When you first meet people they have a tendency to ask ‘what do you do?’ This is because they need a peg to hang you on. If you say ‘I’m an artist,’ they reply ‘Oh, how interesting.’ If you say ‘I’m a shift worker in the local factory,’ they still say ‘Oh, how interesting,’ but with a totally different tone of voice.
I never know how to answer the question in any terms they’d find acceptable, so I usually stick with ‘Not a lot.’ They rarely say ‘Oh, how interesting’ to that one. They usually stay quiet and wait for me to finish the sentence. Then they get my life story. Serves them right for trying to hang me on a peg.
5 comments:
If I'm ever in some awkward social situation and I get asked that I'm going to lie and tell them I'm a famous English actress. See if they believe that one...
I've run into the same pigeon hole myself and what I usually reply is "Being a human." At which point they either shut up or then if they're intelligent or might actually be really interested they'll engage with me on a deeper level. I always get the "How are you doing?" and if I'm feeling like crap, I know that most people don't really want to hear this, so I figure I'll say it anyway. And again those who become my friends on a genuine level ask me "why" while some others choose to ignore me because of their own expectations. C'est la Vie!
But you have the world at your feet, Maria. If a man asks you 'What do you do?' you should try 'Seduce men, if they take my fancy. You don't. Sorry.' I dare you. See what happens.
Wendy: There's so much interpretation going on, isn't there? Assessing whether a question indicates genuine interest, or is merely a tired expression of received politeness. One that used to irritate me was when the checkout operators at my local supermarket kept asking me 'Are you planning to do anything interesting this afternoon?' It was so obvious that it came from some corporate employees' training course. My reply was usually either 'No' or 'Endeavour to keep breathing.' But then I would feel sorry for them, because they were usually young and lacking confidence. I would try to engage them in meaningful conversation instead. Sometimes it worked.
Haha, I will.
Did I ever tell you the classic 'warthog' reply to the whistling builders?
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