Answers On A Postcard

What do you call a girl who finds a new possible date 36 hours after being dumped?

Really, I want to know.

I didn't get much sleep last night - two hours at most - and then I had to haul my butt off to Currys today to look at DVD players.

So I got dressed. I found that my apricot suede jacket has once again shrunk over the summer and is tight in the shoulders. By mid-winter it'll have stretched again, but of course by that time I won't be wearing it much anymore, since it's primarily an autumn jacket. I wonder if there are people you can hire to stand around and wear your clothes to stretch them out for you?

We missed the bus going into town so Mom and I caught a cab. In town we waited at the bus stop for the next bus - which was naturally running way late - so while Mom looked around I sat on a bench and listened to my iPod and had a semi-coherent, sleep-deprived rant with myself about pigeons and how easy it must be to be one. White pigeons don't get given shit from everyone for dating black pigeons. Pigeons don't assume they're automatically entitled to another pigeon's love because their feathers match. After ten minutes of this I realised I was sounding both self-pitying and ridiculous - the ridiculous I can handle, but I hate to be self-pitying, even in my head - and came to the conclusions that a) pigeons don't really date, which is probably a good thing since they don't have wrists for corsages; and b) most pigeons are pretty much gray anyway.

We got to Currys. And this is going to sound terrible, since I just broke up with Oli less than two days ago, and I'm supposed to be all bruised and weepy and shit, and I AM, but...I kind of met an interesting guy.

Unfortunately, his name is Olu. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea - get interested in a guy who almost certainly has the same name as the guy who just broke my heart 36 hours ago. *sigh*

Name aside, though, he was very interesting indeed. And cute, did I mention cute? Little goatee - I don't usually like facial hair, but it suited him - and sexy glasses and these wonderful twinkly eyes. And he was so friendly and sweet that I couldn't tell if he was flirting or not. Mom thinks he was, and just didn't say anything because she was there, but Mom's already into matchmaking.

Considering I only told her about Oli today, that has to be a record. I didn't even mean to tell her about him, except that the phone rang thirty times this morning, and neither of us answered - I was in the bath and she apparently didn't hear it - and when I asked her if it was him, she said she didn't know but probably not, because why would he let it ring that long, and why ring the home phone anyway? And I told her he sometimes called the home phone instead of my cell when he was being an ass - presumably so I couldn't refuse to answer when I saw his number on the screen. And she said, "Being an ass as in being silly?" And I said, "No, as in being the biggest dickhead in the planet. On the planet. In the whole federation of planets." And of course after that slipped out, I had to tell her the whole story.

So yeah, she seemed to think that this guy looked interested, but who the hell knows? After the last couple of weeks I don't really trust my instincts when it comes to male interest. I'm sure that sooner or later I'll trust them again, it's just going to take a little while.

So he showed us vacuum cleaners - which Mom wanted, but the one she wanted wasn't in stock - and then DVD players. We managed to find a fairly decent Sony player for £49.99 - bear in mind things cost a lot more in the UK, so this was a good price - and that included 3 years insurance. And Mom found an electric steamer she wants for Christmas, and a breadmaker that she wants asap. She wasn't sure about the pros and cons of a breadmaker at first - although I think I was convincing her with my talk of no icky additives - but as soon as she found out it also made cake, she was a goner. My Mom has a passion for cake.

Olu gave me the number to call to find out when the hoover comes in, but silly me, I forgot to write down the make and model number, so I'll have to go back to the store. *innocent face*

After that I slipped into Matalan to rethink a coat that I'd liked last time I was there. I couldn't justify buying that particular coat, as nice as it was - it was hot pink, and there are so many colours that I couldn't wear it with, especially in autumn - but I did find a beautiful 3/4 length double-breasted wool in petrol blue, with military-style buttons and epaulets. Military-style coats seem to be back in fashion, which is awesome, because I have an absolutely gorgeous navy-blue velvet cropped military jacket, which I try to wear every autumn (although for a couple years it needed repairs, and then last year I was just a little bit too fat to do it up) but even though it always looks great, it's nice to know that it's cool again. Except it's UBER-cool, way cooler than most of the jackets I see, because it's such a wonderful quality of velvet, and because I got a great deal on it when I bought it. Clothes always feel better to me when I get a really good piece for a bargain price.

But anyway, yes. Petrol-blue wool. I didn't buy it, but probably will go back after next payday (this coming Tuesday), if I have the money left after paying this semester's tuition. I do need another winter coat - aside from my autumn jackets, the last winter coat I bought was in 2001, and while it still looks good (when it's just been cleaned, anyway) I get tired of wearing the same thing. And this was such a lovely coat. Double-breasted styles always look good on me, and I never understand why because it seems like they should make me look extra-chunky. But whatever, it works, and the colour goes with most of the things in my wardrobe.

The teeny thriller / horror books (which I love to read in September-October, for some reason) that I ordered from ebay came today, too, which made me happy.

So yeah, that was my day. And it was a lot better day than I had a right to expect. Life without Oli is hard - even though I knew we weren't meant to be lovers forever, trying to exist without him in my life is still like trying to breathe without lungs - but I'll get there.

What's been your quickest rebound period between relationships?