 | erdos0 |
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Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:58:11 pm
Someone just sent me a message asking only this question. There was no other text in the message. This is one of the most difficult questions for me to answer. I know that it's a very common one that people ask and that it might be the most commonly answered question, but I never know how to give a proper answer.
If I don't care to tell the person how I really am, I usually just say "I'm OK", but the real answer is much more difficult to give, because I don't know the answer. I don't think it's a problem of numbness. I know how I am when I am feeling a strong emotion, but the majority of time, I am in a neutral state. I have observed that some people circumvent this issue by not actually declaring their present condition. Instead, they discuss some event that is happening in their life, but without necessarily specifying how this event affects their current state of being.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:58:22 pm
I don't know.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:02:20 pm
re: comment#1
it's a very disingenuous way of saying hello as well.
I know. A lot of people who ask don't actually want to know the answer.Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:02:30 pm
agrees with: comment#1
a question that doesn't really seek an answer.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:03:10 pm
re: comment#1
a question that doesn't really seek an answer.
How do you answer a question that the asker doesn't really want answered?Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:08:41 pm
re: comment#4
depending on my mood, i say "fine" curtly,
or answer with such earnestness and detail that i make them uncomfortable.
My answer this time was a link to this post.or answer with such earnestness and detail that i make them uncomfortable.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:23:55 pm
I would not know how to give a sincere answer at this moment.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:24:07 pm
How are you?
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:30:02 pm
re: comment#8
I dislike it when cashiers at Whole Foods ask this question. I doubt that they really want to know. I usually pretend to not know English.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:30:11 pm
agrees with: comment#8
i usually just walk by them if i have nothing to say.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:47:36 pm
re: comment#10
sometimes it gives me a chance to attempt to flirt awkwardly.
There is only one attractive cashier at any of the Whole Foods that I go to and it's difficult to guarantee that she will be the one who services me.Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:47:52 pm
re: comment#11
There is only one attractive cashier at any of the Whole Foods that I go to and it's difficult to guarantee that she will be the one who services me.
without doing anything illegalWed Aug 26, 2009 5:04:55 pm
re: comment#12
can't you stand in the right queue?
No. They have a number system that has to be followed. Every register has a number assigned to it. The express has 5 lines and the non-express has 4 lines. They have a display hanging from the ceiling which shows which number register we go to. Everyone on the 5 express lines can potentially be serviced by any of the cashiers in the express group. It's the same on the non-express side. The exact register/cashier that I get depends on the number that the display shows. It only shows the current number and does not show a queue of upcoming numbers. The only choice I have to improve probability is the selection of express or non-express. Beyond that, there are no guarantees.Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:13:36 pm
Those can be very philosophical.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:16:37 pm
Or stalkerish. Where are you?
Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:30:25 pm
Both.
Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:31:55 pm
I also dislike "how was your weekend?".
Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:35:02 pm
Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:35:42 pm
re: comment#5
succinct, yet informative.
This was the reply: "Oh, for Pete's sake."