"I couldn't help but wonder," followed by a not very pertinent question about societal culture or pressure on women of a certain age, was the signature line of Carrie Bradshaw in every episode of the Sex and the City series.
I was obsessed with the stylish, apparently exciting 'fabulous' New York lives of thirtysomethings Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha. We lived vicariously through their lives, their loves, their brunches and their wardrobes.
Most women likened themselves to one of the characters. The sassy one, the conservative one, the highly strung one or the free one. We love a good opportunity to give ourselves a label, don't we?
Back then, when Sex and the City was at the height of its popularity. I fancied myself as a bit of a Carrie - mainly because of her style. Secretly, though I am convinced that most women wanted to be Samantha.
To a degree, SATC put the lives of women in their 30s under the spotlight like never before. It gave a populist platform to issues that wouldn't have been well discussed publicly - the stigma of women being single in their 30s, relationships, work, money, serious illness, menopause and sex. There was a lot of sex in this particular city...
The series created New York City life as we now see it and seek it out. City life on the island of Manhattan was promoted in an alluring, seductive way.
Everything was fabulous. Who wouldn't want to go there, to live there?
SATC capitalised on a New York that was in transition - crime rates had dropped, a massive 'clean up' of the Hell's Kitchen down to Times Square area had been prioritised.
SATC and the image of New York that it beamed across the world must have have had some influence on this. It seemed that, all of a sudden, New York was the place to be. It was ripe for promotion.
At home, while SATC was on Channel 4 weekly, we were experiencing a boom time. The Celtic Tiger years. We craved something 'other'. New York served that up on opulent platters.
Back in the good old days, the exchange rate was 2:1 in our favour, which made the shopping experience in NYC just about affordable. Carrie Bradshaw favoured Barneys; I went there once, and quickly realised that I didn't belong there.
I could easily embrace other aspects of the SATC lifestyle though. I went on the SATC tour, and saw many of the places where particular scenes had been filmed.
One of my school friends lived in NYC at the time as well and was living her best fabulous life. She had the clothes, the shoes, the bags, the look. I got a big kick out of trying to fit in anytime I visited the city - which was regularly, back in the day.
Flights were reasonably priced, and I could usually stay with friends of family when I was there.
Coincidentally I found myself re-connecting with my family in NYC and without much effort, I created a network of friends and contacts there.
While some of the storylines in SATC have aged well, a lot of them haven't. I certainly don't hold the original series in as high a regard as I once did.
While I once wanted to be Carrie, I now see her character as being quite spoiled, and a bit of a whinge. Perhaps I have grown up, matured, and life has changed, or perhaps it hasn't aged well. I'm not sure.
When the reboot was announced, I couldn't help but wonder - will I engage with this new chapter? The character of Samantha is not part of this new chapter, and this made me doubt that it will have any appeal.
Then came the drip feed of on-set photos, storylines and trailers for the new series - called And Just Like That... - and I was hooked all over again.
At time of writing, the series has just dropped and I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I will save it for a night alone on the couch, with a cuppa, not a Cosmopolitan.
I wonder if I will be bowled over by the nostalgia of it all, or if, like the SATC films, it will become clear very quickly that this franchise has run its course and is anything but fabulous.
I can't help but wonder if And Just Like That... will serve up much needed escapism.
To be continued...
