Creepy or No?
So, I was walking across the street to get to a nearby mall (without Pig) when a strange man looks at me and says, simply/psychically, "You have a dalmatian."
Whoa. I said, "Yeah, I do, how did you know?" and he smiles and doesn't answer me and walks away. So I catch up to him and say, "You gotta tell me how you know!" and he says, "I've seen you walking around with your dog."
Ok.
Unfortunately, we were both waiting for the light to change, so I had no where to go. He asked me if I lived on X Street. Which I do but I lied and said I lived on Y Street, which was a terrible lie because there are no residential buildings on Y Street. Absolutely ridiculous lie. I asked him where he lives, and apparently, he just lives down the street from me on X Street, so now I've some explaining to do if I run into him again. He makes more small talk and asks me where I work and my paranoid fear of potential stalkers (not that I've had any, but that doesn't ease the fear) overcomes me again so I LIE AGAIN and tell him I work in Santa Monica, which is so so so not true. Anyway, small talk small talk, until finally I get to the mall and blurt out "Nice chatting, see you around" and run away from him. I spend the whole time at the mall glancing over my shoulder and peering around mannequins, making sure he's not following me.
The above is creepy because:
a.) It's creepy when random people notice you, potentially notice your schedule, and might even know where you live/work. Because obviously they have nothing better to do than stalk you. Because you are just that awesome.
b.) It's creepy because the man was wearing a sleeveless tank top.
c.) It's creepy because for a second, I thought he guessed I had a dalamatian, because I happened to be dressed like one - in black and white. Yes, sometimes I dress like my dog.
d.) It's NOT creepy....I am.
So far, having relayed the story to Max, Kate and my Aunt Marilyn, the consensus has been answer "D."
Whoa. I said, "Yeah, I do, how did you know?" and he smiles and doesn't answer me and walks away. So I catch up to him and say, "You gotta tell me how you know!" and he says, "I've seen you walking around with your dog."
Ok.
Unfortunately, we were both waiting for the light to change, so I had no where to go. He asked me if I lived on X Street. Which I do but I lied and said I lived on Y Street, which was a terrible lie because there are no residential buildings on Y Street. Absolutely ridiculous lie. I asked him where he lives, and apparently, he just lives down the street from me on X Street, so now I've some explaining to do if I run into him again. He makes more small talk and asks me where I work and my paranoid fear of potential stalkers (not that I've had any, but that doesn't ease the fear) overcomes me again so I LIE AGAIN and tell him I work in Santa Monica, which is so so so not true. Anyway, small talk small talk, until finally I get to the mall and blurt out "Nice chatting, see you around" and run away from him. I spend the whole time at the mall glancing over my shoulder and peering around mannequins, making sure he's not following me.
The above is creepy because:
a.) It's creepy when random people notice you, potentially notice your schedule, and might even know where you live/work. Because obviously they have nothing better to do than stalk you. Because you are just that awesome.
b.) It's creepy because the man was wearing a sleeveless tank top.
c.) It's creepy because for a second, I thought he guessed I had a dalamatian, because I happened to be dressed like one - in black and white. Yes, sometimes I dress like my dog.
d.) It's NOT creepy....I am.
So far, having relayed the story to Max, Kate and my Aunt Marilyn, the consensus has been answer "D."
posted by S at 10:07 PM
11 Comments:
You know what's creepy--I had something like this happen to me a while ago, and I had forgotten about it. I was out at a bar in a neighboring town with some friends and my brother. This older guy (50's-60's) sat down at this table across from me (they were these big tables and people were sharing them, so that's not the creepy part) but then he hollared towards me to get my attention, then said "Is your dad's name *blank* and is he a *fill in my dad's career*?" I was stunned, but he was totally right and I was like how do you know that? And he was like just a guess....and wouldn't tell me anything! But then he kept saying things like "I'll bet I can guess your name and your siblings names too..." And I just kept asking him who he was and since he wouldn't tell me, I left because I was creeped out.
I never found out who that guy was, and when I came home I told my dad about it and described the guy and where we were and he had no idea either who it could have been. And to my knowledge, no one he works with has ever mentioned it to him. Isn't that weird? I was totally creeped out. What is it about men that makes them think that we like weird creepy stuff? They probably don't know they are being creepy.
Oh, and I creeped out a woman once accidentally. So I guess I am guilty of it too--I was working at gapkids during my last few years of college, and I always worked tuesday mornings from 9 am-1 pm. It was always me and this other girl that worked there, and we had been doing this for about a year. Now the mall in Ann Arbor was DEAD on tuesday mornings, so we maybe had 5 customers each morning, and the rest of the time we were stocking shelves and emptying boxes and stuff. This one lady came in every single tuesday morning. She would come in and buy loads of stuff, spend a lot of money each time. So we remembered her. One week she came in and bought something for her kid and was telling me while I rang up her order that she was afraid it might not fit but it was the last one, and I said well you can always bring it back if it doesn't fit, etc. So the next week, she brought it back in. I said "Oh no, it didn't fit, huh?" and she looked at me and was like "How do you know??!?!" and I said "Well, you said last week that it might not fit and if it didn't, you would bring it back." And she said "You remember me??" I said "Well, yeah" and she said "Oh, that's sorta creepy". I didn't really know how to respond to her thinking it was creepy. I thought I was just showing good customer service that I remembered her. She never came back in during that time frame again as long as I worked there.
My manager and I agreed that it was weird--what did she think we were, retarded? Of course we were going to recognize a customer that comes in at the same time each week and drops a load of money when we only see 5 or so customers at that time usually. Sheesh.
wow- where do i start... you guys crack me up! I was going to suggest d), and was glad to see it made the list... :) i imagine he was telling his friends- so i see this girl that i always see walking her dalmation, you know, the cute one from down the street? I was trying to show her i was interested in talking to her, and i couldn't think up anything interesting to talk about. I mean, she was dressed all in black and white, so i couldn't say, hey, nice shoes. Anyway, i make kind of an ass out of myself, forget about it, and procede to the mall. But i think she was following me, peeking out from behind mannequins and such. Pulled my shades that night when i got home... yikes.
Just kidding. But really, like elliot (i always almost type your name...) said, sometimes when someone else's schedule is the same every time, they notice you. The homeless people in cambridge all knew when i went to work. One morning i went down, waved hi to the retarded guy who is always down in the train selling the spare change paper and waving at people, and hopped on the train. Later, we get an ambulance call to that stop, we come down the escalator with all the equipment, and the papers guy does this big double take (keep in mind, i don't think this guy could read dr. seuss), and goes, "you already went that way! Wait a minute..." Like he didn't know enough to realize that i had just arrived by ambulance but could check me off his list for who passes him in the am.
The other thing is one i saw on law and order (which i love. if something terrible ever happens to andy, i'm gonna marry elliot stabler). There is some FBI training thing where analysis of parts of the face and little bitty reactions can show what people are thinking. That's i guess what psychics and other people with some kind of "gift" use- intuition about people's reactions. Anyway, i've meant to look it up for awhile in real life, but forgot the name of it now. Maybe the creepy people use that stuff! Maybe sareet, you should use it to determine who is actually creepy, and who is just making conversation. Better to be paranoid than stalked and murdered i think.
WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THIS WAS CREEPY AND THAT OUR GIRL IS AN INNOCENT VICTIM? Sareet, babe, I send hugs. I completely understand how awkward that exchange would have been and how icky "stranger danger" feels. Besides, I don't think that this is the case for you, but sometimes we all are guilty so if you WERE the creepy one, you are in good company... I do it... If I didn't fess up, Kate would "out" me. There was this poor guy in Formosa awhile back... oh, whatever. It doesn't matter. Anyway, hon.... I think you were absolutely the innocent-and-justifiably-concerned person in this situation. Bah to the rest of you. - aj
I think that most of us are just trying to make you feel better about it, Sareet. aj is right--stranger danger is bad, but, it's over now and so far the guy hasn't turned up on your doorstep, so, chances are...it's ok. You didn't give him your address and you didn't get into a car with him--so it's all right. Do you remember 'running girl' from freshman year? She used to show up in the cafeteria in her running clothes and became thinner and thinner as the year progressed and we all referred to her as 'running girl'? Well, she might have been creeped out too if she knew that we all had a nick name for her and noticed that she seemed to be losing a lot of weight. Probably if you ran into her outside Angell Hall and said "Hey! You live in my dorm and you go running a lot!" she might not like it.
I think it's a little creepy, but I don't think you need to worry--a little paranoia can be a good thing.
Yeah, "stranger danger" - ha. Well, I think it's good to take precautions and not blather out my address to everyone, but overall, the guy was probably okay. I just got creeped out that he even noticed, but maybe I should just be flattered.
:)
Sad that no one chose answer "B" tho. Men's sleeveless tank tops are definitely creepy, if not downright scary!
Oh, and I don't remember "running girl" at all. Weird. I do remember a girl who had fabulous hair and blowdried it big and fluffy every single day...
I was going to vote for "B." If the FBI does not have a fashion faux-pas warning list, they should. For example, Henry Lee Lucas adored novelty fashion like those shirts that changed color according to body temperature.
Go with your instincts. Even if he didn't intend to be creepy, so what. You have enough friends anyway.
Jared had the nerve to throw on a sleeveless tank-shirt thing once. It was more jarring than walking in and finding him on the couch in his boxers surrounded by beer bottles. Very "whiskey tango". I've gotten used to that, but the sight of this sleeveless muscle shirt thing and his tatoos and... I just don't have the right words... I was simply horrified.
I threatened to break up with him if he ever wore it around me again. It was not an empty threat, as mine often are.
-aj
i love this talk- first, i must be the oddball, since my mother had me fingerprinted as a child because she couldn't get me to shut up. She was afraid i would get stolen since every stranger we passed was treated to, "hi, I'm melissa ____. My mommy's name is ____. I live at 300 E. Potter Street. My phone number is...." It got tough for her...
Second, tank tops + boys can only be bad. Just wrong. Like the mesh pants from one of your earlier posts. It isn't right. Andy has this one t-shirt, black, with SECURITY in big white letters across the front... with the sleeves cut off. Only for wearing under his clothes, but whoa. Don't tell anyone.
Last, way better safe than sorry. I'm a paranoid fool- you should see me in nyc- guarding my bag so no one grabs it; standing far back on the train platform so i don't get pushed onto the third rail in front of a train by some schizophrenic homeless person; sure i'm gonna be found in a dumpster somewhere because i walked down my street to get ice cream at what could be considered dusk in some parts of the world.
You guys crack me up. Who would've thought the topic of men's sleeveless tank tops could inspire so many comments? This is like the most comments I've ever gotten on a post!!! (even if half of them are from me :))
Thanks guys!!!
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