"Date Fishing: Two Conversations"

Conversation One {on the street in Japanese}

Me: *rushing to cross the street*

Italian Man: Excuse me!

Me: *turning, still half-running* Huh?

Italian Man: It's me! Don't you remember me?

Me: *pulling out earbud* Uh...

Italian Man: No, remember? We met! Where was it you're from?

Me: Um, America?

Italian Man: *kissing my hand* America!

Me: Yes . . .

Italian Man: Do you live nearby? May I have your phone number?

Me: *glancing back at the traffic light* I'm kinda late, sorry!

Italian Man: Ah, another time, then!

Me: *racing away*

Conversation Two {at school in English}

Me: On my way to work today, an Italian man stopped me.

Yuko: Oh?

Me: He mistook me for someone else.

Yuko: Really?

Me: Yeah, and he kissed my hand and asked for my number.

Yuko: Ah, nampa.

Me: What?

Yuko: Nampa. He was date fishing.

Me: Nampa?

Yuko: Yes. He pretended to not know you. Japanese men do it too.

Me: That's what he was doing??!

Yuko: What, you didn't know?

Me: I'm from a small town!

Yuko: Ah-ha-ha. That's why.

And so, today being PTA,

I was expected at school to present myself to the parents.

So, of course I overslept and missed my bus.

{I almost could've expected that to happen.}

But I didn't expect to learn such an interesting word today.

Nor a new way to get a date.

...

If the traffic light doesn't save me next time,

I'll just pretend to have a husband.

Geez, Bryn, hurry up and marry me, okay?

We could avoid situations like this if you would. Gosh.

{Crowd via Matt Lew}
{Informed Doggy via Madzooka}

{Tongue Doggy via PaperTissue}

"An Almost-Proposal"

{Image via Niko}

"The heart has reasons that reason does not understand."

-Jacques B. Bossuel

Last night, I was nearly proposed to.

I met a boy on Facebook {red flag already...?}

We have one mutual friend, so I asked her about him {is he safe to date?}

She confirmed he was, and so I accepted the boy's {very polite} invitation.

At first, it was absolutely enjoyable.

We played an intense game of chess at Barnes & Noble, and I totally won.

{Which never happens.}

And then, to make my smile grow, we dined at Kneaders.

I was very comfortable all throughout,

being in "my element" at Barnes & Noble,

winning a game of chess,

eating at Kneaders,

befriending a fellow composer and lover of John Mayer...

...And then, he took me to a ring shoppe.

And he asked me to pick one.

I stared at him, cough-laughed, blinked alot...

I thought it might be a joke...

like, his friends dared him to scare some girl he doesn't know...?

But he was dead serious.

And so, I shook my head, and played along,

trying on the most expensive-looking one.

But he didn't even blink,

and instead, placed a 3 carat diamond on the crown saying,

"That looks so beautiful on you."

and,

"Couldn't you see yourself wearing that every day?"

and,

"Your set plans can change very quickly."

implying,

"You can stay home from Japan. You can marry me."

...

We went to the movies, afterward.

And while I was whisking myself away in the romance onscreen,

he leaned over and whispered in my ear,

"I love you."

...

He was beautiful, towering over me in his long coat,

his face sweet, his hair dark and curled.

But there was something amiss in his mind,

as though a girl should be nothing-but excited to accept a stranger's proposal.

I may be old fashioned in some ways,

but instant marriage is not one of them.

...

So, there you have it.

My first experience ring shopping, and it was with a complete stranger.

I've decided my new theme song is "Don't Say You Love Me" by M2M.

It's rather relatable.