosmo book club novels. all equally equipped and blessed to live life with fashion, drama, and flair. i don't want to sound melodramatic with this, but these women have become my life for the past year. i have lived their ideals with mine, related with their experiences, and even solved a few romantic knots by following their examples. the way i see it, they have offered so much life in the confines of their 200 plus pages or so, book lives. and as an avid reader of the book series, i think and feel that every peso spent in buying them is well worth it. i may need not assert what i learned from them, but since we're already sharing here, i might as well. take kach, the theatre princess. we all may be starstruck by someone up there in the lights, but as she learned, and so must we... love isn't always in the most glittery of packages, rather, it may present itself in a loyal friend who's been right under our nose the whole time. monica, the hidden writer. she's learned that there's no use crying over spilled milk. instead, what we must do is move on. focus all our energy and attention into upgrading ourselves. and pretty soon, we might end up with a job, and a significant other that we've only dreamt about. then, there's karen, who, after soul searching, finds out that all she's ever wanted was right with her all along. all it took was two other guys, an unscheduled vacation, a hot lip locking encounter, and a mind splitting hangover thanks to a little over 9 servings of margaritas. and thanks to her, we can all now do a way with it, sans the emotional baggage. and then, teri. looking for mr. right is quite tricky. especially when we find our ideals in our literature professor. but thanks to what seemed to be the biggest mistake you can ever do to, or with, your professor... you actually get to see things clearer, and get a good grade with it. then, we have mia. someone who's afraid of physical pain and injury. only to have what she dreaded the most act as her salvation. teaching us to walk the rocky road of life sometimes. and maybe, just maybe... have our knight in shining armor save us. then, hilda. she traveled far and wide in search of something and someone. but after all the years of traveling and frequent flyer miles, she never expected that happiness and romance was actually closer to home than what she thought. and the latest of my heroines, rudie. yes, rudie is a girl. who, after cleverly devising a marketing plan for herself, got profits and then some. meeting and dating about four guys in the span of a month, she finally got the sales pitch of a lifetime. her "no boyfriend since birth society" membership has expired, and thanks to encouragement from friends and an obvious secret admirer... immediate superior became her, and love life was the incentive. thank you my ladies. reading each of your lives in one sitting has been the best three ungodly hours of my life.