Monday, September 17, 2012

Hello How are You?

Hi!  How are you?
Good, you?
Good.
This exchange is probably the most frequent dialog spoken in the world.  Everyone knows it is polite even though no one really cares, or has time to care how you really are.  Maybe you would care if you had time to sit down and catch up with this acquaintance, but you don't.  You both go your own ways.
With friends I like to switch it up sometimes and answer "$hitty, you?"  That usually causes them to hesitate for a second because it was unexpected - although you may know that I am $hitty, you don't actually expect me to say it in such a casual exchange.

I used to answer "Wonderful!" every time.  I thought it was funny.  At first.  I usually got a "Wow" as an answer.  Occasionally the person was compelled enough to stop and ask why I was so wonderful.  This was the hard part.  I had three options:  I had to think of something good that had happened recently, make up something good, or confess my deception - which was embarrassing at best.
I was working at the time, so I had many many opportunities to use my patent reply.  I think sometimes it was nice.  It was like some sort of mantra, making myself believe that I was, indeed, wonderful.
Until one day.
It was a bad day/week/month and things were on the continual down slide.  I was not, by any stretch of the imagination, wonderful.  I was sick of putting up a front.  I was done pretending I was happy.  I couldn't freakin do it any more.  I stopped saying I was wonderful.  I went back to more socially acceptable responses such as 'good' 'fine' 'okay'.
I think I learned a lot from my little experiment.  I learned about social norms and how others react when faced with the abnormal.  I learned about myself.  I learned it was so much easier to just say 'good.'

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I'm moderately ok"

George Carlin

Bob G. said...

MsN:
Whenever people ask me that, I just cynically answer:
"I'm livin' the dream".
BNut with actual, REAL caring indivisuals, I will answer truthfully...

I just sometimes like "effin" with people...lol.

(a perk of getting older)

And, if I may borrow from ANON's wonderful Carlinism:

Have a moderately ok week.
Stay moderately safe down there.

CWMartin said...

My standard answer is, "I'm just ducky." Of course, that means that half the time I have to explain what "ducky" is.

ms nk rey said...

CWM I have a friend who always says "finer than frog hair" I have never asked him what it means LOL.