absence of ambiguity is a wonderful thing.
Hailey laughed and wrote in her notebook. Smiling she looked up and continued asking questions. She was good, very good. It was an hour into the interview and ten minutes into a lecture about computer security before I realized I was rambling.
She was a phenomenal listener. A world champion. I'd forgotten that I was sharing my opinions and thoughts.
She'd softly ask me a question, smile up at me, and I'd melt trying hard to impress her. She'd pretend to be interested, occasionally jotting something in her notebook, but mostly looking at me, nodding as if she agreed. A man could bare his soul in such a situation. It would happen to anyone.
I halted in mid-sentence. This was way too much. I'm sure I'd bored her out of her mind.
She smiled at me once again. "Okay, one final question. If you could do anything, what would it be?"
I looked at those luscious lips and felt myself begin to lean forward. 'Kiss you,' I almost said before I caught myself. She was talking about the computer world. What would I do with computers?
Pulling myself back I thought about her questions. I had long ago had an idea, but never really told anyone.
Taking a deep breath, I said, "Everything a person does on an electronic device leaves a trace. That information is captured by companies and governments. Even ours. Every internet site you visit. Every phone number you dial. When you purchase something on-line. Your size, color preference, style choice. It's all stored in a thousand different places. Do you understand?"
"Sure, everybody knows that."
"Well, I believe that information should be yours to control. Not theirs. I don't think a company should know what movie I like, or what books I read. Not unless I want them to know it. Information is power. It always has been, and I want to find a way to take that power back."
She was silent for a moment. "So, you want to write a program that lets a person control the information about themselves."
"It's either that or write a program where angry birds shoot cannons at castle walls," I said.
She laughed. "Well if anyone could, you will."
We stared at each other for a minute. My heart raced as I looked into her beautiful blue eyes. They were like a mesmerizing pool of deep water, pulling me in.
Without thinking, I said, "Do you want to go out sometime?"
My heart stopped. What had I done? My God had I just asked Hailey Martin out on a date? Surely the universe was going to tip on its axis. I'd just asked her to betray her social network, her support group, and her friends, all at once. A Celeb dating a Nerd would not be accepted.
"What?" she asked, her eyebrows rising in confusion.
"Um ... never mind. Forget ...”
"No, No. You surprised me that's all." Her eyes narrowed in concern. "Um. Sure. Yes, I guess. What did you have in mind?"
My heart started beating again. I also realized there was a God after all. Not only hadn't she laughed in my face, but she said, 'yes.’
Plans. She wanted to know what I had planned. I should have thought this through. Something like this demanded detailed planning.
"Uh, a movie, maybe. How about this Friday?" Wow, I sounded a lot smoother than I felt. I could confirm that my insides had finished dismantling themselves.
She smiled and nodded. "Sure that sounds great. Let me know when and where."
An awkward silence fell between us. She was probably kicking herself for saying, ‘yes.’ Probably already trying to figure a way out.
"I should probably be going. I need to type up my notes while the interview is still fresh. Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it. I think it's going to make for a good article."
Nodding like a drunken bobble head, I smiled. What was I supposed to say, now? I'd already said way more than I had ever planned. Hailey Martin had said, ‘yes’ to going out with me. An unbreakable rule had just been shattered.
Following Hailey up the stairs has to rank up there as one of the
Hailey laughed and wrote in her notebook. Smiling she looked up and continued asking questions. She was good, very good. It was an hour into the interview and ten minutes into a lecture about computer security before I realized I was rambling.
She was a phenomenal listener. A world champion. I'd forgotten that I was sharing my opinions and thoughts.
She'd softly ask me a question, smile up at me, and I'd melt trying hard to impress her. She'd pretend to be interested, occasionally jotting something in her notebook, but mostly looking at me, nodding as if she agreed. A man could bare his soul in such a situation. It would happen to anyone.
I halted in mid-sentence. This was way too much. I'm sure I'd bored her out of her mind.
She smiled at me once again. "Okay, one final question. If you could do anything, what would it be?"
I looked at those luscious lips and felt myself begin to lean forward. 'Kiss you,' I almost said before I caught myself. She was talking about the computer world. What would I do with computers?
Pulling myself back I thought about her questions. I had long ago had an idea, but never really told anyone.
Taking a deep breath, I said, "Everything a person does on an electronic device leaves a trace. That information is captured by companies and governments. Even ours. Every internet site you visit. Every phone number you dial. When you purchase something on-line. Your size, color preference, style choice. It's all stored in a thousand different places. Do you understand?"
"Sure, everybody knows that."
"Well, I believe that information should be yours to control. Not theirs. I don't think a company should know what movie I like, or what books I read. Not unless I want them to know it. Information is power. It always has been, and I want to find a way to take that power back."
She was silent for a moment. "So, you want to write a program that lets a person control the information about themselves."
"It's either that or write a program where angry birds shoot cannons at castle walls," I said.
She laughed. "Well if anyone could, you will."
We stared at each other for a minute. My heart raced as I looked into her beautiful blue eyes. They were like a mesmerizing pool of deep water, pulling me in.
Without thinking, I said, "Do you want to go out sometime?"
My heart stopped. What had I done? My God had I just asked Hailey Martin out on a date? Surely the universe was going to tip on its axis. I'd just asked her to betray her social network, her support group, and her friends, all at once. A Celeb dating a Nerd would not be accepted.
"What?" she asked, her eyebrows rising in confusion.
"Um ... never mind. Forget ...”
"No, No. You surprised me that's all." Her eyes narrowed in concern. "Um. Sure. Yes, I guess. What did you have in mind?"
My heart started beating again. I also realized there was a God after all. Not only hadn't she laughed in my face, but she said, 'yes.’
Plans. She wanted to know what I had planned. I should have thought this through. Something like this demanded detailed planning.
"Uh, a movie, maybe. How about this Friday?" Wow, I sounded a lot smoother than I felt. I could confirm that my insides had finished dismantling themselves.
She smiled and nodded. "Sure that sounds great. Let me know when and where."
An awkward silence fell between us. She was probably kicking herself for saying, ‘yes.’ Probably already trying to figure a way out.
"I should probably be going. I need to type up my notes while the interview is still fresh. Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it. I think it's going to make for a good article."
Nodding like a drunken bobble head, I smiled. What was I supposed to say, now? I'd already said way more than I had ever planned. Hailey Martin had said, ‘yes’ to going out with me. An unbreakable rule had just been shattered.
Following Hailey up the stairs has to rank up there as one of the
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