Tuesday, December 19, 2006

 

sunshine and happiness

This morning I barely made it on the train, and got pushed from behind by some lovely person rushing to work. Whatev.

Seeing only a few seats available, I sat next to a dorky looking guy, who adjusted his coat so that my cushion was clear. I thanked him, took out my book, and began reading.

He looked at me, and said, dorkily and in a friendly manner, "Are you catching up on the classics for the holidays?"

I smiled at him, and said, no, well, maybe, I suppose, and said that I loved the book (The Man in the Iron Mask), and was reading it because I've enjoyed Dumas in the past.

From there, we got to talking about other books, and he recommended an author (Dan Simmons), whose name I wrote down. Then we talked about his work, where he went to school, etc. I noticed that he was wearing a ring (a-ha! I'm learning!), so I asked about his wife, and what she's doing. I learned that she's in a PhD program at the University of Liverpool, and they're moving to the U.K. in August so that she can finish her program. From what he said, it sounded as though her enthusiasm for the project was waning, and he was very determined that she finish.

He asked me if I was going to do graduate work, and I said that I wanted to do everything at the moment, so that I probably will go back to school once I narrow it down. He asked me what I wanted to do, and I said that I thought that law school looked like a lot of fun, and really challenging, but that I don't want to be a lawyer. And I said that I want to own my own business, so having an M.B.A. would certainly be useful.

He, noticing my ringless hand, asked me if I was single, and I responded (dorkily and randomly), laughing, "Oh, single as the day is long!"

And he replied, "Well, the days are getting shorter," which I thought was awfully sweet. And smooth!

I told him that I had a few wacky dating experiences, and said that I took a break, and took SCUBA lessons, and wrote a novel (he had heard of NaNoWriMo). Then somehow we got on to the subject of games, and he said that he likes to make board games as a hobby, and he told me about one that he created, called Walls. I recommended the game Deflexion (now known as Khet, apparently), and he said that he saw it in the SkyMall catalog, and that it looked fun.

At this point, the train reached the stop before mine. I wished him luck with his job and his upcoming move to the U.K. And he wished me luck with persuing higher education, editing my novel, and my dating life, counting off each on a finger.

I got off the train happy, and smiling like a buffoon. He was such a nice guy, and so interesting to talk to. I love meeting random people and getting a peek at their lives, to see what's behind the stranger's face.

Comments:
I love happy stories. :) Nice job. Sounds like a fun time. I too, love those meeting people moments. I'm always the one who starts random conversations with strangers at all locations. It's fun. You never who you're going to meet.
 
Hi Meg - first time commenter, but I've been reading for a while now. No memory of how I wandered into your blog.

For a second there I thought you were going to say this stranger told you that you smelled like Chinese food. Again ;o)

Random stranger meetings are fun, and on a long trip, can make a numbing time fly by in an instant. On a plane ride back from Hamburg, I struck up a conversation with my seatmate who turned out to be the bass player in a metal band (headed to a showcase concert in Atlanta). I'm no fan of metal, but he was a very interesting person. We talked for almost two hours which made the long flight home much shorter.

Enjoy the holidays!
 
hey! great post :)
Sounds like you're doing awesome Meg! :) Is there any way people across the ocean can read what you wrote one day?! ie- is it on the net?
 
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