Sunday, November 11, 2007
Quick

Obligations of the heart

Caren West works on conquering her fear of commitment

Not very long ago, I had a one-on-one session over Miller Lite at the N. Highland Pub (aka my therapist’s office) with my good friend about one of my life’s reoccurring themes: “commitment phobia.” After much thought and a few beers, my friend (and designated therapist of the moment) assured me that I’m actually a commitment-prone person. She pointed out that not only have I committed to owning a business and living in Atlanta, I am also a proud dog owner and often commit to spending large sums of money on shoes and clothes.

My faux therapist’s reasoning appeased me at that very moment. Her verbal pat on the back also made me switch from narcissism 101 to more interesting subjects including why exactly “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is one of the most hysterically funny shows on TV. Unfortunately, once my therapy session was over, I felt like I needed to do homework, which was properly commit to finding some more things to commit to.

I started my official self-help journey at Park Tavern during the wedding of my friends Teresa Mariano, editor in chief of the newly launched H Magazine in Henry County and her now-husband Steve Renz. Although weddings (and actually the whole marriage thing in general) push my commitment-phobe button, I declared during their ceremony at Park Tavern in the Piedmont Room that I would no longer be such a freak when it came to “other people” getting hitched. It’s a start, right?

Thankfully, Teresa, a music freak, scenster and brilliant wordsmith, and her new hubby were less about tried-and-true traditions and more about making there own. Teresa sported sexy red shoes under her wedding dress, walked down the isle to Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, served cupcakes instead of cake, and had an oh-so glorious photo booth courtesy of Wow PhotoBooth in Decatur.

Before I bid farewell to the first stop on my mental health journey, I dragged my date into the photo booth along with a pink fuzzy halo headband. Right after the first flash went off, I tried putting the halo on my devil of a date—who apparently has a much larger head than mine. Needless to say, the halo split into two and our series of photos captures us doing everything in our power to put the halo back together. By the last shot, I had no other choice but to commit to accepting responsibility for my actions (especially because there was photographic evidence), stepped out of the booth, handed the broken halo to Wow PhotoBooth’s owner, apologized, grab my shots and hurried out the door in my 4-inch Joie Vanessa suede black pumps.

The next day and post-halo breaking, I committed to making up for my sins by do-gooding. I checked out the furry critters at Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends Inc.’s (AARF) pet adoption at the Tribute Lofts (full disclosure—I live there, so I only exerted minimal effort). Although I’m maxed out on dogs for the moment, I am going to buy a slew of raffle tickets for AARF’s annual online holiday raffle at Aarfatlanta.org, and so should you. Tickets are only $1 a piece or 25 for $20. Winning numbers will be posted on Dec. 16, meaning you will also have to exert minimal effort.

My do-gooding continued at the Chomp and Stomp in Cabbagetown Park. Simply by purchasing tasty Sweetwater beer, I donated funds to the community. While feeling like quite the accidental philanthropist, I sipped my Hummer and perused goods from local artisans including Angela Nichols, founder of Gubstuff. Among the friendly crowd, I bumped into longtime friend Dan van der Kooy, producer for GameTap TV, and Ten Gallon Matt, host of Cowtipper’s Delight, and Adam “Bomb” DeVore of WRAS Album 88.

Continuing my ongoing commitment to make small changes in my own life to make a positive impact on the world around me, I stopped by Jac to pick up a Baggu reusable shopping bag. My new eco-conscious stylish Baggu comes in a handy pouch and slips nicely into my brand-new Shinzi Katoh canvas tote bag that I bought while I was there. Although I am not yet 100 percent cured of my commitment phobia, at least I have great accessories. SP

When not attending Atlanta’s hottest parties, tracking down celebs or shopping for shoes, Caren West runs her own PR firm. E-mail her at carenwest@sundaypaper.com.