Translated by
Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jnr
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I was at this place, you know they type, they serve coffee, sometimes its good, sometimes its bad, and sometimes you just need somewhere to recharge the batteries and give you a quite place to think and dead tree blog.
This place has the usual crowd, the disaffected, those avant-cool types, the latte set, and "normal" people just out for a bit of sun, the papers and a caffeine hit, and of course those so connected that they have to bring their computer with them...you know the type; those who can mouse, click and type with one hand, while they sip their mocha with the other.
So in this place I take my seat, I can see the screen of the girl sitting vaguely next to me, but I ignore it as my DTB calls and I am about to sully its virginity with my scrawl. I looked around the area as one often does in those situations, stared at the blank page, took a sip of the beverage just delivered to my table, and look around again...
...she is reading blogs.
FUCK! She is reading MY BLOG.
So after I wiped the coffee up I had snorted (very suave I know, and a great way to get her attention) my curiosity piqued and I had to look up...
...mmm...cute.
Not stunningly cute as in I want to meet her...but cute, in that next-door type of way...the type of cute I should go for, that I know I should go for, but the type of cute that for come reason I usually ignore.
She is going through my archives...maybe a little to intensely for my liking...but still flattering in an ego stroking paranoid inducing kind of way.
Does she know me? is my immediate response...as flight response is suppressed in favour of an aloof cool disdain.
Because I am pretty sure I would remember her, unless her name was Michelle* then I might not. Noting the absence of sugar on my table, I catch her eye as I hatch a plan, which while not brilliant will yet still serve its purpose, and ask to borrow hers...
...she smiles, that absent smile of the distracted, that flicks across a visage when one is politely approached, hands it to me, "ta" I offer and our eyes hold contact for a few seconds...no longer than necessary, but long enough for me to realise, as her eyes flick back to stay on her screen...
...that she does not know me. ~phew~
So if that was you, at that place some weeks back, reading this blog, when that guy writing in the journal next to you asked for the sugar, you have met me...and wasn't it the let down you always imagined it would be. ~grin~
Chatting with a friend about it the other day, her immediate response is why didn't you introduce yourself? And I really did not have an answer...
But I do now: I did not because I was actually embarrassed, I guess I choose who crosses from online to offline with some care, and a random meeting by being recognised is probably not something I am eager to embrace or make part of my everyday fabric. I guess I value the anonymity and know that with meeting, too often the online result is lost readership, and the transition of valued comments and dialog to an offline venue as well.
Added to which I was enjoying the solitude that goes with that first cup of weekend coffee, the aroma, the taste, and just my developing thoughts as pen paused above paper...but perhaps more importantly I had gotten there early and was waiting for the Fairy Queen to arrive so I could enjoy the pleasure of her company...and then a second cup of coffee.---
* I read in a book somewhere that in the cosmic scheme of the universe, anyone named Michelle has a higher likelihood of being someone who you will not remember and whom will not make an impact either in your life or in anyone else's.
NOTE: I never said it was a good book.
Lectiones Sacrae Ex Libris Indiana 06:00
"...hardly a genius...worthy of all the sycophants you seem to have gathered."
13 Comments:
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savannah said...
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probably a very wise move, sugar, not to introduce yourself...now, if she reads this post and you happen to run into each other again...talk about a "cute meet"
- 08:12
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Tiny said...
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Awww, that's very cute :-)
- 11:23
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Enigma said...
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That must have been weird,Indie. Did you feel exposed, famous, vulnerable, powerful? etc......
- 11:32
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Indiana said...
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Savannah: That would just prove how small this island really is.
- 12:18
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Enigma said...
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I was SOOOOO tempted...
- 12:24
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Lady Sadie said...
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Online anonymity counts for the ability to write candidly and it reduces the horrifying risk of employers poking around the web for prospective hires on the basis that you are what you post!
- 14:14
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Amber said...
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Wow! That must have been quite a trip!
- 14:20
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Andrea Wh@tever said...
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same thing happened to me sometime
- 20:18
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Mia said...
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I found my old blog bookmarked in a public PC in Singapore once. That was kind of strange, often wondered who had read it.
- 23:30
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Tiny said...
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Oops. Sorry Indy.
- 07:36
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Indiana said...
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Enigma: Sometimes its best to just give in to those temptations.
- 09:13
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M said...
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that is sort of cool and very cool that you wrote a whole entry about it because she's sure to read it one day! I always wonder how many blog readers I pass in my day to day life.
- 08:57
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Indiana said...
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M: I wonder that too, since their are so many bloggers in this country, I wonder some days if after a date I will wake up read one of my regular haunts and read about myself.
- 09:13
Post a CommentI agree that it's not a good idea to introduce yourself at that moment. Perhaps if she contacts you and lets you know that she has read this entry, both of you can then decide whether to meet or not.
"When worlds collide"
A few years ago a woman came to me for a reading, I recognised her from photos as my partners ex wife..she wanted to know all about her "bastard ex" and the new woman he was with. As I knew everything about her, she wouldve thought I was the worlds greatest reader....I could,nt do it though, and told her who I was.
Tiny: Well I am not sure it's cute...it was neither small nor furry and it most definitely did not have big brown eyes.
As for meeting this mysterious reader, does the irony of organising a meeting with someone who reads my blog while I was actually meeting someone who also reads my blog not seem a little too trite.
Enigma: It felt weird, and I admit a little ego stroking in avulnerable way.
And you are better then me...I would have had some fun with ex-wife.
We guard our privacy fiercely offline, but surrender it all too easily online *Cough* Facebook and data-mining *Cough*
I can't help but wonder about that girl's reaction if she happens to wander back and read THIS entry. And recognize herself in it.
Sorry, but I had to laugh picturing the ever-composed, debonair, Indiana, snorting coffee upon realizing that it was indeed, HIS blog, being read.
I still think that would have been an amazing feeling to have. I mean, you know that people read because they leave comments or send an email and you see your blog stats, but you don't actually picture another human being, eagerly pulling up YOUR journal with your words, on a computer screen somewhere in the world.
Pretty neat, Indy! :)
mid-year. freaked me out initially - yunno kinda like a jolt, followed by intense curiosity. of course it didn't help that the guy was laughing quietly as he read my antics. and he was really good looking in a geeky kind of way. i had to force myself to leave the café coz i knew that if i stayed on, i could not resist the urge to chat him up.
But that was in the days when I had more than 7 readers.
Lady Sadie: Well data-mining will give you abit of information, and I am pretty careful on FB not to give too much away...well at least I manage to keep my blog completely seperate.
Amber: It was neat...but also a little confronting.
Andrea: So what you are trying to tell us is that you saw a cute guy in a coffee shop and had to fight the temptation to flirt with him?
Mia: Where?
Tiny: Nothing to aplogise for.
The only thing is that now you've said that she's not cute enough for you! What's with THAT? You need a minder, honestly. Next time just leave it at she was cute so that it's nice for everyone. doh.
As for the girl, she was seriously cute...and as I hope I said, she was the type of girl I should go for, but for some strange personal reason don't...but she was cute.
Erm...anyone want to volunteer to be Indy's minder?
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