i used to drink a lot of the vaguely orange, citrus flavored Sobe Energy, especially on roadtrips. when the cap is unscrewed from the bottle, there is a message inside the cap. being a fan of divination in all its forms, i've always enjoyed this, and even taken heed of some of the cryptic things found there; some of them are just plain silly, of course, but there were two messages i've received from these bottle caps that have stuck with me. they are from separate occasions, but both came to me during the return drive from Chicago.
the first one that really made me stop and think was "A ponytail and a Jetta."
that was from maybe 2004...i've been searching for this girl ever since. or maybe it's a guy with a ponytail who drives a Jetta that has an important message for me; either way, i pay attention to the backs of heads of Jetta drivers.
when i have a day off, i do whatever i can to get away from my parents' house, lest i be subjected to extreme boredom or recruited to menial tasks and odd jobs. a week ago i was attempting to enjoy one of these rare, empty days, so i went to visit Elrod at his bar, and he pointed me to the kitchen. "you should check out our new cook," he told me, so i wandered back to the service window and there on the line was a very cute young woman. i introduced myself and found myself attracted to her as she lit up and responded to my subtly flirtatious interview. she only works there once a week, "to get some line cooking experience," and fills the rest of her time working at a large catering company. i found out when she worked next and planned on visiting her again. four days later, there i was, telling her the truth: "i didn't really come here to hang out with Elrod." i asked her if she'd like to hang out sometime, and she didn't hesitate on her "yes," and we exchanged numbers, though we discovered that we have completely conflicting schedules. in that moment though, i was giddy; proud of myself and excited and completely in the moment.
a day later i texted her, wishing her a happy monday.
i'm pretty sure she was at work when she received my message and responded, wishing me the same, but there was something about it that took the wind out of my sails. it suddenly occurred to me that she's a young, pretty girl that i know virtually nothing about, and most likely, i am the only one in this equation that was actually excited. the kindling of my intrigue flashed and disappeared in a poof of smoke as i thought about myself as a small fish in the most likely crowded bucket she fishes in, and the vision of that second, seemingly prophetic, if not wise, message printed on the underside of a Sobe Energy lid came to mind, as it does quite often: "Slow your roll."
the first one that really made me stop and think was "A ponytail and a Jetta."
that was from maybe 2004...i've been searching for this girl ever since. or maybe it's a guy with a ponytail who drives a Jetta that has an important message for me; either way, i pay attention to the backs of heads of Jetta drivers.
when i have a day off, i do whatever i can to get away from my parents' house, lest i be subjected to extreme boredom or recruited to menial tasks and odd jobs. a week ago i was attempting to enjoy one of these rare, empty days, so i went to visit Elrod at his bar, and he pointed me to the kitchen. "you should check out our new cook," he told me, so i wandered back to the service window and there on the line was a very cute young woman. i introduced myself and found myself attracted to her as she lit up and responded to my subtly flirtatious interview. she only works there once a week, "to get some line cooking experience," and fills the rest of her time working at a large catering company. i found out when she worked next and planned on visiting her again. four days later, there i was, telling her the truth: "i didn't really come here to hang out with Elrod." i asked her if she'd like to hang out sometime, and she didn't hesitate on her "yes," and we exchanged numbers, though we discovered that we have completely conflicting schedules. in that moment though, i was giddy; proud of myself and excited and completely in the moment.
a day later i texted her, wishing her a happy monday.
i'm pretty sure she was at work when she received my message and responded, wishing me the same, but there was something about it that took the wind out of my sails. it suddenly occurred to me that she's a young, pretty girl that i know virtually nothing about, and most likely, i am the only one in this equation that was actually excited. the kindling of my intrigue flashed and disappeared in a poof of smoke as i thought about myself as a small fish in the most likely crowded bucket she fishes in, and the vision of that second, seemingly prophetic, if not wise, message printed on the underside of a Sobe Energy lid came to mind, as it does quite often: "Slow your roll."