Monday, June 8, 2009

Apparently I'm a spongy therapist.

My natural look is angry. I may be in a great mood but apparently I look like I'm scowling. If I had a nickel for each person who has told me to "smile", I'd be a very rich woman. Then I would proceed to wad those nickels up into plastic baggies that I could use to slug said people. :) A ghetto version of brass knuckles. Based on that information, you wouldn't think strangers would talk to me. They do. Grr. I bring a book with me when I have to go to an appointment that's going to be awhile. I'm buried in my book and without fail, someone will interrupt my reading and just start chatting about their day. WTF people?

Not only do strangers talk to me, they share personal information with me. Bizarre. I was sitting at a car dealership years ago (with my book) and this lady moves from across the room to sit next to me and then starts yapping about her kids. Then she starts telling me about her impending divorce. True story. Thirty minutes later my car was done and I got the heck out of there.

I was leaving work one day (my past job) and I ended up walking out with someone that I didn't know. She started talking about the weather and how she didn't have to rake the leaves this weekend (it was fall). I don't know why this person is talking to me but I ask why she doesn't have to rake the leaves this weekend. She tells me that she has breast cancer and her doctor said she had to be careful with how she moves. Why are you telling me this?!

I don't know what it is about me but people just want to spill their guts. It happens ALL THE TIME. I've heard the phrase "I've never told anybody this before" too many times to count. Maybe people sense that I'm an incredibly open-minded individual? Who knows. It's nice when friends want to open up to me though because it helps me to understand them better and can strengthen a friendship.

I honestly don't mind that people want to talk to me like that but it's hard because I just sit there and listen and offer some feedback. They don't care about me or my experiences. I'm just a soundboard. Now granted, I don't typically talk much during conversations anyways and do tend to be a bit secretive but gosh sometimes I get really sick of people that just want to talk about themselves all day! Seriously people, I should get paid for this. Hence the subject line of this post.

On that note...I found this the other day and had to share. Someday, I'm gonna' need to do this one!

Photo courtesy of StitchBitch. What a kickass name!


Here's another Lolcat for your enjoyment. This picture caption is so true! I have woken up with a sore neck/back due to this. Sad but true. : )

10 comments:

cindy said...

i know exactly what you mean! it seems like people just love to randomly start talking to me and little do they know that small talk is one of my top pet peeves...

Dracenea said...

Cindy - I'll mentally send a couple of my nickel sacks your way to do with what you will. :)

Diane said...

the lolcat is cuuuuuuuuute! i'd still kick 'em outta my bed though! :)

i've been told that i look "intimidating", but i don't get it. i'm like the nicest person on the planet. i think lol. plus i'm a very small person, so ... i dunno.

people don't chit chat me up too often, thank god. i'm not sure if i could hide that look of "wtf?" on my face. i'm not good at that sort of stuff.

stitchbitch is a freaking awesome name!

Dracenea said...

Diane - Aww poor kitty at your house!

Hmm...you're intimidating? Maybe someday I'll find out if you are. :) You're lucky that people don't want to talk to you. I'm pretty good at putting on a good face and saving the WTF face for when I turn around. ha ha

Eve Noir said...

Yeah, what do you say when people say "Well, I've never told anyone this before"? It's quite bizarre & it's weird to say "Oh I'm very sorry" to a stranger in person (I mean you literally knew him/her for minutes).

I have peeps talk to me every now & then (luckily it's not an all-the-time thing like yours sounds a bit like, sucky for you). But I don't like to make too much eye contact when I'm shopping or browsing really. That seems to work for me. And whoah, when I'm grocery shopping, I pretend like there's no one around, mainly so I can get out ASAP. Grocery shopping=not much fun for me...and people are 10 times more likely to chat there I think.

Geez, an OLD man chatted with me the other night at Meijer. I'm just thinking "OK, when is the RIGHT time to walk away?" I hate to think I'm being rude, but I can't chat all night w/these peeps, ya know!?? It'd be different if you ran into friends or something. And even then it can be odd...if it's friends from a long time ago or something.

I have to admit I don't like small talk very much either. Yet, at my work, NO ONE talks when we eat dinner-it's SO odd. And I'm always the one starting up a conversation just so it's not DEAD AIR. Very curious...

OH & about the 'mean' look...I have it apparently at work with atleast one person. A friend of a friend said he didn't want to say HI to me because I looked MAD. What!?? I said "what was I doing, etc...?" I don't try to look mad...I'm just at work...am I supposed to be bouncing off the walls!??

OK< is this the longest comment ever about peeps who talk tooooooo much!?? Hm, I wonder if I'm one....but of course I am.

Oh Stitch Bitch is a cool name. But have you ever heard of Stitch-N-Bitch? The editor of BUST magazine stitches & stuff & that's what her books are called...don't know if she goes by it. The book can be found here...

http://www.knithappens.com/content/view/13/1/

Adios for now amiga~

suzanne said...

". . . I don't typically talk much during conversations anyways and do tend to be a bit secretive. . ."

I think this statement explains it. People who need to share part of themselves or just vent their problems choose you because you just listen to them and don't do a lot of the talking. They don't have to listen to you in return and can focus on themselves and what they have to say.

Love the cat! I have two chairs at my computer table: a comfy one and a hard one. And if the cat is on the comfy one I'll take the hard one so I don't disturb him:)

Renee said...

You're instincts are right, some people aren't aware they do but they can naturally sense that you're an open-minded individual and that doesn't mind listening (trust me, there are people out there that do mind). It's your god-given gift... even if you don't like it.

Dracenea said...

Eve - Remember the part in the post where I talk about reading a book? I'm NOT making eye contact so your trick wouldn't work for me.

I haven't heard of Stitch-n-Bitch. Cute name.

Halloween - That doesn't explain why strangers open up to me. THEY don't know that I don't talk much. What you said does make sense for the people who know me though.

Oh what we do for our animals!

Renee - Thanks for your comment. I do agree that it's a "gift" even though sometimes I'd like to return it. ha ha

Anonymous said...

As Renee said, you must have a gift--despite your general scowliness. But don't you hate it when people tell you to smile? It usually makes me want to punch them, and I'm really not a violent kind of guy.

Dracenea said...

Riverwolf - I definitely hate it! My new boss said that to me the other day and then put on a cheesy grin herself. It was my boss so I smiled. :)