Today someone asked me if the seat across from me was taken when there were plenty of other seats available. I figured he just wanted to talk or something, so I let him sit there. He didn’t say anything to me. At all. He just sat down and ate his food. After a few minutes I was tempted to say something to him, but he didn’t seem to interested in conversation. He was quiet and wouldn’t even make eye contact with me, so I just shrugged and continued eating. Sure it was a bit unusual to eat with a complete stranger in silence, but meh. Then I noticed he was looking at me. Eh? Why was he looking at me? Was this a subtle invitation for conversation? So I glanced up, but he immediately turned away. What was that all about? Eventually he finished eating (before I did), but didn’t leave. He just sat there and relaxed. I ended up leaving before he did wondering wtf that was all about. Strange.
MeanOldLady, here’s my perspective. This guy liked how you looked, temporarily overcame his shyness by asking if the seat across you was taken, and then chickened out on the follow-up, hoping you would do or say something to break the ice. The glancing-and-then-looking-away totally confirms this: he was meaning to flirt with you or at least start a conversation, but he didn’t know how.
Yep, he wanted to work you like a pack mule. Or at least get to know you. Good start to the attempt, but weak on the follow through. I give him a five.
Huh? That makes no sense. It takes more courage to sit down at my table than it does to say hi or to introduce himself. If this guy wanted to work me like a pack mule (heh), he sure was backwards about it. Hmm.
Well, the way I see it he could have thought you were someone else, but not realized it until he sat down. By then maybe he was to embarassed to say anything about it or to just leave outright, so he tried to just act like nothing had happened.
I think it was Douglas Adams who used to tell this story about sitting down at a table near a train station with a newspaper and a small pack of cookies. Another gentleman sat down at the same table, and proceeded to open Mr. Adams’ bag of cookies and take one and eat it. Mr. Adams, naturally, was shocked, but since English people are all weird and hate to be confrontational, he didn’t say anything. But he did, when he was sure the other gentleman wasn’t looking, grab a cookie of his own to eat. The other gentleman gave him a very odd look. They proceeded like this, each stealthily grabbing cookie after cookie from the bag, until it was empty and the other person had to catch his train. It was only then that Mr. Adams moved his newspaper away from the table to discover his own, unopened bag of cookies, and realized he had accidentally stolen half of the other guy’s bag.
The whole situation could have been solved with a simple “excuse me,” but then he wouldn’t have such a funny story to tell.
FYI, that story’s straight out of a chapter in So Long, And Thanks For The Fish, part of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy psuedo-trilogy. By Douglas Adams of course.
I’m reading it for the fist time now, The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to be exact, and I’m glad to finally get some of the references around here.
Right, the sitting is easy, you don’t even have to ask. It’s the starting of the conversation that’s hard. After all, you’re a total stranger. The only thing you’ve got in common is the table you’re sitting at. I revise my rating to a 4.5.
The pack mule line has never worked for me. Personally, I prefer “I’d love to slam you like a screen door in a Kansas tornado.” The repetitive wham, wham, wham lends visual color to the mind’s eye. :eek:
Heh, funny story. I’d have said something if he were stealing the food off my plate. I guess at first I was waiting on him to start a conversation, before realizing he had no intentions of saying a single word or even making eye contact.
Btw, I prefer, “I’d love to peel your pants off like a banana peel.”
That makes no sense. It takes more courage to sit down at my table than it does to say hi or to introduce himself. If this guy wanted to work me like a pack mule (heh), he sure was backwards about it. Hmm.
The silence was just creepy.