Insanity is ...

Well. I can't quite put this in a phrase so you'll have to bear with me as I tell you the story.

It's one of my sister's birthday tomorrow so I dashed to Nakumatt during the lunch break to look for a birthday card. I'm not totally sold on the idea of birthday cards, but apparently it means something to some people. Of course I don't give my bro a birthday card. That would be ludicrous.

Anyway. So I get to the card section and gaze at the choices on offer. Some two chics turn the corner and join me in looking at the cards. [Of course chics are an integral part of the story] One of them looks like the bold type. The type that isn't afraid to say anything. The type who you can't stare down. There's eye contact. I'm thinking of something to break the ice. Lucky for me, she's definitely the bold type. She asks me the kind of card I'd like to get. Apparently she's buying for some guy. I point at one of the several in her hand, the one she seems to like. She agrees that it would be a good choice and makes a remark like "if he doesn't like it shauri yake". I ask her to reciprocate, and choose one for me. She pulls out one she says she'd like if it was for her. I take it and ask for her address. I have to keep the conversation going, don't I. I think about asking her for her number but can't quite figure out how to say this in a seamless manner. She heads off to the cashiers. I linger a while longer and conclude that her choice is as good as I'm going to make. I also head to the counter to pay for my purchase. They're still in the queue so I line up behind them. I regurgitate the only thing I can think to say and ask the bold one for her email address, putting on as serious a face as I can muster. The less bold member of the pair points out that I can always get chocolate as an alternative. "Where are the chocolates?". "Just there", she replies. I turn to my left and find myself staring at all sorts of flavours of condoms. I make some remark then she points behind me. I pick a bar of dairy milk from the shelf and add it to my purchases. As they're done buying, the start to kind of walk away as I'm paying. I assure them that the chocolate is indeed for them. The less bold one is in shock. It's not a big deal.

This incident would be perfectly normal, except of a couple of really out of character things.

1. I didn't ask the bold chic for her phone number at the card section.
2. I didn't ask for any of the chics' numbers at the check out counter.
3. I didn't walk up to them after making my purchase and ask for a phone number.

I just waved goodbye and walked away. Astonishing.

Well, I purged my phonebook recently. Again. Just about all chics are gone. I'm now down to about 30 entries. I realised that I was nowhere near rich enough to be calling all these chics all the time, given that they never call me. Getting more numbers for more of the same would not be prudent, and I'd probably end up deleting their number within the week anyway. The fact that I recently quit my job has also strengthened my resolve to resist acquring any new numbers. I'm not sure how long this will last. Given my history, not too long probably.