Pedicure kit and the possible love interest!
Okay, stop judging me! Yeah, I have a thing for tall guys, and I mean really tall – 6'2 and above. Having made this confession, let me share my awkward attempts to connect with a tall colleague in my workplace. It all started when we were randomly paired up and played against each other in an office celebration. We both won a pedicure kit, which I'm pretty sure is actually a torture kit! My colleague jokingly mentioned that we made a great couple and that I should try talking to him. However, it never happened due to various reasons, including my attempts to save myself from an embarrassing encounter every time I ran into him in the office hallway. But the seed was planted.
Fast-forwarding to six months later, his topic came up again during our common rant about our poor work-life balance and crunching deadlines. Someone mentioned that he's actually a good leader who doesn't micromanage, stands up for his team, and is supportive. That peaqued my intrest and wanted to get to know him more.
In today's modern world, the first step is to send a follow request on Instagram, hoping to initiate a conversation. But, much to my surprise (or bad luck), this person doesn't have a digital presence. He does have an Instagram account with zero posts, which he uses to watch other people's stories – what's the point if it's not even used for that?!
I conveyed my interest to my closest friends, who have been motivating me ever since to talk to him. Unfortunately, we never crossed paths or had a chance to talk. And, obviously, the fact that we sat at opposite corners of the building didn't help. This led me to obsess over finding a way to talk to him without making things obvious, as I had no idea about the outcome.
One issue with liking someone at work is that we never know how it will affect our career, and I'm definitely not ready to test those waters.
Then, it hit me that he had posted about a vacancy in his team a few months back. If I could find someone from my friend circle interested in applying, it might lead to a conversation. A friend shared her boyfriend's resume to help with the conversation. And, finally, I pinged him on Instagram about the vacancy! We had a short and reasonable conversation, but it dried up within a day before turning into something meaningful. Still, I've broken the ice, and now every time we cross each other we exchange a smile and a simple hello. I still consider this a win , who knows what might happen someday?