twu
09-12-2007, 11:59 AM
(I'm going to be writing this story in several installments because it will take me way too long to sit down and write it all at once.)
Part I: The Introduction
When we met, I had just started my first few months as a teacher. No matter what situation you’re in as a teacher, the first year is hellish. The actual teaching part is physically and mentally demanding. Piled on top of the endless after-work hours of lesson planning, you end up living, breathing, dreaming, being teaching. I was working at an at-risk school with very little organizational support or resources. And, holy ****, was I exhausted.
Not only that, but when I started teaching I had just moved to a new city. A couple weeks before moving to this new city, I had a messy breakup with my boyfriend of 4 years. I’ve heard that the most stressful moments of ones life are as follows: 1) death of someone close, 2) breaking up, 3) moving somewhere new, 4) getting a new job. With the exception of #1 (thankfully), these summarize my life back then. I was super stressed, and if I wasn’t in tears over my breakup, I was in tears over teaching and feeling alone in a new city.
Getting back to a few months into teaching, I get an email from a friend throwing a wine & cheese party. Now, I love wine, and I love cheese, and I hate my life right now, so I’m game.
I’m not a gregarious person, but for some reason, at this party, about 4-5 gals and guys settle around the sofa I’m at. We strike up conversation, and I seem to be the center of attention. Across the room from me is an absolute dreamboat of a guy. He makes eye contact with me and lingers, perhaps a little longer than one would expect from a merely casual glance. “Okay, he’s really cute,” I think to myself. But having just come from a breakup like I did, I had resolved to sit back and enjoy the single life of shameless flirting and independence from men and all their emotional retardedness. I don't want a relationship now. I don't need to get all worked up over some cute guy at a party.
I ignore him from across the room for another hour. Finally, the dreamboat gets up, walks over directly to me, ignoring all the people around me, and asks what my name is. He says his name is Riel. “Omg, what a sexy name!” I think; however, I say in a quasi-inebriated bluntness, “Oh, like ‘real’ except with an accent… over the…. … E.” He offers to get me another drink. I accept. When he leaves, all the people I was chatting with give me that knowing "Oooooooh!" look that little kids get when they've seen two grown-ups kissing.
When he gets back, we chat a little bit, but we quickly separate back to opposite sides of the room. Later on in the evening, we manage to find a couch all to ourselves and just chat one on one with each other.
He asks, “What kind of music do you listen to?”
“I don’t listen to music really.”
“What are some hobbies you like?
“I like reading comics, pen & paper roleplaying games, nerdy things like that.”
“Oh, I love comics too.”
“Really, which ones do you like?”
An awkward pause. “Well, I haven’t read a comic since I was 10 years old, but I remember I really liked them back then.”(LOL, I still tease him about that to this day)
“I also like video games, like the Sims.”
“I used to design video games. I worked for EA games, and we designed educational software for the SNES.”
“Like, programming?”
“Yeah.”
When he said that, I pretty much thought “SCORE!” It takes a very disciplined mind to do well in computer programming. I had never met a smart guy who was also this good looking before! So, while I was thinking this, he was looking at our encounter more dismally. He thought that he had struck out with me and I wasn’t interested since I shot down his question about music, and he wasn’t into any of the hobbies I said I really liked. And so, the silly bastard left the party without getting my phone number. :hothead:
[to be continued later]
Part I: The Introduction
When we met, I had just started my first few months as a teacher. No matter what situation you’re in as a teacher, the first year is hellish. The actual teaching part is physically and mentally demanding. Piled on top of the endless after-work hours of lesson planning, you end up living, breathing, dreaming, being teaching. I was working at an at-risk school with very little organizational support or resources. And, holy ****, was I exhausted.
Not only that, but when I started teaching I had just moved to a new city. A couple weeks before moving to this new city, I had a messy breakup with my boyfriend of 4 years. I’ve heard that the most stressful moments of ones life are as follows: 1) death of someone close, 2) breaking up, 3) moving somewhere new, 4) getting a new job. With the exception of #1 (thankfully), these summarize my life back then. I was super stressed, and if I wasn’t in tears over my breakup, I was in tears over teaching and feeling alone in a new city.
Getting back to a few months into teaching, I get an email from a friend throwing a wine & cheese party. Now, I love wine, and I love cheese, and I hate my life right now, so I’m game.
I’m not a gregarious person, but for some reason, at this party, about 4-5 gals and guys settle around the sofa I’m at. We strike up conversation, and I seem to be the center of attention. Across the room from me is an absolute dreamboat of a guy. He makes eye contact with me and lingers, perhaps a little longer than one would expect from a merely casual glance. “Okay, he’s really cute,” I think to myself. But having just come from a breakup like I did, I had resolved to sit back and enjoy the single life of shameless flirting and independence from men and all their emotional retardedness. I don't want a relationship now. I don't need to get all worked up over some cute guy at a party.
I ignore him from across the room for another hour. Finally, the dreamboat gets up, walks over directly to me, ignoring all the people around me, and asks what my name is. He says his name is Riel. “Omg, what a sexy name!” I think; however, I say in a quasi-inebriated bluntness, “Oh, like ‘real’ except with an accent… over the…. … E.” He offers to get me another drink. I accept. When he leaves, all the people I was chatting with give me that knowing "Oooooooh!" look that little kids get when they've seen two grown-ups kissing.
When he gets back, we chat a little bit, but we quickly separate back to opposite sides of the room. Later on in the evening, we manage to find a couch all to ourselves and just chat one on one with each other.
He asks, “What kind of music do you listen to?”
“I don’t listen to music really.”
“What are some hobbies you like?
“I like reading comics, pen & paper roleplaying games, nerdy things like that.”
“Oh, I love comics too.”
“Really, which ones do you like?”
An awkward pause. “Well, I haven’t read a comic since I was 10 years old, but I remember I really liked them back then.”(LOL, I still tease him about that to this day)
“I also like video games, like the Sims.”
“I used to design video games. I worked for EA games, and we designed educational software for the SNES.”
“Like, programming?”
“Yeah.”
When he said that, I pretty much thought “SCORE!” It takes a very disciplined mind to do well in computer programming. I had never met a smart guy who was also this good looking before! So, while I was thinking this, he was looking at our encounter more dismally. He thought that he had struck out with me and I wasn’t interested since I shot down his question about music, and he wasn’t into any of the hobbies I said I really liked. And so, the silly bastard left the party without getting my phone number. :hothead:
[to be continued later]