to be obligating or not to be obligating?

A toothless man just chased me through a parking lot.  A good way to start a Wednesday morning, no?

 

See, it's been really hard to get out of bed lately.  I'm just so tired.  And my bed is so comfortable!  (New mattress, I love you.)  So sometimes I have to skip things that one might normally take care of before coming to work.  Like makeup.  Or brushing of the hair.  Or finding normal-looking clothes to wear.  Today I skipped breakfast.  And then after a bit of sitting at my desk I had really worked up an appetite - but never fear!  There's a little diner just next door that I can walk to!  Hence, the reason I was on foot and being chased.  Now, help me out here...  when you are standing in a diner waiting for your to-go food, and an employee with no teeth asks your name, don't you tell them?  Because you're in a restaurant and they do that.  And also you have been taught not to be rude.  And then when they say, "You're not married are you?" you say "no", because you are a terrible liar and you are so not married that the thought of it is actually kind of laughable. 

 

But how are you supposed to know that as you're leaving the toothless man is going to come sprinting after you through the parking lot, yelling your name?  Not that I have anything against toothless men... Ok, maybe I do a little bit.  But the running and the yelling and asking me where I work were kind of scary.  He had noticed that I was not getting into a car, and had deduced that I worked close by.  I tried to answer vaguely, with "yeah, I work around here" but he wanted to know exactly which building.  And then there was my favorite part - when he said, "You're not obligating to anyone?"  Why don't we use this phrase anymore?  I think we should bring it back.  Although it would be nice if the person saying it looked more like a movie-star cowboy and less toothless.  And then when I said "no" (again, the lying just doesn't come naturally) he said my least favorite part: "I like."

 

So, should I have said, "Yes, yes I am obligating indeed."?   Probably so... as I'm re-writing this I'm wondering why I didn't.  How did the rest of you ladies handle this - before you were married and had that easy out, I mean? I know this stuff happens to you more than it does to me. Or do the toothless ones think that you are too good for them and set their sites a bit lower - and then I come walking in?

My coworker from China, who I believe I mentioned before, was asking me for parenting advice today.  (No, no I don't have any kids locked in my basement that you don't know about.)  Her 3rd grader was coming to her with a lot of questions - God, heaven, and what do I tell my friend who likes her new glasses and asks me if I like them and I think they're really ugly?  She didn't want to tell her to lie, and she didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, so we discussed finding something to like about the glasses and concentrating on that.  Like, "I like the color!"  or, "ooh... that's different - different can be fun!"   (hopefully the girl won't be all that bright.)   So maybe instead of saying "no- not obligating" - I should have found something else true to say.  Like, "Well, I do have a date tomorrow night.  I am very obligating."   And then leave out the part about how much I am dreading this date, because after making it, I had a phone conversation with the guy where he talked about himself for one and a half hours straight.  I didn't say much more than an occasional "uh huh", but I did wonder a lot if I would ever get off the phone, or if daylight would come and I'd have to go to work on no sleep.  When 1.5 hours feels like an eternity, I don't think it's a good sign.  But I haven't canceled (yet) - apparently I like punishment.  Even though this guy together with the last one that came a callin' have made me wonder if there are any more normal people out there.  If not, there's always my friend at the neighborhood diner.  (Which I am not realizing I can't go back to for a long time... damnit.)  He can run - and his dental bills should be minimal.  That's a start.

 

Ok, I owe my little brother a post about what I am reading, and that's what this was going to be until I got distracted by the running and the yelling in the parking lot.  But as long as he takes his sweet time returning my phone calls, I am sure he'll understand if it takes me another day to respond to his request.  I'm a busy woman.