I'd gotten an invitation a few weeks ago from the chairman of my club to come to a "New Members at Home Jazz, Drinks & Canapés Reception" this evening, apparently an event for all the individuals who had joined the club in the past year. Given that it was one of the few events I've ever been to at the club that I didn't have to pay for, I of course enthusiastically responded that I would attend.
I'd already checked with the 25-Year Old to see if he were coming, but unfortunately he had a work party that night (nearly everybody does every night of the week now that it's December). I'd written to him once I got back from the US, not so subtly dropping the hint that I'd like to see him again soon and roughly laying out my schedule for the next week or so. Yet, just before I was due to leave for the party, he wrote back to me, a nice enough note but simply saying, "Hope to see you again soon", without specifying any sort of date or suggesting any plans. For some reason, this ticked me off like you wouldn't believe, and so I determined that I would be open to meeting and talking to anyone I met that night. This is both the fun and annoying part of a new romantic interest, as while it's a thrill every time you open your inbox and there's a message from them, it's also incredibly confusing that you have no idea what's going through their minds!
Unfortunately I got stuck on conference calls at work, and although I'd had the idea of trying to do a somewhat complicated or fancy hairstyle, I ran out of time, so I had to just stick combs in my hair and go with it. One of these days, I'm going to remember to leave enough time to do my hair...
When I arrived, as I was hanging up my coat, I caught a very familiar looking girl doing a double-take, so I asked, "Doro, is that you?"
It was a girl I had met at the reverse dinner at the Savile Club two months prior, and we'd actually hit it off brilliantly and had been writing back and forth quite a bit since then. I suppose we could be forgiven for not immediately recognising one another, given that we hadn't seen each other in two months. Yet I was also a bit embarassed, for after having asked the 25-Year Old if he were coming, I'd never even thought to ask Doro if I might see her at the event! Particularly as we'd bonded over the fact that we'd both gone to Magdalene together, which is how we'd first gotten along. She laughed with relief that I'd clarified it was me, and said she'd though it was me, but she'd seen me wearing a Balliol scarf (instead of my Magdalene scarf) and so had been unsure. Understandable!
She'd brought along her friend Elana who had also been at the Reverse Dinner, although Elana didn't greet me quite as enthusiastically as Doro had. Indeed, as we got into the reception, I talked to them at the start, but Elana seemed to have no clue as to how to make conversation with new people. Intimidated because she didn't actually go to Oxford or Cambridge? Just shy, like my friend Sara, and it comes off as coldness? Hard to say, but soon enough I got involved in conversation with other people, and drifted off from Doro and Elana into another conversational group.
There were quite a number of older members there, but pretty quickly I found myself in a conversation with an Italian guy named Andrea who had been at Templeton at Oxford. (We got a good laugh out of having gender-opposite names, that are totally normal in our own countries). Also we were joined by two vegetarians named Alex and Anna. Admittedly I think I accidentally insulted them when I asked why they weren't eating the canapés, and Alex responded, "Oh you know, the whole 'dead animal' thing..." Ooops!
It was then a bit awkward as I would have liked to circulate more, but I couldn't quite figure out how to leave my conversational group. Couldn't leave to go get a new drinks, as the waiters were aggressively circulating with the champagne and canapés, and nobody seemed to want to be breaking into our group. Eventually the vegetarians left, and I ended up pulling Andrea into another group's conversation, before eventually making my way back to Doro and Elana. They were seated by themselves on a couch over in a corner, which I found unusual. Why on earth close yourself off from the crowds and talk to the person you already know? Then again, perhaps this is just what the extrovert in me doesn't understand. I realise this was a mistake I made in my younger years, by always attending events with a friend and just talking to them. One thing I like about Doro, is she's someone I could see passing a few lessons learned onto..
Then this guy who I had been noticing all evening as looking familiar came up to me, equally sure that we'd met before, although we couldn't figure out where. Terribly, I guessed the wrong name and wrong reason for knowing him, but before too long we realised that Emily had introduced us at the masquerade ball a few weeks prior. I congratulated him on a successful event (he had planned the entire thing), and he was such a smooth operator that we quickly moved past my initial social gaffe and got to talking.
Doro and Elana decided to head home, and before too long it was simply me and the Social Planner left in the room, ensconced on a couch and deep in conversation. In short, I don't think I've ever previously met anyone quite so interesting. We talked about when he'd filmed a murder mystery at a country estate, and how the couple who owned the house said he was a much better director than Stanley Kubrick, who had last used the house for one of his movies. We talked about how he'd planned elaborate away weekends for his friends, and the craziness of life at Oxford. He said he worked in PR, and I could see how perfectly suited he was to his role, as he obviously loved event planning and had an incredible knack for social conversation. Indeed, I was almost embarrassed at one point when he reminded me of the name of the girl I'd re-met at the masquerade ball, but then immediately forgotten her name. I was so determined to remember at that point, that I pulled out a pen and paper and wrote it down straight away so I couldn't forget again!
Then at some point as we were talking about grand adventures and quarter-life crises, I mentioned Po Bronson's book, "What Should I Do With My Life?" and the first chapter, about when a young man gets a visit from a representative of the Dali Llama to tell him that he was a reincarnated holy man. I can't remember if this was in response to, or what triggered his revelation, that when he was 14, he had been visited by a representative of the Dali Llama, informing him that he was some reincarnated llama of some sort. (As there are other Llamas besides the Dali Llama, he's just the head guy). And he said he felt sort of embarassed, as these people were giving him all of these gifts of various scarves and things, but he couldn't seem to convince them that they'd made some sort of horrendous mistake. (After all, it must be surprising to be a young British schoolboy and be told you're a reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist). He hadn't had much to do with it since then, but given that he studied theology at Oxford (although focusing on Islam), I could see that he has an interest in these sorts of issues. I therefore told him that perhaps his destiny would be revealed in time, that perhaps those Buddhist holy men hadn't necessarily gotten it wrong. He laughed, but I wonder. Do they ever get it wrong? Or is it just that people fulfill their destinies in different ways? Fascinating idea.
Regardless, I could see there being something about this guy. He was just so engaging, making me laugh and smile as he told story after story, I don't think I've ever been quite so entertained. We continued talking as the staff broke down the room from the reception and set it up in the normal format, just asking us to move couches so they could reposition the one we were on. Some other folks invited me to join them for dinner, but I said I might catch up with them, and kept talking to the Reincarnated Llama.
Finally, he told me that he had to meet friends for dinner at a quarter-past 10, and I laughed and exclaimed, "But it's already 10:20 PM!" He just smiled and said he'd enjoyed talking to me. So we walked out together and he walked me to the Green Park Tube station. Okay, so he was way too short to be a romantic interest, and having graduated from Oxford in 2007, he was way too young. Yet...I can't recall the last time I've met anyone quite simply so fascinating. What a wonderful treat, to simply spend time in his company.
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