Sunday, November 04, 2007

I Heart Joel

A few months ago, Dean started hanging out with a guy from work named Joel. Due to various circumstances, I was always unable to join them. Either Joel had only one extra ticket to an event or I was too busy with work stuff. What I found hilarious though was the man-crush Dean had developed for Joel. Every time Dean would come home from one of their "dates", he'd rave about what a cool guy Joel is. Through Dean, I learned all about him and his wife. That he is a Cuban immigrant to the States via Spain, that he is a cyclist and that he and his wife at one time owned a small gym.

Dean and Joel finally planned an evening out with me and Joel's wife, who Dean had never met either. All four of us had to drive separately to the restaurant and unfortunately Joel's wife never made it due to prohibitive traffic, so it was just the three of us. Over dinner, I'm pretty sure I developed my own crush on Joel. He just has a way about him that makes him literally one of the most likable people I have ever met. He is extremely conscientious. The first thing he asked Dean when we sat down was how his day went. He asked me all sorts of questions about my work and then proceeded to tell me how great Dean is and how much he admires him. Not that I don't completely agree, but it's a pleasantly unusual thing to say. Then he told us about how he had his wife had dated for ten years before finally getting hitched in Vegas. Sound familiar? And since his wife was adopted, the two of them want to adopt children of their own because they understand that a loving family is the best gift you can give to a child who doesn't have one. I know, sounds almost sickening, but I assure you this man was completely genuine and I found myself in the same position as Dean - totally enamored. AND he does the Tampa-Orlando MS bike tour. We already have plans to meet Mrs. Joel and it couldn't come soon enough, though I'm pretty sure Dean and I are both a little jealous of her.

6 comments:

Jeni said...

Wow, sounds like the makings of a great friendship there.

fermicat said...

Joel sounds like a helluva nice guy. Glad Dean (and you) found someone good to hang with.

Beth said...

Wow, Joel sounds like an Osmond! Very rare.

anne said...

that is so funny - it is kind of fun though to find interesting people even if you have a little crush on them!

Anonymous said...

I heart Joel too

Scott said...

I've had a couple man-crushes in my time too. Some people just make you feel good to be around.