new lipstick, goths, hot lesbians, and older men

today i must have been putting off a different scent. or maybe it was the new shade of red lipstick i dug out of my old makeup samples from my days of selling cosmetics. or maybe it was my ponytail and non made up face. (see, the lipstick was supposed to compensate for my lack of grooming.) whatever the case, i had an interesting time on trax today.

oh great, another trax story. jeeze doesn't she have anything more interesting to write about?

so i'm sitting there, waiting for my train, freezing my face off, when a goth-esque man dressed in the customary black trench coat walks toward me and sits down. he catches my eye and smiles and i encourage my frozen face to smile back, because i try to smile at everyone. you know, to reignite their hope in humanity and all that. well, goth man takes this as a hint to come closer. he stands up and takes the seat directly to my right. oh great. i notice that his ponytail is longer than mine and that he appears to be younger than me. he also reeks of cigarette smoke.

"hello." he says, staring at me in a way that immediately makes me uncomfortable.
"hi." i say, and then look in the opposite direction.

(being married has made me slightly awkward when talking to guys who are interested in me. as you may know, i have a history of being a gigantic flirt, and since being married, i have tried to tame that.)

"my name is ___." he says. and yes, i forget his name promptly after he tells me.
"oh, i'm collette."
he holds out a hand and i automatically reach out to shake. instead of shaking my hand, he holds it up to his mouth and brushes his lips on the top of it, so softly and quickly i don't have time to react. once i get my senses together, i put my left hand, complete with wedding ring, on top of the hand he just kissed, hoping he'll get the hint. he doesn't.
"you're just so pretty, i had to come over here and meet you." he is apparently a gallant sort of gentleman. with this, he takes my hand again, kisses it, and says he has to go meet his friend.
"nice to meet you." he says and is gone. i'm still frozen in shock and yes, a bit flattered.

then the train pulls up and i get on, sitting in the back. hoping that my share of crazy has come and gone in the form of a chivalrous goth man.

no such luck.

at the next stop, a beautiful woman boards and walks toward me. she smiles and again, i smile back. gotta stop doing that.

she takes the seat directly across from me, and again, i see that look. the look of oh hey baby, i'm checkin out what you got goin' on. i've seen this look many times before, but not often does it come from another female. she keeps smiling as she says, "how are you today?" although what she is saying is quite ordinary for one stranger to say to another, her tone of voice is suggesting a bit more. i'm still not done being flattered from goth man, and am quite shocked to find this gorgeous girl flirting with me. i also don't really know how to take it, because, although i appreciate the female form, i'm not really batting for that team. i smile at her and we chat for a minute but then i return to my book.

ok, that was weird, but now, definitely, the strangeness of today is over, i think to myself.

the rest of the train ride is silent. i get to school and walk to the computer lab to print my assignment. so far, so good. i make it all the way to the printing station before it strikes again. in this case, it is an older man, gotta be in his 60s. he is at the printer next to me. leans over, almost in my face, and says, "well hello there."

ok. real original, that line. heard it already, pal.
this "sweet" old guy proceeds to shamelessly flirt with me all the way out of the computer lab, complete with an invitation to help him support a candidate for governor. (apparently he's pretty involved.)

don't worry, he was the last person to make a pass at me for the day. but good grief, i didn't even do my hair today. it had to be the lipstick.

also, today's experience was far more enjoyable than a few weeks ago, when a crackhead power couple chose to sit across from me and tweak out. both of them were missing all their teeth and the woman had forgotten to wear shoes, and kept tapping me with her socked foot, then loudly apologizing. she spent the entire 45 minutes licking her face. getting hit on by a beautiful woman was easily a nicer way to spend the ride. and i'll never forget the woman last year who told me all about her drug problem, having her child taken from her, and wanting to end her life. we had a good chat that day. then there's the infamous undercover doctor i had the honor of meeting last winter. so i can't complain. and really, what's nicer than having a little attention? we could all use a day like that.

the lipstick is from clinique, and it's called 'spiced apple.' try it out, and let me know how it goes.