Today I have a guest blogger Mike from The Blog of Thog. I haven't know Mike long, one day he commented on being a good blogger I went to check out his blog. While I was blogging stalking him, he mentioned he wanted to challenge himself as a writer and I immediately invited him to do a guest post. Beyond having an awesome name, Mike has a dry wit that I really enjoy.
Please help me welcome Mike to A Girl Named Michael.
Hi!
Big thanks to Michael who has kindly allowed me to tell you a story.
But
not just any story!
The
greatest story ever told!
Okay...
maybe not. But it's the story of how me and my fiancee met, which is
pretty cool for me.
To
give a bit of background, I had recently moved out of my parents and
got myself my first house. I was 25, single, and basically enjoying
life, being a massive geek and on a weekend going to a local goth
club where I would drink cocktails and then dance near to females,
which invariably did not work. It had taken me a long time to figure
out that it was okay to be single, that I didn't need to be with
someone to be happy, but I had finally got there. I am somewhat
plainspoken and it makes me shudder to write this but, yes, I had
"learned to love myself". In short, I was happy.
Oh
- and having moved from a village to a city. I was enjoying
takeaways.
Lots
of takeaways.
Anyhow,
I work in construction management. Without going into too much
detail, I try to make the construction process as efficient as
possible, keeping costs down while safeguarding the quality of the
work.
I
was told by my boss that I needed to study for a qualification to
back up my experience to help progress. So, I applied to do a
diploma at one university, and was accepted, but the course was full
so I would have to wait a year. As a result, it was suggested that I
check out a local college to see if they'd let me do the diploma
there.
When
I went to the college, I was told that I couldn't do the diploma, but
what I could do is a lower level qualification for a year, to give me
some grounding in the topic before I started at the university the
following year. I checked with work that they would be happy for me
to do it, and then signed up.
I
remember looking at the list of people already signed up for the
course, and thinking that one of them had a really unusual name. She
also apparently also worked for my employer (albeit in a different
department)
We'll
now fast forward to the first week of the college course. There was
one girl that I really liked the look of, but she was way out of my
league. Coolness oozed from every pore (that doesn't sound that
complimentary actually), she was ace. Chatty, intelligent, very
pretty, everything.
Anyway,
it gets to about 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and we've got a break
before an evening class. I head outside, where the cool girl is. We
start chatting, and she asks if I want to go for a drink.
Remember
- I'm a geek, and if I haven't made it clear, not overly used to
women.
Alarm
bells ring in my head, and some kind of subconscious computer program
kicks in.
I'VE
BEEN ASKED IF I WANT A DRINK. BY A WOMAN.
OH
MY GOD
ATTENTION
MIKE - DO NOT BE AN IDIOT. I REPEAT, DO NOT BE AN IDIOT.
I
manage to accept, and we go for a drink. I do my best to be
entertaining, despite the fact that I'm limping all the way there and
back due to falling when playing football the week before.
We
have a nice drink, all goes well. We continue to chat to each other
at college.
A
couple of weeks later she texts me to ask if I could look over her
assignment for her. I say yes, and suggest that we meet for a drink
so I can look it over.
Five
years later, me and Cherise (told you it was an unusual name) have a
house together, a three year old son, and our lives have changed
totally. I'm happier than I've ever been before, despite the fact
that I seemingly have to empty the kitchen bin about three times as
often as I used to do when I was single. But on the other hand she's
taught me to cook so I save a fortune in takeaways! Speaking to
Cherise it turns out that the "do I want a drink" question
that she asked me at college was simply her being friendly and wasn't
meant in a romantic way at all, but she is pleased that I'm not
limping any more as the way I was having to lurch over the pavement
was a little disconcerting.
Mike
is a part-time blogger and extreme amateur video editor. Why not
check out his blog at http://thoggy.blogspot.com
and
his video channel at www.youtube.com/ravenswingthog
-
and if you really want to stalk him, his Twitter is @ravenswingthog
