Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Morenike Akinlawon in Rhode Island

It's Not You, It's Me

I'm not a people person. I try not to be around them too much. I don't like to talk to them, and if I were ever to gain a large sum of money, I'd do what Johnny Depp did and buy an island somewhere far away from the city and the people who live there. I don't know what I have against people. It's just me. The odd thing is, you'd never know this about me were we to meet. If you and I were to meet, I'd strike up a conversation with you, laugh with you, talk shop with you. I'm certain that I'd make you laugh once or twice.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I find that I'm able to deal with people for a couple of hours at a time. After we've hung out for a couple hours, though, you'd notice my demeanor change. I'd get quieter, smile less, and the lapses of silence between topics would be longer and more frequent. I'd start to get fidgety and drop hints about leaving. How, then, do I deal with the outside world? Well, it's not that bad.

At work, for instance, I work with three girls in my department from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. They're friendly and make for good company. When I walk in in the morning, we exchange pleasantries, talk about what we did the night before, and make lame jokes about inane things -- the guys across the hall or what our boss is wearing that day. We settle into our work and occasionally bump into each other at the printer or fax machine.

My job doesn't require interaction, so I'm left to my thoughts in my cubicle. The hours go by, and before I know it, it's lunchtime. That's when things get different. I'm anal about how I spend my lunch break. I sit in my car, push my seat back, and lose myself in whatever story I'm reading for an hour. I don't acknowledge the people walking by my car, and they've learned not to acknowledge me. My boss could walk by my car, and I wouldn't say a word. It's my time, and I prefer to spend it alone. No polite conversation or forced camaraderie.

I don't eat lunch, so the cafeteria's out for me. I used to interact with the other employees, but learned (the hard way) to keep to myself and mind my own business. At my old job there was a lady who I'd bump into in the hallway, and we would talk. She worked in a different department, but we were on the same lunch schedule. At first, I'd sit with her and make small talk, which was pleasant, but then it happened. She walked in one afternoon looking upset, and I made the mistake of asking her what was wrong. I was not ready for the answer that followed. She launched into a graphic and disturbing story that involved her husband, their gardener, the gardener's nephew, and, believe it or not, their attorney. I throw up in my mouth when I think about it. I never ate in that cafeteria again.

All that being said, I do NOT think myself better than anyone. I don't avoid or ignore people because I think them less intelligent or fun than me. I don't know why I'm like this. It's easier for me to go through life this way. I stay out of situations where I have to explain my choices or actions. I don't have to make small talk or engage in polite conversation when I don't want to, and life seems...smoother.

To everyone I know who gets mad or upset when I decline invitations, I am sorry, and as cliché as this sounds, it's not you; it's me.

www.bentoutofshape.blogspot.com

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

It's Not You, It's Me

I'm not a people person. I try not to be around them too much. I don't like to talk to them, and if I were ever to gain a large sum of money, I'd do what Johnny Depp did and buy an island somewhere far away from the city and the people who live there. I don't know what I have against people. It's just me. The odd thing is, you'd never know this about me were we to meet. If you and I were to meet, I'd strike up a conversation with you, laugh with you, talk shop with you. I'm certain that I'd make you laugh once or twice.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I find that I'm able to deal with people for a couple of hours at a time. After we've hung out for a couple hours, though, you'd notice my demeanor change. I'd get quieter, smile less, and the lapses of silence between topics would be longer and more frequent. I'd start to get fidgety and drop hints about leaving. How, then, do I deal with the outside world? Well, it's not that bad.

At work, for instance, I work with three girls in my department from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. They're friendly and make for good company. When I walk in in the morning, we exchange pleasantries, talk about what we did the night before, and make lame jokes about inane things -- the guys across the hall or what our boss is wearing that day. We settle into our work and occasionally bump into each other at the printer or fax machine.

My job doesn't require interaction, so I'm left to my thoughts in my cubicle. The hours go by, and before I know it, it's lunchtime. That's when things get different. I'm anal about how I spend my lunch break. I sit in my car, push my seat back, and lose myself in whatever story I'm reading for an hour. I don't acknowledge the people walking by my car, and they've learned not to acknowledge me. My boss could walk by my car, and I wouldn't say a word. It's my time, and I prefer to spend it alone. No polite conversation or forced camaraderie.

I don't eat lunch, so the cafeteria's out for me. I used to interact with the other employees, but learned (the hard way) to keep to myself and mind my own business. At my old job there was a lady who I'd bump into in the hallway, and we would talk. She worked in a different department, but we were on the same lunch schedule. At first, I'd sit with her and make small talk, which was pleasant, but then it happened. She walked in one afternoon looking upset, and I made the mistake of asking her what was wrong. I was not ready for the answer that followed. She launched into a graphic and disturbing story that involved her husband, their gardener, the gardener's nephew, and, believe it or not, their attorney. I throw up in my mouth when I think about it. I never ate in that cafeteria again.

All that being said, I do NOT think myself better than anyone. I don't avoid or ignore people because I think them less intelligent or fun than me. I don't know why I'm like this. It's easier for me to go through life this way. I stay out of situations where I have to explain my choices or actions. I don't have to make small talk or engage in polite conversation when I don't want to, and life seems...smoother.

To everyone I know who gets mad or upset when I decline invitations, I am sorry, and as cliché as this sounds, it's not you; it's me.

www.bentoutofshape.blogspot.com

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.