Inexile2002's Journal: Super Powers and Achilles Heels (Or Stupid Decisions)

Hrrrm. Damn damn damn. Everyone has a super power, and everyone has an Achilles heel. I firmly believe this. People have been absolutely astounded by my ability to bend bureaucracies to my whim. Secretaries in other cities who have never met me before have made lunchtime trips to post offices for me. Clerks and bureaucrats let me bend or even break rules, jump lines and will actively coach me on beating the system - and then later ask me my name. Admin assistants will re-jigger boss's schedules to accommodate me and all too often requisite fines, fees, penalties or other tariffs are waved. I've spoken to more Corporate CEOs than some of the CEOs that I've spoken to. So there you have it - my super power. Not as dramatic as leaping tall buildings in a single bound, but excellent for accessing the offices in that building for often trivial reasons.

So that's my super power. What is my Achilles heel? Being a romantic. Maybe they're related - maybe it's my innate romanticism that endears me to secretaries and office workers alike. But I'm a helpless romantic and I'm prone to doing stupid things when under the influence of an intoxicating idea.

So I met this girl on Friday night. I've never been to Prince Edward Island - but after a couple of days here on business I'm in love with the place. The people are friendly and approachable, and don't just say hello on the street but actually stop and talk to you. Beautiful women in the bar actually talk to you and seem delighted to do it and convenience store clerks ask you your name. Now me, I'm like that all the time. I love getting to know strangers and drawing people into conversations are bus stops but I'm used to being the exception, not the rule.

So, I'm at the bar, a nice little place called "St. James Gate" and meeting women, talking to other guys there, dancing a little and generally having a good time. Then this girl walks up and she basically became the rest of the night. She quoted Shakespeare, she kick-boxes, she got me to tell her embarrassing stories about myself... she's a vegetarian, an animal lover, a secular humanist, politically a lefty, smart as a whip, pretty and totally my type physically. And she really liked me too.

I asked her for her number, she gave it to me. I called the next day, left a message, she called back and we had lunch yesterday. Even sober we get along. We love all the same authors and damn if she wasn't prettier in the light of day. It was totally out of character for me, but I brought her a present - a book I knew she'd love but wouldn't have got for herself.

So, I'm seeing her tonight... and that's it.

Tomorrow, I fly back to Toronto and she stays here in Charlottetown. She finishes her veterinary science degree over the next few months and moves to Australia for a teaching job there. I am planning on quitting my job and moving to Korea. (Leaving a lucrative computer security job to go teach English... romantic yet probably stupid decisions...)

And yet...

Damn me. I want to find a way to get this woman into my life. What do I do... try to transfer within my company to Australia... possible but highly unlikely. Come here for a couple of months before I move to Korea... and do what exactly to eat? But damn, I feel a stupid decision coming on and I don't know what it is.

But I know my heart, and I know that if I don't somehow try to at least see if something was there, I'll fantasize about this girl for years. I'll day dream about her, wonder where she is... and I'll constantly kick myself for not having tried to figure out some way to not let her... slip away. Sigh.

Super powers and Achilles heels. Oh well.