advice for the single girl: part 2 polo shirts

goodness i bet there will be more than a trilogy of material on this topic!
i hate to break down and admit it, but i have been dating someone who i actually like.  admittance of like is usually a sure fire way to make a fool out of oneself, especially in the under 60 days category.  inevitably something silly will happen and this mr. will find a new friend that isn't me. but i am going be daring and say it for now.

no names of course, to protect the innocent and probably later guilty, but it is a he and this person is definitely different than anyone i have ever dated.  dont misunderstand i am not humming any familiar tunes!!!!  PA-LEASE.  i am just sorting thru new and different a bit.  how i can like someone who is so completely out of the normal box of typical merissa boy tricks.  and if in fact it is true i can have fun with someone who does not fit most of the logistical data (tall, dark, rugged, moderately successful, but definitely not over the top) generally set forth.  how will i ever really look for anyone to date? makes it kind of confusing to realize you may have been wrong about whats right. . .

here's the revealing and embarrassing part.  we met on match!  but you know if i had run into mr different in the real world at the grocery store i would have walked on by.  not because he is not darling and put together.  actually he is both, erring a little on the too much of both side.  usually i see this type of preppy kiddo and say "uh no."  must be self obsessed and drives a fancy car.  how humiliating.  i dont want to be a part of that belly laugh (ah, ha, ha) Georgetown crew.  so far all I have experienced is sincere chat, funny quirkiness, intent on joy and hard work.

so that made me think. .. does this misconception of one type of person affect my demeanor with said type? crap.  yeah it does.  i realized, although i am actually pretty familiar with this sort (private school kid, me too), somewhere along the line i got a bit jaded about the males that inhabit the sector.  really dont know where it happened, but i have definitely taken my little car and driven it in the opposite direction of any and all preppy, private school, nice car driving, polo shirt wearing dudes.

last night mari and me went to an opening party for dc digital week.  it was a wider variety than normal thanks to the cross section of technology businesses.  i noticed that i would look up and smile at a sort of rugged dude, but as a polo shirt passed i would look down or the other way.  so i tried something new.  as a polo shirt passed by i unabashedly smiled and looked.  he looked back and smiled too. huh?  then his whole little color tile crew looked too.  oops. that worked.  i didn't know i could do that. really?

so is my male response and relationship development completely defined by my literal outward actions?  thats nuts.  but you know what, i think its true.  unless a preppy dude came and got me and was fairly persistent, i wouldn't even give him the time of day.

the bigger thing here is that i really think of myself as a open minded sort.  i like all sorts and try to run with different sorts not to get to stuck in my tiny bubble.  seems my dating though is backed up into a tiny corner with no view of any other possibility.

discernment is one thing, but categorical denial is another.  open up your eyes and smile at someone you normally would just walk on by.  you might be really surprised with the response, or atleast break down a barrier you have put up for some unknown long ago reason.

not every polo shirt is a rude, beer drinking frat kid.  and not every tall, dark and rugged sort is nice and genuine of heart. who knew!?

last night at dc digital week party - long view gallery on 9th

got to love this pic!  we posed for this pic (preppy shirt-mari's coworker mark- in the middle!) and then wrote with a digital pen on the wall/pic.  we had way too much fun!