3rd Floor of the McKay Library

Ladies and gents, grab your pens and pencils; this post is important.

There's a poster somewhere around campus that says something along the lines of, "70% of the dates are found on the 3rd floor of the library"  I've always laughed when I see this, but it's true that the 3rd floor is a bit of a meat market.  If you've ever studied up there, chances are you've been hit on by some guy or you've made eyes at the girl sitting at the computer diagonal from you.  We're all Mormon, we're all aware of the constant push to get married.

It's like how around Valentine's Day or Christmas there just seems to be love in the air and people start getting together.  That love that's in the air on those holidays?  Yeah, it's always present on the 3rd floor of the library.  It lingers just above everyone's heads like a cloud, raining bits of flirtatious luck over certain people.  It's kind of fun, I rather enjoy being up on the 3rd floor, occasionally batting my lashes at handsome men.

But is there a special technique to catching a man (or lady) in the library?  Sammie and I had this conversation the other day, which is actually what lead me to write this post.  It wouldn't be complete without this:

Sammie:  Just studying in the library, waiting for my E.C. to come sweep me off my feet
Leslie:  Hahaha.  You know, I hear the library is good for that.
Sammie:  Yeah me too, that's why I showered beforehand.  So far it's not working...lol
Leslie:  You need some pheromones or something
Sammie:  Seriously
Leslie:  Bethany and I are making all sorts of plans to hunt boys down.  Time to get serious
Sammie:  I am IN
Leslie:  And in the library, don't have headphones in.  If a guy sits near you, do a ring check.  If the coast is clear, then smile really big when he makes that awkward eye contact with you.  There are all sorts of ways to pick up a dude in the library.  I've been practicing.
Sammie:  Hahaha oh my gosh
Leslie:  Comment on their books or something.  Their backpack, their coat.  It works.
Sammie:  I first read books as boobs.  Nice boobs.  hahaha
Leslie:  I can't stop laughing.  I've been reading this conversation aloud to Bethany because it's so funny.
Sammie:  Does she have any pro tips?  Because I think I've graduated from easygoing status to hella desperate.  I can feel my ovaries drying up as we speak.
Leslie:  So what you're saying is you want a baby.
Sammie:  Eventually
Leslie:  Tell that to a guy then say, "And I want it to be yours."  or "I want it to have your eyes, because I could stare in them all day."
Sammie:  Hi I'm Sammie.  How's your sperm count?

Clearly we think we're pretty funny.  In actuality Sammie is way funnier than I am, I freaking love that girl.

But seriously, there are tops of tips and tricks to picking someone up in the library.  Not putting headphones in is key, since headphones block out the rest of the world and make it really hard to hold a conversation.  Last week I was on the 3rd floor and I pulled out a giant textbook to read a chapter and the guy next to me looked over and made a comment.  I had to take out my headphones and say, "I'm sorry, what?"  He commented on the size of the textbook.  Me, being as stupid as I can be, put my headphones back in after saying something like, "Haha, yeah, it's gianormous" and I failed to notice that he was going to try and perpetuate the conversation.  GAH, LESLIE.  FAIL.  He was pretty cute, too.  Headphones are a no-go!

The ring check is so cliche, but so essential here at BYU-Idaho.  I can't even tell you how many times I've thought, "Man, that guy is really cute!"  Then I did a ring check and instantly he was out of my field of vision because there it was, a little silver band across his ring finger.  Married.  Unfortunately there isn't a ring for guys who are dating someone and very few guys who are engaged wear ring, though I think they should.  Perhaps we ought to force everyone to wear an Irish claddagh ring that way we can always know someone's relationship status without having to thoroughly stalk their facebook profile.  

The eye contact and smile is KEY to flirting in the library.  Too often I see people in the library who have these perma-scowls slapped on their faces.  No one is going to want to talk to you if you look like you just realize that what you thought was Friday is actually Tuesday.  Lighten up, be friendly!  You have got to make yourself approachable and warm and being able to smile is a big step.  One this window is opened, people will want to talk to you.

But does this really work?  Let me tell you a little story.
This past week I was having a really awful day.  Like, a really awful day.  I went to the library to work on a paper between classes and when I sat down at the computer, the guy sitting diagonally from me locked eyes with me and flashed me this gorgeous smile.  Seriously, my really awful day was instantly brighter.  I started doing my homework, while occasionally glancing this fellow's way.  We caught each other's gaze a few times and each time we smiled and sort of laughed.  I was going to make conversation, but his friend ended up coming to sit by him and the two of them swapped girl troubles, part of the time in Spanish (which was kind of effective, since I'm not fluent, but I know enough Spanish to know what they were talking about.  HA!)

It's not a perfect example of flirting in the library working, particularly because I left my phone number with him and I never heard from him (which is understandable, considering he was talking to his friend about a girl he's been dating on and off) but it's still an example of how opening yourself up makes it easier for people to have at least some sort of interaction.  Smiling at me was enough to make my day better, so I'm not really bitter about him not utilizing my phone number.

Got any advice on how to flirt on the 3rd floor of the library?  Leave them in the comments!

Also, please respond to the poll that is found in the right sidebar of my blog!  We'll see where ya'll really like to meet new people.