On Fashion I Wish I Could Pull Off At Work

Okay Internet Kids, gather round and I shall tell you the story of how I met the future spouse of Tiger Bailey...Oops - Wrong concept - I shall try that once more.

Hey there Internet people, today I'm going to tell you a tale about having the confidence (or lack of caring?) to say "Hi!" to someone you've never met before. It all started this morning, when I was sitting at the bus stop, listening to the strained indie electronica that is Hot Hot Heat (specifically the song YVR, in case you are wondering.) Well, okay, technically it started before then. The bus-stop is, if you will, a kind of prologue episode that you hear about right at the start, and then come back to later. Anyway, the important thing is that I was sitting at the bus stop, staring intently ahead of me, struggling against the urge to air-drum/keytar my way to embarrassment in front of the pentagenarian and high-school students who surrounded me, when I saw a man chasing after a regular school bus, apparently mistaking it for the University/TAFE bus. My eyes followed him, as he walked dejectedly (and slightly embarrassedly) back to the timetable stuck to the glass of the bus shelter.

It was then that I saw him.

Flash back to the week previous, when my friends over in the Call Centre at DIT (at CSU, where I work...) were taking shifts working downstairs in the Learning Commons, sitting on their hands for hours at a time assisting first year students in setting up their laptops to work with our wireless network. For the most part, this was apparently quite an uneventful experience (I spent one of my lunch hours down there, and there was one issue the entire time, so yeah - I can see how that might get a little boring...) On the Thursday, however, X-Man sent me a little message over Communicator (the Microsoft Office Suite's answer to a local area MSN) which went something along the lines of...

"Dude - This guy just came in wearing goggles, a top hat, suspenders, and awesome shoes"

Naturally I was curious, but the fact that I was half-way through a particularly tricky line of code prevented me from running off to inspect what visual treasures such an outfit could present. "Spoot", I thought, "There goes the chance of a lifetime. The only outfit in Bathurst that comes even remotely close to what I just missed is that girl who used to walk around dressed like Vincent Valentine 24/7..." And I gave the whole thing little thought, other than the grilling I gave X-Man about the general style of the outfit. I mean, it's no secret really that I absolutely adore the steam-punk movement - if I thought I could pull it off and not get in "trouble" at work, I'd probably do it myself.

Gimme Clothes!

So this brings us back to today, and the guy I found myself looking at whilst waiting for my bus. Standing roughly four benches down from me, fiddling with his hair, and adjusting the goggles on his top hat, was a guy dressed in the most awesome way ever. Granted, it's not full period steam-punk, but still, the effort he put in just to travel on the bus was incredible - I had to introduce myself to this guy. He replaced his top hat, and my bus pulled up shortly thereafter. Silently I hoped that he'd be getting on too, getting to meet someone so comfortable in themselves in a town like Bathurst is a rare treat, and it had been quite a while since I'd exercised my "confidence muscles" in this way.

Just Another SteamPunk Photo

All the way to the uni I bounced with anticipation - would I still have my old flair for a trouble-free first impression? Or would I suddenly find myself unable to speak and end up making a total tool of myself? I was soon to find out, as the bus slowly ceased at my stop, and he alighted just prior to me. I thanked the bus driver, steeled my resolve, and opened my mouth, whereupon the following conversation took place:

Dirty Tiger: Excuse me Steam-Punk Guy!

Steam-Punk Guy: Hi there!

DT: I just wanted to tell you how awesome your gear is - seriously, you're the most awesome thing I've seen in a while...

SPG: Thanks man - I'm [Name] by the way.

DT: Nice to meet you [Name], I'm [Name], but everyone calls me Tiger.

SPG: Nice to meet you Tiger.

DT: You wouldn't mind if I took a photo would you - only this is just too cool to pass up.

SPG: Go right ahead *poses and the photo is taken* Hey - You wouldn't happen to know where W9 is would you?

DT: Sure, I think it's over there - that's West Campus, anyway.

SPG: Awesome, thanks man, I'll see you around yeah?

And then we fist-bumped, and the scene exploded with awesome.

Following this encounter, I walked off to my work, and he walked in the opposite direction (because W9 isn't in the same direction as my office building...) I turned the corner and received the biggest delayed rush of either adrenaline or endorphins that I've had in quite some time. Apparently, I still have it, and it still feels awesome.

This Is SPG - Hello SPG!

The moral of this story (because it's been a while since I've done a moral, I believe) is that, even though SPG is likely in TM, that doesn't automatically make him someone I should (as a mathematician/computer scientist/nerdling) avoid. Indeed, if he's into D&D or anything of the sort then I'd really be interested in seeing if he'd like to join our gaming group - he'd likely fit in quite well with us, given our collective leaning to adoring all things steam-punk (Spud, Squiggles, Encey, and I do plan on making our own gear at some point, for weekend wear, you know...) and I just think it'd be cool to have another friend to say hello to as I walk around down-town. As it stands, at least I have a new acquaintance.