Thursday, February 5, 2009

One Reason I'm Single

Last weekend Dali suggested that I ought to go out after work on Friday. She'd read about this Meetup group called something like Brainiac Singles of New York, and they were going to meet at the MoMA at 6 on Friday night and take advantage of the free admission. She's more proactive than I am about finding things to do around town, and ventures out frequently to try new things and meet new people. So I decided to go, because why not? It couldn't hurt to meet some new people, smart ones at that, and do something I love (walk around an art museum).

So me and two of my other coworkers walked over there after work last Friday evening to try and find the Meetup group. We get out of work after 6 though, so we were late, and while we were milling around in the lobby trying to spot a group that resembled "Brainiacs," I suddenly saw two friends from church. I said hi and introduced them to my coworkers, and we chatted for a moment. When I mentioned that I was there to try and find a Meetup group, all of a sudden this guy who was walking by stopped and said, "Hey! Are you here for the Meetup group? Where is it?" We tried to be friendly, and he introduced himself as Jason, and asked if he could tag along with us. The Brainiacs were no where to be found--they must have already gone in, so we decided to just go in too and make the most of it.

It was nice wandering around the MoMA, because it had been a while since my last time there, and I didn't realize how starved I was for some art. My coworkers and I had a fun time taking in the new exhibitions and talking about our experiences studying art in college. Jason was a good sport and wandered around with us, and I admit he was really nice, but... He stuck to me like glue, which is already a little annoying, and then he said he had never been to a museum before in his life. "What are some good museums to go to in New York?" he asked me, rendering me speechless. I hate to sound like a snob, but how can you live in New York and never have been to a museum? How can you live to your mid-20s or whatever he was, and not go to a museum? So I tried to explain art to him, but that's a little impossible when you're starting from scratch. He didn't get it, either, so that was frustrating. But somehow he kept wanting to talk to me, and at the end of the night as me and my friends parted ways, Jason asked if any of us wanted to get some food, but we all said no--we had to get home. So he was like, "Okay, let me give you my number. Call me the next time you go to a museum." And because I don't know how to say no, I pulled out my phone and he spelled his first and last name for me, and he entered my number in his phone too.

He called me two days later, and left a message, but it was all muffled, so I deleted it. And I didn't call back. Is that mean? I didn't feel any attraction at all, was mildly annoyed by him actually, and am very selfish with my time. I'm not going to go out with someone just because I don't want to be mean, or because they are nice and I feel sorry for them because they've never been to a museum before.

I thought that was the end of it, but then he called me again today. This time I could hear the message clearly, and it said, "Hi, this is Peter. Give me a call back when you get a chance! (muffled sound)" I've been replaying it and replaying it, and am starting to wonder if I'm the crazy one, but I'm positive that when we were at the museum he said his name was Jason. The voice is the same. The muffled sound at the end sounds to me like he is starting to say, "I mean..." but E thinks it sounds like "See ya."

Either way, the question is: Why do I always attract weirdos?!

5 comments:

Donnie Barnes said...

He doesn't sound a ton like a weirdo, he just isn't someone you want to go out with. And that's fine. Just ignore him and he'll get the message. As for why you think you attract weirdos, it's just that most of the forward guys out there probably do seem like weirdos. Most everyone else is normal, but full of self confidence problems so they're harder to meet. But the right one will come along eventually...keep the faith. I remember thinking how long it seemed to be taking and how it might never happen for me, too. Now I look back and realize just how lucky I was...mainly about finding that right person, obviously, but also about how short a time it really did take. But you're still young...

Lady Holiday said...

What do you mean he doesn't sound like a weirdo? He called and left a message with a different name! How do you explain that?

Kaarsten said...

"see ya"
Amen

Just Julie said...

This story put a smile on my face :), and made me laugh out loud at the end when you thought Peter/Jason said "I mean" and Elin thought he said "See ya".

Jenn said...

LH- you got to understand something about smart people, they are social moroons. I would give him a chance. I have found that people that are like that... usually tend to be the best friends you can imagine. Maybe not BF material but you never know. I'd call him back and set up a social thing with more then one person and let it go from there.

I have left the wrong name before (for the record) I've had someone on my mind and said, :Hey this is Kelly, call me back: and my name is Jenn. Duh! It does happen.