Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucla-cs.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!ucla-cs!mccolm
From: mccolm@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: Re: Nominally single???? A voice from the past.
Message-ID: <7228@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 22-Oct-85 02:18:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.7228
Posted: Tue Oct 22 02:18:05 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Oct-85 04:49:02 EDT
References: <285@whuts.UUCP> <533@oakhill.UUCP> <286@whuts.UUCP>
Reply-To: mccolm@ucla-cs.UUCP (Eric McColm)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 43

Back in the bad old days, when people went to dances, socials, and other
occasions, people wore flowers to indicate whether they were "available"
or not.  Women wore flowers over one ear if they were single and looking
for a relationship, and men wore corsages on their lapels to indicate the
same thing.  This bit of social trivia has been lost, thrown out with the
truly offensive stuff that was also common at the time.  But it was a
convenient way to signal your intentions to everyone, and was at one time
nearly universally understood.  (At least in rural areas and certain cities.)

I've often wished for the return of some form of this custom, due to my
incredible knack for singling out the one engaged/married/nominally single
woman in a crowd.  As long as the other customs didn't come with it.  But
it would be nice to walk into a social occasion and signal all those who
were interested that I'm looking for MOTAS, in some socially acceptable way.

By the way, I once ran into a cute definition of "nominally single."  I struck
up a conversation with an attractive woman who was refinishing some furniture
outside an apartment.  Her SO, a six-and-a-half foot tall fist with eyes
walked up behind me and loudly demanded to know just what I thought I was
doing.  Of course being single is hazardous to your health.  I could have
told you that.

But, back to the question at hand:  When should you tell someone you are
"Not Available"?  Assuming there's no way to tell from a distance, and no
matchmakers, it should come out in conversation whenever it starts to seem
relevant, but hopefully before the other person puts their foot in it by
asking you out.  The cue:  the average person pauses briefly, collecting
nerve to plunge into the subject of SO-hood.  By this time, it's too late.
Somewhere in the first two to five minutes is fine.  The problem is, the
women who in my experience seem very energetic, relaxed, attractive, together,
and so on, don't pay attention to this because they're still hyper on account
of their SO proposing to them just recently.  Understandable, but still...
--fini--
A Singularity is the center of a black hole.  A Single is described below.

Eric McColm
UCLA (oo' - kluh) Funny Farm for the Criminally Harmless
UUCP:  ...!{ihnp4,trwspp,cepu,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!mccolm
ARPA:  mccolm@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
Quotes on the Nature of Existence:
   "To be, or not to be..."    -Hamlet  (Wm. Shakespeare)
   "I think, therefore I am."  -R. Descartes
   ""                  -Gleep   (Robt. Asprin)