idle chit chat

i, for one, am not of a fan. it's hard to avoid though. most people enjoy these exchanges on a day to day basis and they do it everywhere with everyone - at work, on the way to work/home (on their bluetooths), on the subway, and so on.

the only folks that i can talk to for prolonged amounts of time are family and friends that i've known forever. and this hasn't happened in some time either because people's schedules are getting busier these days. plus, there aren't really any new significant developments in my life, so what's there to chat about anyways? significant developments in their lives, i guess : )

now the worst is having to make idle chit chat with folks who i'm not that interested in getting to know. the whole time i'm talking to them, the question of, "why am i even talking to this person?" and the awareness of the fact that "i don't even really like them" swim around in my head. i wonder what would happen if i simply stop nodding my head when these people try to talk to me, or giving them a completely blank look. or maybe i should even start saying things that have absolutely nothing to do with what they're talking about, and they'll just stop talking to me because they'll think i'm a bad listener . . .

hmmmmm. i guess i'll have to brainstorm more sane alternatives to the mind-numbing filler conversations that strangers and acquaintances expect of me!