Tag: stranger

New Gym Boyfriend!?!??!

Briana Hansen6 Comments

I need everyone to stay calm. This could be a passing fancy. But I’ve may have a new gym boyfriend.

It’s nothing official yet. It’s just… last week I went a little later than I normally do.  Though there were many people around, my gym boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. Probably already at his job saving lives. Because I imagine he’s in one of those life-saving professions.

So of course I just got in my zone and did my workout. I’m focusing on some new stuff, so I actually had to concentrate more than usual.

Then it happened.

I was doing squats on a squat rack and doing ab work on an incline bench in between my sets. And a guy came up and started using another squat rack near me. And my incline bench was kinda in his way. So I moved it so it would be more out of his way.

And a miracle.

He looked at me, smiled, and said “Thank you.”

So I smiled and looked down. The continued my workout.

The next day, he was in the weight room again. He was doing an exercise near me. We totally made eye contact. He had a glimmer of recognition in that fleeting moment of eye contact that made me realize he recognized me just like I recognized him.

Then! The next Saturday, I was at the gym again and this group of big dudes all hang together and gossip like school girls. And who hangs out with them? The same guy! And get this- he saw me again! We totally made legitimate eye contact.

Now… I don’t want to rush things. I know that relationships like this have to move slowly. And I know I’ve already made an intense emotional commitment to another man I’ve never spoken to at the gym.

But this guy actually makes eye contact with me. My other boyfriend never did that. He said something to me once. My other boyfriend never did that. He works out near me. I always had to creepily workout near my last boyfriend.

I’m not going to be hasty and just end things with my old gym boyfriend because some new guy spoke almost a full sentence to me. I’m not crazy.

Besides, the old gym has finally reopened and I’ll probably be headed back there in the mornings. So there’s a good chance I won’t see this new guy anyway. Plus he works out later in the day during a time I typically can’t get to. We have a lot of things working against us right now. I just don’t know if we’ll make it.

But maybe…just maybe… I’ll see my regular gym boyfriend at my regular gym at my regular time. Then on the weekends, I’ll run into my fling. That’s what I’ll call him. My gym fling.

A girl can only dream.

It’s healthy to date lots of people at once. It’s even more healthy to actually talk to them and have them know who you are. But one step at a time, people. One step at a time.

While describing her status as “creeper magnet,” woman is approached by a creeper

Briana HansenLeave a comment

Last Saturday night, Betsy O’Mally went out to grab some drinks with friends. The process should have been simple enough: Grab a taxi, get to the bar, grab a drink, go home.

Unfortunately for O’Mally, she is a self-described “Creeper Magnet.” This title means that at any given time, she may be approached by a stranger who immediately strikes up a conversation and shares the innermost depths of their life struggles with her and/or acts like they’re old friends. Luckily, these are mostly harmless interactions and none of them are long-lasting nor are the strangers aggressive in any way.

This particular Saturday night, O’Mally’s friends got to see her magnetism in action on two occasions. First, when they piled into the taxi cab and headed to their bar, which was luckily a short distance.

In trying to make some small talk with the taxi driver, it quickly became apparent that the driver was not only a chatty fellow who loved sharing specific details, but he would also not be one for small talk. He immediately began talking about how residents of the city were not appreciate of taxi drivers and how he was moving to the east coast-as if somehow they have a record of being polite and welcoming to all professions.

The conversation, which O’Mally is happy to share details of if you ask her, lasted the entire duration of the taxi ride. As they were all exiting the taxi and the driver continued to talk, O’Mally turned to a new friend and began explaining how she more often than not has long conversations with her taxi driver. She explains that this is part of her status as a “Creeper Magnet”, and what that entails.

As she explains this to her friend once they’re inside at the bar, a man approaches her. His eyes light up as he embraces her and screams, “Hey shortstalk! Long time no see!” She stands uncomfortably as she is hugged by this stranger. As he lets go of the hug, he says, “Did I just see you a couple hours ago?” When she assures him they’ve never met, the man laughs and shakes his head saying, “Oh shortstalk. You’re just a jokester.” He continues to laugh as he exits the bar.

For O’Mally, this is a first. She had never been in the process of describing how much strangers tend to love to come up and talk to her and been approached by a stranger who began to talk to her. It took some convincing to her friend that she had never met the man before because of the awkward interaction.

O’Mally simply sits and waits for the next interaction. When and where it will happen is up to fate, though fate seems to be making these interactions more frequent every day.