Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucla-cs.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!ucla-cs!mccolm From: mccolm@ucla-cs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Re: Re: Nominally single???? A voice from the past. Message-ID: <7228@ucla-cs.ARPA> Date: Tue, 22-Oct-85 02:18:05 EDT Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.7228 Posted: Tue Oct 22 02:18:05 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 26-Oct-85 04:49:02 EDT References: <285@whuts.UUCP> <533@oakhill.UUCP> <286@whuts.UUCP> Reply-To: mccolm@ucla-cs.UUCP (Eric McColm) Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department Lines: 43 Back in the bad old days, when people went to dances, socials, and other occasions, people wore flowers to indicate whether they were "available" or not. Women wore flowers over one ear if they were single and looking for a relationship, and men wore corsages on their lapels to indicate the same thing. This bit of social trivia has been lost, thrown out with the truly offensive stuff that was also common at the time. But it was a convenient way to signal your intentions to everyone, and was at one time nearly universally understood. (At least in rural areas and certain cities.) I've often wished for the return of some form of this custom, due to my incredible knack for singling out the one engaged/married/nominally single woman in a crowd. As long as the other customs didn't come with it. But it would be nice to walk into a social occasion and signal all those who were interested that I'm looking for MOTAS, in some socially acceptable way. By the way, I once ran into a cute definition of "nominally single." I struck up a conversation with an attractive woman who was refinishing some furniture outside an apartment. Her SO, a six-and-a-half foot tall fist with eyes walked up behind me and loudly demanded to know just what I thought I was doing. Of course being single is hazardous to your health. I could have told you that. But, back to the question at hand: When should you tell someone you are "Not Available"? Assuming there's no way to tell from a distance, and no matchmakers, it should come out in conversation whenever it starts to seem relevant, but hopefully before the other person puts their foot in it by asking you out. The cue: the average person pauses briefly, collecting nerve to plunge into the subject of SO-hood. By this time, it's too late. Somewhere in the first two to five minutes is fine. The problem is, the women who in my experience seem very energetic, relaxed, attractive, together, and so on, don't pay attention to this because they're still hyper on account of their SO proposing to them just recently. Understandable, but still... --fini-- A Singularity is the center of a black hole. A Single is described below. Eric McColm UCLA (oo' - kluh) Funny Farm for the Criminally Harmless UUCP: ...!{ihnp4,trwspp,cepu,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!mccolm ARPA: mccolm@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU Quotes on the Nature of Existence: "To be, or not to be..." -Hamlet (Wm. Shakespeare) "I think, therefore I am." -R. Descartes "" -Gleep (Robt. Asprin)