Warm Fuzzies

“What are we doing here?” he asked.
Whamamambaaaaaeerrmmmmm.
“Playing along.”
He looked at me. Thought a second. And then he went for the kiss.

~~~

A mutual best friend played matchmaker. Without actually giving us much to go on. So two dates in, he was wondering if I was out of his league. I was wondering if I was nerdy enough for his league. We were both wondering if we actually liked the other person.

Two days later, after an hour of chatting online, he sent the message “why are you here?”

You know me, I started making a list.

1) because we've managed to actually have conversation for hours and hours
2) you used my line on me without knowing that you did

I made it to 10 that night.

~~~

The next morning I had another 5, so I sent them. Ten more by that evening. It’s continued the exponential growth* this week. But that’s not sustainable, so I’m restricting myself to a linear pattern in the e-mails.

~~~

Of course, one of the reasons I’m continuing this is because he started making a list too. I see a new e-mail, get all happy smiley, and then I get to read the list. And reread the list. And then, an hour later reread all of both of our lists.

The warm fuzzies bubble up. Some points are recognized, “Oh, that’s me. You get that.” Some are more of the vein, “Huh. Guess I do that, don’t I?” Some make me feel adorable. Some resonate, “A fellow nerd!” Some plain-out make me feel special.

~~~

A week ago, the jury was out on whether I liked him. By number 40 on the list, I think the answer was obvious. And when we both reach 100 reasons for being here, I think I'll stop playing along and start dating the guy.

*I was corrected. Quadratic.

Number 48

48. Learn to shimmy. (Without wiggling my butt.)

Complaining

I've started becoming a complainer.

~~~

I bought a pair of Blondo boots last winter from a local shoe store. Love the boots. But when I pulled them out for this season, I noticed the heel had worn funny. Looked at the brand's website and saw this:

Our Blondo products are guaranteed against manufacturing defects under normal wear. The defective product must be returned to the retailer who will apply its own return policy.

Okay then. Took my boots to the store before I left town for three weeks. "The website said I should bring them here?" I *think* they would have let me return the boots. "No! I like them! Is it possible to get them repaired?"

And they did.

I picked them up today. No charge. ('Cause there shouldn't be.) Bought a pair of socks though.

~~~

There's a tube of toothpaste sitting on the back of my couch. It's the same brand I always use, but crazy bad batch. The minty flavor didn't get stirred in with the paste. Or something. There's a number to let them know, and, y'know, I think I will.

~~~

I have a new favorite store for clothes. Bought a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise there this fall (which is a lot for me). One of my cool new shirts got holes in it from threads breaking. I sent the store an e-mail to let them know.

It wasn't written with the intent of whining. I told them all the things I liked about the store too. But there was a message that said, "I thought you were better than this. This isn't what I thought I bought."

We'll see if anything comes of it.

~~~

My internet company sent a letter that they're increasing the speed (more than I need) and raising prices. While I might have done enough complaining in the past week, it may be about time to see about switching companies for that service too.


~~~

It's strange becoming the person who complains. It's not something we respect per se. Too easy to hear it as whining or being a jerk. But there is something empowering in claiming "This is not what I expected." When something doesn't last as long as it should, it's okay to use the warranty. When something is bad straightway, it's okay to return it. It's not about being cheap. It is about getting what I paid for.

Smartwool socks are always a good gift idea for me
Especially if they're cute ones
My parents know this
So me buying the socks
Actually is kinda a big deal

Life Checks: Adding to the list

I'm 40% though the existing life check list in 30% of the time. Since I think it's working for me, I'm going to add some more. While I like the, "by the time I'm 30" for the original 25, I like the five years better. So these are some of the ideas I'll be keeping in mind between now and 2017.

~~~

26. Listen to all of the SXSW download tracks during the calendar year I download them.

37. Fill out grownup documents. b) Keep documents updated. Fill out more as necessary.

38. Ask a woman to run for office

39. Submit an oped

40. Get published

41. Apply for dissertation year fellowships in the fall of 2012

42. Lead a swingout

43. Read a poem at open mic (or participate in a poetry slam)

44. Go to the opera (and stay for the entire show)

45. Use Victoria’s Secret coupons until I don’t run out of underwear

46. Mail a letter or card every week for three months

47. Buy something at the cafe across the street from me at least once a month