Let’s face it, some of us (uh…me) are usually oblivious when someone is interested, finds us attractive, or has a little crush on us. And even though we are adults we all still do get crushes or are crushed on. A good portion of these happen in the work environment – The Work Crush.
Don’t deny it, you know what I mean. You take a longer route to find your way back to your cubicle after abnormally frequent bathroom breaks. You arrive to work a little earlier or stay a little later in hopes of having a brief run-in with him/her and getting in a little face time. You find yourself daydreaming as you stare at your computer screen and when someone catches you, you say that your computer (brain) froze and are waiting for it to restart (focus.)
A good boost for the ego and self-esteem though, is when you discover someone is crushing on you. Even if you are not interested and know he/she will never act on it, it’s a feel good for the soul pick-me-up. And in all my years of a-guy-is-into-me cluelessness, these are the signs that even I pick up on.
1) The inadvertent smile. They see you, they smile. You walk by, they smile. They are talking about some mundane topic and mid-sentence briefly make eye-contact with you they smile. They can’t control it and keep doing it. During a heated discussion of urinal cakes they are all a flutter.
2) Verbal diarrhea. They talk, without breathing, about random topics that you can’t seem to follow. The conversation goes on without much word from you, but they can’t help themselves and more just keeps spilling out.
3) Says your name. I read this once in one of those teenie-bopper magazines way back when and found it to be absolutely accurate. Make note, next time you are conversing with a guy/gal who you think may be crushing on you, see if he/she says your name after they say hello. Then see if it pops in again mid-conversation. And it will most likely follow the words “good-bye” as well.
4) Body language, of course. Tries to be close to you, angles in your direction, or, my absolute favorite, when they literally have a bounce in their step.
5) They “Twinkle.” For those of you who are unaware of “twinkling,” you need to catch up on some Major Dad reruns. Basically, it is that sparkle in your eye that pops out when you are super happy, excited, or interested in whatever is before you. Don’t be fooled, it can be controlled if you are aware of its existance and power. But for those unaware, it is a dead give away of a crush.
All of these little tidbits assisted me in diagnosing my coworker, who works in a different department than me, with a Work Crush. A few of months ago while I was working a bar shift, I had an inkling that he had a bit of a crush on me. At the end of one of my shifts, I had to stop by his department. I passed him in the hallway and heard, “Hi, Zia.” I gave a response “hello” (no clue what his name is) and he coyly looked in my direction and gave a little smile. I was headed toward the counter and his coworker who was behind it. As I was approaching the counter, I noticed a little giddy-up in his step and a side glance at his coworker. I gathered that it was unspoken language that he wanted to assist me and that the coworker should step aside. He raced through the door, nearly crashing into a desk, around the counter and replaced his coworker. He made small-talk and had trouble making eye-contact because all smiles would pop out when he did. He added my name into a statement and was kind of floating/bouncing as he moved about. I finished up my business and said “bye.” He looked up at me, said “Bye, Zia,” and then…he twinkled.
Dude’s got in bad. Shame I don’t feel the same.
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