Mestee Blogger

Most people carry a host of small greetings in their language arsenal which can be used with almost no preparation. What's up? How's it going? How are you? How are you doing? Not being the most articulate and/or smoothest person around, I occasionally have difficulty firing these out without mixing something up. "But Brian," you say "things like this are second nature for most adults." True, but I think I've presented a pretty consistent showcase on this very website which would indicate that I do not have the ability to act like most adults.

I was at Jack's apartment in NH a few weeks ago when I decided to make a trip to the convenience store connected to his building. I walked outside and fell in stride just a few feet behind a guy who had just parked his car and was also walking to the store. He walked ahead of me for a few seconds before he quickly whipped his neck around and said "How's it going, man?". Caught off guard, I searched for words. They were the wrong ones: "Hey, how you going?". You're embarassed for me, aren't you?

My sister is always entertained with the "What's up?" "Pretty good" "How are you?" "Nothing much" exchange. Sadly, I've been on the wrong end of that one, too.

Yesterday, my boss was talking to some people near my desk. When he was leaving to go back to his desk, he gave me a little "How are you, Brian?". Pretty straight forward, right? I mean, I don't have any learning disabilities or anything. Of all the questions someone could ask me, this reply should be pretty automatic, right? Wrong. "Good, how's it doing?" Luckily, I don't think he was really paying attention to my response, as he just continued walking. Either that, or he was walking directly to my personnel file to make sure the official records stated that I was a Class A Jackass. I'm only 27, so I'm sure my social and language skills are bound to develop sometime soon. Until then, I'll keep writing and telling you all about how they haven't.
|