How I Met Your Father

At Work....

Where does a busy knowledge worker in a metropolitan, who's not into the club or "singles" scene meet other single, available people of SUBSTANCE? AT WORK, DuH!! I realized the other day that I've met all my "men" at work. Dates back to my first job at the tender age of 15. I met my first boyfriend while I was working...at the mall. He came in bruised and broken from a motorcycle accident. He was the finest boy that my 15 year old eyes had ever seen. I was helping him pick out some shorts and noticed that his shoe was untied. Seeing that he was unable to do so himself, I knelt down and tied it for him. No big deal to me. Moved a mountain for him. He was 2 years older but already very street so getting treated nicely by random girls was something new to him. Go figure. He wifed me up in two seconds flat and broke my heart 3 years later. My next boy (my ex) and I met through friends that I knew from work. The actual exchange of info did not happen until he ran me (and my too short dress) down while I was taking my lunch break from my manager post at Betsey Johnson. We were together for almost a decade. He said he was attracted to my independence from the start. Alejandro and I also met at work. This time a quick exchange of smiles and a wave lead to a procurement of his business card and the rest is black history. I'm convinced that I will meet my husband/the father of my children (hence the title of this post) at work, randomly. I've not ruled out other options but that's my stance right now. Here are my reasons:

1. I don't go out (clubs, bars, etc) like that.
2. I am mean and I don't take kindly to totally random "bookings”, but for whatever reason, I’m more “open” while I’m at work. Not sure why, but it’s true. Also meeting people on the party circuit takes too much effort. I have to get dolled up, pay money to get in, etc. Meeting someone at work is free and easy because I’m already going to look nice and walking from my car to my office is free. As a matter of fact I’m getting paid when I get there.
3. When I meet a man at work, there's some equal footing, especially if he's also "working" when we meet. We both have jobs; we both have some purpose in life.
4. I can glean his fashion sense. Yes, this is important, especially for the initial attraction. He’s probably checking out my a$$ or my shoes and I’m peeping his shirt & tie coordination. And definitely his shoes!
5. Typically our mode of communication will be via email, so I can evaluate his email/written communication game (must be viscous for me to be hooked).
6. I will possibly see some interaction between him and his colleagues. I've been told that this is the best way to evaluate a man...through his interaction with others. You can date a man for months and never meet his “friends” but if you work near a person, at some point you will see him interact with others.
7. The first date is usually substantive. We'll probably go to lunch or dinner after work, where we'll talk about work, we'll learn about what we do, maybe even get a sense of each other's passion in life. We'll probably learn something about the other's educational background, where they're from, etc. It's not the usual "I'm just trying to hit" first date banter. I think this date will have both wanting to know more about the other.
8. When you meet a man at work, you've already put your best foot forward. You look nice, he gets to see that you're independent (hopefully), he might be impressed by your fancy title (just kidding), and you're not just another random hot chick in the club. You already stand out. You're more than a pretty face/nice body. That's just my opinion.

I'll be honest, whenever I do take a random number or give mine out, I usually never call, and I don't answer if he calls, because my interest has weaned by that point. After the initial "oh he's fine" I'm over it and thinking about the handsome, well draped, educated, witty engineer or labor attorney that I had that great lunch with who I'm trying to get to know better. I'm just saying!! Men at work, they rock!!

Now this list is not comprehensive and under no circumstances would I date a man that I actually work with. That would be kind of hard where I work anyway. I must also mention that if you actually end up dating this person it may be difficult to deal with the possibility of running into him once the relationship has ended, especially if he begins dating someone else at work (shudders at the thought). But what situation in life is perfect?