bret and i met in zion national park, july 11, 2009. i worked at a resort there last summer, and so did one of bret’s friends, hailey. she invited him and some other guys to come down and visit. there was an extreme shortage of males at the resort (i think all of the male employees either couldn’t speak english or were married or dating someone. extreme shortage.), so before the guys came, hailey was telling all of us that her friends were coming for a few days. hailey especially mentioned to me that there was one guy that she thought would be perfect for me. at that point i decided that i really didn’t need to meet or spend time with any of her friends. i was pretty sure things would get too awkward, and if they didn’t, there really was no point. they’d be here one day and gone the next, and i’d never see them again.
when the guys did come, i spent most of my time away from them like i had planned to (and it wasn’t hard. i was working). it wasn’t until the night that they were leaving that we all finally met. i was in the front desk/gift shop area, and they came in to buy food/drinks for the drive home. i looked them over and decided who was cutest (isn’t that the first thing you do??), and i came to the conclusion that one was pretty cute. too bad i hadn’t been social. they talked with us a little bit and introductions were made. the cute guy came over to me and started asking the basic questions (name, hometown, school, major, etc.). we were still talking when one of the girls came over and interrupted us, handed bret a paper, and said, “here’s a list of all the important people, so you guys can add us on facebook.” of course, i wasn’t on the list since i hadn’t been hanging out with them at all. my initial reaction was wow that was rude, but then bret looked at me, turned the paper towards me, and, with a really cute smile, allowed me to become one of the “important people.” AHHHHH!!!! NOW I HAD A CONNECTION WITH THE REALLY CUTE BOY!!!! WE COULD BECOME FACEBOOK FRIENDS!!!!! and that’s about all that happened. the guys left right after, and i probably spent a grand total of 45 seconds talking to bret. oh, and also i sent an email to my mom saying i had met my soulmate. (really, i did. but it was all a joke.)
shortly, bret added me as a friend on facebook, and i was more than pleasantly surprised when he wrote on my wall. (you have to remember, i am in the middle of nowhere, really isolated, with no guys to flirt with.) here’s what we said for the next few days:
07.13 bret: how goes the photo taking?
07.14 tearsa: the photo taking is going swell. in our 50 second conversation you failed to mention anything about you and photography. i’ve been looking around your site and you have some really nice photos there. i also really like your space & landscape images. (really, they’re amazing. you should look at them: bretlittle.com. also, i was super impressed that he hadn’t mentioned his photography. as soon as they find out i’m a photographer, most people tell how they really love taking photos or how their sister’s aunt’s husband is a photographer, and it just gets a little annoying.)
07.15 bret: hahaha, sorry…honestly though…i just checked your blog out, i don’t think my stuff compares. so are you generally pretty busy all day taking photos for guests and such? you ever get a chance to go and take photos around zion?
07.15 tearsa: actually, i’m hardly ever busy taking pictures of guests. so unbusy that they have me working housekeeping a lot of the time. i actually haven’t taken any pictures of zion yet because…i’m not much of a nature photographer. i know, it’s a pathetic excuse, but it’s the only one i have.
07.17 bret: hey, i don’t have flickr…so can’t comment on them directly, but these are awesome! you ever use photoshop with your work…or is that cheating 
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2086/2137572518_9218a34c17.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2136791287_88eba8817b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/2310762293_31ef639ac8.jpg
07.17 tearsa: thanks bret. photoshop is probably on of the greatest things ever. i definitely use it.
07.19 bret: hey, i hear there is a sweet concert happening in st. george this weekend. we are all thinking about coming down for the party!!
07.20 tearsa: yes! come! it’s going to be awesome. (oh please please please come!!!!!!)
07.22 bret: so it is official! we are headed down and will be there late tomorrow evening! see you all then!
and the rest is for post #2–the second (and really awkward) meeting.
Leave A Comment