meaningless greetings 6

[HgTX]

It's not an obstacle to getting my work done, but since most of my human interaction happens at work I guess it's work-related.

First there was the empty "How are you?" to which the only appropriate answer is "Fine". And its cousin, "What's up?" to which the only appropriate answer is "Nothin' much."

Okay, I got those.

Then there was "What's going on?" which seemed, in contrast to "What's up?", to be a real question rather than a formulaic greeting, but no, it wasn't. It was just a variant on "What's up?".

Okay, fine, I learned that.

The latest, though, is where someone in passing asks a specific question about some social aspect of my life--and then seems dismayed when I waste their time answering it with a full sentence or two.

Dammit, if you mean hello, just say hello. I don't want to have to go through life assuming that every non-technical question aimed in my direction is insincere. I'm cranky enough as it is.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[ewh]

Thanks Hg, but these are more to my liking:

http://shop.cafepress.com/wtf

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - [small]Thomas Jefferson [/small]

 

[ctopher]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371902,00.html

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

 

[Gymmeh]

good find chris!

 

[ctopher]

Thanks. I remembered it in the news not long ago.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)

 

[Tophinater]

Engineers sure are a rare breed. Do any of you deal with HR people during the day? If another person tells me that I have a case of the "Mondays" I'm going to blow my brains out.

 

[casseopeia]

Tophinater, we're gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, 'kay?

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[Gymmeh]

The IT guy at my work is exactly like Dwight from the Office, and he will even say, stupid things about "Mondays." Even though he will sneek in 15min late and leave 15min early!
Yet everyone else works 5-10 extra hrs a week...

He is so like Dwight that i cant even get annoyed with him... it makes me laugh...

 

[rmw]

When a teenager I worked at for a grocery store chain that insisted - no, demanded that you greet every customer you met. Since I worked odd hours as a part timer, I got tired of trying to remember if it was 'morning', 'afternoon' or 'evening' to go with the "good 'whatever' Ma'am-sir" greeting that we were required to do so I just resorted to saying "good morning Ma'am" and noticed that rarely did someone notice and try to correct me. So much for people really paying attention to the greetings that they receive from store employees.

Then there was the kid (I wonder if he is still in prison-but I digress) who always said to the departing customers as they left the store (we were also required to do that parting greeting-"thank you ma'am, hurry back and see us") "F**k you ma'am, hurry back and e@t us" without fail. No one ever caught on although all of us bagboys knew exactly what he had said (and didn't have the brass ourselves to say.)

I've never put much stock in perfunctory greetings since.

rmw

 

[FACS]

I'd have a hard time wasting brain power on such a subject.

Formalities, manners and general greetings are hardly worth so much thought, lighten up and move on.



Charlie

http://www.facsco.com

 

[calguy07]

spoken like a true engineer, FACS, lol!

 

[HVAC68]

I had a colleague who used to respond for a question "How are you" ?

"Till now, I was fine" !!!

HVAC68