In a Hurry

I've never claimed to be a patient person. In fact, I'm one of the most impatient people you will ever meet. I'm not rude, it's just that between working 2 jobs and rehearsing a show, I tend to put in at least 70-80 hours a week. Time is very precious to me.

There is nothing worse to me then making small talk with a stranger. Yes, I'm glad that someone is friendly and feels the need to make conversation, but I'm not going to stick around and finish a conversation about unimportant things if I don't know you. It's just odd.

Yesterday, I had to get gas between work and rehearsal. I'm a freak about making sure I get to places on time; I hate to wait for other people, so I do all I can do to make sure no one is waiting for me. Anyhow, I was in a time crunch, like usual, when someone pulled up to the pump next to me.

He was very nice, and started to make small talk about the weather. Very generic, but polite, none the less. Since I had to wait for my tank to fill, I figured there was no harm in talking. He started asking me questions though that made me feel a little awkward, and I wished I was able to leave.

To be honest, whenever I speak to a stranger, I make up lies. It's actually kind of fun to make up a scenario about what I do and where I'm off to. The person doesn't need to really know the intimate details of your life, so I figure there's no harm in it. What irks me is when I'm stuck finishing my lies when I'm in a hurry.

I tried to make it obvious that I needed to go by putting the cap back on my gas tank and getting my keys out of my pocket. Subtlety was lost on him, so I ended up cutting him off mid sentence saying, nice to talk to you, I've got to go.

I wish people would just realize that I'm stuck up and don't want to talk to them. I don't care about the small details of their lives, anymore then I'm sure they care about me. To me, being polite is simply ignoring the stranger near you and letting him or her carry on with their life without interruption.