Movie Night

I think it's the height of sheltered living, when one looks forward to going to a movie with their dad. Not that there is anything wrong with enjoying a movie with a member of your family that can also laugh horribly loud at inappropriate moments.

That's family.

The fact of the matter is the reason I get so excited to go to movies with my father, is that for the types of movies we both enjoy - I have no one else to go with. I am at that crucial state of flux within my life where I am without guy friends. Or that unattainable gal pal that is actually interested in the more geekish side of life that I somehow get along with.

There's no efriendly.com or matchforfriends.net to set you up with a platonic mixed gender buddy, but there should be. After a certain age, it becomes impossible to schmooze for friends. If you approach a man after class, the automatic assumption is that you, the aggressor, are interested in dating.

This is how the male of the species reacts, instantly putting up a tight-fake smile barrier if they don't find you attractive and odd looks if you actually want to engage in a social activity that possibly has nothing to do with the dreaded D word.

Women of the species react in an entirely separate way. They don't automatically assume that a man is approaching them for any kind of goal in the dating realm. This will not cross their mind until a day or two into the conversations (possibly less depending on neurosis levels), where they will obsess:

"Does he like me?" "Do I like him?" "Should I like him?" "If I do like him, what would we do?" "Where would we end up?" "Should we end up?"

All ending in her not hearing one word of your lovely political view of the President's Cabinet, where she will smile vacuously and if she's really talented comment something back to you even though she has no idea what she's saying.

It's an obsession that is literally killing off mixed friends. If you can't keep the ones you made in High School, it's next to impossible to find new ones - unless some odd work situation occurs.

To you all, I say: next time someone of the opposite sex approaches you, don't automatically assume it's about dating. Give it a minute, see if you have anything in common. Consider it. Because it is in fact possible to have friends of the other gender.

It's just hard to get there.

As for me, I will continue to enjoy free movies with my father where we can both laugh loudly and obnoxiously when there's nothing really funny on the screen.