Random encounters, fuzzy slippers, naps, and a busy week for Jon

After the bowling diversion on Friday, the rest of my weekend proceeded much like any other.
Now, of course, it’s over and I’m left entirely to my own devices, whatever those may be.
Today those devices consisted of getting a haircut, doing some grocery shopping, taking a nap, and doing my laundry.
The laundry thing was unusual, as I usually reserve that for Thursdays, but I was out of clean socks and had nothing better to do today, so…
The place I go to get my hair cut is in the same shopping center as my optometrist’s office, and, as pretty much everyone who reads this blog knows (since I’m assuming the number of people who read this who don’t actually know me is somewhere around zero), the closest thing to a romantic encounter I’ve had in the last two years involved the office manager at said optometrist’s office.
Without getting into the extremely boring details, suffice to say that the attempt at romance ended in failure.
When I get my hair cut I’m not actively looking to bump into her, but I am always aware that it is a possibility, so it’s only natural that I was thinking about her when I went there this morning.
The last time I actually encountered her was sometime last spring after I lost one of my contacts and had to go in to order a replacement, so in all the times in the intervening months that I’ve gone to get my hair cut, despite the possibility being there, I haven’t actually seen her. Today was no exception.
In any case, as I sat waiting for my turn in the chair, despite not seeing her I was thinking about her even as I sat idly appraising the attractive young woman getting her hair cut. I really didn't notice much about her beyond the fact that she was there and attractive.
Eventually she finished with her haircut and got up to pay. As she walked to the register, she spotted me, smiled, and said, “Hi! How are you?”
Having no clue who she was or why she was talking to me, I nevertheless managed to say, “Hello. I’m good, you?” As I did this, I studied her face carefully, trying to imagine what she might look like with her hair dry and dressed in something other than a white sweatshirt, red sweats, and what looked to be fuzzy leopard print slippers in the hopes that I might be able to figure out who she was and how I would know her.
Fortunately (under the circumstances, at least), in the nearly two years that I’ve lived in Northern Virginia I’ve come to know very few people, and from that small list I was able to narrow down the suspects even further based on her rather enthusiastic greeting, so when she said, “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I was able to honestly say, “Yes, I know who you are.”
It was Kelly, the girl from my apartment complex’s rental office, the one who told me that I smelled REALLY good.
Since that particular encounter with her, I’ve walked past the office several times a week on my way to the weight room and haven’t bumped into her again apart from that day she walked in while I was waiting to get a copy of my lease, so I found it sort of odd to encounter her under these circumstances, especially considering that in this particular location it would seem more likely that I’d encounter my optometrist’s office manager.
So it was a little odd, and I couldn’t help but notice just how enthusiastic her reaction was, though I think that has more to do with her personality than any real enthusiasm about seeing me.
Still, it was an unusual occurrence and it left me feeling a little nonplussed.
The rest of the day proceeded pretty normally, though, and by around 1 pm after a workout (No Kelly as I walked by the office; I have no idea what her schedule is like) I was ready to call it quits for at least a little while, and so I took a nap.
Afterwards I got up, folded my laundry, put it away, and sat down to write this.
And there you have it.
I also did a little bit of work on “15,000 Years.” I’m sure those of you who are reading it have noticed that I’ve been posting quite a bit more of late. I suppose that I actually have a plot now, though really I don’t see it moving away from the character-driven piece that it’s been so far.
So if you like the character-driven aspect, that’s good news. If you don’t, well, sorry.
This is going to be an unusually active week for me. Tomorrow I have a work-related class that will place me among the beautiful people at headquarters for eight hours.
On Wednesday I’ll be having lunch at Scott’s house, and from there we’ll be off to see “The Incredibles.”
In any case, I thought I should post an entry today. Not much else is going on, and I should get back to work on “15,000 Years.”