Howdy, I very much enjoy “shooting the breeze” (conversing without relational strings attached) with strangers of all backgrounds, ages, and genders. I am 33F. I am married with four children. I have an engineering degree and worked as an engineer. I now homeschool my children and one thing I miss so much is male conversation (I genuinely enjoy helpful analysis and explanations as well as slightly off color jokes). I also moved across the continent from my brothers and father and I miss them every day. Sometimes, I spark up conversation with strangers and lately, I have found the end result is not the friendly goodbye I expect. In the last year, I have been followed, asked for my phone number (after making it clear I was married) and invited to check out some guy’s car. Do I need to give up the habit or just learn more creep deterrent skills? Also, the rise of “polyamory” does not seem to be helpful for women like me.