The Columbian Merry-Go-Round
by Samantha Jacobs.

He was a few clowns short of a circus, and had a mop of curls on his head that could easily be mistaken for a miniature poodle. Nonetheless, I was attracted; apparently, so was he.
We started dating in my sophomore year of high school. We were hooked up through a particularly heinous form of online dating: the “Instant Message Blind Date.” Here’s how it works: a (hopefully) well-intentioned mutual friend sells you on each other and exchanges your screen names. Voila, dinner and a movie via AOL.
He was Columbian, and had the usual gigantic family, which spanned both continents. He had two brothers in Columbia, a brother and sister here in the states, and an army of cousins, aunts, and uncles. Every weekend, the cousins would all meet up at someone’s house. It was never the same house twice in a row; instead they traveled like a merry-go-round, circling the town. In time, I would create a Columbian merry-go-round of a different sort.
Within a few days of that initial “date,” we were an item, and he invited me to meet his parents and his older brother. I’m not sure if it was because I wasn’t Columbian, or that I was loud, or that I wore clothes he didn’t like, but his brother was obviously unimpressed. Still, he was polite…sort of.
Two weeks later, my new boyfriend gave me some news:
“My brother thinks we should just be friends, and I guess he’s right. Sorry.”
I was young, dramatic, and pissed. I couldn’t believe that someone could be so stupid. Who cared what his brother thought? His brother wasn’t the one dating me, and I was great…wasn’t I?
Later that same week, I received an instant message from one of the cousins. I had met him only once, and barely remembered who he was.
“Hey, sorry. I got your screen name from a friend. I always like to get to know my little cousin’s girlfriends,” he said.
“Well, I’m an EX-girlfriend now,” I told him.
“Ah, too bad. You sounded pretty cool,” he replied.
Just then, I had a diabolical idea. I had spent the last few days thinking of how to exact my revenge on my ex and his meddling brother. This cousin provided a perfect way to do so. The brief, convoluted merry-go-round began. I flirted and wooed to the best of my ability, and it wasn’t long before the cousin surrendered to my wily charms. I had gone from dating one brother, to meeting the other brother, to being rejected by both brothers, to dating a cousin to get back at them.
So I gave the cousin two weeks, and then dumped the whole family. They’re still trying to figure out what hit them.
About the author: Samantha grew up in Florida, a state best known for oranges, bad drivers, and old people. A creative writing major at Purchase College, she now lives with her mother in New York. She spends her time watching Kevin Smith movies, working in retail, and musing about the life stories of complete strangers.After long bouts of playing the proverbial field in the dating world, she is happily settled down…for now. She is currently working on her first novel.
Check out her blog “The Extemporaneous Ramblings of a Confused Mind” at “http://amalgamutt.livejournal.com/”
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March 21st, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I love Columbian ans smoke it all the time
March 23rd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
hahaha funny….nice way to get revenge
March 24th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Haha, I guess that was a good way to make them looks stupid. If they dump you who cares, move on and forget them like dust in the wind. Simple solution
March 24th, 2008 at 2:50 am
They are not the only people in this world! If they rejected you, cheer up and show to them the real you. They are not worth remembering.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:05 am
I am not trying to be harsh but it sounds like you played yourself. You went out with two guys in the same family the first because you liked him the second for revenge. What you should have done is learned to keep your first man the one you wanted. Learn to work it so he won’t want to leave you even if his own mother tells him to leave you alone.
Get Your Game Tight
March 27th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Sometimes guys are so KIDDIE! For that Columbian guy his family and what they think is much more important than his own feelings towards a girl.
Can imagine if you met the whole Columbian family, would their opnions split? Will they quarrel whether you are good enough for their cousin/brother/son/relative? Will they vote for or against in the end?
April 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
How was that revenge. You only knew him for a short time. That didn’t make you look good. You really cared what his family thought? You messed with family, not good.
July 6th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
It’s not Columbia. it’s Colombia (in every language). And it’s Colombian, no columbian.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Columbia: good for coffee and white powders. j/k
May 25th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I did the same mistake too. First I slept with a tall Kolkata guy Satyam Prakash Gutgutia of South End Park and lost my virginity and then I slept with Rajeev Kathiyaar of Grace Road, Merrut and then for the last time with Sooraj Pyne from Merrut. No more sleeping around…
June 5th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
How Do you Know Satyam …
I mean … i knew him as a guy who was full time into all this …. and then he dissapeared …