reflections on the proper use of eyeballs

[newmistakes]

Eye contact is a lot like pooping. Some is good, but non-stop is not so good. I had to learn this the hard way, of course. I used to be painfully shy (whereas now I’d characterize my shyness as more of an intermittent dull ache, manageable but still sometimes unpleasant). The prospect of parties or social situations where I wouldn’t know many

Comments

[ismoulder]

LOL How do you know some of them wanted to fight you or thought you were doing a sexy eyeball voodoo move? What did they say?

[newmistakes]

I remember one girl asking what my problem was haha. So I figured she was feeling the fight vibe. The sexy eyeball move thinkers were easier to decipher - one followed me when I left the room and tried to get quite handsy. Was quite surprised I wasn't interested.

[ismoulder]

Your eyeballs are definitely troublemakers. I'm glad you got out of it with only some cringing memories instead of blackened eyes or a pinched bottom.

[newmistakes]

My eyeballs are nothing but trouble, even when I'm not making sustained eye contact. They're ridiculously expressive and I've had to do some fast talking to get myself out of a few situations my eyeballs have gotten me into where I've seemed impolitely bored or angry, or where my eyeballs have bluntly signaled that I think someone is a wanker haha.

[danbok]

This is still a problem for me. When talking to people, particularly new people, I will often kind of look at them, kind of not (basically kind of look at their ear rather than at their eyes), and then you think "I must maintain eye contact" and they say whatthebloodyhellareyoustaringatmate?

[newmistakes]

Haha I love the passive aggressiveness of that kind of Aussie "whatthebloodyhellareyoustaringatmate?" phrasing!

And you must be quite the expert in ears from all the staring at them you have done while avoiding eyes. Do you notice distinct differences in lobes? I rarely to never look at people's ears, but now I think I'm going to have to start taking notice. Each lobe is probably unique and special, but hopefully not too waxy.

[lolersk8z]

"Ultimately, the experiment was an extravaganza of cringe, but I learnt from it. Like laser beams or a pole dancer’s thighs, eyeballs are powerful and too much of a powerful thing can be dangerous."

Hashtag dying.

[newmistakes]

Haha awww I don't want your hashtag death on my conscious :P

[spiral_meter]

i'm shy in very much the same way as you, and could probably benefit from a lesson in eye contact. luckily dogs don't seem to care if you don't meet their gaze enough.

it's a wise person who can learn from her mistakes. if i learned from every mistake i ever made i'd have the equivalent of like ten doctorates by now.

b

[newmistakes]

Actually I think dogs like it if you don't meet their gaze a lot of the time. Don't they see direct eye contact as a bit of a challenge? Or maybe that's just the ones with "issues".

It's probably best we don't have doctorates lying around as testament to how many mistakes we've made. I wouldn't want those reminders, even if I'd learned from every one of them :)

[spiral_meter]

most dogs have no aversion to making or receiving eye contact actually. i wonder if it's more taboo with wolves.

but think of all the diplomas we could put all over our walls! everyone would think we're really smart.

b

[newmistakes]

It's definitely taboo in werewolf fiction, if not with actual wolves :)

Pfft! If we need diplomas before people are impressed by our smarts, then those people are idiots and not worth impressing :) Just conversing with our wonderfulness should alert the more astute that we are intellectual giants!