I hate when people I don't know make stupid, lame observations to me.

[Robert01]

Last night I was at Barnes and Nobles and some chick walked up to me, leaned over and looked at my butt, and said, "Wow, that's a hell of a nice ass there..."

Well, she hasn't gotten out of my bed yet....

 

[kami]

You're an angry, bitter person aren't you? Here's a tip: smile

 

[Geekbabe]

<< i attract all the people that feel the need to talk to SOMEONE anywhere. like i was in the Mall of America (back when i lived in MN) and i am standing by a railing waiting for my mom and dad. some dude walks up and is like..."yeah my parents tell me i need to get out more and make some friends. they tell me i shouldn't sit at home so much" and the guy was like 40. ummm why did you pick me? like i care...
so i know where you are coming from. but i am altogether cynical and anti-social so take that as you will. at least it was just a comment on an elevator and not an attempt at an extended conversation. i get that at work...doesn't really bother me all that much i guess. >>



LOL,I worked in human services for years and it was a long running joke among my work peers that if there was a paranoid schizophrenic within 10 miles they'd find me.


My best example , I had just moved out here to the burbs from Boston,quiet,upscale, neighborhood, no wino's,no people mumbling to themselves in the streets yada,yada, at any rate it's about 7pm the night before Thanksgiving, a friend of mine and I decide we're going to take the commuter rail into town to have a few drinks.We are standing on the deserrted train platform, it's dark,freezing cold and the wind has started blowing. We see a figure emerge from the depths of the parking lot and begin to approach, it's a dude, probably late 20's early thirties, wearing a tee-shirt and jeans, no coat ! He walks over to me and asks if I have a cigarette totally ignoring my friend who by this point was already trying to keep from bursting into laughter, of course I asked this guy were his coat was...lol, he stared at me for a second, apparently consulting with the other powers that be that resided in his head trying to decide if I was safe to
talk to, he then goes into a wild story that included the FBI,CIA and finished with him telling me that he'd left the parking lot where he'd been hiding because he felt it his duty to warn me about.. the helicoptors that he'd heard.


I can't even take a train,heck I'd love it if only normal people glanced at me or made the usual small talk, I have no clue as to why in any given situation people always approach me for help or information with the oddest of problems


Btw, the fellow in question got on the train and I paid the fare and grabbed one of the conductors and explained what was up, he was greeted at the end of the line by Acute psychic services from Mass General and was indeed hospitalized
the poor thing.

 

[PlatinumGold]

It's about personal space.

Americans are lucky because we have SOOO much space here in the states. Everyone want's to own their own homes etc.

Most of the world isn't so fortunate. look at the population of europe roughly 5 times the population of US on approximately the same square mileage.

so how does all this apply to this situation?

in most of the world, small talk is strictly forbidden, no matter how close you are physically, because physical proximity is not a definition of personal proximity.

here in the US, because we do have soo much space, we are uncomfortable in close situations. we tend to associate close physical proximity to close personal proximity. hence the small talk. I noticed that in S. Korea, when i was there, people there, when riding together on bus or train basically ignore each other.

 

[LordMaul]

<< Another thing I don't understand... when someone says "Hi how are you doing?" do they really want to know how you are doing? I always thought it was just a greeting and always replied with "What's up." Now I notice that some people reply with "Hi, I'm doing fine, how are you?" That's just too much work to say hello. >>




Oh, just tell them that you were "Just fscking elegant until you showed up"...

 

[djheater]

It took me a while but I learned to respond compassionately and sincerely. There is such a thing as sincere small talk, it's kind of like talking to your grandparents... Anyway really simple and straightforward small talk makes both parties feel a little bit happier it's an exercise in compassionately reaching out to another person. What's wrong with that.

Think of it this way, in most cases the return is greater than the investment. You might as well chat a little bit.