Confessions of a perpetual adolescent

At the mall last weekend, a friendly, preppily-dressed middle-aged woman and I exchanged pleasantries while we were both looking at the mall directory. When we crossed paths again at Anthropologie, the petite blonde remarked, "We must be looking for the same things!"

Well, we definitely were, because I saw her once again . . . in the crowd to see the adorable Vanessa Hudgens, one of the stars of the new movie Bandslam. As you can see above, most of my fellow fans were just a tad younger than me. It's moments like these when I actually appreciate looking so young--no one gave me a second glance. I can't say the same for the very eccentric 40-something woman dressed a bit too matchy-matchy in pink and purple, who answered Vanessa Hudgens trivia questions with some frightening enthusiasm (not my new friend--she also passed as a young fan or as kid-chauffeuring mom).

Vanessa was beautiful, albeit way too fake-tan and annoyingly smacking her gum (one of my biggest pet peeves). (Umm, oh yeah, the "star" of the movie was with her, too. But, honestly, no one was there to see him. Sorry.)

Anyway, at the event I got a pass to see an advance screening of the movie the following Wednesday. It was actually pretty good and different--if a bit music-snobby, as well as the same old story where a very nerdy-looking guy gets to choose between two gorgeous girls. The audience was a bit older for the movie (teen rather than tween), but I did see the purple-and-pink fanlady again, and I sat next to a middle-aged man who was laughing a bit too much. I found myself feeling creeped out by him--Why is he here by himself?--which wasn't really fair of me, since, hello, I was an adult there by myself, too. But again, I can appreciate my young appearance when it finally works to my advantage, right?

- L'Editrice