The Voice on the Phone

First, I developed a crush on the guy who works for campus tours at the university. Something in his voice made me feel that he must be very attractive. He was so helpful. He sounded interested in my plans and aspirations. He was funny, and best of all, he wanted to make me happy. It was love at first listen.

Then I met him. I wish I could say he was a hairy ogre, fifty-five years old with a hunch back and bad odour, but it wasn't the case. He was just a normal guy and I was jealous when he talked in exactly the same way to the guy ahead of me in line. He was probably also barely twenty years old, and looked mildly sorry that they couldn't offer more specifics for people who wanted to do graduate work. Point taken. You can't fall in love with people who are paid to make you happy and act like they're interested in your ambitions.

On that same trip, I also learned you can't fall in love with the voice of your potential roommate. I was so excited to meet this guy though. Something in his voice made him sound hip, smart, witty and successful. Just, something about his tone and his energy. I was sure of it. Now, this guy did turn out to be hairy ogre, fifty-five years old with a hunch back and bad odour. I thought I took the point before, but apparently not. Several weeks of apartment hunting via Craigslist have drilled the point into my brain, and a few more times I have chuckled to myself - "Good thing you didn't get a phone crush on that landlord. Your hopes would have been crushed!" But conversely I've thought, "Hmm..that person sounded sooo dull and unintelligent on the phone - but here we have quite the opposite." Just goes to show!

Unfortunately, I've recently fallen in love with the handwriting on the page. After requesting a back issue of a magazine I'd been trying to find, I receive it in the mail - enclosed with a handwritten note addressed to me. He spelled my name properly, invited me to a magazine fair, and reminded me that he was kind enough to have thrown in an extra magazine for me to peruse. What a man! Part of me dreads this magazine fair - which I had previously planned to attend, so it's not solely a man cruising event for me. I know what I've learned about the voice on the phone - highly untrustworthy in forming a first impression - but I wonder if the same rules apply for handwriting.