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| I have been having some rather awkward encounters with strangers
lately. I'm all about being friendly to strangers- I mean, I'm
not one of those who is willing to completely have an all-revealing
conversation with someone I've never met, but I'm all about smiling,
saying "Hi, how are you..." that sort of thing. However,
there are just some things that I (a) do not want to know about someone
that I've just met and (b) don't feel someone else who has never met is
qualified to say about me.
As for (a):
I was at a store yesterday, having someone ring up all my items.
Anyway, the cashier (who looks around my age) looks at me, and says:
"Ah, long day."
I, being polite reply: "Yeah. How long have you been working today?"
Cashier: "Since 10 a.m.."
Me: "Wow, that's a long time" (It's about 6:00 p.m. at night
now). "What time do you close?" (this question actually had
ulterior motives, as I wanted to know what time it closed for future
notice.)
Cashier: "10 p.m."
Me: "Really?" (shocked since it's a Sunday)
Cashier: "Yeah, it's Saturday, so we close at 10." (Yet again, it's a Sunday)
Me: "Well, I'm sorry."
Cashier: "Well, like my dad says to me: if you're man enough to have a baby, you've got to be man enough to support it."
Pause.
Me: "Ooohh, so you have children?"
Cashier: "I have one."
Pause. Long pause.
Me: "How old is it?"
Cashier: "3 months."
Pause. End of conversation.
I'm sorry. That is something I do not want to know about someone I just met... It was just a little awkward.
Anyway, so on to awkward stranger encounter number 2.
So, I'm studying in the library, and a girl walks in talking very
loudly. I, being disturbed from my studying, turn and look at
her. She catches my eye and says, "Man, you look really
tired." Me, thinking to myself that I got 8 hours of sleep,
completely lied through my teeth and said: "Yeah, I am."
Okay, so being told you looked tired, which is codeword for looking
bad, isn't that great- but from a total stranger, who doesn't know what
you look like in the first place- it just seems a little odd. I
mean, what if I look tired all the time?
So, an hour later, she sees me again and says, "You still don't look good."
Great, thanks...
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| Now, I'd categorize myself into the category of "friendly
people." I generally like to say hi to people, generally smile at
people when I pass them. This is not the case for everyone, which
I totally understand. There are many people in the world who do
not enjoy saying hi to strangers as they pass them. And when I
say strangers, I mean fellow students. I'm not talking about
saying hi to completely random people- that could get a little
dangerous. But, just acknowledging that the other person is there
would be nice.
I do not think this is really a strange concept- saying hi to people
who are your peers as you pass them, regardless of whether you know
them or not. I mean, it's not that risky. It's kind of a
nice gesture, really.
However, I understand that this may be my extroverted self talking, so I offer some tips for ignoring someone as they pass you:
Okay, if you are going to pretend like you don't see someone as you
walk towards him/her on a sidewalk, there are certain things you cannot
do.
(1) You cannot simply be looking ahead because there is no way on earth
that you do not notice someone as you walk past him or her. No
way. None whatsoever.
(2)You cannot all of a sudden look down. It doesn't work.
Just doesn't. People don't randomly look down just as other
people past them unless they are avoiding eye contact.
So some completely believable ways to avoid acknowledging someone's existence on a path:
(1) Phone- I have been known to get on my phone/act like I'm
text-messaging someone as I'm passing. However, this only works
if you are still a far ways from the other person, so it does not look
obvious. Talking on the phone doesn't work as well because your
eyes are still busy and your head is up, so smiling would be
required. (I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that I've used this
one.
(2) Act like you're talking to someone else. This, obviously,
only works if you're walking with someone. I get very involved in
my conversations, so it could be very possible for me to be turned in
such a way to not know someone was walking by me...
Along this line of thinking, I would like to apologize to the guy that
I tried to avoid eye contact with one time as I passed him. I
don't know him, but I most definitely looked down as he passed by,
thinking he would think I was just lost in thought. He actually
acted like a nice guy, though, and said hi to me, which startled me so
much (as I wasn't expecting someone to actually say hi as I passed)
that I jumped and spitted out, "Hi! I'm good." Embarrassing, and
I apologize.
The moral of the story is: Say hi to people, be friendly. They'll be appreciative.
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| I have decided that perhaps I should start writing in this again. We'll see how long this actually lasts.
I have formulated a list of things that I find particularly charming in people as of late:
(1) I love when people sing and dance in their cars. There's
something completely refreshing about it, particularly when the music
is from the 90's. There's an entirely different connotation when
the person is dancing to 50 Cent's "Just a Lil Bit" (though the song is
a favorite of mine). Yes, I'm talking about the people who are
dancing and singing to Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" or to any song by the
Backstreet Boys. I love those people. They're so free and
uninhibited and completely awkward at the same time. I think it's
the juxtaposition of freedom and awkwardness that is truly charming
about the situation.
(2) I also love people who get dessert before they get their meals and
then munch on it as they wait for their food. It's their snack,
their appetizer. Of course, this can only be the case when one
goes up to order one's food at a counter of some kind and then receives
the dessert right there. I love that, too. They're doing
what we all secretly wish we can do, and what our parents told us we
could never do all while we were growing up- eating dessert before
meals. They're getting the same satisfaction I get when I have a
peace of cake for lunch and call it a mea, even though my mother would
probably be appalled at the lack of anything really organic in my diet.
(3) I also have decided that I love people who wear boots with
everything- cowboy boots, lace-up boots, any form of boots that in no
way match the style of the rest of the outfit. I love it all,
particularly if the boots are black and the outfit is lime green.
That's my favorite combination. It's charming and unexpected and
completely adorable, really. I could never do it, but I give
those credit who do.
(4) Finally, I love people who drive incredibly old cars and listen to
folk music. It's only the two together that possess such charm.
Individually, the two can be sweet but not always. In actuality,I have
become incredibly fond of folk music as of late. It's quite
quaint and simplistic and serves as a contrast to the emo music playing
upstairs at all hours of the night. The lyrics don't involve
teenagers whining about how their parents won't let them out of the
house or about how some girl doesn't give them the time of day.
It's sweet and meaningful and involves acoustic guitars (however, not
in the Howie Day acoustic guitar way). Old cars... I admire
people who drive old cars because they require work and love. You
have to talk to them to get them to run well, and I admire people who
talk to inanimate objects- particularly ones who name inanimate
objects. All things should have names. Names give them
personality.
One comes to embrace the unexpected at college- it becomes peculiar and charming and sweet in its own way.
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| I'll write an entry tomorrow... I promise. Another good one,
too. It'll detail the numerous tribulations facing the teenage
girl as she gets ready to go to college- and you'll be touched (don't
hold me to the last part...).
Today, you may be satisfied in knowing that I (a) learned how to wash
clothes in the sink. Yes, it's rather quaint, isn't it? and
(b) bought a pair of hot pink soffe shorts. They're just
great.
Edit: I completely lied- I apologize. Tomorrow is the day for the entry.
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