# When people hear I'm a "blank", they immediately "blank" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015 "2008-02-02T20:18:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/181 "2008-02-12T23:13:04Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] Somehow, I don’t expect to have that problem anytime soon. With that, I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out just how my life would be any better if I had the business card of a nearby professional driver on my person at all times. [/QUOTE] True. Doesn’t ice up too frequently in San Diego. I trust you never leave the county for points inland and/or north of you … :eek: And having my card would do you no good at all. Haven’t been in California since '93. Couldn’t pay me enough to go back. 😃 Lucy. ---
**Author:** ![LucyInDisguise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucyindisguise/32/18064_2.png) [@LucyInDisguise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LucyInDisguise)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/182 "2008-02-12T23:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=j666] \*actually, I was talking about getting graders through 3 foot drifts nope, I just do not see that in my life\* [/QUOTE] Ooops. Sorry, I seem to have taken your comment out of context. :o [QUOTE=j666] Continuing education for drivers is currently a hot topic in my state. There is yet another push to require road tests for elderly drivers. That could morph into insurance rate cuts for everyone who is tested voluntarily. [/QUOTE] Verry Good. I wish more states would get on that band wagon! Most people take a driver’s ed course to get their license and assume that that’s all they’ll ever need. They just been wingin’ it ever since. **OtakuLoki** , **Really Not All That Bright** , Thank you so much for your kind comments - it means much to me. I’ll see what I can do in the near future. Now why don’t we let **Surby** have his/her thread back. Lucy. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/183 "2008-02-13T01:09:16Z")
> [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > I trust you never leave the county for points inland and/or north of you … Inland? You mean Imperial County, which is pure desert, and Arizona? Rarely, though I used to do it often at all times of the year and have never seen more than a couple ounces of snow, and never any on the road. There are snowy mountains in the county, and I used to go up there every February but never saw an icy road. North of San Diego County? You mean like Los Angeles County? Yes, I go there sometimes; not too likely to see ice there, either. I haven’t gone any further north than that for a while, and don’t plan to any time soon, no. > [@LucyInDisguise](#): > > And having my card would do you no good at all. Haven’t been in California since '93. Couldn’t pay me enough to go back. And if I had the card of a nearby professional driver? Is there any service he could realistically have a chance to offer me? (Other than filmmaking-related stuff, that is.) What I’m saying is, yes, I understand that it’s really nice that you’re around when everyone’s car is stuck in the snow, but I’m genuinely curious as to whether you ever use those particular skills in a professional context on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/184 "2008-02-13T09:53:30Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] When I tell people I’m a Tribologist…you really don’t want to know. (We can be abrasive and overbearing, but prefer to be thought of as slicker than snot) 😉 [/QUOTE] Based on the word _triboluminescence_, I’m guessing either crystals or friction. > [@tdn](#): > > When I tell people I’m a conductor, they always ask “Oh, like Keith Lockhart?” > > No. Not like Keith Lockhart. You stand around all day with an end of wire in each hand? When people here hear that I work in Japan, they immediately assume I’m an English teacher and only work about 5 hours a day. The idea that I’d be in an office working 10+ hours days like most Japanese people my age comes as a complete surprise to most people (gaijin included). ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/185 "2008-02-13T09:56:33Z")
Based on “tribadism” and the “slicker than snot” thing, I’d bet on friction. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/186 "2008-02-13T13:09:42Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] When people hear I’m from New Jersey, they always, _always_ ask “Which part?”. I slowly run through in various levels of specificity from “North Jersey” down through to the corner of the county, waiting for a response, till finally they say “Oh. I have a friend/cousin/pen pal/family pet from New Jersey, but they live in [some place as unfamiliar to me as North Dakota]”. [/QUOTE] Wow, I get this too! I no longer live there, but when I tell people I grew up in New Jersey they want to know where. Since my town wasn’t particularly well-known, I tell them the nearest “landmark” town: Asbury Park. Then they go on to say they know someone who lives in some town I’ve never heard of. Is this phenomenon limited to New Jersey, I wonder? Is it because it’s a relatively small state and people assume that the residents all know each other, or at least know the geography? ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/187 "2008-02-13T13:25:48Z")
Whenever I tell anyone I work in the timeshare industry, they scowl and start telling me about how they got suckered into buying a timeshare and how they never use it, etc etc. Sometimes they get angry at me. Look, I’m sorry, I’m not in sales and I’ve never pressured anyone into buying a timeshare. Made folks pay their bills on time, sure, but never forced them to buy. ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/188 "2008-02-13T14:26:05Z")
[QUOTE=Licentious Ectomorph] Wow, I get this too! I no longer live there, but when I tell people I grew up in New Jersey they want to know where. Since my town wasn’t particularly well-known, I tell them the nearest “landmark” town: Asbury Park. Then they go on to say they know someone who lives in some town I’ve never heard of. [/QUOTE] Dude! Where are you from? I grew up with Asbury as my landmark town (because no one’s ever heard of Allenhurst, and, really, why should they? It’s five blocks by five blocks). And, yeah, I still get that question when I say I’m from Jersey, and it seems like everybody’s grandmother/aunt/ex-husband lives in Cherry Hill. Like every other linguist in this thread, I get asked what languages I speak. I either respond, “All of them,” or, “I barely speak English!” When I have to explain what linguistics is, I usually say it’s the study of language, which usually garners the response, “Oh, I bet you’re going to correct my grammar!” AAAARGH, no, if everybody spoke standard English I’d be out of a damn job! When I say I study dialects of English, I get asked to guess where my interlocutor is from. I’ve stopped telling people that because I inevitably disappoint. When I say I’m grad student, I get asked, “So… you’re gonna teach?” But my husband’s a mathematician, so I can’t really complain. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/189 "2008-02-13T17:58:55Z")
> [@Licentious Ectomorph](#): > > Asbury Park Asbury Park, eh? I have a cousin who lives in Hartford. That’s pretty close, right? ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/190 "2008-02-13T21:22:18Z")
[QUOTE=liberty3701] Dude! Where are you from? I grew up with Asbury as my landmark town (because no one’s ever heard of Allenhurst, and, really, why should they? It’s five blocks by five blocks). And, yeah, I still get that question when I say I’m from Jersey, and it seems like everybody’s grandmother/aunt/ex-husband lives in Cherry Hill. [/QUOTE] Middletown – not far from Cherry Hill! ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015/191 "2008-02-13T21:29:11Z")
For many years, I worked at various small companies that nobody had ever heard of. So when I told someone where I worked, I typically got no response at all. Now I work for a pretty well-known company, one that most people have heard of and know what the company does. When I started at this company, I looked forward to telling someone where I worked and hearing, “Wow, you work there?” or, “I’ve got one of the things they make”, or at least some sort of response of recognition. So far, in the various times that I’ve had occasion to tell someone where I work, I’ve gotten no response at all. ☹ Maybe it’s just me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-people-hear-im-a-blank-they-immediately-blank/436015.md?page=9)