Conor McManus

First off, there's this girl at my work. Not the one I wrote about before. When we moved buildings, she didn't. But Clayton Poston (a.k.a. Ehmin Poston from my Arabic class) did. He always brought doughnuts to class on Friday mornings, but now there's a lot more people at the new building and they eat all the doughnuts before a lowly delivery guy like him can get his hands on enough to breakfast us طلاب عرني. So it seems the solution has become a problem, Doug Andersen.

So this girl. She works as a part of the pastry krew. I don't know what the k stands for. They used to work at the Wilk, but new building, so... She's cute, but I don't talk at my job. I feel comfortable there, but I'm never happy a work (go fig), so I don't really talk. Much less to girls that are cute. Like Sarah. Who is not the girl I'm talking about. She's a cake lady. Confused about my feelings for her. Like the girl from before.

This girl's name is Chelsea. One day, maybe her first, or even second, she offered me some left-over cake. Really good cake. Built of chocolate and caramel and a metal pan. I took some and commented on how good it was. The next time was Halloween. She was the only one to dress up. She wore a cow suit. I was really confused. What are we supposed to believe about that? What kind of a message does that send?

Chelsea gets there at 10:00 am, like I do. But leaves at 1:00 pm, unlike me. I leave an hour after that. My guess is that she works everyday. There's a guy that gets there at 12:00 noon that always talked to her and flirted with her. I really wished I was him until I found out he was engaged. But that's not the reason. If I were engaged that would mean that my life would actually be really good. So, that's kind of an attractive state of being, right now. Come on, girls...

Now I just think he's inappropriate.

On Monday, the sixteenth, I was at work, like usual. And I was sheeting up cookies. As usual. And Chelsea was working in the same area as me. Unusual. But I was real quietly just doing my work. As usual. Chelsea's and my relationship is odd. Sometimes we're really friendly to each other and talk a lot. Other times, I barely acknowledge her and don't say a word (Like today). (But this is about Monday). We started talking. She first asked about my weekend, I rattled off some really boring events, leaving the exciting ones out (Mostly cause there were none), and the conversation took off from there. I made some HP reference and I was really glad that she got it, but then we started talking about Twilight. I almost asked her to see New Moon. A close 2nd. Then another girl, Britten, got on the talk and they started trying to compare HP and Twilight. I tried to tell them that a book cannot be better than another one, only that you like one better, especially when talking about bestsellers. They didn't listen. I'm not a fan of that debate. Doesn't make sense to me.

Finally we got off that topic and I asked Chelsea where she was from. Wisconsin. Then she asked me where I was from. I said Oregon. Then Britten asked me where in Oregon. I said Beaverton and she asked me if I knew any "Totten"s in Wilsonville. I said no, but a couple of my mission companions were from Wilsonville. Chelsea then asked me where I went on my mission. I said Japan. I wasn't a lie. Then she got real excited and said her brother went on a mission to Sendai. I asked when he got back. She said he got back in January, I said I prolly didn't know him, but there were a lot of people in my Japanese class who went to Sendai, so they prolly do. She told me to ask if anyone knew a Nate Shrillar. I laughed. That guy was in my class. And I thought his sister was really cute. Then she said that she'd taken 5 years of Japanese. We talked a little, but then she said "このアルバイトが大嫌いです。" I told her that our boss knew Japanese. That shut her mouth real quick.

After work, I have Japanese. So I went to class and sat next to Nate and told him about this cute girl at work and blah blah blah, then he interrupted me and said it was prolly Trevor Habermeyer's sister. I laughed. So did Trevor. Then I told him it was his sister. He laughed and said, "Yeah. She's weird." Really anti-climactic. Just like The Lost Symbol. "The real Ancient Mysteries is all right here... in the Bible..." Great. Thanks, Dan Brown. I should've just read the Bible, instead.

Also, I really want to ask MESA Girl # 3 (See below) on a date. But I'm really scared to. But I'm starting to think it is possible, so that's a really good sign. Ehmin Poston said that she talked about me the whole time I was in my mid-term speaking assessment. I don't know about that. She asked why I picked "Soufiane" as my name, but that's it, really. That's all I heard. Then, when I got back, she asked me why and we talked for about ten minutes. It went really good. And we're going to be in the same Arabic and MESA 250 class next semester. That means she'll be in all my classes on Tuesday and Thursday. And there's a forty minute break in-between. And then last week, she commented on my lack of mustache. I was sitting on the right end of the bench and there was a partnership about six feet away to my left. Then her and her partner walk up and sit down between, but she's on the other side of her partner and says hi to the other partnership, so I figured it would be one of the Thursdays where we don't talk. Then she said "You shaved your face." I didn't look at first thinking I either imagined it, or she was talking to some one else. Then she said it again, or at least started to, so I looked up and responded "Oh! Yeah, well, mostly just above my upper lip. At least, well, that's recognizable." She kinda laughed and asked me why I shaved it. I responded by saying "See, I love two things in this world. One: My facial hair and 2: how I can shave it off without feeling a thing." I don't think she got the reference, so I'll have to watch it with her. If this ever gets off the ground. Of the third floor hallway outside Arthur Sensei's office, Fluffy. Then we talked about mustaches and stuff until Arabic James showed up. Then we went in and spoke. Then I came out and said, like I stupidly do every week, "Dang, that was really hard. Good luck." I really need to come up with something else. Like "Dang, what's your phone number?" or "Dang, I think I just had a hernia." Just for attention.

I'm going to try and make tomorrow a talk real good day. I just feel bad taking time from them preparing. Then I was thinking of "just happening" to walk by after she got done, but realized I have a writing fellows appointment at that time. Hopefully she goes to the No Shh! Zone after her speaking appointment. A boy can dream.

Her partner is in my stake, along with Yusef. He (Not Yusef) was sitting next to the guy that was wearing the exact same sweater as Dan, my roommate who was sitting next to me. Good conversation starter with him. And her. Gotta be ambiguous. Get her asking questions. Then hit her with the right question at the right time: "Hey, isn't Conor McManus in your class?"

Golden.