MC #10: See this, talk more

I always go for the weird ones. Adrienne introduced us but you remained quiet for at least an hour around that table. And when you finally spoke it was monosyllabic for at least 30 minutes.

“Where are you from originally?” I inquired.

“Flint.”

“Why’d you move here?”

“Work.”

“What do you love to do for fun?”

“Walk.”

You were possible the most uninteresting person I’d ever met. So I ignored you and cherished my conversations for the next 20 minutes.

Then I noticed the stareing. You were piercing my soul. Oddly enough, I enjoyed it. Already we seemed intimate.

Fast forward and I got a few more details from you and a “yes” when we went upstairs to my place.

After it was over I began to yearn for details, satisfaction, and verbal companionship. I drilled you verbally and made you weep. I apologize. Maybe it was verbal abuse but I look at it as therapy.

You told me that you were afraid of being corrected during a conversation so much that you stopped speaking. Terrified of a corrigendum, you drifted through interpersonal interactions without connection or without enjoyment.

I hope I fixed you. I hope you read this. I hope you talk now.

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.

2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #9: A Moment Amidst

Life happens in moments. We shared a moment. So in that moment our lives were truly connecting. I wasn’t going to get on that car. I avoid the back of the train. I like to be towards the front. Maybe it’s an OCD thing or maybe I just am prejudice and believe the back of the train to be a nidus of delinquency. But I got on anyway. Because I saw you. Blonde, sweater, green earrings, and a plain green bag -- grocery?

I almost fell on you and excused myself. You said, “Hang on to something.” Was it condescending or flirtatious? I’m here to find out.

Meet me same time same place. This time fall on me!

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #8: Scarves and Art

I think you had no fewer than eleven scarves on. Seriously, it looked a little ridiculous. But that seems to be who you are. Ridiculous? I mean ...fun. Cute. Spontaneous? Random. I usually hate you people. Should I say you people? Is that classist or something now? Political incorrect for sure? Regardless, too many scarves but it was cute. There. Okay. Combat shoes and braids, tank top and sweater, ...plain blue jeans. If I would have seen you anywhere else I would have been offended by you and your niche. But it was the combination with the stellar personality that made me stop and say, “Wait. I enjoy this pastiche.”

Let me know the gallery and my name. You know. Also, maybe how many scarves you actually had on.

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #7: Ambivalent Fantasy

I almost left two drinks prior. I didn’t even bother putting on a dress. Funny how that works. I saw you from across our happy hour. You were wearing a really nice suit. Like I was really impressed. The shoes, the tie, the belt ...the form just mesmerized me. I caught your eye a few times. You seemed ...distracted? At a loss? Depressed? ...lonely?

You drank two old fashioneds in solitary confinement ...not even staring at your smart phone. Just existing. It looked so freeing as my friends continued to drag me into the monotonous conversations and remarks about work, work, and play. I saw this vision of a version of myself that could be with you. Fantasy morphed into stupidity and that is what gave me true happiness. I am now incarcerated by your love within my own fantasies.

I hope you saw me. I hope you recognize me. I hope you go again. Frontier. Do it. I’ll be there. Gazing and studying you again from afar.

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #6: Hey let me hear you again

It was that you were an enigma that my eye was captured. It was the red hair. It was the massive law book. It was the generic macbook. It was the air of nonchalance. The coffee. The ability to focus for so long! I was intrigued before you spoke. How strange it was to my ears! How pleasing! How peculiar! You reminded me of an Israeli friend I had long ago; yet, it was not Hebrew that I eavesdropped upon. Mildly Spanish but slightly French -- perhaps Portuguese? Or, perhaps you are a polyglot beauty?

I just want to live inside your throat and become your words.


***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

The First Five

The first five missed connections are up on the blog.

Be sure to read the first post, it explains everything: Beyond Reading: A Guide to an Interactive and Collaborative Experience

MC #5: You Are Still Here

Sixteen years have passed since I killed you. When I returned home the wax was grasping at the remnants of the fire, the pot was simmering for what must have been a soup’s eternity, yet the lilies and carnations were absolutely the most beautiful objects I had ever seen. Few memories are allowed to pierce that foggy, numb antistectic. No emotion can successfully capture the alien feeling of sudden loss, regret, and remorse. Part supernatural, part earth shatteringly human. You only exist now because of the years spent bittersweetly obsessing and sleuthing. I sealed your scent away in small, vacuum-packed bags, which I open one per birthday - a celebratory occasion I count the days until! I researched for fourteen months trying to find the right lotion ...it was no longer in production. I still have half a bottle hidden under the sink. In the time between I have rescued, raised, and said goodbye to three dogs, including the breed you always wanted. I’ve taken up your hobbies, I learned your dreams from your journals, and memorized your childhood paintings given to me by your mother. I would say I planted a tree for you, but, every single thing I do I still do with you in my mind. My activities are merely placeholders for our conversations, flirtatious shoves, and relaxing peace. My activities rebuild you, my thoughts project you, and my dreams become you. It’s the only way I can hold on to you.  


***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #4: You Forgot Something

Once upon a time everything was perfect and I was happy.

I had you and you had me and we grew together for what I hoped would be eternity.

We had a fucking cat.

I mean, that’s a commitment of love and continuity!

Guess I was a loser, guess I still am.

I’m no longer happy and I no longer want anything.

And I still have a fucking cat.

I mean, you said you’d pick Velen up last Friday.

What the fuck.

Where the fuck are you.

I don’t give any fucks about the cat.

But seriously, you’re making my heart ache.

What am I anymore but some dude you’ve duped into cat sitting?

I am nothing more than a cat’s-paw with the bruising hope of absolution.


***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #3: Eyes that Sing

Under the stars,

Drinking your shameful beer,

Singing your favorite song,

I’m sure that’s a stretch, right?

The stars were false,

Merely painted on the ceiling,

But those eyes were truth,

Yearning for my sexual healing.

You vanished post melody,

Certain as I am you noticed me,

Once again before leaving,

As you’ve done week after week,

Our fimbriated fate that cannot not be.

Unless fate here allows a chance to be,

...together.

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #2: So that was wierd, right?

Okay, so I don’t believe in the supernatural or anything stupid like that and really I was drunk off my ass so hey, this is a long shot, but I’m stoked that I got some attention and, of course, want some more.

So, there I was, standing in the corner at the party Friday night. You’ll know the place. I asked you to dance. You obliged. We danced for so long and you talked about your family in Indiana ...or India? You’d think I’d remember that.

I totally knew from the beginning I was gonna get some. I mean, c’mon. You were drunk and grinding up on it. Yeah ...it. You know.

Things got foggy. Things got weird. We went upstairs ...that I remember. It was dark. Things got fun. I remember. You were giggling. Hell, I was giggling! Like a little girl.

Some time passed ...maybe 10 minutes maybe 2 hours, who really knows when fun is being had, you know?

All of the sudden some douchebag walks in and turns on the light. So many things happened at once ...he screamed, you screamed, I screamed, it screamed, there was some clawing and bruising and, still naked, I ran screaming out of the room.

So you remember all that and I hope to whatever that you remember this part: the room was illuminated by douchebag and I see this little ...creature looking thing enjoying itself on the bed next to us. I mean fucking going at it! Disgusting! And when the light came on it screamed murder! You remember that, right? I don’t believe in shit like that but I also don’t believe myself to be crazy.

I think either I was too drunk or it was a joke or it was something else. Like a ghost or a goblin or maybe like your vagina minion or some shit …

Anyway, I’m up for seconds: email me?

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact) (see first blog post for more details)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

MC #1: My Romance or my Rubicon?

There you were. Hanging on that train pole while we moved through the tunnels, buried in your phone. I was staring far too long. I felt justified because I saw it. A flash in my eye of the possibilities of a hopeless, slightly demented romantic: a glance, a smile, a nod, a re-glance, an invitation, a courtship, a wedding, a life, and a funeral. As if some divine force was pushing me forward with the gift of precognition, I absolutely knew my life beyond was with you and you only.

I began to sweat, I couldn't control it! This was a pivotal point in my life. The fog of a dream began to surround my new-found linear trajectory. This was it. My vision tunneled to three points: the beautiful, glowing perfection of my future life embodied by her, the spheres of light appearing before me indicating my near-future footfalls, and an unmistakably dangerous and jarring line falling between us. One footfall, two footfalls, three footfalls, I was closer; she turned and stared into the very foundation of my being. This will be a story I tell every soul I meet, I thought quasi-aloud as I approached what I now realized was my own personal rubicon. My own thoughts began racing around my brain at incredible speeds. If I stop in my tracks does my life then takes a divergent turn but does that defy my fate; what is fate? Am I not a product of nurture and not nature? What if I never see her again? Is she thinking the same thoughts as I at this very instant?

I stopped. I turned. I walked away from my rubicon, pondering the potential shortsightedness or irrevocable regret.

***

(to respond email missedconnections@gmail.com)
(feel free to use the comments below for general comments, etc.)

(How to Interact)

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

Beyond Reading: A Guide to an Interactive and Collaborative Experience

About

Missed | Connected Inspiration is an online theatrical endeavor that invites the reader to become a participate in creating an event centering around the posting of fictional "missed connections" on both this blog and Craigslist.org. Reader-participants respond to and receive answers from the character-author of the missed connection. This highly personal interaction does not have a given end point or structure, allowing the reader-participant to influence and affect the world of the missed connection and the personality of the character-author. Your experience with Missed | Connected Inspiration will be unique and has the possibility to bloom and shape the characters at the center of the original posting.

What is a Missed Connection?

Missed Connections refer to a section of Craigslist.org's online personals in which persons create posts searching for strangers in order to rekindle or connect with a romantic missed opportunities. The idea has evolved over the years and now includes posts about unrequited love, long-lost loves, secret crushes, and confessions of longing, love, and/or lust.

 

How exactly does this work?

1. A Missed Connection is posted on this blog.
2. Reply to the post via email (missedinspiration@gmail.com) with the intention of either 1) assisting the character-author in his/her search, 2) determining if you are the subject of his/her search, 3) general commentary about his/her post or search, and 4) anything else you deem possible.
3. Receive a personalized response from the character. You may choose to continue the conversation. You may be the person he/she is searching for. The possibilities at this point are unknown and uncharted.
4. Responses and personalized conversations are posted on the blog at the discretion of the author.

Author Commentary

This began as a writing experiment and exercise a few years ago and recently reemerged in my creative radar this past summer. The idea is simple: write a fictional missed connection each day and post it on Craigslist. I discovered that it didn't matter if the people reading believed it or not, they wanted to be entertained and to root for the happy ending. Each missed connection varies in style and character, although I'm sure some characters may possibly be recurring.

The thought of a blog came while wondering how best to present my first 30 days of fictional missed connections and the wonderfully amusing, praising, and ridiculous responses. However, I did not want to solely present my own cognitive process of writing nor did I want to pedantically examine and discuss unscientific findings, parsing what type of people responded to what type of posting. This is where I stalled and brainstormed for a good while.

The interesting aspect of missed connections is that they play and tease and toy with our hopes, our fantasies, and our arrogance. We read missed connections and want to root for the person behind the computer screen, yet secretly the desire is that someone out there loves us enough to put something online that we'd see. We read and laugh at the outrageous and the crass, yet secretly we desire to stumble upon one written about us. We fantasize about that. We may even hit ctrl+F and begin to type places we have been in the past few days. So how do we play with this desire, arrogance, and empathy?

It occurred to me that this human desire could morph into an interactive online experience. What if I posted a missed connection and invited readers to answer with the promise that a personalized response would follow? What if this response had the potential to confirm the reader as the subject of the missed connection? At which point does this interaction become pivotal for the character of the missed connection and the newly formed reader character? What if I continue to post new missed connections on Craigslist and a reader of this blog discovers my posting there, beginning this theatrical internet exchange before it even hits the blog? My mind was racing with possibility.

A brief note regarding the fiction. It is not my intention to actively communicate with people who are not aware of the fictional nature of these postings; therefore, I do not respond to emails from the original craigslist posting. I will post responses on the blog if I believe them to be interesting or thought provoking, but always anonymously. If you believe you've found one of my original posts and want to reply before it hits the blog, just be sure to reference the blog somewhere in the response.

And a final note: the fiction is spontaneous and instinctive. Each one purposefully explores different character voices, styles, and writing skills. Some are melodramatic, some are badly poetic, some are gracefully poignant. That's part of the fun. Feel free to comment.