The Bitter Law Student

MANipulative

It's been brought to my attention that some people think that I am manipulative. The Free Dictionary defines manipulative as "skillful in influencing or controlling others to your own advantage." While I was initially a little pissed off at this new description, I can see where people may get that idea about me. However, I don't think of it as manipulation. When I think of manipulative people, I think of people who do whatever they can in order to get whatever they want out of a person, although their better judgment and conscience may dictate otherwise. As I tend to think of Kurt whenever I think about manipulative people, I don't feel that I fall in this class.

I tend to use my manipulation powers for good, as opposed to evil. And instead of being manipulative, per se, I choose to be flirtatious. Not flirtatious in that slutty way that suggests that I would sleep with someone in order to get what I want (because there's no way in hell I would), but flirtatious in a way that makes the opposing party feel good, thus giving me what I want. It's a win-win scenario.

Case in point: The first time I had cable television installed in my apartment, the cable guy was smoking HOT. He looked a lot like Jamie McMurray, one of my examples of The NASCAR Conspiracy. There was a mutual attraction. (I should add at this point that I'm not egotistical, especially when it comes to my appearance. When someone tells me I'm attractive, I usually blush and stammer a lame response. And usually, when someone thinks I'm attractive, I'm stupid about it and and can't tell. So for me to know that there was a mutual attraction means that it had to have been so obvious that a two-year old would have caught on. But I digress.) Anyway, I proceeded to have a conversation with the cable guy after he made a comment about my Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Smallville DVD collection. It turns out that he was a pretty big fan of both shows. We talked about James Marsters making the transition from playing Spike on Buffy and Angel to playing Brainiac on Smallville. We talked about our mutual love of the Spike and Buffy pairing on Buffy and how Spike stole the series finale right out from under Sarah Michelle Gellar's feet. Anyway... we talked for a WHILE, to say the least. After he left, I flipped through my channels to make sure that I had gotten everything I requested. Not only did I get everything that I requested, but I was also given HBO. I didn't request HBO, so I waited for my first bill to see if I would be billed for it. In the eight months I lived in that apartment with the cable television, I NEVER saw a charge for HBO.

I wasn't looking forward to moving, mainly because I had to move all my crap, along with making the calls to switch electrical services and cable services, among other things. I was kinda disappointed because I didn't want to lose the free HBO. I know I'm lame for saying that, but I grew to enjoy HBO's programming in my eight-month free trial. Anyway, I was told to meet the cable guy at my new apartment about three days before I moved in. I showed up... and it was the same cable guy. Being NON-egotistical, I didn't think that he would remember me, given that it had been eight months since I met him the first (and only) time. He still looked like Jamie McMurray... and when he saw me, he said, "Heyy, I know you! You're the die-hard James Marsters fan!" Amazed at his good memory over the span of eight months, I blushed and stammered that I was (because I am) and the cable installation commenced. When he was done, he hung around for a few more minutes and we talked Smallville. I hadn't seen it in a while, so he accidentally dropped a major spoiler in my lap while we were talking about the show, but given that it was more than a month old, I couldn't get mad about it... (it's my fault I'm not keeping up with the show). Anyway, we talked for quite a while again. After he left, I checked my channels out of morbid curiosity.

Yeah, I got free HBO again. If I were to take one thing out of this experience, it would be this: Always always ALWAYS flirt with your cable guy! Now I'm wondering if I should have tried to get his phone number (that wasn't his work phone. He already gave me that...)

Manipulative or flirtatious? You be the judge.

posted by The BLS @ 4/05/2006 10:10:00 AM