Back to Reality

This morning was my first day back at work. I had approximately 60 emails, 8 voice mails and an overflowing in-tray to greet me. Sigh. My vacation is definitely over.

However, this does mean that I can now report my findings on 'The Social Experiment' and other events that took place.

1. The Reunion- seeing Vi again after a year and a half was AMAZING. There is no other word for it. We got on like we hadn't spend so long apart. In fact, we got on so well that people thought we were a couple. I can only imagine the blog posts we would have if we lived in the same city, even the same state. Anything is better then living on different continents.

2. Vi and the Cute Neighbor- as I updated you, the spark was there. It was so there I managed to spot it within 10 seconds after seeing them together. Regardless of the fact that I was jet lagged. I take some (well the majority of) credit for the two of them finally getting their act together. Mainly my constant pep talks to Vi, the first one consisting of: "just kiss him already" to the last one: "just do it already." I also made a lot of double entendres just to try and make things move along. I got a lot done in 10 days. And Vi now has an ACTUAL BOYFRIEND. I. Am. A. Genius.

3. McNerdy- yes, yes, it's true. After Vi gave her permission,* McNerdy and I did make use of the make-out corner at the party. And he did stay over. And I might have also stayed over at his my last night there. That would be Vi's fault after she and the Cute Neighbor walked out of McNerdy's apartment while Vi asked him to drive me home. She's sneaky like that. In regards to my social experiment, well, McNerdy is an American guy and I did like him more than any British guys I've meant in awhile. So my opinion of American guys has been somewhat proven.

So all in all, it was an extremely successful and enjoyable trip.

* Please note: I would never make-out or do anything non-platonic with a friend's (especially Vi's) ex or semi-ex or whatever without permission from said friend and even then it's a tricky area.

McNerdy Love

Fenella's plan for me and the cute neighbor may have worked better than she ever would have thought, but my plan to find Fen's mojo worked better than I ever could have dreamed.

Last night, my roommate and I threw another one of our fabulous parties. (I was a little apprehensive that I might be broken up with while in my underwear the next morning, as happened at our last party, but quite the opposite happened. More on that later.) This was a high-class party, complete with a designated make-out corner. Secluded, very dimly lit, and with a paper towel sign pointing the way.

As Fen blogged earlier, I had indeed given her permission to make out with McNerdy. And Grayer is right. There was definitely a time that I would not have able to even think about him making out with anyone else, but I've come a long way. McNerdy and I in a romantic sense seems a lifetime ago, and now I only want my two best friends to be happy. So, after McNerdy arrived, I casually mentioned that he had my permission to make out with Fen, which seemed to interest him, once he got over my use of the word "permission."

For the better part of the evening, they sat/stood very near each other, and I suspected even a bit of hand holding under the table. Then I realized I was missing my drink, so I went back out to the porch to grab it... only to find Fenella and McNerdy totally sucking face!!!!!!! Wooooo!

And it gets better! They continued being all touchy-feely the rest of the evening, and I caught them in lip-lock a few times after that (including in the make-out corner). To give them the privacy that they so deserved and needed, I sacrificed my bedroom and went home with the Cute Neighbor. It was a huge sacrifice, let me tell you. (Pistachio ice cream, what? WHAT?) And when I finally did the walk-of-shame home in last night's party dress at 11:30 this morning, McNerdy was STILL HERE. I think McNerdy was a bit uncomfortable when he walked in the kitchen to see me, but I was super-excited. Now Fen and McNerdy can get married, and Fen can move here and we can be together all the time!

Now Fen has her mojo back. And she and I have yet another thing in common ;)

That's what friends are for...

Vi has just marched into the room in the hostel where I am sat. She has informed me that there is a cute guy in the other kitchen and I am to:

"Go into the other kitchen to look for a pizza cutter and ask the cute guy if he would like some pizza. Just do it!"

This was accompanied by crazy eyes and pointing. Maybe I will.

Vi's interest in my love life or lack thereof has gone even further today:

"This is random but...you totally have my permission to make out with McNerdy."

Could you ask for a better friend?

Outer and Prouder

We seem to have a weird tradition starting here at WWBD? First it was Grayer's YFA thinking that she was out and proud. Now, apparently Violet and I are also. Allow me to explain.

Violet and I attended after softball drinks last night. NB: Vi's team stomped the competition. Yay! There was a particular member of their team who was a little on the simple side and is the type of person you laugh at rather than with. Vi and I were sitting next to each other and at one point made the joke that we complete each other's sentences. (Actually, we complete each other.) Then the Cute Neighbor chimed in saying that we communicate without actually speaking to each other. The conversation moved on to whether or not we were both single. Which of course I am and Vi is TBD.

Later that evening when Vi returns home from "getting directions" for our road trip from the Cute Neighbor (an excuse if ever I heard one) she woke me up asking if I wanted to hear something funny. "Always." Was my response. According to the Cute Neighbor after Vi and I had left the bar Simple Simon said that until we mentioned we were both single...he thought we were a couple. Apparently Grayer's not the only one who gives off that lesbian vibe.

Friendly neighbors

Fenella, giving me recent feedback on my "situation" with the cute neighbor.

Don't worry Vi! I am on my way and can therefore observe the situation first hand and give sound advice.
I'm guessing it will probably involve me having one too many vodka cranberries and shouting:
"Just kiss each other already!"
You'll thank me for it I'm sure.

And lo and behold, that is EXACTLY what happened. On Friday, the cute neighbor made Fen and me dinner, after which the three of us went out. Sure enough, after a few vodka and cranberries (or maybe just one, Fen is quite a lightweight) she ended up blurting out pretty much this exact sentence. I'm sure I went red.

Fast forward to Saturday night. We went out again with the cute neighbor and this time McNerdy joined us. Fenella was deep into conversation with McNerdy, and I was chatting with the cute neighbor when he told me he had a confession to make. He took a long, dramatic pause. Then he blurted out that he liked me. A lot. First I asked him how much of it was the beer talking. He said it may have loosened him up, but the beer speaks the truth. Then I asked if he was tired of being my fake boyfriend. He said being my fake boyfriend was good fun and all, but that he wanted to be so much more than that.

Whoa.

I mean, really. I didn't know what to say. Obviously I was happy to hear that, but as I have a problem using my words in situations such as these, all I could say was, "OK." Brilliant, Vi. Truly brilliant. A degree in English, and the only word you can come up with is an "OK"? The rest of the conversation is a bit fuzzy, (I wasn't drunk, but just a bit in shock I think) but I know that at some point I told him that I "wasn't disappointed" (again, BRILLIANT) and he said that after he lays it all out on the table like that, he won't pursue if not responded to. Not long after, I literally pushed Fenella into the ladies' room and told her these latest developments while peeing. Seeing as she had NO IDEA this conversation had taken place mere inches from her, she was a little frightened.

After leaving the bar, we went back to the cute neighbor's, who made us a late-night snack. We said our goodnights and Fen and I went back to my place. What happened next, Fenella swears is straight out of a movie. (And I swear it's the truth.) While I was brushing my teeth, I thought about what he said, and I realized that I couldn't leave the situation with a stupid "ok" and an "I'm not disappointed." So I spit out my toothpaste and told Fenella I would be right back. She cheered as I walked out the door. I ran across the street and knocked on the cute neighbor's door, knowing full well that there was no turning back now.

"Hi," I said.
"Come in," he said. I did. We didn't talk for awhile after that. We just kissed for a good long while.

Finally, I stopped to ask a very important question. I wanted to make sure he wasn't just interested in a one-night stand. He pointed out that if he was only interested in a one-time hook up, it wouldn't have taken him so long to make a move. Fair enough.

I eventually managed to pull myself away and came back to bed with Fenella, who was only fake-sleeping and waiting for me to spill the details.

So is he an imaginary boyfriend? I think we've just found our answer.

Night on the Town

Happy Easter and happy spring! While Fennella and Violet are together once again, I'm sitting on my porch enjoying the gorgeous day ready to reflect on my past weekend. I just talked to my parents and I think my mother is disappointed for two reasons, 1) I didn't come home this weekend and 2) I didn't go to church this morning ("Why not? Are you looking for a church?" "Well I've seen churches...") So after telling her what I've been doing this weekend, a weekend that Conrad came to visit, she again started asking me when I was coming home. This time however, she mentioned that I could bring whomever I wanted with me. Yikes! You read right, it turns out, moving an hour away isn't enough to kill our friendship and Conrad actually came down for the night. And while I'm ready to meet someone (anyone) to make me forget Conrad's name romantically speaking, Conrad still remains my closest friend around here. Due to certain circumstances both of us really need a friend right now.

I'm not going to lie, I was really excited for his visit. It was going to be my first weekend to have time to actually enjoy the city. He was bringing his brand spanking new iPad (yes, I got to play with it and yes, it is awesome), we were going out to dinner, and we got tickets to a show.

Unfortunately (though it was a great experience) we accidentally went on a date to a really nice restaurant. It was a steakhouse near the theater we were going to and my roommate's bf recommended it as being fairly casual and not too expensive (Note to self: This guy is never to be listened to ever again). We walk in and they ask for Conrad's last name and continue to call him "Mr. Conrad" for the remainder of the evening. We should have seen this as our first warning sign, as no one wearing jeans and a t-shirt should ever be referred to as Mr. anything. They sat us in a corner and hand the menus to "Mr. Conrad" and tell him about the drink specials. Our waiter comes with bread and tells him about the garlic spreads. After filling up our water glasses (Conrad's first) the waiter tells him about the specials. He tells him to make himself at home.

Now I know fine dining has it's little quirks about a man at a table, ordering and such. But this wasn't exactly fine dining, and Conrad is not that sort of man. I could only come to one conclusion: this restaurant is sexist! Only responding to the thank you's of the man of the table does not mean you're fine dining, it means you're purposely ignoring the woman!

Conrad found this particularly funny as he is often jokingly sexist. When I tell him I can't figure out how to hook up my dvd player, how to find the molarity of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, how to best make mashed potatoes up to his high Southern standard, his answer is always the same "it's because you're a woman." It was odd to have to agree with him in this case, and to do so seriously. Seeing this sexism in action definitely kept us laughing while we savored our overpriced steak and filled up on the free bread (it didn't even come with sides?!). As we looked at each other and tried to hold back the giggles as our waiter scraped away our breadcrumbs off the white linen. We were so out of our league. I completely lost it once the waiter left and Conrad pulled out the piece of bread he had been hiding in his lap and slowly and guiltily brought it to his mouth. He was determined to get his money's worth, whether his crumbs had just been scraped away or not.

All in all, we had a great night. We saw a good show, walked around downtown and brought back two slices of cheesecake from the Factory (a slice of heaven). Though I purposely awkwardly held his hand at times we were strictly platonic, which is the way we should be. Next weekend his mom is visiting him. She wants to come into town, as Conrad will admit, partly to see the city but mostly to meet me. I'm pretty excited about this, we are active Facebook friends after all.

An Update: "The Situation"

As we all are aware, Vi is currently having a 'situation' with The Cute Neighbor. We have been advising from afar but last night, I was able to observe first hand. Yes, that's right, Vi and I are reunited after a year and a half!

The Cute Neighbor came over at around 11.30 last night and stayed for about 20 minutes chatting with us. And in that short period of time I realised there is a definite spark between Vi and The Cute Neighbor. I now have 10 days to ensure that the two of them get their acts together.

This shouldn't be hard.