His name looked familiar on the LinkedIn request, but from his picture, I couldn't recognize anything about him. He was handsome, with dark hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and a broad smile. His profile indicated that he was a lawyer living in DC.
"I had no idea you were in DC. Doctor school... nice," he had written.
His message intimated that at one point in life, we must have at least been acquaintances, but from where?
After logging into LinkedIn, I realized that we did know each other. Once upon a time, he was a fat (not chubby, FAT), socially awkward, but extremely smart kid who lived in my neighborhood. We rode the same school bus for over an hour to get to the magnet high school in the next town, and I remember that once he got food poisoning.
Now, apparently, he's a lawyer. Who is good-looking. And lives in DC.
I sent a short reply back saying that we should meet up for dinner or happy hour, then immediately regretted it. It was forward, and influenced by curiosity and said good-looking picture (Rahul is reading right now, and shaking his head because of his last post).
Surprisingly, he wrote back giving me his phone number, general place of residence, and the offer to text him anytime I'm free because he's always down for last minute concerts or drinks. The place that he mentioned as being a mecca for said concerts is somewhere I've never heard of. (Is that where the trendy lawyer people hang out after work? Because I only hang out in the medical school library in the evenings. Where yes, I am writing this right now.)
I suppose the right thing to do was to be casual and spontaneous and to say, "Yeah! That sounds awesome! Let's do that!" Unfortunately, I'm in a committed relationship with something called the Second Year of Medical School.
So, I replied with my phone number, a tentative date of October 3rd, and a brief explanation of why I can't meet up before then. Welcome to medical training.
We'll see if he's got the patience to match his looks.
UPDATE: He wrote back and said that his brother is a medical student, so he totally understands. He said he has concert tickets for Theophilus London on the 3rd (yes, I just had to Google him) and invited me to go with him. He said that although it wouldn't be a good place to catch up, he would highly recommend it. Then, he asked about other places I would want to go that week (if I didn't go to the concert), gave me the name of his favorite bar, and said that if I'm not a drinker, we can go elsewhere.
His emails talk to me as if we're old friends and not what we really are--nerdy people who grew up in the same area and used to ride a yellow school bus together over ten years ago. This is so weird.
18 comments:
"Unfortunately, I'm in a committed relationship with something called the Second Year of Medical School. So, I replied with my phone number, a tentative date of October 3rd, and a brief explanation of why I can't meet up before then. Welcome to medical training."
So those lines define the beginning of my relationship last year with a third year law student. (Luckily she understood first hand.) It's seemed to work out well for me so far- I wish you the same!
Have fun! Lawyers can be fun, as long as they don't bring their "lawyering attitude" at home with them.
might be where trendy lawyer people hang out, but regular lawyer people prefer low-key bars. :)
Mmmhmm, good-looking lawyer with a nerdy past. I'm liking this one a lot so far!
PAIT- Aww, that's awesome! When I was with Rich, I would have played the "Sure! That sounds awesome!" card and put his needs first. Now, that ship has sailed. I'm up front about my schedule and the person has to deal with it. There's no reason to set up unrealistic, unmaintainable standards for time commitments.
shadesofred- I don't even know what his grown-up attitude would be! I haven't seen him since he was a chunky, acne-covered senior in high school.
Mags- Hahaha! That's why I love you! I usually steer clear of the "DC types," but I'm so curious!
J- I love a good nerdy, unpopular person turned amazingly good-looking and successful too! That's also why it always pays to be nice to EVERYONE in high school, regardless of their popularity level. Take note, teenagers of the internet!
SEE. Humor is only secondary. Women will take the good looking picture over the words on the page 99 times out of 100. Such is life.
*shakes head.
Rahul- Maybe he'll be funny too! And, this situation could be going both ways. He might remember that I was always nice to him and want to hang out because of that. OR, he could know that he's much improved in looks and want to show off. We shall see.
10 years after leaving school, I ran into a guy I went to school with, ended up living with him for 4 years before parting ways.
we are still on good terms....and still keep in touch.
just to say, it can be done, but it's difficult when there are other commitments.... :)
Have to tell you though, usually the anticipation is more fun than the *actual* meeting! :)
CC- Haha...I'll keep that in mind!
My sister and her husband didn't like each other much at all when attending high school together. He thoght she was too bookish, and she thought he was too much of a Jock. However, through social get-togethers with mutual friends beyond high school, they got to know each other better and the rest is history.
I hope the eventual meeting goes well and is as exciting as the email conversations are going. What fun and exciting things to do while at the school library I must say :-)
qextor- I try not to think too far ahead to marriage, babies, etc., but if he even ends up being a cool friend in DC, that wouldn't be bad!
Zazzy- Haha...you know that I love my distractions. I assure you that this took up all of 11.5 minutes of my day yesterday, but it was so worth it to have something fun to talk about. This blog entry was one of the fastest I've ever written, because my study partner was waiting for me downstairs in the med. school building!
Um....I think I figured out who your blast from the past is. And from what I could tell from his linked in picture, he IS totally cute. I'm super curious to hear how meeting up goes! I always liked him - just a nice guy all around. And I remember him being funny too. This is so juicy and fun.
Meagan- Annndd, worlds collide. Lol! Yes, I'm sure you know exactly who I'm talking about. He was in your graduating class. Now you know why I didn't even recognize him from that LinkedIn photo!
Expect the unexpected! ;)
Janice- I will!
Go out with the dude. Seriously - you have a small connection from the past - whether its one year or ten years is irrelevant. Go. Treat the dude with some respect, and you'll probably be surprised at the outcome.
Med School Odyssey- We are going out after my next set of exams. And, I've always treated him with respect...I never said that I wasn't nerdy or socially awkward in high school myself!
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