Girls

I've always been a pretty shy guy. I'm more comfortable just being a fly on the wall. I like to sit or stand in the back of a room and just absorb everything that's going on, listen to what everyone else is saying.

I certainly don't like to be the center of attention.

I've always had a difficult time approaching girls, and oh my if I actually thought of asking anyone out on a date I'd instantly turn into a bumbling idiot.

I developed a theory on how I could best approach dating through the years. It was a very passive approach.

I've had friends who would ask girl after girl after girl if they wanted to go out until someone finally said, "OK."

Not OK with me. I would never do this.

But I finally realized that in our modern-day social setting men were expected to ask and get rejected, ask and get rejected, and ask and get rejected. Although women were not expected to initiate anything, they still were very much in charge.

So I set out a plan to buck this trend, and it fit my shy demeanor.

I figured if I just sit back and be alert sooner or later a lady would let me know she was interested in me. Afterall, women really are in charge. And I thought that if a woman was truly interested she'd let me know in one way or another.

So that's what I did. And that's what I did for years.

It didn't work out so well.

It turns out that waiting for girls to latch on to me provided me only with girls who were high-maintenance, puppeteers bent on control and world domination in their own maniacal ways.

So I just gave up.

Then I met Barb.

I just took a new job and someone was showing me around and introducing me to everyone.

"And this is Barb," I was told.

Suddenly the clouds parted and the angels sang. Barb sat with her back to me, busy and deeply involved with work, and completely glowing with a golden aura.

"Hi, I'm Jim Albert," I said to her.

She grunted at me and kind of acted like I was blocking her light and generally in her way.

"Well that went well," I thought to myself.

Slowly over weeks and months I made a point of getting to know Barb better. I was ignoring my lifelong philosophies of doing nothing for sure. But my approach was not aggressive either. I pretty much just thought that maybe I could make a friend.

From there I don't know what happened really. It just happened.

And I guess that's the way it's supposed to be. It's magic. There's no philosophy or approach plan necessary. It just happens. And boy am I glad it did. Barb is my perfect match, that one I've always been looking for. She's my angel.