alm-rom-com

i did it! the man at pod central st giles loves me!

every day of my mundane life, i go to pod for a cream cheese bagel. it took these guys far too long to recognise that not only do i come in every day nearly without fail, i always order the same thing, and i never want a bag. the first person to pick up on this was the guy who makes my bagels. one fine morning i walked in and he caught my eye and mouthed 'cream cheese bagel?' and i, overjoyed that someone finally picked up on it, nodded and mouthed 'yes, thanks!' i was so thrilled. he started cooking my bagel before it was even ordered. i'd reached the height of breakfast take-away efficiency!

then he was gone. for a week, or two, i was bereft. beside myself. having to explain over and over that no, i did not want salmon on it, or a drink, or a FUCKING BAG! slowly, some of the ladies at the counter started to figure me out, and now most of the people who work there totally know what i order. i switched it up for a couple days and asked for tomato. they remembered that right away.

this morning, my favourite bagel toaster was back. he smiled, he said 'bagel?' I smiled and nodded. when he called out my order he said 'bagel with extra cream cheese' and gave me a giant grin. we are in love.

i am always having these almost romantic comedy run ins. the story always starts off hilariously ephron-scripted. on my way to ice-skating with a friend, i find a wallet on the tube. while looking through it for some sort of contact info, i find he's a banker (rich) with a gym (fit) and nando's (likes chicken) card. we make a plan to meet in front of canary wharf station on a cold winter's day. my friend is telling me how we'll get married someday and laugh about the stupid way we met. he shows up and is pretty much a mega twat who says  in a posho voice 'i really must stop leaving my wallet places. ciao'.

then there was the time at the airport. christmas day. we'd had a massive snow here in the UK, and people were all backed up trying to get out of town. i took a bump because who in their right mind says no to US$1000 delta dollars? this meant i had to get on a bus to LHR and get on another plane four hours later. matt was behind me in line. we started to chat as you do. he also took the bump. we sat next to each other on the coach. he's also from the atl and living here. we like the same books and music and have a few beers and some food and a delightful time. we see each other several times once back in london. i might have left this bit out. matt is a gay man.

i've got the randy-newman-themed quirky meeting down pat. just nothing else. although it is always funny. i start telling people these stories and i just watch their heads start casting colin firth and mark ruffalo or whoever. till i get to the punchline and it changes to james spader c Pretty in Pink or ethan embry in Sweet Home Alabama.

the moral of the story here, is i still get extra cream cheese for free (heads out of the gutter, people!), and that's nothing to scoff at.