Men

Ever wondered what girls talk about when they are not in the company of men? Well, too bad, I'm not going to tell you. (I do have a really funny story about that, but it's only for very few ears to hear) Something girls do enjoy talking about, wherever they happen to be, is men. Personally, I enjoy talking about men among men more than without them. Their input on the subject is usually funny, insightful, and generally ridiculous. And I'm not calling it ridiculous in a derogatory manner. It's ridiculous, but unfortunately accurate.

A specific instance of this occurred one Friday night, about the middle of second semester. I was sitting on the floor of an elevator (about the coolest place to hang out on a Friday night at TAC) with two other girls and two boys. We were having a casual chat about marriage. One by one, we went around the circle, picking (from among the student body) prospective spouses. As a prerequisite, I wished to establish one thing: that the man be the taller than the lady. Preferably, I stated, of such a height that I could fit under his chin. (I've always found something rather appealing in the thought of being able to curl up under my man's chin for a cozy hug.) The boys found this amusing, but the girls seemed to agree with me. Little did I know that this conversation would be the ground-work for a very funny situation later.

The Thursday before finals week, I was fried. My brain was exhausted from the semester, my body was rebelling against staying up any longer, but I didn't go to bed. The more I should go to bed, the less inclined I am to do so. And for anyone who knows me, this situation leads to a very slap-happy me. I was bouncing off the walls, almost literally. In this state of impaired judgment, I skipped over to one of the nicest freshmen boys who ever existed.
"Hi," I said, grinning from ear to ear. "Would you want to ask someone out on a date?"
He laughed nervously, but he went along with it. "If you insist on it, I'll do it. I'd rather not, though, so please don't ask me to."
"Oh, no, I'm not asking you to ask me. I want you to ask someone else, 'cause she wants to go on a date." This wasn't strictly true. The girl had wistfully, half-jokingly mentioned that she was feeling un-loved and wanted Prince Charming to come sweep her off her feet.
"Hm, well, I don't think that's a good idea. But I'm flattered you'd think of me," said the poor, imposed upon freshman.
Cue one of my best friends. In she walks, catching his last statement, and seeing my face which is all pink. When I'm in a state like this, I get really red and giggly and lose most of my self-control. It's unfortunate, but it's reality. "What isn't a good idea?"
"I asked him to go on a date.... But not with me! With someone else. I'm not that forward, really."
She laughed at me. "Oh, dear. Here she goes again. (to the poor freshman boy) Sorry. She's just tired." She was grinning from ear to ear, laughing silently at me in my sad, pathetic state.
Unable to stay out of trouble, I open my mouth yet again. "Besides, the two of us would never work out. He's a whole year younger than I am. And you know how I could never get together with a younger man."
The poor boy laughs. My bestest, most loyal friend, who is always there for me pipes up, "But he is taller!"
The two of us girls made eye contact and we both know what the other is thinking. I'm very short, not gonna mince the truth on that one. And this guy isn't. He is, in fact, about a head taller than me. "Oh, would ya look at that." I laughed. "He might be just about the perfect height."
At this point, the boy has no idea what's going on. He knows he's taller than me. Without missing a beat, he walked behind me and placed his chin upon my head. "I FIT!" I squealed. The two of us girls bust up laughing.
When I related this story to someone else later, I thought he put it well. "He walked into that one." Quite literally. :)
So then and there it was decided that the two of us had to get married, since we obviously were made for one another. I have to give this guy a lot of man-points, though. Most people would play along with it for a while, but then be overwhelmed by awkwardness and run away. Not this guy, though. He's still milking this one for all it's worth. He takes a prodigious amount of care of his "fiance": he made sure I didn't hyperventilate before my lab final, checks up on me fairly frequently, and has remained an amazing friend. You know a guy is something special when he gets to know me and still wants to be my friend.
He'll make a great priest. :)