loving voc

When Lane was home for Christmas last year, she, Jamie, Curtis and I went hogwild on "Voc."

It would all start in the kitchen, where we'd construct a tower of "super nachos"--featuring Jamie's tasty salsa, medium cheddar cheese, hint-of-lime tortilla chips, diced chilis, and more medium cheddar cheese--or in the basement, where the coffee table quickly filled with other junk like chocolate cinni bears and Coca-Cola: all in preparation for a night (typically four hours, at least) of "Voc."

During prep time, substantial topics of conversation included Summer's unrealistic (or wasn't it?) transition from ditsy cheerleader-type to edgy fashionista with immaculate vocab; wishing Seth could come over and hang out with us (we never wanted a little brother ... until now; actually, until Jer); or Marissa's inability to finish a conversation like a normal human being: "If she storms out one more time..."

It was during one of these thought-provoking discussions that Dad inquired, "What's 'Voc' anyway?"

"What's what?" we asked.

"Voc."

Funny how a vowel sound changes depending on whether it's followed by a consonant or fellow vowel. You can't say, "The OC." Instead, without realizing it, you say, "Thee OC." Or is it just us?

Dad, in classic hard-of-hearing fashion, mistook "Thee" for "V" and brought the "O" and "C" together like an acronym: Voc. An endearing miscommunication, it sort of stuck.

Here are the top ten reasons I still pine for "Voc," even after Marissa's tragic parting:

10. Summer, Taylor and Kaitlin combined wear less eyeliner than one “Laguna Beach” babe, and that same combination could never concoct the heartlessness of a single Laguna meanie.
9. As Immi said, “They’re beautiful people living in a beautiful place who happen to have moral problems.”
8. I can’t get too annoyed by it: “The OC” doesn’t take itself to seriously, so I can't either.
7. I get to live in dreamy Orange County for at least one hour every week, be 16 again and have Sandy Cohen as my father figure ... and all the clothes I can handle.
6. Classic one-liners, like this: “I'll see your fugitive former flame and raise you a lesbian daughter.”
5. Soap-opera-only one-liners, like this: “The Siegfried’s donated a pool and a field and their son only smoked pot. Our daughter shot someone. We have to at least give them a hundred grand.”
4. Self-conscious one-liners, like this: “How much vomit is that? Like the little girl in the Sixth Sense or the big fat guy in Monty Pithon?”
3. Cutest clothes on TV, hands down. I even find myself coveting some of Summer's now-hippie attire.
2. No other show uses music like “The OC” does. Not one. I was crushed when I heard Deathcab on Season Two (when I first started watching) but soon discovered that my meager music knowledge could never compare to the prowess of "OC" soundscapers, so I was like, “If you can’t beat them, join them,” or however that saying goes.
1. I can relate to just about every character on the show--even JuJu--which means I can cry with just about every character. And that makes it all just a little bit real.