This will be nothing new to those on my Facebook friends list, but earlier this week, a twenty-something black girl came up to me as I was on the way to the mailbox. She had been walking the opposite way, on the opposite side of the street, with three of her friends. They were looking at me quite a bit, but I'm used to that, and my new hair is giving me loads of confidence (I hope it lasts!), so it bothered me not a bit.
I passed them, and she turned and came walking up behind me. She said, "Excuse me?" I turned to face her, already having a good idea of what she was about to say. She asked me, "I don't mean to be rude or anything... but you're a woman, right?" I told her, "Of course I am, why?" She said, "I was just asking, sorry." Then she walked back to her friends and she went, "Wooooh!"
My guess is that someone in the group thought I was a man... and it wasn't her. She won the bet, or the argument, or whatever. My question is, what made this person (or persons) see me as belonging to the male gender?
The word could've been spread by Nikki's sister or her sister's husband, or one of her kids. They moved out of our apartment complex a year ago, but I'm sure they talked to some people, and Nikki's brother-in-law had ranted and raved out his front door twice (as we hastily departed... he was scary), spouting out such epithets as "she-male" and "he-she." Yeah. So they hated me and weren't afraid to let the neighbors know about it. Or... sometimes I wonder if it's me. My walk, my voice... maybe my jaw-line is more pronounced than I think it is... maybe the wind had blown my hair and you can see that my hairline has receded just a bit. Who knows? I drive myself crazy with these kind of questions, way too often. If I knew what to fix, I would fix it if I could.
The good news is, the episode bothered me for an hour or two, and then I was fine. The kids had been playing out front, and I asked them if those people had talked to them at all. Sarah told me that she knew they were talking about us, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. `Kay. The kids were fine, so I was fine. My newly found confidence had not waned a bit. Oddly enough, life as a redhead has been a pretty positive experience so far. I thought I would just stand out and get noticed even more than before. Well... I haven't gotten any weird looks like I used to, but men just stare at me a lot more now.
In fact... ugh, I did not know what to do last night. Nikki, the kids and I were eating at a diner, and I noticed that an older man was staring at me from a few tables down. Every once in awhile, I would look his way to see if he was looking, and he always was. Then he put his elbow on the table, and his head on his hand, and just stared at me like that, smiling. It's been awhile since a guy would just blatantly stare like that, so I was at a loss at what to do. I tried not to look at him, but I kept looking anyway, wondering if he was still staring or not. I was totally flustered. No, I don't like men... but to have someone unexpectedly gaze at me with such apparent adoration... well, it was a bit much to handle right then.
Nikki and I celebrated our anniversary last night. We dropped the kids off at their grandfather's house, and we went off to Applebee's. We were both wearing pretty dresses, yay! The one I had on is one that Nikki bought for me a couple days ago. That and a pair of violet cubic zirconian stud earrings. She spoils me. I feel like a total shit because I have no money and no job right now, so I couldn't get her anything. I did make her a sweet card with the computer, using a website that I found. I did work hard on it, so it's the thought that counts. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Oh yes, we also got a new Canon printer/scanner combo at Best Buy a few days ago. I usually frown on combos of any kind, because if any component craps out, the whole unit is toast. We got a two-year warranty though, and it was pretty cheap to begin with. The pictures on my previous blog (about how Nikki and I met), were all scanned by yours truly. So the timing was right to get a scanner.
Nikki really hasn't been feeling well for the last couple of weeks. She was diagnosed with an iron deficiency, which has been causing fatigue, dizzy spells, nausea, plus her hair has been falling out! Her doctor put her on 650 mg of iron a day. (Just for reference, the average daily multivitamin contains 18 mgs.) She says she's feeling slightly better, and I wonder how long it will take before she has complete recovery. I had no idea that having low iron can cause such a drastic and swift decline in one's overall health. I'm really worried about my baby! She's thinking of going to another doctor to get a second opinion.
Nikki seemed tired, but okay last night, and we had a great time at Applebee's. Within the last couple years, they've added some menu items that really appeal to me. I got a reuben with a side of chili/cheese fries. Nikki got a steak with some vege's and the like. While waiting for our order, I saw a pair of long-ass legs go by me. There's an oriental woman wearing a very short turtleneck dress. Dangerously short. Well, I didn't stare... and I think Nikki didn't either. Not sure about that though. :P She kept staring at us, though. Nikki and I had kissed once, and we were sitting close together (leaving an empty chair on the opposite side of the table), and I was rubbing her arm. Right after Nikki kissed me on the shoulder... the asian woman got up and sat next to the man she was with, so that she wouldn't be facing us. But then she kept looking back at us anyway. At one point, Nikki responded to her longish glance with a wave and a "Hi!" She didn't look at us at all after that! That was so damn funny. We're so used to having our kids around, that it's nice to just go out as a couple and see how people react to us. We don't try to cause these reactions, they just happen. After three years, we're still just as loving and affectionate to each other as ever. We usually don't make out in public, but we're always touching, holding hands, or giving each other little kisses. As long as nobody approaches us wielding a weapon, I could care less how they react. Actually, I find it to be quite entertaining.
We asked the waitress if she could take a picture of us for our anniversary, and here's how it came out:
We followed up dinner with a movie. We saw Zombieland. We both love horror movies, and I love zombies and apocalyptic tales. This wasn't really a horror movie, though. It was more of a black, twisted comedy. We loved it! I would highly recommend it if you like zombies and have a sense of humor. Woody Harrellson played the lead role, as a man looking for his last Twinkie fix, and he had a neurotic young man as a sidekick -- the kind of guy you roll your eyes at, but end up rooting for in the end. Bill Murray even shows up as a zombie... sort of.
We had a fantastic time. I hate that it's over though. We hope to get out again before next Summer!
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