I think Riddle Girl is a good nick, for now...Go billytea with the date-getting!
Y'know, I'd forgotten how much fun this sort of thing is. I've planned a date and sent a proper invitation ("I would be honoured etc etc"). Initially I'd been thinking that we could wander round a part of town with a number of commercial galleries before having dinner, but the forecast is for some showers, plus the galleries generally close at five, and that feels a little early for a dinner date. So I looked around for another possibility, and discovered that Deborah Conway (an Australian singer with a career going back to the early 80s) is performing on Saturday night two suburbs away. A quick call to ensure tickets were still available, and the invitation has gone out.
Now I just need to wait and see if she's free on Saturday night. I decided, on balance,
not
to assure her that the Buffistas support me in email. Which would still have been far easier to explain that telling her my wife supports me in email.
claps
Bravo! (Adorability on a
stick.)
Fay, it strikes me that the 'they're stupid, we're so much more sensible' thing and the 'sort of defensive irony/wanting to fit in thing' are probably related. I know the ex-pat behaviour you're describing, and it usually manifests because the person in question has finally found a way to align themselves with -they think- a superior group. Makes them feel good, less insecure.
Not that that means he's a bad person, but just making the observation that the two things you mentioned might be linked.
bt? What was the answer to the riddle?
Pancakes:
My husband is Buff Diving right now, and laughing until he cries.
bt? What was the answer to the riddle?
It was what you thought it was, an allegory for the whole online dating site experience.
Hurrah for billytea, and Riddle Girl. (Whom I shall not dub Tom.) She's a very lucky lass. (Yep, got to say the billyteacrush? Still very much alive and kicking. You're adorability on a stick, mate.)
Aww.
t still blushing
Here's hoping she sees it the same way. May I add, you're quite the catch yourself. I love your ever-so-British sense of humour.
Probably just as well if you don't dub her Jimmy either.
billytea, is this Dino Girl, or Riddle Girl, or who? We need something to call her.
This is Riddle Girl. She loves art, and will be studying psychology next year.
Excellent. Did the riddle involve Picasso, by any chance? And what was the answer to it, anyhow? Was it anything to do with the internet? Did you figure it out, yet? Ah, I should really read on, as you've probably explained it by now.
(edited to unsplit the next part)
Yup, Dave doesn't really like that we still call him Teacup Guy; I think his problem with it is that it is not a very manly nickname. But, I like it so I am going to still use it, unless I can actually get him to join the board. Besides, every time I think of that teacup gift, I smile. I think that was the moment I started to fall in love with him. It was such a thoughtful gift and proved he was truly paying attenion.
Dear Dave,
Nice name. No, really. I would have been quite happy to name a son David, as it has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember, but not only did I have a terrible crush on a David, in my youth which (since he did not end up marrying me and therefore he had no role in fathering my children) made using the name for my sons with my non-Dave husband feel a bit unseemly. The name was already out of commission in his family anyhow though, because we have a nephew named David.
Anyhow, it has come to our attention that you are not particularly fond of your not-chosen-by-you Buffista name:
Teacup Guy.
Lemme 'splain. No. There is too much. Lemme sum up. We, the Buffista Bitches (well, some of us, you can't actually ever make any statement that holds true for all Buffistas and or any sub-group; even this disclaimer is likely to invoke protest)...
Let me start again. Many/some/at least a few of us/but I believe more so I'm sticking with...
Many of us were terrifically touched, and impressed by your thoughtful, original, and well, frankly darling gift to sj, which you gave to her, so early on in your courtship. I mean, look how it affects sj, even today. When we use your name, we remind ourselves of your lovely, generous, attentive gesture. Our women want you and our men want to be you (and then there's the cross-over population), but what it comes down to is this: Damn, baby. That was cute.
Also sj, I'm fairly certain, did not want to use your actual name here, so early on. And really, her reticence to use it was in deference to your feelings and privacy, as for all she (and we) knew, maybe you wouldn't be particularly fond of a 1,000 or so people you don't know, reading your very name, in connection to stories about you, particularly prior to you being informed of their existence and sj's connection to same. She's considerate like that.
And yet? We needed some way in which to refer to you. Now, you happened into our lives sj's life, around the time that another of our number was striking up a flirtation with a guy at a music shop. And we needed to be able to distinguish you, from him, as the stories were told to us, somewhat concurrently.
Finally, we have a thousand other Davids already. Okay, we already had at least more than one long before we knew about you, and then there's always DB floating around in the back of (and sometimes the front of) our minds. I know, I know. The name
David
is no
Michael,
but still, for years upon end, it was a particularly popular name. Just see our FAQ.
So, how about a compromise: We get to call you Teacup Guy, and you get to learn to appreciate it. What do you mean, that's no compromise? Huh. Okay, how about this, how about, when we are with you in person, we will try to keep our use of
Teacup Guy
to a minimum, and call you
Dave.
Meanwhile, here on the board, we still get to call you teacup guy from time to time, but you are free to assume a [read: Dave] every time we use it, and sj gets to call you it whenever she likes, because it makes her all schmoopy, which--let's be frank even though you're Dave--is only going to benefit you, if you know what I mean.
::wink wink nudge nudge::
Love, and Kisses,
[At least some of the] Bitches
Damn, I am being schmoopy. Feel free to smack me.
See what I mean, Dave?
::wink wink nudge nudge::
Excellent. Did the riddle involve Picasso, by any chance? And what was the answer to it, anyhow? Was it anything to do with the internet? Did you figure it out, yet? Ah, I should really read on, as you've probably explained it by now.
Yeah, a bit. :-) I gave her the guess, and told her if that was it, it was clever for the way it showed more of her personality and interests in an engaging way. And if it wasn't it, then it was even more clever because I hadn't worked it out yet.
This is the real reason I don't date; I'm afraid of what the Buffistas will call him.
Mr. LuckyPants.
Cindy is now my favorite!
SCORE!
Who wants to see a picture of a tan Teppy, with long curly hair, in full bridesmaid-fu?
Oh. I'm not the only person who needs to prove I have had a tan on occasion? Beautiful, by the way, and your hair is fabu.
I admit, I miss having that hair. But not in weather like this, hell no. But -- lookit the curls! I can't get it to do that when it's this (overly) short.
My hair is like that. It's not as curly as your hair to begin with. It's somewhere between curl and a wave. But it's just weird. When it's too long, it's just wave. When it's too short (like now), it's just wave. Curls come, when it's somewhere in the middle.
I'm not sure how I feel about this interview. It's a great job, but I'm not entirely sure I'm qualified for it, and it's the kind of thing that really needs to be done by someone who knows what they're doing. And I'm not sure that's me.
Hil, I read about it in your lj. If it still seems right at the interview, I hope you get it.
When are you going to write about your trip (or did I miss it)?
Raquel, I hope the doctor is sensible and gives you something to help you through your PPD.
(Yep, got to say the billyteacrush? Still very much alive and kicking. You're adorability on a stick, mate.)
Fay, please stop feeding my 'shipping tendencies. These long distance 'ships never work out, and I don't have time to make all the fan art.
Re: second date. It was another nice evening - this time we just went out for coffee, and sat and talked and talked and talked for three or four hours. I enjoyed it, and he made me laugh, and he's well travelled and rather geeky and knows about stuff I don't know about, which is cool, but I'm finding myself off put by (a) the expattishness and (b) a sort of scaredness.
Fay, I've been meaning to ask, but I don't know, guess I came over either shy or lazy. When you talk about the boy's expattishness, does that mean he's still strongly identifies as a Brit (or whatever his country of origin) or that he's bitter against his country of origin?
And I find, in my old age (ha!) that I'm very comfortable in my own skin, at least in that respect. I don't dress fashionably - I dress the way I want to dress, which involves big hats, a wide array of scarves, long skirts and interesting handbags, and I really don't mind being stared at for it. I don't use textspeak when texting, I use standard spellings and punctuation. I have quite decided opinions on things. I get excited about silly things, and take unironic delight in other things which most people my age wouldn't enjoy. (Genuinely enjoy cutting out snowflakes//making Tudor Houses out of cereal boxes/discussing World War II with 7 year olds/watching 'Samurai Jack', etc etc.) Which is all good. I like where I'm at with this.
You should. It is part of your appeal. And don't sell yourself short. I think your un-need of a date is particularly healthy, and you know, it probably makes you even more attractive, generally.
So I looked around for another possibility, and discovered that Deborah Conway (an Australian singer with a career going back to the early 80s) is performing on Saturday night two suburbs away. A quick call to ensure tickets were still available, and the invitation has gone out
Fun date, billytea! Make sure you leave some time before or after for talking to one another, so she gets to know you.
It was what you thought it was, an allegory for the whole online dating site experience.
[blah blah me-cakes]
Yeah, a bit. :-) I gave her the guess, and told her if that was it, it was clever for the way it showed more of her personality and interests in an engaging way. And if it wasn't it, then it was even more clever because I hadn't worked it out yet.
Did you just say, "It's an allegory for the whole online dating site experience," or did you go deeper?
Man, (continued...)
