Working in the tech industry, you tend not to see a lot of women during work hours. I guess the plus side to that is fewer distractions and increased productivity. It doesn't provide many leads when you're single and trying to find somebody, at least during work hours, unless of course you spend a lot of your time surfing dating sites.

At any rate, Halloween rolls around which means the yearly gathering of the local geeks, along with super-geeks from various parts of the world. You see, they used to gather here every year for drinks, gadgets, and shop-talk. With nothing better to do, I decide to accompany some colleagues to this festival, at the company's expense of course. I figure, what the heck, it's a free weekend away, with some drinks and laughs to boot.

I attend conferences and meetings, mostly ho-hum stuff, with very little excitement. The first night makes up for a boring day thanks to some great people I met there.

The second day, more of the same meetings and conferences, mostly geeks telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing.

The second night we have a costume party so we all get into our costumes and begin drinking. Part way through the night the unexpected happens. I see this gorgeous girl dressed as Tinkerbell. At first glance she appears too young for me but a guy I'm with recognizes her and calls her over to our table. They talk, I watch, they talk some more, I continue to watch. The girl is beautiful!

A few drinks, and hours later, I get up the nerve to ask her to dance. Little did I know the next song was going to be a waltz. During the song, our eyes meet, and it's the most powerful thing I've ever experienced in my life. I can't look away, only smile and wonder how this ever happened. I was so close to not going, and while there I was so close to leaving, but yet I'm here dancing with this beautiful woman.

As the night passes we talk, and dance some more, but mostly talk. At the end of the night we walk to a party together and sit and sing do a lone guitar. Eventually it's time to turn in so I walk her to her cabin and bid her goodnight, no kiss, no hug. I spend the rest of the night thinking of her and what I'm going to do the next day.

The next I wake to the knowledge that I will be leaving for home, not knowing where she's from, of if I'll ever see her again. I use every excuse I can to stay for as long as possible, even using my 95 Neon to try to impress her. Man, what a loser move that was, but at the time, and at a convention full of geeks, it made me look like Shaft.

I would never have thought that I would date, and eventually marry, Tinkerbell. Me, an animator, married to the like image of one of Disney's most amazing creations. But as with Cinderella, all is not always what it seems. For real life can sometimes mimic fiction, and sometimes fiction can never prepare you for real life.

The thermometer, it's glass reflecting the glow of the burning embers in a fireplace, will soon find itself, a lone dot in a field of freshly fallen snow.

Comments:

so whens the next part comming?????????