He saw his shadow? Oh well…

Craigslist, zines, and an ex

When last I wrote I was trying to decide whether or not to e-mail the guy from Craigslist. I might never have gotten up the gumption to do it had *ily not pointed out that CL listings expire after a week (meaning I wouldn't have any way to contact the guy). So I did. I waited nervously for a while to see if I'd get anything back…and I did! He sounded cool and he thought I sounded cool and he told me a bit more about himself. I wrote back…

A little more than a week later, I've still not heard from him again. Oh well. At least I gave it a shot. I'll probably be a little more comfortable e-mailing people from CL now (I found two more promising listings over the weekend), so perhaps something will come from this.

Over the weekend, I went to the Zine Fest and checked out lots of independent magazines, books, art, etc. I mention this because there was one guy selling a zine called The Bad Date Zine. Anyway, I started talking to him and he said he's taking submissions for the next issue. Needless, to say, the Groundhog Day date is going to be submitted. (I'll be sure to let you know if he decides to publish it.)

Finally, I volunteered to be an extra in an independent movie yesterday. I was told to show up at 2 and prepare to be there for the next 4 hours or so. When I walked in, who should be a couple ahead of me at the check-in desk? My very first boyfriend, Scarf-boy (as he was known to my friends—he gave me a nice scarf for Christmas). Aack. I was a bit of a stalker in high school, and that was part of what led to the downfall of this relationship. Needless to say, I was not about to identify myself to him if I could avoid it. When it was time for the shoot, the producer started pairing up the guys and girls as if we were on dates and it was all I could do to think happy thoughts and not be paired up with him. I wasn't, thankfully. However, over the course of the afternoon, it became apparent that a) he recognized me and b) he had said as much to the woman he'd been paired with. She then told me and all was revealed. As it turns out, he's grown-up to be a very nice guy (not that he wasn't to begin with) and we ended up sitting next to each other and talking for about the last hour. The best part about the whole thing: I have absolutely no feelings for this guy anymore, which meant that I could have a great conversation with him without feeling nervous or silly. It's too bad, really, as he's making oodles of money as an engineer and wildfire-fire fighter and looks pretty good to boot. That said, he now lives in another state (he was home visiting his parents), so even if we had wanted to date, it would be pretty impossible.

Valentine's Day Fun with the GH

As you may have gathered, the groundhog became known simply as GH among my friends. GH went to school and visited my friend, the art teacher, and the two of us took it on an Amelie-inspired photography project around the school. There are train-shaped lockers for the Kindergarteners, so here is the GH as the conductor:






The GH also visited the office of the school's grounds-keeper and head of maintenance:
















GH visited a few other places with us before being passed along to another friend. He brought it along with him to the computer lab:


















So the GH went from being an object of loathing to an object of hilarity. GH still has some traveling to do, so I expect to post some new pictures soon.

GH

So after the dreadful date, Eli became known as Groundhog Boy among my friends. I heard from him once, the day after the walk, and he said, essentially, that he had fun on the walk but that he was just starting to see another gal (his word, if you can believe it) and figured that if we ever did anything together it would just be as friends. Now, what you need to know is that this e-mail was really, really long. What he could have said in two sentences he said in at least 20. Oh, did I mention that he said I was "easy to talk to"? How ridiculous is that? He didn't let me get a word in edgewise. The only good thing was that he said he didn't need the groundhog back, in case if it had gotten lost or damaged the night before. Phew, at least now I was off the hook and didn't have to worry about seeing him again.

My friend had the groundhog for a week, but I did get it back. What to do with it? I can't very well leave it sitting on my couch, just staring at me, now can I? I have decided to take it to work. I do work at an elementary school, after all; surely someone there could enjoy it. Besides, I told one of my work friends about it and she's dying to see this creature. Perhaps she'll know what to do with it.