《Raw Rothbard》Connecting with new people, thankfully
Advertisement
I woke up at 3am. Gasping for air. My body covered in sweat. My house didn’t have an air conditioner. It was August in Seoul so it was hot.
I activated the routine I had used to make it through most of the summer. I took a cold shower and air dried in front of the two jumbo fans I had in my bed room. That did the trick and I was cool enough to go back to sleep.
I laid back down. i tossed and turned for an hour before deciding to get up and start my day.
I went out to my living room and sat down on my wooden lawn furniture. On the floor, in front of me, my big luggage case open and packed with every single item of clothing that I owned. The big luggage case was maybe half way filled.
I didn’t have a TV. I opened my laptop computer and watched a few seconds of several different music videos. None of them had a fast enough pace to out do the speed of my thoughts. None of them had enough emotional impact to pull me out of my pit of emptiness. It was too early to turn up the volume loud enough to drown out my life. Gotta be mindful of the nice old lady who lives next door.
The lawn furniture was not comfortable enough to sit for longer than ten minutes so I mived down to the floor next to my luggage. I had to kick aside some pizza boxes, beer cans, and chip bags to get a clear space.
The night before I had talked to a best friend Jacob on the phone. He told me about Tinder. He shared a humorous story about another one of his friends who had used the app while still married.
Advertisement
My marriage ended more than a year ago. I hadn’t seen anyone romantically in a long time. My wife and I only had fake passion and romance for the past few years. Since at least 2017, all our dates were terrible. It was always my wife trying but failing to hold back her venomous insults. And me hoping in vain I would have the meditation power to withstand her barrages before a migraine headache set in.
Tinder? Why not? What the fuck is it anyway? Some app? Like facebook for singles or something? No idea.
I loaded the app. I uploaded some photos. Not being too selective. I didn’t write anything for my profile. I didn’t add my education or job. Who would believe I’m a Seoul National Graduate and science fiction writer? Hell, it’s my life and I hardly believe it. Ha! Fuck it.
With my identity ready to go, all shitty and poorly put together, I started my life in the internet dating world.
Next, I started looking at other people’s profiles. I tapped the heart button on the bottom if I liked a profile and I tapped the x button if I didn’t like the profile. I didn’t know you were supposed to swipe right for like and left for nope. Anyways, within a few minutes, some girl named Valerie matched with me.
The excitement. The rush of happiness I felt when someone I was attracted to was also attracted to me.
It was about 4 am when we connected. I got up and made some coffee.
I didn’t know what you do after you match. I went back to the clear spot on my floor and drank my coffee tapping like on every profile, hoping someone else would like me back and give me another one of those rushes.
Advertisement
Tinder quickly ran out of possible candidates. No more matches and all that tapping. Oh fuck. More rejection. Thrown away by my wife and now this. Saddness.
I sat my phone down and looked around at the four empty walls of my living room. No photos. No art up. Numb cement covered with patternless plain wall paper.
Then! Yes! Fuck yes! My phone rumbled and chirped a ding dong sound. And Fuck yes! Notification from Tinder!
I open the app. Its Valerie. She wants to chat! This beautiful black queen. All those curves and fun smiles in her profile. And she wants to chat with little loser low me! The Tinder app tells me she is about 4km away.
We get through the introductions. We get into a game called guess where the lady is from. She starts by telling me its a place with a lot of minerals. I guess Vermont. She is like, “What? No! Try harder!” I say, “Too easy, you’re from Kazahkstan and your mineral richness comes from your world leading potassium deposits.” She is like double what the fuck. She gives me a few more hints. I finally get it, she is from South Africa. This conversation is fun. I am happy for the first time in months. Like adult happy. Not boner happy! Get your mind out of the gutter! Happy, like, hey, I’m making a connection with someone who has adult worries and we are talking about our shit together. That kind of happy.
I get tears in my eyes but I’m not crying. She tells me she is awake early, can’t sleep. She is a little manic, packing her stuff, and considering leaving Korea. Her English teaching contract is not over but she’s been a good employee at her academy for almost four years so they would understand if she wanted to leave.
She feels isolated here. She says she never really acclimated to Korea. She misses her family and friends back home.
We move our conversation out of Tinder and into Kakaotalk.
With the way it is going, I feel like she is pressing for a meetup. I slink out of the conversation with some sly responsible excuses. I tell her I need to get cleaned up and get ready for my day.
After the chat was over, I cleaned my house for the first time in about a month. In the background, I had on a reasonable volume of Taylor Swift kicking. I do some silly dances while I scrub my way through the mountain of dishes in my sink.
I filled three trash bags. I threw away some of my cheap plates and decided I would buy nicer replacements today.
I have the money. Why do I hate myself so much that I only buy the bargain mismatched stuff from the thrift shop.
Thank you Valerie. Thank you Tinder. Kindness. A polite, warm connection made possible by this technology.
Fast forward a few months, my house has stayed consistently clean. I bought some real furnishings so my house isn’t the headquarters of my despair and discomfort. I’m staying in Korea because I feel like I have some budding friendships with the people I chat with on Tinder. Getting the visa won’t be easy for a ton of reasons. But I’ll figure it out.
I should look at my phone history and make sure I get the exact date I downloaded Tinder. That’s an important day. That was a turning point. Back toward hope.
Advertisement
The Descendent Protectors
With only three weeks left of summer vacation, Nora and her friends decided to road trip to a secluded territory with a wondrous lake in the northwestern region of Indiana. Unbeknownst to them, the territory has been claimed by one of the most powerful men in North America, and they were trespassing. A while later, Nora runs into this owner of the land, and despite his intimidating and powerful aura, there's another foreign emotion settling deep in her stomach whenever her dull brown eyes connect with his striking silver gaze. Unfamiliar to the feeling, Nora shrugs it off, completely oblivious to the fact that not only has she now captured the interest of the most powerful and dangerous man in North America, but has also set foot inside a whole different world known to only exist in mythical books.*Note: This is not your classical Werewolf story. *Top rankings:#1 in Romance - 3rd January, 2021#1 in Myth - 6th January, 2021#1 in Legend - 24th January, 2021#1 in Fiction - 9th August, 2021*Word count: 90,000 - 100,000
8 96The Open Skies
Sarah Hidalgo knows that it is going to be an adventure when she agrees to go off to the far-off country of Paradis to attend the linguistics program of one of the best international universities. What she doesn't agree to is all the events that happen instead of her education, including but not limited to sky pirate takeovers, invasions by other countries, secret police, and crime bosses. But Sarah will not be alone in these adventures, for the colorful crew of a cargo airship will be along side her. Perhaps finding some form of normality won't be too difficult, if such a thing exist.
8 451Penalise the Player
Hospitalised. Incarcerated. Tortured by obnoxious fairies. Oh, when will this day be over? Arline has been saved--mostly. Her body is being maintained and the public is aware of her...technical difficulties. But life still sucks. She's still stuck in a game after all. And now new dangers are but a code-string away... Sequel to Playing Solitaire.
8 151Are You Okay!?!? (Wrong number PJO and Avengers crossover)
After a wrong number texted Tony does some investigating but the answer to his question only make him more concernedOn the other side of the phone Percy and the other Demigods try's to find Nico after he runs off but as time goes on they only get more concerned for his safety and well-beingThis work is currently being edited so things might not line up right#1 in Percy on August 24 2020#1 in PercyJackson on September 27 2020#1 in Hoo on January 31 2021#5 in tony on February 8 2021
8 220Sanguimancer
[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] |Vampires. Cursed existences that feed on the life force of the living by draining their blood. Deceptively powerful and able to use incredible magic, the only chance humanity has against them is the runic language gifted to them by Solaris, God of Light. While not all powerful, they have given humanity the power to fight back, leading to the current stalemate. Brandon suffered a tragic fate while walking through the woods. Offered a choice by Solaris, what will his life entail? Author's note: This will be my main focus during November, but I almost guarantee that it won't be finished by the time the challenge ends. I'll probably lower releases to biweekly or monthly after that depending on my schedule. There are no plans for a harem, or even a romantic interest. If you decide to join me for the ride, I welcome criticism and try and reply to comments so let me know what you think!
8 543Tear In My Heart(Killua Zoldyck X Reader)COMPLETE
Y/N is from a small no nothing town and over hears about the Hunter's Exam. And so,she takes it. She meets Gon,Kurapika,Leorio and Killua...and has a crush on Killua but you didn't hear that from me.•••WAS #2 IN KILLUAZOLDYCKXREADER TAG
8 57