Sometimes I stop and force the person to rephrase: "Did you mean, 'What is my ethnic background', or do you really care that I'm from Los Angeles?" Sometimes I have no patience and say, "Planet fucking Earth." *shrugs*
One time, when I was in college, I ran into a woman I knew a little bit at a party the first night back from Christmas break.
"Hey, how was your holiday?" I asked.
"Why are you asking me that?" she shot back. "You don't care."
I blinked for a minute, then said "You're right. I don't actually care. But it's something to say..." I didn't have a whole lot to do with her after that.
I understand that it gets frustrating answering the same stupid question again and again-- hell, I get sick of answering on Kate's behalf that she's really from Boston ("She says 'wicked' and everything..."), and I would shed no tears if I never got another question about how tall I am or whether I play basketball or football. For the most part, though, those questions are well-intentioned attempts to make some sort of conversation, howeer shallow and meaningless, and I make the effort to at least keep my blow-off answers civil.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-08-09 06:20 pm (UTC)One time, when I was in college, I ran into a woman I knew a little bit at a party the first night back from Christmas break.
"Hey, how was your holiday?" I asked.
"Why are you asking me that?" she shot back. "You don't care."
I blinked for a minute, then said "You're right. I don't actually care. But it's something to say..." I didn't have a whole lot to do with her after that.
I understand that it gets frustrating answering the same stupid question again and again-- hell, I get sick of answering on Kate's behalf that she's really from Boston ("She says 'wicked' and everything..."), and I would shed no tears if I never got another question about how tall I am or whether I play basketball or football. For the most part, though, those questions are well-intentioned attempts to make some sort of conversation, howeer shallow and meaningless, and I make the effort to at least keep my blow-off answers civil.