tonight i had the good fortune to leave work at the same time as a coworker who i really enjoy talking to casually, but have never really gotten to know. we both live in oakland, so we shared the 20 minute walk to the train and most of my train ride home, and it was truly lovely. he was regaling me with tales of the time he spent living on alameda (and how he still does his grocery shopping there) and i in turn trotted out some of my best shopping related tales, from emeryville and beyond.

as all of this was going on, i caught sight of a young man sitting a few seats away. i have an unwavering attraction for only the most sexually ambiguous people there are, and this stranger on the train fell squarely into this category. he was completely engrossed in something that was going on inside his cellphone, so i knew i wouldn't be able to catch his eye, but i wanted to let him know that he was appreciated nonetheless.

i am very shy, and did not feel i could mention to him that i found his appearance quite train enhancing by verbal means, so instead, in the two stops between when my coworker (new friend!?) got off the train and my own stop, i fished a blank notecard (from a set my mom had bought for me at falling water this summer) from my bag, and wrote just the right message inside. i then slipped it into it's envelope, wrote "hi." on the front, and deftly slipped it into the pocket of his suit jacket as i was exiting the train.

wow! it was really exciting! the very first time i had ever perpetrated an act like this. i walked home with a big smile on my face, feeling pleased as punch that:

1. i had managed to overcome my social neurosis long enough to pay someone a well deserved compliment.
and
2. that i had probably made someone smile.

all of this, i should add, played in particularly stark contrast to another first which happend last night. you see, i was stood up on a date, and that was a first of a far less pleasant nature. it suppose it was no big thing, really (in fact even earlier that day i had been feeling nervous and unsure about whether i should go on the date or not) but nobody likes to stood up, of course, as it forces you to consider the possibility that you might not be as compelling, adorble, or endearing as you'd like to believe on your best day (one where you're not being stood up, for instance).

i wrote this poem about the experience last night:

just like no one likes dick cheney
no one likes to be left hanging
it's not so hard to call and say
"regrets; i won't be by today"
in fact it's simple as can be
to text and say "i can't get free"
or even send a mental vibe
that says "i likely won't arrive"
if for some reason great or small
you cannot make it after all

at first i though you'd met your fate
a friend would never make me wait
without a "heads up" or a "hey,
we'll have to meet another day"
but after several hours passed
i figured out you're just an ass
so thoughtless that you left me flummoxed
and cranky with an empty stomach
without a solitary line
to say "i can no longer dine"

i laughed at first and shrugged it off
but now i'm feeling quite put off
a subtle melancholy mood
has cast a shadow on what could
have been a fine productive night
if i had not been forced to write
a poem all about the schmuck
who had the gall to stand me up

all of that is only to point out that the lift in my step after delivering my message was a few inches greater for the contrast. a victory seems even sweeter after a crushing defeat :)

anyway. i had a lot to do this evening after i gave that little card to that pretty stranger, and so when i got home, i got to work doing it. i caught up with an old chum, worked on a mission statement, made some incredible pasta, feverishly knitted a christmas present, and even did a little work on a task i've had brewing.

so distracted was i by the great number of activities at hand that it wasn't until i had crawled into bed and turned out the light that it occurred to me:

YOU SHOULD CHECK THE MISSED CONNECTIONS ON CRAIGSLIST TO SEE IF THE PRETTY STRANGER POSTED SOMETHING IN RESPONSE!

and, to my delight:

www.hetotallydid.org :)