I sure can pick 'em

Just to warn those who might be expecting a post with substance, this is going to be me talking about being single and how I wish that wasn't the case. I promise to try and make it funny though.

I've become more of a social person and less shy since I've started school. I'm speaking up in class and talking to other students and even making what you might call friends. It helps that whenever I do speak up I know what I'm talking about and I can be funny about it at the same time. I try to use whatever confidence I can glean from that to talk to those of the fairer sex: girls!

This quarter there have been two such girls. One in my Biological Anthropology class and the other in my Lord of the Rings class.

I started trying to talk to the girl in my LotR class first because hey, she's cute and she knows the source material inside and out. How can I go wrong? Well, it didn't last very long and we didn't talk much after that.

Then for the mid-term I got into a study group for my Anthro class and the girl that sits next to me was there. She was pretty too and we seemed to hit it off. Her and I would have little conversations before class started and we'd kinda talk during class. Then a couple weeks ago she expressed interest in reading one of my stories. I gave her a copy to read over the weekend and on Tuesday I asked her if she'd had a chance to read it. She did and she really liked it. We were walking together talking about it and having a really good time.

So very casually, and without any kind of expectation, I asked if she'd like to maybe go have lunch somewhere and talk about whatever. She smiled and said she'd like that and we set up a set up to hang out. I had Friday and Saturday off and she didn't have any plans. Cool.

Then the next day when class ended, she packed her stuff up as quickly as she could and bolted from the classroom. Trying not to be pessimistic about it (as I usually am, and I'm trying to change that), I figured she just really needed to get to class. So the next day, Thursday, I asked if we were still on for lunch and she apologized and said she remembered she had things to do before lunch.

That was when I got the hint. So I didn't call her on Friday, but to seem like I bought her excuse I called her on Saturday. Got her voicemail, left a quick and laid back message. Half hour later she calls back and says that again something has come up but "I'll see you in class on Monday." "Yeah, definitely. Have a good weekend!" I said with a happy-go-lucky inflection. So yeah, that was a bust.

I felt stupid thinking about it, but I figured why not try again with the other girl (noticed how I haven't used names? yeah, that's on purpose). So yesterday, having had more conversations with her in class, I wasn't going to do anything but I saw her leaving class and I said, out loud, "Ah screw it, I'll regret not doing it even more."

I slung off my backpack and ran over to her (she didn't see this) and called out to her. I apologized for the suddenness and asked if she'd like to hang out sometime and talk. Like over lunch maybe. She said she'd like that, and we could talk about it the next day after class. Good enough for me. I was more hesitant this time, but still hopeful.

So today comes, I get to class early and she's sitting there. We start to talk about LotR, the movies, the differences and having a really good time. Class pretty much starts after we're done. Even during class her and I were making points and counterpoints, agreeing and debating. This is awesome! Not just because she's really pretty and is into the same stuff, but because I'm having an intelligent conversation about literature!

So class ends, she waits up for me and we're walking and talking and having fun. Yeah, this is the catch: she's engaged. Showed me her ring, but she'd still like to hang out and maybe set up a marathon viewing of the movies for certain people in the class. So while a loss for the most part, there was a silver lining.

Her strengths are in English as a subject same as me, and (she admitted it was a tad egotistical) she's glad there's somebody on the same intellectual level as her in the same class. She doesn't have to dumb or slow anything down. I told her I really like her contributions and she told me the same.

So yeah. Still single with no change on the horizon. I seem to have a new friend though, so that's good.

I just wish that... well, that it was different.

I mean seriously! All these closed doors had damn well better be closed so the right door is that much more amazing when I finally come to it.