Friday, August 17, 2007

The Work Crush

At this point in my life, I'm pretty much done with crushes. Secretly fantasizing about a boy who is never going to be into you has lost a lot of it's luster over the years. It's just not that fun to invest any kind of time or emotion in a hopeless case.

However.

One crush that is still alive and well and extremely fun is the Office Crush. Now I'm not talking The Office crush a la Jim and Pam. That relationship has moved far, far beyond the realm of what I'm referring to. I mean a guy in your office who is probably not the kind of guy you like in real life, but since you see him every day, usually dressed up and often being terribly adult and responsible, he can seem pretty dreamy. And you never have to know if his room is messy or if he's rude to waitresses.

I bring this up because for years and years I worked from home and then in an all female office and I had zero options for a work crush. Then six months ago a couple of guys got transferred from another office and lucky me, they are both adorable. One of them also happens to have quite possibly the sexiest voice I've ever heard. He's cute as well but seriously people, the voice is unreal. So he sits in the cube next to me and we have a big wall between us so I can't see him. But I can hear him on the phone all day. It's like I am in sixth grade I get so distracted listening to him talk.

Now the minute I walk out the front door of my office I forget all about him. But from 9-5 he serves several very important functions. It's a well known fact that girls dress for themselves and for each other, not for boys, but having a cute one around certainly gives me incentive to put a little more effort into my morning routine. Because we don't work on the same projects and really aren't each other's type, we can flirt like crazy knowing that we are totally safe. He also makes lunch hour about 10 times more fun. My first professional experience was a place where everyone was cool and fun and my age and some of my favorite memories of that job were lunches. This will come as no surprise to you people but I'm a wee bit social. So getting away from the office for an hour to gossip and laugh is pretty much heaven (I do have to give credit here though to my friends over at Fluor who regularly provide mid-day distraction as well). If the person across the table also happens to inspire a few butterflies, so much the better.

So unless you are Jim and Pam, and I do have a certain amount of sympathy for THAT situation, the work crush is pretty much foolproof. You know nothing will come of it and your hours of investment are limited but it can also be a fun distraction when things aren't exactly hopping in your real life. The little adrenaline rush you get when he flirts with you is 100% authentic. A cute boy is a cute boy is a cute boy right?

13 comments:

Cindy Bean said...

I'm having a final lunch with my work crush today. Then he's taking me to the driving range. I probably will cry.

f*bomb. said...

1. Okay. So...Is he MY type? THINK, Katie! THINK!
2. Or, if you are in MY work environment, old fat men 15 years your senior will talk about HDTV porn and tell dirty stories to see if you'll have an extramarital affair.
AS IF!

chloe said...

Work crushes really are the best, until you innocently mention the crush to a friend, who you also work with, and she feels the need to share it with the crush. Devastating. The fool proofed safeness ends and you are mortified.

I say this from experience (I will not make this mistake again) and as a warning. Never tell anyone at work or who happens to know the work crush. The point is, as you said, that you don't actually want anything do happen, it just makes the days a little better.

MrsEm said...

Our favorite married couple (coming up on 5 years) met in our office. It's romantic!

Tannertrue said...

No fishing off the company dock. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, never had an office crush. Probably never will. Although a torrid affair with Farrah sounds appealing.

k8 said...

i confess to having indulged in a few inter-office romances but fortunately i got through unscathed. the best best case is when you can get yourself one of the "consultant working on a short term project" crushes. THOSE are pure awesome.

Whits said...

Yeah I had my first work crush this summer. He was totally not my type and totally hot. (!) But then it was weird when I realized he did like me back and we did stuff outside of work together. But now its fine because I'm going back to Boston...although I do wish I had made out with him. :)

CoCo said...

Whits - just b/c your comment is being published on the www, doesn't mean you need to deny your summer extracurriculars. (kidding of course.)

To comment on wc's:
The even better part of a work crush scenario is when co-workers make unwarranted assumptions about you and said WC. Before you know it you're in the middle of the rumor-mill, which is comical b/c you and said work crush are both in denial of requited crushing.

AP said...

Luke and I worked together for five years (and hated each other's guts, interestingly enough. I actually think it was our way of having a really juvenile crush). Anyway, we are now looking forward to our 7th wedding anniversary on the 26th. Long story short, I ended up quitting; it would have been strange to work together as a married couple. Plus, I got pregnant 4 months into our marriage, and I think the NBA frowns on pregnant cheerleaders. Go figure. So anyway, it may be an office romance now, but two kids with little league practices and ballet rehearsals before you know it!

Daisy Paige said...

Watch out, Katie! I met Josh when we worked for the same company. We initially worked on different floors and for different departments, but it was always a bit exhilarating to run into him in the break room.

Well, the company downsized a bit and guess who starting working *directly* with one another? That's right, and to make a long story short, we got married two years later. Like the comment before me, I quit when things got serious between us, but we're celebrating two years on September 2 and expecting our first child February 11.

I'm telling you, as great as work crushes are, it's even more awesome when they happen to work out!

Pam said...

I was about to give you some major sh*t for not mentioning the Fluor employees. You don't mess with that lunch bond, man...

Olivia said...

I found this blog when I googled Office Crush. I have a crush on a new guy at work. He works in sales and I work in different department. The problem is he is married. I'm not going to pursue anything further but I still feel terrible to have a crush on him, I'm in relationship myself. Anyway, I feel good to find this blog. :)

Pamela said...

I have a work crush too. I am seperated from my husband, and in the state I live in you have to be seperated for a year before you can divorce. Anyway, my husband was the one that did not want to be married anymore. My self esteem was shattered. Then two months after my seperation, one of the best looking guys in my office starts staring at me a lot. So, I start staring back. He is painfully shy when he gets around me, and I am the same way with him. We are so much alike! And.... he does have a wonderful voice too! I think he is scared because I am not divorced yet, or maybe he just likes to look at me... but I have a weird feeling that he really might like me. I like him so much, but the situation has me so on edge, because when I see him, I start shaking, and I can tell I make him nervous too. I just don't know to what degree he likes me. This has gone on now for six months. Any ideas? And thank you for listening. :)