Drat. There's another one.

So, the webcomics are apparently deciding to parallel my life these days.

xkcd

Questionable Content (sometimes nsfw, but this one's fine) was exactly what happened today. Save that I was in a library, not a bar.

Three numbers. 35:1, 50:1, and 93%.

With some variation, the first is the male/female ratio in A School. (We girls just don't notice most of the time because over half of that is due to all-male programs of study. For us, it usually just feels like about 10:1). The second is the male/female ratio in the Fleet, depending on the ship you're on. The third is the percentage of women who end up married or pregnant within their first two years in the Fleet. With some variation.

So, I can be wearing a Navy uniform, focused on my computer, wearing headphones, oblivious to anybody else in the room (training means that I register "human," whether they're sitting or standing, where they're positioned in the event of an attack or emergency, etc. I barely register 'gender' on this - I'm not special ops.), and a guy will start talking to me. Seriously talking. The last one was particularly persistent.

"Which test are you on?"
"Hmmm. Oh. I'm not a corpsman; I'm an ET."
"Oh, okay, so, how far are you?"
"Mmm. Just started ATT on Tuesday."
"So, that's..."
"ATT's about three months for ETs."
"Oh, yeah. Well, ET's not a bad gig." Starts talking about the fleet - apparently he's a returnee. I perk up a little when he mentions working in Haiti.

"So, you just started, when'd you get out of Boot Camp?"
"'bout a month ago."
"Oh, wow, so, you're like, 20, right? 19?"
Distracted by online activity, "I'm 23. Everybody thinks I'm 19, though."
"Oh, okay." This is usually the point where the 19-year-olds lose interest, but if he's a returnee, he's probably about 24...oh, yep, he just confirmed that. 25, actually.

Now, it should be noted that this guy isn't doing anything wrong. Actually, I rather tend to like corpsmen for some reason, he's not being crude and has yet to cuss, hearing stories about the fleet is always cool, and the fact that he's a returnee means if nothing else that he's older than I am, which has not been the case with most of the guys who develop interest.

However. I'm not at all interested in dating right now. Hitch claims, "No woman wakes up and thinks, 'Gosh, I hope I don't get swept off my feet today.' " Well, that might be true, but there are also days where your feet are very firmly planted, and it's going to take some serious sweeping to get them off the floor. I'm stressed, in the middle of studying, need to get about five hours more work done today than I'll be able to, aware that it's only going to get MORE intense in the weeks ahead (and even more than that once I hit A School)...there isn't any room for romance right now!!

Actually, I have a friend who deals with exactly this situation. I have seen him work, and I stare in wonder. He will decide that he likes a girl. He will befriend the young lady, and then find that she's in a situation not unlike this one, where she's struggling to get everything done, and he helps a bit, and becomes her friend, and the one she's going to when she's stuck on a problem...and then when the tide of chaos ebbs, he makes a bit of a move. Just a bit. And then another. And THEN he starts dating her, except that they were kind of dating during the wacky chaos period, she just didn't notice. I have seen this whole process take months. This guy isn't sweeping a girl off in a moment, he's laying siege to a castle. And he's very, very patient.

'course, then he does something stupid four months later in the relationship itself, but that's an argument for another day.

"So, you're, what, E1? E2?"
I glance at him. I'm wearing NSUs - it's one of the uniforms that clearly denotes my rank. "I'm an E3." He leans, and I flip up the collar lapel. "Oh, okay. So, what are you doing after this?"

...

Really, the idea of dating right now is kind of nauseating. I'm not exaggerating. It's not dating this guy that's nauseating. No - he actually seems fairly interesting. It's that I feel like I've just had five kinds of pie, and now someone brought out cheesecake. I like everything I'm doing, but I'm really doing a lot, more than might be healthy, and while I happen to really enjoy it when dating turns into a relationship...seriously? Now?

I say something about going to chow, and that I have duty in the morning. He is undeterred, and asks what I'm doing next weekend. There's something I want to do, but it's uncertain that I'll be able to - however, for the sake of getting rid of this guy, I will claim that this is exactly what I'm doing. I have plans, you can't come, go away and try to pick up some girl who actually wants attention. I don't say this, but I'm thinking it very hard.

He goes to chow. Comes back half an hour later, just as I'm packing up the head to the galley. Ends up following me to chow. Then walking me back to my ship (my ship is not only on the opposite side of the base from the corpsmen's side, it is as far as you can be on that side of the base without being in the brig).

Then, THEN, he turns up at church the next morning, because I'd mentioned that I was going to be there. I'm really hoping that I just never noticed him there before, otherwise, I might have the beginnings of a stalker on my hands.