Tell Lloyd Dobler I said, "Thank you"

If you're one of the individuals who will spend this Saturday evening at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and thus be within breathing distance of my current love and a love from one of the brightest, dearest corners of my teen-idol past, I envy you. The latter of these two is a man I first encountered in the mid-'80s as high school loser Bryce, rediscovered in 2000 as Rob Gordon, then for whom I fell hard - really hard - a year later as Jonathan Trager, but who will always, always be, to me, the sweet-natured, misunderstood, "sport-of-the-future" kickboxer Lloyd Dobler.

It was Lloyd's unflinching I-will-hold-this-boombox-above-my-head-and-make-you-listen-to-Peter-Gabriel-on-repeat-until-you-admit-you-feel-the-same-way-I-do perseverance that helped shape for me - and for so many other girls - what it was I wanted in a man.



He taught me to want a man who would clear a path for me even if it was in a 7-11 parking lot.

He taught me to want a man who when he discovered my earmarked dictionaries (or in my case, stacks and stacks of SAT prep flashcards) would look down, smile, and think to himself, "So her."

He taught me to want a man who, even when he was out with the guys and I was nowhere in sight, would say things like:

"This girl was different, man. We'd go out, we wouldn't even have to go out, you know? We'd just hang out. This girl made me trust myself, man. I was walking around and I was feeling satisfied. Can you imagine that?"

So if you happen to run into John Cusack by the crudites tray two nights from tonight - he'll likely be flanked by John McLaughin, the closet Serendipity fanatic who invited the actor - give him my very best and please tell him I said, "Thank you."

Oh yeah, tell him to stick to the romantic comedies, too. No more Identity bullshit.

And just because fantasy is fun, if I were actually going to this chichi gala and money weren't an issue, my ensemble would include this royal purple layered silk Malandrino couture gown with lantern neckline, empire waist and bubble-hem from her Fall/Winter 2007 collection (price upon request), these barely-there Azzaro jeweled t-strap sandals ($1,680 at bergdorfgoodman.com), this metallic box clutch by Bottega Veneta ($2,250 at net-a-porter.com) and my own stack of yellow-gold Indonesian bangles: