creeped out

I got an email at work today from a total stranger. Not weird, except it wasn't work related. More like

I saw your photo on the {university} website and you have a pretty smile.

T

{state}

I thought it might be a guy T I went to college with, but he lives in TX (thanks Facebook) and probably knows basic grammar (the actual email was a couple of lines and had some errors). After googleing myself to make sure no super identifying info is out there (eg, my address), I searched this guy's email address (an AOL one!) in Facebook and came back with a guy I've never heard of who has 58 friends and is from the state he stated. CREEPY.

I kind of want to get an alarm system now.

Commentary

I have yet to figure out why some males (I say males because I've never seen a female to do) think it is OK to make random comments/yells/give advice to total strangers. Some gems from various dates as of late:

From a car on Kelly Drive:
Run Faster Fatass

Guy on stoop on the walk home from Kelly Drive (different day):
You don't need to sweat so much, you look fine as it is in those pants!

On the walk home from Kelly Drive (different day):
Random Guy 1 at Gas Station: I need to run too. Will you take me on your trail?
Random Guy 2 (noting 1 was ignored): Hey, I don't think she knows what you mean by trail.
Random Guy 1: I want to go on the trail, come on, take me on your sweet ass trail!

Balding guy in convertible as I walked to work:
Nice ass!
(side note, I thought, somehow, he said nice bag and was being sarcastic about my lovely canvas shoulder sack filled with shoes, a sweater, lunch etc., until he turned the corner and waved to me and I realized the sad truth.)

And my favorite...
Random Middle Aged Jogger passing me on the Off part of a HIIT series:
You know, you could run for longer if you slowed down.

Pledging

your virginity to your father?

Right now the Today show is doing a segment on the Purity Ball. The claim is that its growing out of the "abstinence movement" and is to help reduce the 80% (!?!) of high schoolers who have sex by their 18th birthday. First, I find it pretty hard to believe that 12 yr olds (well, at least the 12 yr olds I grew up with, maybe "things are different now") REALLY understand what a vow of chastity means. Also, its unclear (to me at least) if this is a vow of purity till marriage or till their 18th birthday. And I don't think that this can be good for parent-child communication. What if they ARE "involved" in HS and thinking about sex and then don't feel comfortable talking to mom/dad about it because of this pledge from middle school?? Lastly, I really get the impression that part of this vow is having your father "protect" you till you have a husband to "protect" you. Ugh. What happened to empowerment?

However....My biggest issue....

There's no mention of the sons. The boys these daughters are (or are not) have sex with. Appearently noone cares about their purity.

I hate double standards.

I should just speak up

So walking home today in my favorite (also only) fall skirt (its pink corduroy and just above the knee) some guy riding his bike in the other direction said (not called out, but said, in a speaking tone) "big legs, big legs". I KID YOU NOT. I freely admit I have big legs. In fact, while I prefer to think of them as sturdy and lightly padded, like a good dining chair, I will even admit my calves don't really fit into knee high boots (except the ones from the "women's" store, disturbing since the rest of me is a couple of sizes and a few stones too small to shop there). However, this does not forgive the audible commentary of a complete stranger (think it all you want, heck, I do it too) talking to himself (had he been pointing them out to a friend or something, I'd somehow be less annoyed, probably because I make inappropriate remarks too loudly sometimes, or so I'm told anyway).

Too bad my mouth was full of pretzel at the time, or I'd have said something.

Irony

Yesterday morning I was driving to work in my mom's Jeep (I borrowed it to get some big things to her house from my almost-former apartment) and, since I normally drive a small Acura RSX, I was enjoying the extra road-view provided by the lifted SUV. I like watching my fellow commuters while stuck in traffic. Since I leave approximately the same time every morning, I often see the same cars when the traffic is bad. (Actually, they're probably almost always on the road with me, but I only notice when in first gear for 55 minutes). There's the slightly balding guy in the convertible BMW who shaves around the Union tolls. And the hot purple Jeep Wrangler with the rainbow sticker, driven by a remarkably corporate looking lady. There's more I can't think of at the moment, but would recognize (the cars) if I saw them.

I didn't see any of my regulars on this commute, but I did see one gentleman READING THE PAPER. Now I'm not talking skimming directions, checking a text, peering at your teeth in the rearview...this guy had the morning paper fully opened on his lap. The other sections were in the passenger seat, awaiting the rest of the drive. Granted, traffic was moving at about 5 mph, but come on! We were in traffic waiting to pass accidents at the 280 on ramp and an overturned vehicle at the Essex tolls! Was he TRYING to be major accident #3 of the morning? arggh.

On a different note, I also noticed that there's hardly any American cars on the road around here. I was in a Jeep, and saw a few, and a couple of random Fords and Chryslers, but the vast majority of the cars were foreign. I love my little Acura...but this kind of startled me. I also remembered that when I lived in Peoria, IL, there not only wasn't an Acura dealer, I had one of 3 foreign cars in the entire parking lot at my plant. Perhaps the Heartland is more patriotic. Or the coasts just have better taste in cars ; )

girly men

This could be the funniest thing I've seen all week.

Whistler

I want to go snowboarding in Canada. I think it'd be sweet. And less crowded than even the fairly empty (compare to NJ) mountains of Colorado. But that's not the point of my post, just came to mind when I put up the title.

Why do men whistle at women?

This is the question of the day.

I am dressed for work today in summer work clothes, specifically black capris, wedges and a nice colorful shell. I do think its a flattering outfit. Appearently I'm not alone.
The shopping center where I picked up lunch today is doing some construction. There were workers gathered around the dumpster, several of whom whistled at me (well, either me or the rather chunky middle aged guy about 10 feet in front of me, equal opportunity perhaps?) What is their goal in whistling at women? Do they expect the women to stop and give them her number? Flash them? Grab one and plant a big wet one? I chose none of these and opted to ignore them and walk on by.

I've been whistled at before. A couple of times on the street doing [whatever], more frequenrly when running. There's also the occassional honker. I can only assume these are the obnoxious teenage boys that feel the need to call attention to the fact they are old enough to drive. (I am trying to give men some credit here). Honkers tend to startle me and I don't like them much.

I guess in general I should take the whistling as a compliment. But I still don't understand.