Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Dating at Work is Hard.

Yes, it is. And yet, it's a very real possibility, and even probability.

Because B----- is a Very Large Company. Full, at this instant especially, of Young People. Most of whom are from Somewhere Else, and therefore Need To Bond. And who better to bond with than each other? Now, most of us are men (yours truly excluded) so most bonding takes place over work grunts and going out for beers. But some of us are women. (hi!)

And an even smaller percentage of us are single women. (hi again!)

And an even SMALLER percentage of us are single women that Do Something With Our Hair. (hi, still me!)

And an even SMALLER THAN THAT percentage of us are single women that Do Something With Our Hair, wear heels (woo, heels!) and have discernible breasts.

Maybe the best way to say it is that we have discernible femininity.

So, for this very small percentage of Discernibly Feminine Women, there's a lot of guys. That put gel in their hair, wear nice jeans, and know how to pick out a collared shirt. They can have their pick, in other words, except that they're stuck at work for 10 hours a day with this Very Small Percentage. So it's only natural that I might, say, meet a guy at a composites class, (woo! romantic engineers! those sexy composites!) and that I might spark up a conversation with him, and he might latch onto that conversation like a drowning man on a rope, asking me out on Instant Messenger and throwing caution to the wind.

Because really, y'all, I am not that fascinating.

And so, although we have a coffee date on Thursday, he might ask me to meet him in the hallway between our buildings. And I might do so.

And then we might talk for a little bit, trying to flirt without being work inappropriate, trying to size the other person up without being able to touch them, trying to hide our faces as his co-workers keep walking by him and winking. Trying to keep our voices low. We talk about sports. About this and that. About why we became engineers. We even talk like engineers--just the facts, ma'am.

When we're done, he reaches for a hug. He's not overly suave. That's a good thing. I give him one, thinking, Oh my God, I'm at WORK!

I walk back to my desk, beaming. I didn't have to get dressed up again or drive anywhere. I just had to walk to the end of the hallway. Sometimes it's nice to be able to date at work.

5 comments:

Steph said...

I'm jealous!! I work with nothing but Engineers, mostly men who are married because yes, they are that old, and of course I'm the youngest female, who does do something to my hair, wears heals, wears something other than from Dress Barn and I still wouldn't be able to get a date at work, not even an invite to go out for beers with anyone!! I'm jealous! Is B----- hiring? Maybe I chose the wrong company!

Aarwenn said...

Of course we are! Do you really want to move jobs? Sounds like you moved to San Antonio to be with a guy? ;)

Steph said...

I decided to take a break with him! LOL He's not my definition of what I would call a boyfriend, anything he buys me is with the stipulation that I will be paying him back so I finally told him he needs to get his act together, at this rate, I'll be paying him back for my engagement ring!

Anonymous said...

I'm always amused how aarwenn seems to talk in Capital Letters. For all the interesting Topics To Be Discussed. :-p
-Q

KR said...

Dating at work IS fun when it's at that level...but when you take it to the "next level", it gets a teeny bit more difficult...actually only when it ends really - or at least that was how it was for me. I only know because I also am an engineer, who is feminine, can carry on a conversation, AND do my hair! Oh, and I dated one of Those Guy Engineers for two years before we broke it off. But DEFINITELY enjoy the perma-smile stage - that's the best! :)