Fun games

The artful game of phone tag is perhaps one of the few games we play as adults. I however know none of the rules and the rules I do know I can barely execute. For example, I know that when a guy asks for a girl's number, he must wait three days before calling her. This tactic allows him to appear both interested yet not desperate.

On day three, the guy calls. If the guy gets the girl's machine, he leaves her a message. Then the girl inevitably hears the message. At this point, I am at a loss. Should I call back that evening? Or wait one day? Two days? A girlfriend and guyfriend both advised that I wait 48 hours before returning Younger Guy's call because (1) he made me wait three days, so why not make him wait two? (2) I don't want to look too eager, and (3) it's kind of lame to make plans for the weekend so early in the week.

Games are fun, aren't they?

So pursuant to my friends' suggestion, I waited 48 torturous hours (actually 51 torturous hours) before returning Younger Guy's call last night. I got his voicemail. I left a message. He did not return my call that night.

What makes the games fantastically painful is the uncertainty. Did he lose interest already? Does he even remember who I am? What if he's annoyed that I played this tactic of waiting-two-days-before-calling-him-back? And the questions go on. Such questions put a girl on edge. Every time the phone rings or her call-waiting beeps, her heart races, she looks at the caller ID or answers the phone, and is ultimately let down.

What makes the game even more ridiculous is that all of this analysis occurs before anyone knows anything about the other.

Games are so much fun!