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Friends, or Friendlier? Ask 5.

Q: So, I like this girl a lot and we have known each other for a long time. Recently we've gotten pretty close and I think she is starting to like me too, but I am not sure :( 
Here are the details:
We spend about every minute we have the chance to together.
She bumps into me a lot when we walk.
When we aren't talking she just stares at my eyes and always says they are the prettiest ones she has ever seen.
I really don't want our friendship to end, but if she wants to take it farther I wanna know. Please help?!



A=5
One (As Channeled through Five and Two): Um. . .                                  . . . we're trying, but it's not working. COME HOME ONE! We will say that One and Mr. One took their sweet time making any major moves. They went from friends to special friends to not friends at all several times, and now they're married, madly in love, with two kids. So take heart if it doesn't work out this time. If it's meant to be, you probably have a few years to figure it out.

Two (The Prude Who Exudes): So... I am wondering how old you are.  You can say I don't have a life -- you might be a little right -- but I'm not big into teenage romances.  Though One met her husband when she was 17 -- they didn't get married for eight years.  Now that I have that out of the way, here's my advice:  I don't know about other girls, but I am a little complicated.  Even if I like a boy, if he moves too fast I feel suffocated and all I want to do is get out.  Even if he doesn't, sometimes I feel that way.  So I would say if you're of a reasonable age, start small and try to hold her hand.  I know, I sound like I am five years old, but holding hands can be really nice. If she doesn't want to hold your hand, then it won't be too awkward to go back to being friends, as opposed to if you try to plant a big, juicy one on her... Yeah... that could be... awkward.... 

Three (Expert on These Things):  It sounds like she likes you, but if you're looking for a more definite signal I would recommend using my "Lady-love Litmus Test." Guaranteed to be 100% accurate with the smallest chance of ruining an existing friendship.  All you have to do is follow these 5 simple steps and you will know fo sho if she be diggin on you. 
  • Invite her to participate in a mundane activity (the bait).  It is important that the bait is something you would normally do together (no dinner at the Ritz, yes coffee, movie, going to the park, etc.)
  • Gauge her response. If she seems normal, or happy proceed to the next step. On the other hand if she acts weird and questions you ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! (note, this should not happen if you picked the activity according to my parameters.) 
  • Once she's agreed to accompany you, casually throw in the words "so it's a date (the switch)." Those 4 words set off an extremely complex chain reaction in any lady mind, and the final product is a reading on her romantic intentions. 
  • This is the most vital step of the test, so read thoroughly and  be sure you understand before proceeding.  There will be a reaction to the switch. No matter what this reaction is you must stare at her blankly. No smiles, grimaces, looking away AND/OR crying.  Just stare at her and pretend she's discussing string thoery.
  • Follow Through with the bait and see how she behaves.  Is she dressed up?  Did she let you pay?  Does she seem nervous?  If the answer to two or more of these is YES, then seal the deal and go in for the hand hold.
And that, my friend, is how it's done. 

Four (Space Romancer): My answer depends a little on how old you are. But, if you are indeed old enough to fly on airplanes alone, congrats! Listen up. First things first, I commend you for taking your friendship seriously and not wanting to jeopardize it. From the things you've shared, it sounds like this girl likes you. Nevertheless, proceed with caution. It's really easy to see what we want to see. I've had people perceive my friendliness as much more--which is always a little uncomfortable. If you follow these steps, you should be able to circumvent that awkwardness.

  1. Do you have any mutual friends? I know it sounds a little middle school, but friends are great intermediaries. Try to get one of yours to ascertain her feelings about you.
  2. If the feedback is positive, ask her to do something with you. If you don't have any mutual friends, skip step one, but be careful. Make sure the invitation is casual. It has to be casual because (a) you don't want to scare her away, and (b) you want to give her an easy out. 
  3. A lot of girls just will not make the first move, so you should. If she recoils when you try to hold her hand or gets tense when you put your arm around her shoulder, she probably isn't into you. However, if she seems comfortable, let things progress at a natural pace. If there's a mutual attraction, things should just fall into place.
Five (Passion Calculator): This all sounds très romantic, but I understand not wanted to screw up being ffs (I hope that the exclusion of 'b'was appropriate). I would turn to casual observance for elucidation of whether you should get comfortable being 'friends', or if this young lady wants you to graduate to 'special friends'.
Things to observe: 
Is the time you're spending together in large groups?
Does she routinely have difficulty walking straight (perhaps due to vertigo, or uneven legs)?
Do you have the prettiest eyes in your geographic area/circle of friends?
If the answer to >1 question is no, I'd say that there's a pot of love a-bubbling between you two! Profess your burning desire to take her out to a movie and face-kiss together afterwards.

. . . but maybe not in those words.

Have a question? ASK FIVE. You'll have a 1 in 5 chance that 
someone will see it your way!
Just send your questions to:
fivetdsisters@gmail.com

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The Art of Art

When we were in DC, I made a delightful trip to the National Gallery.  As I perused the portraits in the Chester Dale collection (a definite win), and the rest of the museum, many of the little girls in the paintings looked familiar to me. After some pondering, I understood why: they reminded me of my sisters and myself! In that stage between babyhood and girl-dom -- toddler, is it called? -- we all had that same plumpness that translates so romantically into classical portraiture (except for in those creepy mini-adult baby paintings. . . those give me the heebie jeebies).

Maybe you can see what I'm trying to communicate (pictures are ordered from One to Five).




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Hmart!

Yesterday Brother Z and I ventured out to Hmart to acquire some ingredients for the Indian feast we're making Shiloh on Friday (more on that later). For those of you who aren't familiar with Hmart, I'm very sorry. You should rectify the situation--stat! It's an amazing resource that offers everything from fish shaped waffles filled with nutella to canned quail eggs and dry packed crabs. Kind of weird, but totally awesome. Needless to say, we had lots of fun.
 

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A little reductionist

photo credit  http://www.pinksherbet.com/

A while ago I saw this nytimes.com blog about Smith Magazine's 6-word memoir series. And while this might prove I'm the hipster my siblings accuse me of being, I love them!  In my life I have had a few romances, and while I can't exactly sum them up in 6 words, here are my best efforts.


He was just a phase. Phew!

Broken hearts mend, guilty consciences don't.

Young love's overrated. Grab a book. 

 My Hero. So cliche. So true.

(I'll let folks guess which one is Dr. P ;)

It's a pretty fun exercise.  I'd love to see any of your efforts!

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The Perils of the Big White Dress

This year, between me and Yman, we have a lot of invitations to weddings.  Maybe it is because of germs and maybe it's because my family culture, but I just don't get spending tons of money on a wedding.  Think of everything you could do with the money instead: Put a down payment on a house; Give money to a humanitarian aid fund; Keep it for a rainy day; take your lovie and your families on a great vacation.

My grandparents, in 1950
My grandparents in 2000
My grandparents were married for 58 years.  My grandmother wore a dress from Lerner and the attendees included her mother, the family who lived in the home where the wedding took place and two non family members.  Mom and dad were married for 30 years,* and eloped with no one there but a few, close friends.


To me, when you get married, it is a commitment between the two people getting married and God or the universe or whatever you want to call it.  I feel that the bigger and more expensive the party, the less two people getting married can actually focus on that commitment.

I understand why some people want a big party to celebrate their wedding.  I'm just not one of them.  I would be happy with a modest white dress and a marriage worth celebrating after 50 years.
My parents in 1979
1991
2007
*added more pictures!

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On Love and Legos...

We are a flutter of activity over here, getting ready to take off on a little roadtrip through Istria, Lake Bled and Austria.  Just in case tonight's picturesque Croatian Inn lacks adequate IT infrastructure to support a real post, I thought I'd leave you with this choice nugget of Hungarian pop culture.  The chorus goes like this: "Hey, little lady!  Ooo! Hi! Hello!  Let's stick together like two little Legos!"  Brilliant.




P.S.  Have I mentioned how much better life is now that my husband is on the same continent?  The answer is much. 

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