Red beans & romantic fallout

I wanted my Monday red beans & rice, and I wanted better than they have at the cafeteria, so I went by a café located a few blocks from campus. They have only five tables, and two of them were occupied, one by the chemical engineer and an Asian girl. So I turned around and left.

The chemical engineer and I went on two dates, and then our would-be relationship faded out for lack of interest. We didn’t have a fight or anything. We just didn’t make plans for another date. My preferred method for dealing with guys who I’ve briefly dated when I see them afterward is to acknowledge their existence, exchange very brief pleasantries, and go on about my business. It’s civilized, it’s mature, and it immediately defuses any awkwardness.

Except I’ve seen him in public a couple of times since we went out in December and he’s demonstrated his intention to play the “You Don't Exist for Me” game, which seems ridiculous after such an innocuous little non-relationship. So it makes things awkward. Am I supposed to force him to acknowledge me, or sit there and ignore him and feel like as big a fool as he is?

Oh well, the reason I wasn’t interested in him as a romantic prospect was that he didn’t seem like a grown-up, and I suppose my perception was correct. All the more reason to give up dating.

But it’s okay, because I went to the Oak Street Café, where I hadn’t tried before, and they had very good red beans for very cheap, served quickly so I had time to ride by my new house before going back to work.

It’s so, so cute! I can hardly wait to move! I’ll miss a few things about my old neighborhood—the big Rue, walking Hank through the Garden District, some of my neighbors—but I’m really ready to get out of there. I wish I was moving today. Of course, I haven’t even started to pack yet. But I have been working on a big purge—I want to get rid of half of what I own, all the crap I hold on to and drag around for no reason. Anyone want a big box of Mardi Gras paraphernalia?