Last week one of my friends celebrated her birthday. We (her friends) think it was one of the big ones but we are not quite sure because she is very secretive about her age. Anyway to celebrate in style she had arranged a picnic complete with parasols which was nice because it had been 36º C / 96,8º F again that day. Of course there was other stuff too. Wi
ne, beer, bread, sandwiches, a mini barbeque, water, salads etc. and she had brought something else along too……. A new boyfriend! Hooray another one! ;) Not a real surprise because my friend goes through boyfriends like others devour a bag of Cheetos. It has gotten so bad by now that we (her friends) stopped paying too much attention to the guys. Oh, we talk to them and are nice and friendly but that is about it. Why bother with the whole getting to know each other business, when we are probably not going to see him again anyway.The picnic was a great success and even the new b-friend was quite nice (in a friendly sort of way). He actually had some things to say, a.k.a an opinion…. Now that was a first! (she usually goes for the shallow silent type). We (he and I) had a very interesting chat about current events - and I don’t mean the weather ;), music and festivals, photography and much more. Very interesting and again, with that I mean the conversation and not the guy! So not my type :) When it was time to go, I said my goodbyes and hugged/kissed my friends and I pecked the new guy on the cheek too and said it would be nice to talk again sometime. (Exit single female!)
When I returned home the light on my answering machine was blinking! My friend (the birthday girl) had left me a message and it went something like this “Hi, I don’t appreciate what you did today! You probably haven’t got a clue what I am talking about, so I’ll explain it to you. You were flirting with my b-friend the whole time!! He and I didn’t spend any time together because of you. And you pecked him on the cheek!!!!……YOU NEVER DO THAT!! (she has a point there) And now I hear you are going to meet again behind my back!! (I am?? That’s news to me!). Long story short…..I think it is better we don’t see each other for a while. And don’t think about calling me back because I won’t answer the phone. Thanks for ruining my birthday!” (Exit drama queen!!) I was totally flabbergasted after this message! Did she actually believe I was interested in this guy? Yes, according to some of my other friends. Weird! She knows he is not my type and it’s not like I’ve hooked up with one of my friends’ b-friends before….. so what is she thinking :-| And what exactly constitutes flirting anyway? If I talk to, smile or compliment a guy is that flirting? If the answer is yes, I should probably stop having any type of contact with guys because there was this other occurrence too.
During the heat wave I was forced to skip my usual exercise routine. So instead I walked or rode my bicycle in the evenings. At the end of every trip I chilled out by the river near my house. While I was sitting there I watched the boats and people go by and I greeted them. The people that is, not the boats! One evening a guy stops running and sits down besides me and says “I want to make on thing clear…. I am married!” Okay, now I am confused (keep in mind that I only greeted this guy the night before…. So I said “And?” He “well, I believe you are single and I just wanted you to know that I am off the market”. More confusion on my part! First of all, why does this guy believe I am single and second …… what is he thinking?! Does he actually believe that he is God’s gift to women or something? Man, I would rather go for a bag of Cheetos and I don’t even like Cheetos! I am not quite sure, but I think I actually said that to him :)
Perhaps by now you are thinking I was actually flirting but the whole greeting and smiling thing is all part of the random act of kindness program:
- Smile and say “hello” to someone you don’t know.
- Compliment a stranger about something they are wearing.
- Pay a compliment at least once a day.
Maybe I should get a specially made t-shirt!
Hmmz… only I am not quite sure if it would warn people off or attract even more people ;)But seriously…. I am still a bit puzzled, so here is a question fo you: what (in your opinion) exactly constitutes flirting?
