Productination

“You know, you can always come visit me sometime… ;)” she wrote.

It was nice dating a girl who lived only two miles away.

San Francisco spoiled me; being only seven miles on each side, the city of San Francisco packs an entire city into much smaller space than Los Angeles. LA has a way of warping distance. Often times, I find myself driving 15 or 20 miles out to a night club or concert hall, then driving the distance back at the end of the night.

Living two miles apart practically made us next-door neighbors.

I had already told her earlier in the night that I was just taking it easy, and that I’d be getting some gelato later, and that she could come if she was in a good mood.

I love gelato; it’s like some sort of Italian super ice cream. Good gelato is dense, flavorful, and has a nice chewy texture. I’ve been to a bunch of places in LA, but the best I’ve found so far is at Al Gelato in Beverly Hills, about 12 miles away from my house.

We were way past the point of pretending not to be interested in each other. She made no effort to hide her affection for me, nor did I her. Didn’t she get that I was inviting her? Did she really have to send me such a cute, but frankly unsubtle, message?

Of course, I’m never one to discourage.

“K, I’ll pick you up at 9:30” I wrote.

“So, do you still write poetry?” she asked.

“Yeah, a little,” I said, “wanna hear some?”

“Sure,” she said.

We were standing in a crowded gelateria at the time, so it took a tremendous amount of determination for me to put on my best serious face.

I looked her right in the eye and said, deadpan, “We’re no strangers to love.”

“Oh my God…” she said, laughing.

“You know the rules, and so do I,” I continued. “A full commitment’s what I’m, thinking of.”

“Am I getting Rick Rolled IRL?!” she said, pronouncing it “eye are ell.”

“You wouldn’t get this from any other guy,” I said.

“What’d you think?” I asked her, grinning smugly.

“That was beautiful. You could maybe, make that into a song!” she said.

“I know, it’s totally going to be a number one hit!” I said.

“Well, maybe not right away,” she said.

“But in like, 20 years?” I said, completing her thought. We both laughed.

I wouldn’t say it’s mandatory that girls be geeky as a prerequisite for me to hang out with them, but it definitely helps. Girls, when I make references to geek culture, let it be known, I am testing you. I will assume that you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, that’s alright, we’re all geeky about different things, but if you do, that’ll definitely accelerate the process. Consider it a 2x multiplier.

And if you didn’t understand what I just said, guess what? That’s part of the test.