adventures in winking

a couple of girlfriends and i meet periodically to check out the dc art scene and eat delicious food. we talk about all kinds of things, catch up on each others’ lives, laugh, joke, tell stories, vent. we make up rules: it’s girls only; its refreshing to be around such vibrant, intelligent, happy women. you have to hold a fork to talk. recently, we came up with the winking challenge. we have to wink at random strangers we find attractive. or maybe not strangers. it’s an exercise in flirtation. back in the day, i was such a good flirt that i earned the official “best flirt*” title in my byu** ward. i’m not sure what’s happened since then, but we can delve into my dating neuroses another day, another post. don’t hold your breath.


anyway...

melanie and i went to the nats game last night after i victoriously replied to her email first and won her extra ticket (but not her heart; this isn't that kind of story). we were slightly disappointed that we were sitting between two old men on my left and a senior partner in her firm and his wife, on melanie's right. it meant that our flirtatious plan of asking whatever cute boys were around us how to scorekeep wasn't going to work. so instead, i attempted to remember my little league scorekeeping skills from days of yore (and failed pretty miserably) until the gentleman to my left loaned me his scorecard so i could catch up (we'd missed the top of the first). he struck up a conversation and offered me a beer. later, after melanie and i returned from a 3-inning winking-slash-food run with dogs, diet coke and gelato, but no successful winks (seriously, doesn't ANYone make eye contact anymore???), my new friend struck up more conversation. he asked for my business card and gave me his phone number, inviting melanie and i to the carlisle for dinner sometime in the future. i'm supposed to call him and leave a message if he's not there. he made sure to tell me it was ok to call. about three times. keep in mind this guy could be my grandfather. maybe he forgot he'd already told me. he was also worried that i'd lose the score card that he'd written his number on. as soon as our new boyfriends left after the 7th inning stretch, melanie proceeded to tell the partner and his wife about our exploits. i'm not sure if they thought it was humorous, strange or disgusting, but after rumors on the appalachain trail that my dad and i were dating when we hiked together, i guess nothing really surprises me. again i digress. when melanie and i left, her co-worker's wife made sure to tell us to have fun on our geriatric date. now that was nice. but – ew. and that's not the end. melanie and i metro'd home because i don't have a car, she hadn't driven to her firm that day and we'd gone straight to the game from work. i'm pretty sure the boys checking us out on the metro didn't have cars either, cause i'm pretty sure they weren't old enough to drive. i mean, i guess appealing to all ages has its advantages, but um, seriously. i mean really. seriously.

*not biggest flirt, best flirt. note the distinction.
**to clarify: i did not attend byu. ok i did, as a visiting student and then as a non-degree student when i lived in utah for the two years between undergrad and grad school. and i also attended a byu ward while i was there.