Date

Getting ready for a date is all about deciding when to start getting ready. If you start too early then you will miss the chance of showcasing yourself in the freshest out-of-shower manner. If you start too late then you will find yourself rushing to make it in time. I have decided on 28 minutes as the optimum time to start prepping. I began when 28 minutes were left until we met. I started with brushing my teeth. Being a 26 yr old Indian adult male with reasonable moral values and a firm education under the belt, I could now freely expect some pecking action without any guilt or shame. During a quick rinse of the mouth I lamented that fact that I will never have Hollywood teeth. I then jumped in the shower. Shower was not meant to take more than a few minutes but thinking of what we would talk about got me distracted. In any case, I managed to not let things get worse and came out to shave. Shaving is much easier on a softened skin post warm shower. I carefully maneuvered the blade, of all the days; I could not afford a careless nick today. There! Done! Back in the shower I went for a quick rinse-off the shaving foam and out I came groping for a towel. I meticulously dried myself. Everywhere but the scalp; It’s no fun gelling dry hair. The undergarments were a simpler decision to make. Then the deodorant was liberally sprayed on a cold skin. I winced but it is now much too common a occurrence to notice. I had decided on black, I always did. So I quickly slipped on my shirt. Wore my favorite and utterly overly used denims and got back in the bathroom. Dried off the hair and immediately gelled it, that’s the trick. The comb has been forgotten. The rules of my childhood have long since evaporated. I do not have any class monitors to answer to. A bit of face cream to avoid a drying skin… I was now reasonably satisfied with my face. Having cleaned the face, the shirt seemed the wrong choice. There were only minutes left, and any change now would involve a serious commitment. I ransacked my closet. All my shirts looked wrong, old and terribly pointless. The clock of course did not stop for my discourse. All would have been lost until I found my blue striped shirt. Perfect! Off came the black one, the gelled hair now needed resetting. On went the blue, tucked in for good measure. Back to the bathroom we go to fix the hair. I was now cutting it close. Blue was better, but I needed black to calm my nerves. So I put on a black jacket and to take some formality off the attire I messed up the collars. At this point, I had realized that is as good as it was going to get. I slipped on fresh socks and my brown shoes. I still had a minute to spare which I spent adjusting the shirt so that it was tucked right all over. And then, it was eight. The computer beeped, as MSN pinged. She was here. Over a grainy webcam that did not justice to her smile, she waved. The text changed and soon I received a simple “Hi” Those two letters contained all her sounds, smells and touch. It wasn’t ideal, but for now it would do. So I typed back, “Hi”