When Geeks Make Contact ~ The geek version of a fairy tale beginning.
E-mail #1 ~ the solicitation (yes, I made the first move.)
Hello!
I thought you sounded interesting and intelligent. There was a glint of humor in your profile that was very appealing! My name is Joyce and if, upon reading my profile, you are interested drop me a line. Otherwise good luck with the strange world of cyber dating!
Take care,
Joyce
Email #2 ~ the responseJoyce,
Thanks for writing. I just got back from vacation and you almost got lost in the usual flurry of junk email (really, how many ads for get rich quick schemes, credit cards and mortgage solicitation can I be expected to read, LOL).I guess a little info about myself is in order. I'm 36, single, never married and I don't have any children. I do, however, have several nieces and nephews that I adore. In fact, my sister Sara just added number five to the troupe three days ago.I live in a house on a lake in NH with my cat, Puck. He's about to turn 14 and I've had him since I could hold him in my palm. I think he's happier about the house on the lake than even I am. My sister insists that what I actually did was to buy him a retirement home (lots of ducks and chipmunks, trees to climb and a sunny dock to lounge on).I've taken the winding road career path, but have worked for the last six years for a medical software company I helped start. You're right about cyber dating, but so far it's been interesting.So, tell me some more about yourself... (What subject do you teach?)
Jeff
Email #3Hi!
Well, I'm glad I didn't get lost in the shuffle. On the lake......Sounds wonderful. I grew up on a lake in Southern Maine. My Dad owned a little general store there and I have those wonderful mid to late eighties memories of cruising the lake with a gaggle of girls in a boat we named the "Moisture Missile". We cranked up the 80's rock and loitered at the rope swings. I now teach an Alternative Education program in Nh and my students can best be described as the "Sweathogs" of the school. They are the kids who have behavioral issues, learning disabilities or are socially phobic and can't handle 30 kids to a room. I recently built a little post and beam cape on the border of Maine and NH. I live there with my four (yes 4) cats and new dog...A rescue Border Collie who needed a home badly. The shelter was going out of business after 9-11 and I have seven acres and could use the companionship. Then there is the rescue rodent, Mr. Sparky.
What else can I reveal? Never married, no children and in my spare time I am a Jedi Knight. Tell me more about yourself when you get a minute. I am going to go burn some red meat in an attempt to make supper and buzz to the bank. Talk to you later!
Joyce
E-mail #4Joyce,
Jedi Knights and sweathogs, now there's a combination:
Horshack: oooh oooh, Mr. Kenobi!
Obiwan: Arnold, Iam your father (insert dramatic music here)!
Your little cape with the menagerie sounds nice. Was Mr. Sparky rescued from one of the felines or was he in some other peril? Let's see, a little more about me.....( I was born a poor black child....)
I'm originally from upstate NY. I have three younger sisters and five nieces and nephews that I adore as well as one fourteen year old cat (puck) that I have had since I could fit him in my palm. I guess I've taken a pretty winding career path. I graduated with a Computer Science degree and worked for Honeywell Bull for a year as a programmer. I was somewhat disillusioned with the work and decided to go back to school. I went to law school in Vermont, planning to be an environmental lawyer. After school and working for the Justice Dept. for a while, I discovered two things: 1) I couldn't make any money protecting the environment ( and I had big student loans to pay off); and 2) really didn't like lawyers that much. To cut a pretty long story short, I migrated back to computers and have been working for a software company I helped start for the last six years. When my brief legal career comes up, I usually tell people I'm a recovering lawyer ( "hi, I'm Jeff and I used to be a lawyer" , "hi, Jeff").
Well, that's a lot about me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Jeff
E-mail #5Hi!
Nice to hear from you. I just got back from the woods today. I took my students into the forests of Maine to do a little camping. It was buggy, cold, wet, windy and undoubtedly the best time any of them ever had. Sweathogs minus the warm shower and their daily smokes. Although, I think there was some smoking going on behind my back but they understand that I don't want to know about it. The second night I slept in my car and was finally warm. I know that's pretty wimpy but a raccoon chewed a hole in my tent and it was pouring out. So, now I am home, showered and I just went to see Spiderman and it was great! I actually want to see it again. I feel kind of weird that I found the spiderman guy so hot....what is he...like twelve years old? Wow, so you were a lawyer....I'm envious. I actually contemplated a law degree back in the day. I chose the flaky artists/teacher route instead. Sounds as though you have accomplished quite a bit...lawyer, computer whiz, entrepreneur....etc. I'm like some kind of sea slug by comparison. :)
So, tell me more about your personal life. Any skeletons in your closet? Like a secret marriage to a pop icon in order to continue the myth that they are heterosexual? I am amazed that a successful guy....with a company, a house on the lake, degree, beloved cat and doting Uncle is still single. So yes...I want to know more. But for now I must go to bed because I lack wit...I'm tired and I feel dull and I'm afraid it will translate into this letter and bore you. So Goodnight Overachieving Lakeview Man.
Joyce ( camping wood-chick with sleepy eyes)
E-mail #6Joyce,
Your e-mail had me grinning all evening. Camping with the sweathogs, reminds me of the summers I spent as a camp counselor. There were definitely some buggy, wet and uncomfortable nights, but they were also times I loved and remember fondly.
You want to hear about the skeletons, eh? I was hoping we could avoid talking about my failed marriage to Ellen Degeneres, but since you brought it up and she's now out of the closet...
Seriously, so why am I still single? I think a lack of confidence and my working 70 to 80 hours a week has had a great deal to do with it. After a while, you just fall into the routine of being single. It's been difficult meeting women I have much in common with. I had one little romance during my summer internship at IBM headquarters and one unrequited love in law school. Anyway, about five year ago I started on a five year plan to fix up what I saw as shortcomings in my life. Things like my career, finances, health and lovelife. A year over schedule I feel like I have done pretty well on all but the lovelife. So, I'm still working on that. Whew, that is enough about me. Do you have any skeletons of your own you would like to share?
So, you thought Spiderman was hot, huh? I actually had some spiderman PJ's when I was a kid. I don't think they advertised them as sexy though :). I'm glad to hear you liked the flick. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. It's quarter to 12 and now I'm the one with the sleepy eyes. I think I'll get some zzzzs. If you'd like to talk sometime, please feel free to call me at 603-xxx-xxxx.
Jeff
E-mail #7Jeff,
Wouldn't it be great to have a summer camp for kids? Part "Meatballs", part "Wet Hot American Summer" and part "Indian Summer" . If you haven't seen "Indian Summer" you must go rent it this very, as we speak, moment. It's about a place called Camp Tamakwa and it really exists. I had the opportunity to be the camp art director one summer but I turned it down for reasons that now seem idiotic.
So your personal life has been somewhat stalled? Mine as well. For similar reasons (except the Ellen thing). I have been involved on and off for most of my twenties with a series of losers who were either offended or intimidated by my intelligence, humor and career. I seem to have a knack for choosing rednecks who were not exactly suitable for me. So then I started to teach, bought my house and my social scene dwindled to married men who hit on me and female teacher friends who try to fix me up with losers. I am always hearing how great I have it and how together I seem. I have the career, house and basically I have become the man I wanted to marry. So looking for Mr. Right became less and less of a priority. Now I have gotten tired of being so independent, capable, blah blah blah. Now I need someone to share my life with. My weird little quirky life. Enough of the deep stuff. And now for something completely different......
Have I told you how much I love the muppets? This is an important fact. My ideal man would be part Jim Henson, part Michael Landon, part John Denver. Apparently I have a fetish for late seventies/ early eighties entertainers. I am also, as you may well have guessed, very excited about the upcoming Star Wars movie. I'm not some rabid fan who attends conferences or collects things (at leats not lots of things) but I just love how it makes me feel like a little kid again. I LOVED going to the movies when I was little to see E.T. or any of the Star Wars movies. If I could I would run off to become an apprentice for the special effects team for Disney or Dreamworks. Or I'd be a storm chaser....or am Amish person. Amish are cool. And black is slimming. :) I'll debate the calling you thing. I'm quite nervous about that stuff. Being a teacher of the scary kids I am very guarded about my home, phone # and privacy. Give me a bit more time, OK? And then maybe we'll make a cell phone date. If you are not yet frightened e back.
Have a great day, Jeff, ex-Ellen lover, legal eagle, lakeview, software, camper, five year plan man.
Joyce (needs to clean house and put away tent girl)
E-mail #8Joyce,
Indian Summer is a wonderful movie. From about 12 to 17 year of age I was a camper/CIT/counselor at a camp in the Berkshires for a few weeks each summer. In all honesty, those were some of the most formative times in my childhood. Watching that movie really had me yearning to go back.
I must have missed Wet Hot American Summer (what was that rated?), but I loved Meatballs. I actually have some thoughts (mostly idle) about having a small summer camp here at the lake. Lots of room for the kids to sneak away and get into trouble. As I remember, that was the best part of camp. :)
I love SciFi, too, but they always raise such pesky questions. Shouldn't Martin Landau have learned from all the Gilligen's Island reruns and just left the runaway moon? What exactly was Jaba planning to do with Princess Leia anyway? Was Soylent Green really people, or just Charleton Heston overacting again? And how annoying were those little Ewoks (not to mention Jar Jar Binks) ? I'm glad the next Star Wars movie is a little later in time, I don't have to feel weird about thinking Queen Amidala is hot.
I understand about the privacy thing and your desire to be careful. I thought giving you my number might feel safer for you than giving me yours. We'll just stick with e-mail until you feel like calling.
Oh well, it's mothers day and I need to be a good son and call my mom and sisters.
Jeff (viewing the lake as we speak and wishing it were warmer)
E-mail # 9Dear Jeff (guy I'm going to call who could be a psychotic madman but I hope he's not because he's cute in his postage stamp size photo)
After some encouragement from the women in my life I have decided to let down the guard and call you. Apparently you met with their approval so here I go....are you ready? I'm not :)
Joyce (calling despite better judgement chick)
And he answered the phone.....he was NOT pyschotic (much) and the rest is History.The End
Geek chic is so prevalent these days, it’s nearly cliché.
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