Cutting to the chase.

I consider myself a friendly person, but not necessarily a nice person. Or maybe it's the other way around -- I can't ever decide.

According to an article my grandma read recently (as opposed to a "program" she would've seen on television), if one wants to meet delightful people, that person should make small talk with everyone they meet. Small talk, huh? I always say hi to the bus driver when I get on the bus, but I don't think this counts. I give a cheerful hello to people I know when I pass them in the hallway, but I paid attention to my parents and don't talk to strangers. In fact, I work on the tacit assumption that people I don't already know can't speak.

I tried the small talk thing twice: once to a harried checker at the grocery store and once to a fellow patron at the carwash. The checker was too busy and the lady's car was ready just as I wondered aloud whether anyone's ever taken the wrong car home from the carwash.

This week I've decided that maybe I don't like small talk. I hate it when classmates I don't know well ask me how I'm doing and expect a real answer or make some 'process comment' about what's going on in the classroom. Give up some good gossip or keep quiet.