Okay, so I told Zhie I'd post about this.
:"> I'm crushing on a really cute, sweet, wonderful guy.
Okay, uh, the beginning. The Vegiterranean, the vegan restaurant I'm addicted to, that I'm a regular at. It started there. It started with it like most, where the waiters and waitresses were getting to know us and smiled when we entered and stopped by our table to say hey, good to see you, how've you been, welcome back. The one guy, really cute (tall, slender but has muscle to him, beautiful smile) always stopped by to say hi to me. Like, to all of us, but he'd always look to me with a big smile.
Fast forward months of going with the parents and getting to be known there. We don't see him for a while. One day, after we finish lunch and dad goes to get the car and mom and I are finishing our dessert and chatting, he comes by. Stops at the table to say hey, haven't seen you in forever, how have you been. Mom smiles in a totally unsubtle way and excuses herself to go to the restroom and conveniently leave me alone with him. We talk. He's enrolled back at school at the uni, asks me about my classes and major, I tell him about my internship, he tells me about his schedule there a bit. I ask him about sponsorship for Docs Who Rock and he goes to find out then comes back and apologizes and tells me the manager will be in another day. Mom's ready to go and he needs to get ready for work, so we say our goodbyes. Mom's nudging me and winking the whole ride home.
Fast forward to recently, when the zip card got accepted there and now I can go and buy myself food whenever I want. I'm too shy to eat alone in a classy restaurant so I get it for carryout. I go in one evening to look at the menu and figure out what I want. He walks by and stops, even though he's working and is swamped with customers and probably has a million things to do. He stops and says hi to me, and we talk a bit, and I ask about the zip card and he has me go with him to the side counter where he checks their instructions and answers my question. We walk back to the front together talking about how there's so little vegan food to eat on campus and it's impossible to get a good meal there. The manager comes by and he says a quick goodbye and smiles and rushes off.
I return an hour later to pick up my food and he's there again to say hi. He asks what I ordered and talks a bit about their new menu coming out that weekend, and if I'll be in more. I say I hope so, and he smiles and says he'll see me around then.
While my order is ringing out the girl working at the little podium grins and (having seen us talking earlier and then again now) asks where I know Justin from. Figuring my mystery cute guy is Justin, I explain how I've been a bit of a regular for the past year.
So yesterday, Friday. I'm hungry and craving Vegiterranean but again shy about eating alone at a nice restaurant on a Friday night. I'm on LotRO and Val is the only other one on, so I gush my boy troubles to him. That I'm kind of interested and I think he's interested but what if I'm just socially retarded and even if I'm not I'm terrible at talking to guys or doing anything but killing orcs with guys. And my biggest problem that I forgot his name. He tries to give me a motivational peptalk (after we both sadly reflect we're terrible at social lives and that games are so much easier) but it somehow turned into a depressing cautionary tale about relationships. An awkward pause and a lol later, we try to think how Dan would give a peptalk (because there ain't no peptalk like a Grimdan peptalk). I recall that my part is always: "Lin, don't die." We decide that also works well in real life situations.
I ordered carryout and went to pick up my order. Once-more-mystery cute waiter was there with a hello not ten seconds after I come through the door. He asks what I got, and I had the squash pizza. "Oh, I was going to tell you we were getting that back. I remembered you and your mom loved that, right? We have the soup, too." ...he remembered. :> They haven't had that for 5 months but he remembered all that time that I liked the squash pizza. We talk a bit about classes again. I'm swamped, and he remarks he was really bogged down in the beginning but it's lightened up, gotten easier, and that he's glad.
He starts to leave, and I muster my courage. "Hey." I freeze as he turns to look expectantly, curiously. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names. What was yours again?" He smiles again and comes back. "Justin." He asks me with his expression. "Justin, I'm Brittany." He shakes my hand and says it was great seeing me again.
I smiled like an idiot all the way to my car and the whole drive home.
Back on LotRO, I talked to Dan about it. Told him the mock peptalk, and to my surprise, the stoic and good-game-friend turned into a true friend and took the conversation private to ask me more about this guy, and talk with me about it. That I shouldn't try to do what a friend would do or I think I should do, but to be myself. If I'm shy, then don't make it hard by trying to be bold. That guys will take any encouragement, and a simple "I really like talking to you, I hope we can talk more sometime" is the shy-girl equivalent of asking out and will work fine.
James got on a bit later and we voice-chatted and I relayed the whole thing to him. He was awesome too.
J: Okay, well - you know you're a geek, right?
B: Fuuuuck. Really? I hadn't noticed, I was too busy chatting to an avatar while killing a warg.
J: Ahahaaa, just checking for any denial about it. Look, you've got it good. You're a geek, but you're little and you're cute and have a pretty face. Guys dig that. And guys think it's cute when you're awkward.
B: Yeah, I'm sure social retardation is a huge turn-on.
J: Britt, seriously though. A girl who's kind of awkward and sweet is adorable. Trust me on this. You pull it off great, it's you, and you're cute. My wife? Was a complete social disaster when I first met her, and I thought that her awkwardness was precious. Just be yourself, and I promise you, guys love it.
asdlhbfejd working up the nerve to go in Monday evening and order something and maybe dine in. Working up the nerve to ask him out.
Okay, uh, the beginning. The Vegiterranean, the vegan restaurant I'm addicted to, that I'm a regular at. It started there. It started with it like most, where the waiters and waitresses were getting to know us and smiled when we entered and stopped by our table to say hey, good to see you, how've you been, welcome back. The one guy, really cute (tall, slender but has muscle to him, beautiful smile) always stopped by to say hi to me. Like, to all of us, but he'd always look to me with a big smile.
Fast forward months of going with the parents and getting to be known there. We don't see him for a while. One day, after we finish lunch and dad goes to get the car and mom and I are finishing our dessert and chatting, he comes by. Stops at the table to say hey, haven't seen you in forever, how have you been. Mom smiles in a totally unsubtle way and excuses herself to go to the restroom and conveniently leave me alone with him. We talk. He's enrolled back at school at the uni, asks me about my classes and major, I tell him about my internship, he tells me about his schedule there a bit. I ask him about sponsorship for Docs Who Rock and he goes to find out then comes back and apologizes and tells me the manager will be in another day. Mom's ready to go and he needs to get ready for work, so we say our goodbyes. Mom's nudging me and winking the whole ride home.
Fast forward to recently, when the zip card got accepted there and now I can go and buy myself food whenever I want. I'm too shy to eat alone in a classy restaurant so I get it for carryout. I go in one evening to look at the menu and figure out what I want. He walks by and stops, even though he's working and is swamped with customers and probably has a million things to do. He stops and says hi to me, and we talk a bit, and I ask about the zip card and he has me go with him to the side counter where he checks their instructions and answers my question. We walk back to the front together talking about how there's so little vegan food to eat on campus and it's impossible to get a good meal there. The manager comes by and he says a quick goodbye and smiles and rushes off.
I return an hour later to pick up my food and he's there again to say hi. He asks what I ordered and talks a bit about their new menu coming out that weekend, and if I'll be in more. I say I hope so, and he smiles and says he'll see me around then.
While my order is ringing out the girl working at the little podium grins and (having seen us talking earlier and then again now) asks where I know Justin from. Figuring my mystery cute guy is Justin, I explain how I've been a bit of a regular for the past year.
So yesterday, Friday. I'm hungry and craving Vegiterranean but again shy about eating alone at a nice restaurant on a Friday night. I'm on LotRO and Val is the only other one on, so I gush my boy troubles to him. That I'm kind of interested and I think he's interested but what if I'm just socially retarded and even if I'm not I'm terrible at talking to guys or doing anything but killing orcs with guys. And my biggest problem that I forgot his name. He tries to give me a motivational peptalk (after we both sadly reflect we're terrible at social lives and that games are so much easier) but it somehow turned into a depressing cautionary tale about relationships. An awkward pause and a lol later, we try to think how Dan would give a peptalk (because there ain't no peptalk like a Grimdan peptalk). I recall that my part is always: "Lin, don't die." We decide that also works well in real life situations.
I ordered carryout and went to pick up my order. Once-more-mystery cute waiter was there with a hello not ten seconds after I come through the door. He asks what I got, and I had the squash pizza. "Oh, I was going to tell you we were getting that back. I remembered you and your mom loved that, right? We have the soup, too." ...he remembered. :> They haven't had that for 5 months but he remembered all that time that I liked the squash pizza. We talk a bit about classes again. I'm swamped, and he remarks he was really bogged down in the beginning but it's lightened up, gotten easier, and that he's glad.
He starts to leave, and I muster my courage. "Hey." I freeze as he turns to look expectantly, curiously. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names. What was yours again?" He smiles again and comes back. "Justin." He asks me with his expression. "Justin, I'm Brittany." He shakes my hand and says it was great seeing me again.
I smiled like an idiot all the way to my car and the whole drive home.
Back on LotRO, I talked to Dan about it. Told him the mock peptalk, and to my surprise, the stoic and good-game-friend turned into a true friend and took the conversation private to ask me more about this guy, and talk with me about it. That I shouldn't try to do what a friend would do or I think I should do, but to be myself. If I'm shy, then don't make it hard by trying to be bold. That guys will take any encouragement, and a simple "I really like talking to you, I hope we can talk more sometime" is the shy-girl equivalent of asking out and will work fine.
James got on a bit later and we voice-chatted and I relayed the whole thing to him. He was awesome too.
J: Okay, well - you know you're a geek, right?
B: Fuuuuck. Really? I hadn't noticed, I was too busy chatting to an avatar while killing a warg.
J: Ahahaaa, just checking for any denial about it. Look, you've got it good. You're a geek, but you're little and you're cute and have a pretty face. Guys dig that. And guys think it's cute when you're awkward.
B: Yeah, I'm sure social retardation is a huge turn-on.
J: Britt, seriously though. A girl who's kind of awkward and sweet is adorable. Trust me on this. You pull it off great, it's you, and you're cute. My wife? Was a complete social disaster when I first met her, and I thought that her awkwardness was precious. Just be yourself, and I promise you, guys love it.
asdlhbfejd working up the nerve to go in Monday evening and order something and maybe dine in. Working up the nerve to ask him out.