good for the goose is good for the gander

A special friend recently accused me that I let myself be hit on.

I, of course, jumped to my defense and curtly said, "No."

Now being the gentler human being (*grins*), I let her have the last say and she went, "I hate your office."

I would have let my friend know that those last words went to my other ear and exited as quickly as she was done with her hmp sound. But a person, in order to be gentle, doesn't have to be that dumb.

Nonchalance. That's the secret.

But that night I confided that there was this sort-of-new gurl at work who would do extra efforts to make her presence felt.

The new gurl would bring food for almost everyone at work once a week, but she would see to it that there was a separate serving for me.

She would also wait for me outside the building after work, and in a really weird way just stand beside me while I chat with my colleagues. When it was time to disperse and head home, she would stay behind and watch me walk towards my car in the lot.

Once she intimated that she doesn't have my mobile phone number. I left it as that.

But there was a certain incident that made me rethink of my patience.

I was on my way out to smoke a ciggy when I heard the new gurl call out my name. I deliberately didn't look back because I was in that suplado-mode (Read: I want to savor my own space). All of a sudden, from behind, she grabbed my elbow, took it and clang on to it as if we were that cool.

Whatever that was was damaging to my personal space and gave me seriously the goose bumps.

My friend then coldly quizzed, "What does she look like? Siguro she's not pretty."

I replied, "She's...not. Yea."

She quickly reacted, "Duh-uh. Kaya pala ayaw mo."

She pointed out that I reacted adversely to the new gurl because I give my consent to pretty gurls. Other creatures are off limits.

Not so true.

I don't let people hit on me. Consciously. Wilfully.

And it's not true that I discriminate. Pretty or not, sure. They can join the club.

Wait. There's no club. I used that metaphorically.

I mean, there were no "hitters" at work in the first place, not until the new gurl came. I think.

...

...

I won't let the new gurl come on to me even if she's pretty.

Her last words?

Nothing. Whatever I said went out her other ear.

* * *

kids should know that ...

The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as piloerection. It occurs not only in humans but also in many other mammals; a prominent example are porcupines which raise their quills when threatened. Piloerection as a response to cold or fear is vestigial in humans; as humans retain only very little body hair, the reflex (in humans) now serves no known purpose. In humans, goose bumps are strongest on the forearms, but also occur on the legs, back, and other areas of the skin that have hair. In some people, they even occur in the face or on the head. (wikipedia)