Response to Aimee Bender's "Off"

        In this story Aimee Bender gives us a character who  is full of herself but hilarious. She's the newly rich girl who thinks/knows she's "all that." She devises a plan to kiss three boys in one night, all with different hair colors representing the three flavors, strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate (a redhead, a blond, and black/dark haired fellow).

        Her conflicts arise when her plans to kiss the guys don't exactly go the way she intended and she finds herself reverting back to old tactics. I love the way Bender paints her as the individual who pays close attention to detail and people (especially men). We learn that she's rich because of an inheritance which would suggest that maybe there was once a point when she was mid-to lower class, which makes the conversation between her and the redhead all the more interesting. She's the "odd man out" at the party clearly and the only reason she's there is because the host "feels sorry for her" and possibly because she's rich now. I feel like that's why she's so observant. She watches each guy she intends to kiss and sums up their personalities quick along with the people they're conversing with in order to learn how to interrupt their conversation. I think the fact that she was once a painter makes it all the more interesting because we tend to think that artist pay close attention to detail. They see the color where most people see the black and white and i think that's what Bender's character does in this story. I loved the open thought process of the character/narrator. I felt like I was at the party seeing all of the things she was seeing while also even beginning to think like her. 

       I think the title of this story is fun and almost describes the narrator in a way. I feel like in all of her confidence she is a bit "off." I feel that it's good to be confident but here it seems she longs for attention. For example, even naming her dog "Off" seemed like it was done like she explained to "fuck with people's heads." I loved the descriptions and the little witty sayings thrown into the story. I felt they made the story funny and more personal.