The Zoo Man

               On Friday before work, I made my way to the Jardin des Plantes to meet up with A, a 25 year old originally from Bordeaux who had spent significant amounts of time in Canada. He therefore spoke fluent English and loved to text me in anglais. I was running late and dashed onto metro line 10 and we met at the Gare d'Austerlitz. He had suggested we go to the zoo located in the garden, and always one to try new things, I was game.

                After bise'ing me hello, he promptly excused himself. He'd been out all night partying on a boat on the Seine, a peniche, was hungover, and had gone to bed at 6 am. It was one thirty in the afternoon when we met up. This is what every girl wants to hear first things first from a stranger she is meeting for the first time. I tried to be gracious and laughed with him about it. I told him equally, just o be fair, that it was currently 1:30 and I needed to leave for work by 4. His response ¨oh no big deal, I didn't even think we'd be here for that long.¨

                 LIKE wtf?

                Add to this the fact that the poor guy is out of work. I have nothing against guys who are out of work or on the job hunt. The market sucks right now. The crisis is tough. I dated E: The Original who is not currently working...he was working for a start-up but that ended poorly and so now he's job hunting and pursuing his photography and learning Chinese. He also outright owns his apartment in the 6th, has rental properties in Bordeaux, and I would wager is smart with his money. Bon. That aside, this one, A, had a legitimate reason to be a chomeur: he had a job in Canada, but the government refused to issue him a work visa, so he was forced to return to France, mostly against his will. I paid for my own zoo ticket, no big deal.

                 Then we started looking at animals. Depressed animals trapped in cages and clearly depressed about it. A could hardly start a conversation. I asked him about what he likes to do, his family, etc. Add to this the freaking animal cages just REEK.

                  Then let's add that we go outside and it starts POURING. We dash inside the monkey menagerie because it's covered. A laughingly jokes that we should go get coffee, but he doesn't want to make me spend more money. Backhanded thoughtfulness, anyone? I would've preferred to get coffee and would've paid for it too.

                   We go outside again. Again it starts pouring. We've been on this date for an HOUR when we head to the metro and I say goodbye. Thank JESUS. Lesson learned. NEVER EVER GO TO THE ZOO AT THE JARDIN DES PLANTES WITH A HUNGOVER, IMMATURE TWENTY FIVE YEAR OLD WHEN IT IS GRAY AND POURING RAIN.

                    Lesson. LEARNED.
  
                    This is horrible, but I was so glad for that date to be over.

                    Once I'm underground in the metro station, I look down at my cell phone. I've missed a call from E three minutes prior. I call him back once I'm sitting on the metro. He wants to know if I want to go to a movie with him at La Pagode.

                     I can't.

                     I have work.