Rules of Engagement

In order to distract myself from the current disaster that is my research (and the fact that I have to test 56 more subjects by about 3 weeks ago), I am currently concerning myself with something slightly silly: engagement parties. More specifically, engagement party dates. No, I haven't been proposed to, since that would require having someone to actually ask the question. Rather, I've been invited to my boss's engagement party on the 6th of September and once again, I'm up the creek without a paddle - and worse still, without a date.

I really don't think I need a date for the sake of taking a date. I don't mind going to parties by myself. In fact, I was feeling quite confident about going to the party by myself, and enjoying the "I'm single and confident and don't need a token date" vibe. Then, as the result of a serious lack of sleep and a serious lack of sanity, I had a late night moment of panic, because I only know about 6 people (out of 100) who are going to this engagement party and what happens if I get separated from all of them?!? What will I do? Who will I talk to? Will I be the strange, lonely girl standing all by herself next to the crepes?

I've since come to my senses and caught up on my sleep and I'm feeling slightly less irrational about the whole thing. The creeping sense of anxiety hasn't completely vanished though and I've found myself hypothesizing about potential dates. This is far from being my favourite activity, because the prospect of having to ask a boy to an engagement party reminds me far too much of the Great Wedding Date Disaster of November 2008. I have thus flipped through my phone book and debated my options, which are starting to feel severely limited already, thanks to all the engineers having got girlfriends (who knew that this was possible when they weren't really sure what girls were!), the serious lack of boys in my psych class (I think we have 5, maybe 6) and Luke being in France. Even the bad options are out, since I discovered last night that my ex has a new girlfriend, and asking him would be really weird. Really, really weird (especially since hearing that he was dating someone made me feel kind of odd).

So, my current options are:

1) go alone and hope that I don't end up alone next to the champagne

2) swallow my pride and ask someone I don't really want to ask because they seem to

misinterpret us spending time together as me expecting us to start dating

3) ask The Crush (which is kind of scary, because he might notice that I like him, which might be

a good thing or end really awkwardly)

4) ask... Um... Well... Someone. Preferably someone who is willing to be awake at 10:00am on a

Sunday morning for free food. Based on the struggle I had to get a wedding date, this doesn't

really feel promising

This has led me to 2 conclusions - either I really need to get a boyfriend, or I need to find a convenience date, who will agree to go with me to all these weird social functions that require "plus one's". Alternatively, the Great Engagement Party Disaster of September 2009 looms...