TIFU by Getting Too Nerdy About Atomic Force Microscopy and Missing My Chance with a Girl

Obligatory this didn't happen today, but a few years ago.

So, this happened back in my final year of university, and it's one of those stories that makes you cringe every time it pops into your mind whenever you shower.

I wasn't taking any physics courses, but I've always been a bit of a science geek. I have this friend, let’s call him Tom, who was in a physics-related course, and I'd occasionally go to some of his lectures just out of curiosity. On this particular day, there was a guest lecture from a company that specialized in atomic force microscopy. They were showcasing some research they’d done with their microscopes, and the microscopes themselves, and I was, of course, fascinated.

Tom had this friend, let’s call her Sarah, who was also in his classes. I’d heard some stuff about her from him; she seemed like a really cool person, interesting, pretty cute, and so naturally I was hoping to get the chance to get to know her better, maybe be introduced by my friend. And as luck would have it, she showed up for the lecture that day too. We ended up sitting together, so I was pretty happy about that.

The lecture itself was pretty cool, got to ask some questions too and I was engaged (despite not understanding half of the answers they gave me lol). But the best part was that at the end, the speakers mentioned that they’d set up one of their atomic force microscopes in a lab nearby, and invited us to go check it out. Of course, Tom, Sarah, and I decided to go. It was basically just the three of us there, plus a PhD student who was using the microscope for her research that joined us a bit later.

We probably spent hours there. I was totally engrossed, asking a million questions, and basically being the ultimate science nerd. At some point, Sarah mentioned that she was really hungry and might head out to grab something to eat. And here’s where I kind of messed up.

I knew this was the perfect moment where I could've casually said, “Hey, we’re hungry too, mind if we join you?” which wouldn't have been a big deal since Tom and her knew eachother, naturally, and in this way I could have finally started a conversation, and a relaxed one over lunch, with plenty of time for discussion. But thanks to my social anxiety I was like, "maybe I can stay a bit longer... This is so interesting after all!". And I was too wrapped up in the microscope, too caught up in the excitement of the moment to give it a second thought :').

So, Sarah left to grab lunch, and Tom and I stayed behind, still geeking out over the microscope. How do you even let a girl go get lunch alone when you're hanging out. By the time we finally wrapped up and left the lab, I realized how badly I’d blown it. I was kicking myself the entire walk back.

And, of course, as the academic year was winding down, I didn't get another chance to see her. Maybe just once from far away XD. We graduated, and that was that.

Maybe not necessarily a huge fuck-up from my part, I think it was mostly my anxiety, but I still kind of hold myself responsible for it.

TL;DR

Got way too absorbed in an atomic force microscopy demo during my last year of university, missed the perfect chance to hang out with a girl I liked. She left to get food and I could've joined her, but I stayed nerding out, and never saw her again after that, since we graduated. Still kicking myself over it.