# Well, that was awkward... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-awkward/502039 "2009-07-06T01:34:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-awkward/502039/21 "2009-07-07T08:51:18Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I used to work weekends-and-holidays shift; I think it was the girl who should have not brought up the topic unless she was willing to _cheerfully_ answer “oh, I worked, but someone has to!” Or maybe she just has a pat way of addressing people to give them the feeling of being welcomed and her focus without actually expecting that many customers will bother asking her. I’ve heard a rumor that most customers aren’t terribly friendly. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-awkward/502039/22 "2009-07-07T09:49:14Z")
Seriously, don’t sweat it. I always ask my students on Monday, “How was your weekend?” and invariably, someone will say, “Crappy.” and go into a story. It is a way for them to vent. Today I asked, “How was your 4th of July?” 1. “Horrible. I had no money, nothing to eat and my phone got cut off.” 2. “Crappy. I had to work - at the Italian restaurant; know how many people want to eat Italian food on 4th of July? None! I made no money whatsoever.” 3. “I had to work all night.” Still, they were all glad I asked and they just needed to vent. Hey - been there, done that. Somebody has to work on holidays, and it isn’t fun. Might as well bitch about it. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-awkward/502039/23 "2009-07-07T13:05:22Z")
I’m a bank teller and we’re supposed to make small talk… I asked a lot of people and got responses everywhere from “amazing!” to “eh. It was okay.” to “horrible” including people who had to work, were sick at home, whose kids were sick, etc. The best (worst?) was “I was broke because I’m getting divorced so I crashed the neighbor’s barbecue and he and his wife were too nice to throw me out knowing what I’m going through.” I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or commiserate… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-awkward/502039/24 "2009-07-07T20:34:23Z")
I had an instructor in college that a couple months before had been out for a while due to her mother’s death. Well, we ended up in the parking lot at the same time as another student who’s car battery was dead and it was raining so there wasn’t a lot of help handy. I pulled out my trusty roadside assistance toolbox that had jumper cables, road flares, a rain poncho, band-aids and all sorts of emergency things in it. I think it even had crackers in it for when you’re stranded by the road and your blood sugar is dropping. She asked about the kit and I said my mother had bought it for me for my birthday. She remarked on how handy it was and she’d like to have one and I said, “you should get your mother to buy you one”. I immediately realized what I said and looked mortified and blustered … “I mean your father”. She took it okay and knew I meant no harm but it was pretty damned awkward. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-awkward/502039.md?page=1)