Meeting Someone New

So, I haven't written for a couple of days. I wanted to. I like writing. But, there's so much to write about, and so little time to do it, that I've let the blog go blank.

The car-buying extravaganza will be written about, but not right now. Instead, I'm going to write about well meaning friends who don't appear to have a clue as to what they're doing.

I have a friend, let's call her Michelle. She and I have been friends for 8 or 9 years. She’s another teacher at school. Looking at us, you would never think we'd be close. She's in control of herself most of the time, doesn't goof around too much, exercises constantly, and is extremely careful with what she eats. She eats sandwiches with a knife and fork because if she takes too big a bite, she throws up. Seriously. And, she rarely eats sandwiches anyway, because she's a carb-a-phobic. I would guess it’s a pretty amusing sight to see the two of us eating a meal together.

The reason we're friends I think, is because we even each other out. My emotions are always right there, ready to be tossed in your lap. She's reserved, doesn't let a lot of people in. We both help the other one meet somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, she's going through a painful divorce, and is staying with me for a couple of days. She has been throwing herself into activities; Volleyball classes, Parks and Recreation volleyball teams, yoga at the gym, Adult Ed Spanish classes at night, church stuff. She's met a new friend, we'll call him Donald, and she's been raving about him for a few weeks.

Okay, this brings us to the present. She's been trying to be sly about it, but I knew right away she was interested in hooking Donald and I up. She would talk about him, build him up to me in ways she thought I would be impressed. "Oh, he's so smart. He reads Shakespeare and Dante for fun." "Rebekah, you should see his bookshelf, he reads all the time." "Donald really likes playing board games. He's really social." "I can't wait for you to meet him, I think you'll really like him."

Okay. It's not that I have anything against meeting smart, fun new people. I like meeting new people. But, I also was thinking, this single guy, who's spending all this time with Michelle, is probably interested in... Michelle. I also need to mention here, for those of you that understand that the physical appearance of a person is important for some...well, most people, that she and I are, quite different in our looks. Michelle works out so much that she doesn't have a period. For breakfast this morning she ate 12 peanuts, two rice cakes with soy butter, and a power bar. She's tiny, probably 5'3", and weighs about 110 pounds.

I'm not tiny, I'm 5'8" and weigh... well, almost twice what she does. I'm loud, and can be overbearing and obnoxious (I prefer vivacious, but whatever), and she is demure and quiet. But, these are all just thoughts and impressions, so of course, I put them aside.

Plus the fact that there's the tiniest morsel of hope that maybe he might just be swell, and think I'm grand, and fall in love with me, and me with him, and ... you get it.

They go to the Solstice parade downtown, and I don't (I hate parades), and then I meet them at the Solstice party at the park. I look my best. As best as I can after parking in Egypt and walking 700 miles to get to them. I find Michelle and three very under-25-years-old looking people. Not that there's anything wrong with that. One of them is Donald. We all sit on the grass and drink beer and try to have a conversation. I only stick my foot in my mouth once or twice instead of 15 times. As usual, I'm doing most of the talking. I try to shut up, and then there's that awkward silence that's deafening.

So, we all leave, say good-bye to the other two young folk, and Michelle, Donald and I hike back to my car in Egypt. Now he's going to see how I drive? It's not one of my strong points.

We make it in one piece to his apartment.


Stay tuned for the next installment of "I Don't Know Where I'm Going, But I'm Here