I was forced into answering a personal question...
While it may seem like I have repeated instances of social awkwardness, I guess you could call it, it is mostly isolated incidents that just seem like they are back-to-back. Well, some of them are back-to-back but that is because I am putting myself in more and more situations rather than isolating myself. And I think that is a good thing.
So, today I stopped in at the corner store to get a juice on the way from the bus stop to the office building. Apparently, there was someone else who had been on the same bus as me who also did the same thing. I'm not sure if she was getting juice, but she was in line ahead of me. She turned around as I came up behind her and started talking to me like we knew each other and we were friends and said something about the bus ride we just had, I guess, as a point of introduction. I'm not sure. This completely caught me off-guard though. It just seemed strange that she would recognize me from the bus and then would start talking to me.
I was literally tongue-tied because she was talking to me like we knew each other. I'm not even exactly sure what she was saying or what she wanted because I wasn't ready or prepared for this kind of interaction. I do know and remember she asked me how tall I was. I told her, of course, but surprisingly I wasn't able to really engage in any conversation with her because I didn't know why she was asking me that. After she paid for her stuff, she turned back to me and said, "see you on the bus and laughed." That seemed strange, but I think I smiled back. I'm not sure if I did. It was pretty unsettling, but hopefully I did because that seems like a good way to end an encounter like this. I mean, I wasn't trying to make her feel bad for her question or anything she did or said. Being more approachable and welcoming is something I am working on. But her question did catch me off-guard. I'm still not sure what to make of it.
I won't be taking the bus next week, so maybe she will forget about this. I guess I should have been better prepared for this kind of encounter, but her intensity and question seemed unusual, and I didn't really know how to respond other than to be forced into answering her question with a direct answer. I suppose it would have been good to ask her how tall she is in return, but I'm not sure. I will have to give that some thought.
So, today I stopped in at the corner store to get a juice on the way from the bus stop to the office building. Apparently, there was someone else who had been on the same bus as me who also did the same thing. I'm not sure if she was getting juice, but she was in line ahead of me. She turned around as I came up behind her and started talking to me like we knew each other and we were friends and said something about the bus ride we just had, I guess, as a point of introduction. I'm not sure. This completely caught me off-guard though. It just seemed strange that she would recognize me from the bus and then would start talking to me.
I was literally tongue-tied because she was talking to me like we knew each other. I'm not even exactly sure what she was saying or what she wanted because I wasn't ready or prepared for this kind of interaction. I do know and remember she asked me how tall I was. I told her, of course, but surprisingly I wasn't able to really engage in any conversation with her because I didn't know why she was asking me that. After she paid for her stuff, she turned back to me and said, "see you on the bus and laughed." That seemed strange, but I think I smiled back. I'm not sure if I did. It was pretty unsettling, but hopefully I did because that seems like a good way to end an encounter like this. I mean, I wasn't trying to make her feel bad for her question or anything she did or said. Being more approachable and welcoming is something I am working on. But her question did catch me off-guard. I'm still not sure what to make of it.
I won't be taking the bus next week, so maybe she will forget about this. I guess I should have been better prepared for this kind of encounter, but her intensity and question seemed unusual, and I didn't really know how to respond other than to be forced into answering her question with a direct answer. I suppose it would have been good to ask her how tall she is in return, but I'm not sure. I will have to give that some thought.
