I had lunch with a friend today. It was good, we chatted, and I got to order Country Fried Steak from Chili's, which I really like (though I ended up not touching the steak... that came home as leftovers). At one point be brought up a girl I had asked him about before (as in, "do you think there's potential for a relationship here?") After bringing up the subject, he paused. I was expecting the response I had been expecting ever since I brought it up to him. The specifics were unknown, but the conclusion is always "don't go for it." Instead, what I thought he said was "[she's] interested." I was quite stunned. I think I lifted my eyebrows. I try very hard to not let people read me unless I let them (and these topics I play very close-to-the-vest in person), but the human brain is impressive as judged by the the sheer volume of distinct thoughts I had in the two-second pause in conversation. "Oh?" (I think I said). The remainder of the conversation bore out that what he probably really said was "[she's] interesting." As in, that's an interesting question. If I know anything, I'm not telling you, but it's never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. I do not think it was a translation of "she loathes the fact you exist" (not that I would really expect such a response), but it was hardly a hardy encouragment to go for it.
This reinforces the curious fact that between the physical stimulus of vibrating air molecules striking a taut bit of skin in your ear (or photons striking the strange cells at the back of your eye), there is a very important bit of translation that happens. Those vibrations are translated without conscious thought into an interpretation of the world around you. The more I think about it, the more impressive it is that misunderstandings are the exception, not the rule. The human body and mind are fascinating things.
Unfortunately for me, perception is not reality. If my confused hearing could somehow create reality, I'd be a much giddier blogger right now. As it is, I have roughly the same information I did before (though following a path that briefly soared above the clouds before plummeting back to earth right where it left).
2 comments:
Hearing: "So (insert girl's name here), yeah, she's interesting..."
There be the comment my friend...
Consider it wish fufillment. It would be nice, at the very least for a change of pace, where such a conversation takes place but my friend is "selling" me on a particular girl that has been interested in me. There's roughly two conversations I know of: "go for it!" and "you should strongly consider looking elsewhere."
I think it's the male equivalent of "you're a great guy and I'm sure you'll make some lucky girl very happy." It's a polite cover for "Frosty the Snowman in hell has a better chance than you."
Interesting? Yes. I have realized this for several years now, and I feel a strange sense of pride that I felt this before I heard anyone else speak of her in such a light. And even so, never worked up the nerve to do a damn thing about it, beyond the most incredibly timid "testing of the waters."
The conversation has weighed on me all week. I'd vent, but I believe that would be purely what anonymous would [correctly] label "bitching."
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