"This guy is driving me nuts. He seems to be interested, yet he's not doing anything. What the hell is up with him??"
I shrugged and stared at my beer. "Maybe he's just a passive guy. They need a little more time to warm up."
She shook her head. "Well, I can't wait forever."
"You want to hear a really nasty story?" asked Christina. We all leaned in close. She noted our silence and continued.
"One day, this young teenage girl comes into the hospital. She's a peasant from a village outside the city. I could tell she grew up on a farm because she had a dark tan and tattered clothes. She was maybe only fourteen or fifteen years old.
"What's the most significant thing you've gotten out of this trip?" Masako asked.
I scratched my chin. "Hmmm." There was so much. It was my first trip ever to Hong Kong and Tokyo; heck, it was my first trip ever to Asia. I struggled to find the right answer. Unfortunately, the first answer I gave her was a lie.
"You know what I hate? Flakers."
Tim nodded. "Oh man, me too."
"I thought people in New York were flaky. But damn, there are some flaky people in California." I shook my head and stared at my beer.
There are Pale Ales on the table. The lighting is dim. A chilly draft brings in much-needed fresh air. The other patrons provide gentle murmurs for ambiance.
"What really gets me," Ken says as he grips his beer tightly, "is that she can say one thing, and then do something else."
"You ever wonder about those missed chances?"
I scratched my chin. "What do you mean? Like Missed Connections on Craigslist?"
"No, no," Tim shook his head. "I mean, like, you meet someone briefly, but you don't really follow through. What if that person was The One for you? And now you lost your chance?"
"Why do so many girls go for assholes?" Ken asked.
I shrugged and took a swig of beer. "Maybe it's not as simple as that."
"Huh?" Ken shifted in his seat. "What do you mean?"
"Maybe those girls don't think those guys are assholes."
It was my first ever alcohol-induced black-out. I'll never forget it. Except for the black-out itself, which, well, I'll never remember.
Before coming to the West Coast, I've never experienced an earthquake. Which is no big surprise, since the East Coast is nowhere near a fault line.
So it was a huge shock to me when the lights suddenly started blinking on and off.
"You know the saying, 'Nice guys finish last'? Well, that's bullshit. I'll tell you who finishes last: passive guys."
Ken's shoulders sagged. His eyes drifted to the suds in his beer. "I don't get it. How's that different?"
Weekly random rambles, musings & writings of Mike Lee in San Francisco, CA