When human communication becomes bound by the size of a phone screen and the number of keys that your finger can zap in one second, relationships can take some pretty windy detours. Especially in the already-mysterious dating scene, I often find myself gazing clueless at that little notepad, wishing for a good interpreter.
“Hey, Voicemail full? Ms. Popular! I like the efficiency of texts better myself.”
Wait, who wrote that? Oh yes, this guy from last night. What did he say his name was? Starts with a K …
“I enjoyed meeting you.”
That’s nice to know; I have to tell you that I ran into K for a brief moment, by total chance and when I was not available, or at least I thought I wasn’t … So when this message shower began it found me unprepared and trying hard to recall our apparently exciting meeting.
It was a farewell dinner for a good friend who was leaving to India. Accidentally, my ex-boyfriend was hanging with his Harbin Watsu buddies at the table right next to us so I chatted with them a bit. I had just started dating someone new who was with me that night, and between him and my ex I wasn’t really paying much attention to other men. One Watsu buddy, K, was cool to talk to though, so a couple of hours later when we ran into them again at an afro funk show, I agreed to give him my number. Just because.
Pretty soon I got into this textual ping-pong match with him. As it turns out, this was his favorite turn on.
“Unforgettable eyes, would like to talk again.”
During the next month he followed up with his well-versed means of delivering intellectual and emotional essence and I had the joy of finding very friendly phrases on my private little screen.
“I want to get to know you more and we’ve not had the chance yet.”
That’s right, no chance; I was way too busy. I went to LA for a conference and took my secret little pocket-size friend with me. “Where are the hot spots for clubbing?” I ask my new pen-pal, and he promptly responds: “Sunset boulevard, Venice, some parts of Santa Monica, I want a full travel report when you get back …” Cool, this is fun; let’s see … “Hey, I am driving back up the coast and like to visit some hot springs on the way.” “No problem” he types, and within minutes sends me a website with details, community talk, skinny-dipping options. The guy is literally, and quite impressively, “dialed in.”
