The other day, I was at Borders purchasing a book about economics in baseball. I happened to be wearing a shirt that said “i would rather be reading palahniuk” (thanks Katie), completely coincidental, and not because I was going to be going into a book store, and I wanted to assert my literary prowess to any other book nerds who may be glancing in my direction.
After an inconvenient delay, thanks to some black guy trying to swindle Borders with the “this book i recently purchased and have subsequently finished right away, i would like a full refund on it because i ripped out a bunch of pages to make it look like it was purchased damaged when it was really me all along” trick, but thankfully failing, I finally was able to check out. The cashier, older, corporations would classify as “mature,” took amusement in my shirt, and stated her approval for my choice in literature. The rotund younger cashier immediately took notice, and came to state her opinions as well, and before I knew it, I was engaged in a chance discussion about Chuck Palahniuk with the older cashier, with the younger one not wanting to feel left out, interjecting her remarks, inquiries about my choice of authors, and comments sporadically.
Now although I didn’t believe her when she said the only Palahniuk novel she’s read was Fight Club (because anyone can watch the movie and say they’ve read the book), the impression I got was that she was attracted to me. If I’m correct in this assumption, I can easily say that it was most certainly not mutual, but it simply makes me wonder, that I think I have a tendency to attract women that I wouldn’t be close to being capable of returning attraction, because I give off this air of attainability?
I mean, most chauvinistic guys have used such terminology themselves, like looking at a Britney Spears or a Lindsay Lohan, and lust after them, because “they seem attainable,” but I guess what I’m curious about is if I give off that sort of vibe to chicks I’m not attracted to. I mean, I know I’m single and have been fairly steadily over the last few years, but I’m wondering if I’m giving off some vibes of pathetic desperation or something, because I’d really like to think that I’m really not. If that seems to be the case, I guess I should be a little concerned, but I think I have valid reason for thinking such rubbish.
Like going out to lunch, or running errands, the only people who genuinely seem warmer, or give off that wavelength of possible attraction, are typically women that I’m too superficially shallow to be remotely attracted back to them. Not to say that I’m a complete strikeout to women that I do find attractive, but it’s like I get the impression that if I were to entertain the thought and engage a deeper interaction with one of these lowered expectations, then I’d probably have an easy day at the ballpark.
But because I’m a shallow pig, such outcomes would likely never come to fruition, unless I were out of my mind, and/or inebriated, or simply just plain desperate.
