I've been meeting up with friends I haven't seen in a while, and inevitably, we started talking about our lives, and our love lives. The thing that struck me when I was telling them about my (lack of a) social life is that seven months down the road, I'm still incredibly mad and irritated at the last guy I that was interested in.

I'm not sure if it's a case of "the straw that broke the camel's back" or just because the guy really offended my sense of self.

In this case, I feel that I should expound further. This guy and I used to work in the same company, though not in the same department. Midway through dating, he told me he thought I was too intense, that I was "too ambitious" and that my "hours [were] too demanding."

Given that we work in the same industry, I was mightily offended. How dare you, I thought. How dare you say that to me, you unmitigated asshole. Did you want me to quit my job the moment I met you, just so you could have a 'little woman' at home even though we were just dating? What utter tosh. What stupid double standards.

And in spite of that, we continued dating, but he'd get irritated at my constant talking about work. I acknowledge that I do that a fair amount, because I spend a lot of time at work. But in this instance, when I made the effort to ask about something he was interested in, what I got was a scoff and then a "what do you know about that?" And that was it for me.

As a consequence, I just haven't been that interested in dating. I don't want to meet someone else who thinks the same way as he did.

To say that I'm bitter would probably be an understatement. I cannot explain exactly why all of that still gets to me so many months later, but I guess part of it is because I'm sick of hearing all these guys tell me that perhaps I'm a little too assertive, a little too intelligent, a little too... Rafflesian for local guys to feel comfortable with.

For what it's worth, I'm proud of the schools I came from. I don't flaunt it in the slightest, but neither do I hide it. I'm glad of the person that was shaped by all my schools, and for someone to insinuate that perhaps that person is.. flawed or undesirable... well, that offends me deeply. If I weren't as strong-willed or as driven as I am, I wouldn't have made it through the challenges I've faced in my adult life. I wouldn't have achieved as much as I have so far. In short, I wouldn't be where I am today.

So if the person that I am is too independent, too feisty, too assertive for a guy to take, then tough. Take me for what I am, or get out of my face.