Is it pheromones?

Yes, we are back from our Eastern Europe vacation. Yes, I need to post pictures. Yes, it will be soon. Yes, I've said that before and failed to follow through. We all have our faults.

But this morning I was forced to ponder three significant questions, all before 10 a.m., which have prompted to write this post. (1) Why is the last empty seat on the bus always next to me? (2) Why do an inordinate number of Latino men talk to me on the street? And finally, (3) Are these things related?

Question 1: Why is the last empty seat on the bus always next to me? Since I ride the bus at odd times, there's always a mix of business people and scary people on the bus. So why, when a nice, 30-something girl dressed in business clothes gets on the already full bus, does she choose the seat next to the pimply 22 year old male in black with shoulder-length greasy hair and blaring iPod over the seat next to me? Or the middle-aged woman with the crazy, spiked bleached blonde hair wearing too much makeup? Or the man wearing ripped faded jeans who appears to be covered in a film of fine dust, like he just got off a job crushing cement? When I get on a full bus and have to choose a seat next to someone, I always do a quick scan and look for the least scary person. How then, do I consistently rate higher than everyone else on the scariness scale? Particularly since I'm generally going downtown for a client meeting and therefore dressed in business clothes?

Question 2: Why do an inordinate number of Latino men talk to me on the street? While walking from the bus stop to my client's office this morning and pondering question one, a Latino man passing me on the sidewalk looked me up and down, walked a step closer, and said "Good morning beautiful." Luckily I was walking with my standard power-walk speed and deep in thought, so I was already several steps past him before I even realized what he'd just said, which launched me into a new train of thought. Since moving to Denver I have been whistled at, "good morning beautiful-ed" and asked if I "was selling any" while standing on a street corner more times than really seems normal--all by Latino men.

Which leads to question 3: How do I go from being the scariest one on the bus to "Good morning beautiful" all in the same morning? Am I scary while sitting but not when walking? Does the lighting on the bus make me look pale? Did the latte I was holding while walking make me seem more attractive? Or do I emit pheromones that turn on Latino men but scare all bus riders?

I'm not sure I really want to know the answer; after all, I don't really mind having the bus seat to myself. I could probably do without Latino catcalls, but they do make you smile in a "that was disturbing but not entirely unpleasant" kind of way. Though I do wonder how I can eminate messages of both "sit next to me and die" and "give me attention, please" while my true feelings lie somewhere in the middle of these extremes.