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Thread: Pre-mid-life crisis

  1. #1
    Splendid! ExAm's Avatar
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    Pre-mid-life crisis

    WALL OF TEXT!!!

    Here's my first problem

    Today, I went to a movie with my friends. Of course it's not as simple as that, but I'm getting to the rest, so hang tight. Before the movie, we met up at the Taqueria Vallarta downtown. One of my friends, Grace (Who, by the way, I have a huge crush on), spotted me through the window and waved, I waved back. I felt perfectly fine as I walked in and sat down. I was just about to try and get in on the conversation, when my brain just kind of shut off. I just kind of sat there like a dog waiting for something. We moved to different tables to accommodate another two, Lindsay and Daniel, who had just arrived. Still I sat, piping up only one or two times with two word comments and to politely turn down the half a burrito Grace offered me. Her boyfriend Garrett (Doesn't seem to pay much attention to her, and later tried to grab her ass during the movie) began talking about his AP Physics class, and mentioned some of the video clips his class watched. I commented about the ones that I had seen, and we half-discussed them, with him doing most of the talking and myself only mentioning a couple of points. Okay, so there's some talking right there, right? Right, but seriously now, I was disappointed with myself. I hadn't contributed anything to the conversation but a few comments and interjections. As we walked down the street to the theater, I found myself tongue tied again and attempted to remedy it by commenting on the mural in the tunnel area outside the office buildings that were under construction. In my mind I failed in that endeavor. I disappointed myself with my sudden unsociability.
    I can't stand being bored, but something I can stand much less is being boring. I like to amuse people, and I like to be fun and interesting to talk to. So far I'm not having much success doing this in actual, face-to-face conversation. This next point makes me feel like a shut-in: I'm much better at talking in an instant messaging conversation than I am in real life. I can be myself - insightful, reasonably well-spoken, humorous, silly, whimsical, friendly, whatever I feel like. In real life I too often get cagey, and sometimes feel like I'm coming off as a jerk to some people, when I really don't want to be a jerk to anyone. I find myself censoring my sentences, removing meaningful expression in a fearful attempt not to look stupid, but instead ending up perpetuating my own clammed-up attitude.
    I will say that I'm making some encouraging progress, and I'm certainly better at interacting than I used to be, but it's these sudden lapses in personality that just bring me down.

    On to another point, this girl, who I've basically fallen like a ton of bricks for, is in a relationship, and one in which she seems unhappy, though she hasn't talked about it and I'm not clear as to whether I'm right. I noticed at several points during the movie that her boyfriend apparently tried to put his hand on her ass. It looked like she kept subtly redirecting it elsewhere, and she didn't look too happy about it. I don't know if I was right in assuming this, and I don't know what to make of all of it - she seems like she's just being sort of passive. I feel like I ought to help her, but I don't know how, or if I even should. I talk to her on MSN almost daily, and often for hours. We work together on Not Pron in our spare time, and she is one of the easiest people to talk to I have ever met. At school she's always happy to see me, and we always get along great. I haven't let on that I love her, but I feel that if I don't do it sometime, she'll just slip away as time goes on. The problem is that I don't want to put our friendship in jeopardy by making her feel awkward.

    Jesus christ this shit is confusing. And to think that as a kid I thought I wanted to be a bachelor-for-life by choice...

    FUCKING HELP ALREADY
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  2. #2
    +rep to cure coronavirus n00b1n8R's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    My strategy is just to keep a lid on it until an opportunity arises (and then don't let all of the cat out of the bag, just enough to get a half-telling response.

    Says Mr n00bneverhadadateinhislife1n8R

    Also, I generally act like that in conversations all the time. :/
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  3. #3
    Don't forget my +rep! Snowy's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Good at chatting via IM =/= good at chatting via RL

    I believe you sensor your conversations because you can do that in chat via IM. In IM, they don't know if/what you were going to say if you delete your message. That's what "censoring" your conversation is in RL.
    Last edited by Snowy; April 18th, 2008 at 08:11 AM.
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  4. #4
    Conversation Terrorist Pyong Kawaguchi's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Same here snowy.
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  5. #5
    Splendid! ExAm's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Quote Originally Posted by Snowy View Post
    Good at chatting via IM =/= good at chatting via RL

    I believe you sensor your conversations because you can do that in chat via IM. In IM, they don't know if/what you were going to say if you delete your message. That's what "censoring" your conversation is in RL.
    F minus in reading comprehension for ye. My point was that I can actually express some sort of emotion online, even in voice chat, and in real life at school my sentences often become the blandest of the bland. It pisses me off.
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  6. #6
    -barely sane- nooBBooze's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Quote Originally Posted by ExAm View Post
    On to another point, this girl, who I've basically fallen like a ton of bricks for, is in a relationship, and one in which she seems unhappy, though she hasn't talked about it and I'm not clear as to whether I'm right. I noticed at several points during the movie that her boyfriend apparently tried to put his hand on her ass. It looked like she kept subtly redirecting it elsewhere, and she didn't look too happy about it. I don't know if I was right in assuming this, and I don't know what to make of all of it - she seems like she's just being sort of passive. I feel like I ought to help her, but I don't know how, or if I even should. I talk to her on MSN almost daily, and often for hours. We work together on Not Pron in our spare time, and she is one of the easiest people to talk to I have ever met. At school she's always happy to see me, and we always get along great. I haven't let on that I love her, but I feel that if I don't do it sometime, she'll just slip away as time goes on. The problem is that I don't want to put our friendship in jeopardy by making her feel awkward.
    Oh, hi. dont mind me btw.


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  7. #7
    The Silent Photographer Zeph's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Pre-mid-life I'm not confident in myself so I resort to non-verbal means of communication with people I dont really know to try and figure out what I should do crisis event.
    ftfy
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  8. #8
    Post Apocalyptic Badass Corndogman's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Im pretty much the same as you exam. online it feels so easy to converse with people and have conversations. but sometimes in RL i just cant seem to find words when talking to people. im usually fine when im with a group of friends ive known for a long time and am very comfortable with, but thats really it.

    My advice:
    Just talk to her like normally on MSN and try to steer the conversation to the subject of her boyfriend and find out if shes really happy with him. but dont make it too obvious. If shes not happy in the relationship and ends up breaking up with her bf eventually then try to tell her how you feel at some point. just wait for the right moment.
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  9. #9
    Splendid! ExAm's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    Quote Originally Posted by Zeph View Post
    ftfy
    No shit, thanks for stating the obvious. I'm sure there are at least some people here who have been in a situation like mine, so I'm posting just in case someone has something helpful. I'm actually very confused about my life right now, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't be such a fucking dick when I try to do something to help myself.
    Last edited by ExAm; April 18th, 2008 at 04:01 PM.
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  10. #10
    State your identity! Hotrod's Avatar
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    Re: Pre-mid-life crisis

    I have been/am in (not too sure which) in almost the same situation, except that the girl is not going out with anybody. I think that this is the way that most guys feel in these situations.
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