October 14, 2005 :: Appearance isn't everything

... it's the only thing.

I just ran into a girl I went out with briefly about two years ago, in Ross. Let me set the scenario for you: I had just gotten out of the gym. I was sweaty. I haven't shaved my head & face in two days, and I haven't trimmed my goatee in a week. I was wearing my ratty 5 year old Old Navy fakey fleece warmup - it is very comfortable, but it makes me look vaguely homeless. Plus, she hasn't seen me in at least a year, so she probably also noticed the additional gray hairs on the chin and the few pounds I've gained since last year. Suffice it to say I probably looked like I had been sleeping on a grate on L St. for the last year, scraping and begging for enough change to buy the 3 packs of discounted underwear I had in my hands. She actually did a double take.

And I didn't care.

You see, she dissed me. Stopped returning my calls. Don't know why, don't care. Point is, she dissed me at my best. I had put my best foot forward, because I really liked her. Took her to places that were too expensive for early dates. Didn't pull all the stops out, but probably 80% of them. And with all that, and my magnificent persona to boot, she still dissed me. So if my best wasn't good enough for her, what difference does it make?

She still looked as good as ever, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that. Hopefully she'll be able to land that job with that cheap suit she was looking for.