Why I Sometimes Prefer to just Shut Up
Singapore is an insanely tiny country. Some people prefer to challenge this claim and choose to think Singapore is actually a lot larger than we think it to be. But to me it's still tiny as an ant because no matter where I go, I meet people either I don't necessarily want to talk to or people I just don't feel like meeting.
Imagine me chilling to some good music or reading a book on the MRT or just generally stoning and zoning out and indulging in my daydreams and fantasies (non-sexual kind) during my bus rides. Then some acquaintance of mine boards the bus and proceeds to sit beside me or chat me up as if we were sworn brothers or something.
It sucks because I rather be by myself when I don't feel like talking. I'm not anti-social, at least not in the extreme, but I dislike talking to people I don't feel like talking with. I mean, I have my talk cock buddies like Kenneth and Dale, but sometimes silence to me is as purposeful and soothing and therapeutic as fun, idle jabber. I generally only talk a lot to people I either like, can clique with, or if they're really great people.
Next time any acquaintance drops by, I'd rather not oblige to engage in conversation because:
1. if he or she was so important in the first place we'd have kept in contact already via MSN or email or something
2. I find banal conversation infinitely emotionally draining.
3. I don't really like gossipping, and it seems the conversations with those friends i bump into tend to gravitate to bitching and slandering others, which i absolutely loathe.
Well, if you are one of those thatI'm more than happy to talk to, you'll be able to tell from my facial expressions and tone because I'll be smiling and talking chirpily. If i'm droning on like my former lit tutor Mr Y, then you know I'm not giving any thought into the conversation -- which is a telltale sign either I'm tired or lazy to engage in conversation, or simply that I don't really like you.
Also, I prefer to just shut up sometimes because:
1. I don't want to sound silly if I don't have anything to say.
2. Mindless conversations vaporize my brain cells more than anti-matter. (I read that line somewhere recently)
3. Silent is the new loud. I think being silent makes quite a 'loud' statement for yourself, no?
Too bad, as long as I'm living in Singa-tiny-pore, I'm doomed to suffer from these banal conversatons with long lost friends forever. "what are you doing now" or "where you working/studying at" or "what happen to XXX friend do you all stil keep in contact" blablablablabla boring old crap questions just drive me nuts. If we're truly comfortable with one another, the ability to be absolutely silent around one another is the surest confirmation of that.
Imagine me chilling to some good music or reading a book on the MRT or just generally stoning and zoning out and indulging in my daydreams and fantasies (non-sexual kind) during my bus rides. Then some acquaintance of mine boards the bus and proceeds to sit beside me or chat me up as if we were sworn brothers or something.
It sucks because I rather be by myself when I don't feel like talking. I'm not anti-social, at least not in the extreme, but I dislike talking to people I don't feel like talking with. I mean, I have my talk cock buddies like Kenneth and Dale, but sometimes silence to me is as purposeful and soothing and therapeutic as fun, idle jabber. I generally only talk a lot to people I either like, can clique with, or if they're really great people.
Next time any acquaintance drops by, I'd rather not oblige to engage in conversation because:
1. if he or she was so important in the first place we'd have kept in contact already via MSN or email or something
2. I find banal conversation infinitely emotionally draining.
3. I don't really like gossipping, and it seems the conversations with those friends i bump into tend to gravitate to bitching and slandering others, which i absolutely loathe.
Well, if you are one of those thatI'm more than happy to talk to, you'll be able to tell from my facial expressions and tone because I'll be smiling and talking chirpily. If i'm droning on like my former lit tutor Mr Y, then you know I'm not giving any thought into the conversation -- which is a telltale sign either I'm tired or lazy to engage in conversation, or simply that I don't really like you.
Also, I prefer to just shut up sometimes because:
1. I don't want to sound silly if I don't have anything to say.
2. Mindless conversations vaporize my brain cells more than anti-matter. (I read that line somewhere recently)
3. Silent is the new loud. I think being silent makes quite a 'loud' statement for yourself, no?
Too bad, as long as I'm living in Singa-tiny-pore, I'm doomed to suffer from these banal conversatons with long lost friends forever. "what are you doing now" or "where you working/studying at" or "what happen to XXX friend do you all stil keep in contact" blablablablabla boring old crap questions just drive me nuts. If we're truly comfortable with one another, the ability to be absolutely silent around one another is the surest confirmation of that.
i guess small talk can be irritating sometimes. don't tell anyone but i pretend to not notice some people on certain days cos i simply do not feel like talking.
haha so now i know when i'm boring raymond. hmm.. =x
Posted by
lyn |
1:09 AM
Singapore is indeed very small. I'm always amazed to run into people I know on the street - I just don't know that many people here, so how can this keep happening? Odd.
In this busy, crowded, increasingly multi-tasking world, I worry that silence is disappearing. Where can I go and be unassaulted by jackhammers, traffic noises, people's loud handphone conversations, and blaring television monitors? It's no wonder portable MP3 players are so popular. At least they let you choose.
Interesting post. I hope you find some peace and quiet today. =)
Posted by
venitha |
7:10 AM
Haha... you know what's worse? When this "acquaintance" starts to sell you some MLM products...
Posted by
Unknown |
6:08 PM
Silence is golden, if only 90% of Singaporeans understand that ...
Posted by
MyOrangeSweater |
8:38 PM
Welcome to Sillypore!
Posted by
Nobody |
12:04 AM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Posted by
Unknown |
4:24 AM
lyn: eh. on MSN its ok la. I mean on MRT when I just want to be alone!!! But then again, with the right friends, I never really have a dull moment at all. It's just draining to bump into acquaintances you're not really close with and have them yammering away not stop at you.
Venitha: Yes... because it's so small, it takes away all the magic from bumping into friends. I mean in America, in states like the Big Apple, it's such a freaking maze that you could count bumping into a long lost friend as a miracle.
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:25 AM
Beng: Oh man! That's a good point!! I so totally hate my old friends selling me their whole MLM product and philosophy. Gosh.
Lynne: Yeah. And did someone actually put that line down in a song? Because silence IS golden. If only people understood the significance of it.
Ghost: Yeah. Perhaps its just Singapore. Because in other countries, their buses seem a whole lot more quiet.
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:27 AM
you know your blog is getting famous when you get crap spammers. tis times like this you turn word verification on.
anyway surprisingly ray the scenario you tell me about rarely happens to me. haha.
Posted by
lyn |
2:35 PM
"Mindless conversations vaporize my brain cells more than anti-matter."
awesomeness dude!! helps that it's true, too.
Posted by
Missus Chineses |
11:52 PM
I guess that means you know a lot of accquaintances. I don't have that problem.
Posted by
R2D2 |
3:25 PM
It's always old army acquaintances from previous camps I was in.
Then again, it doesn't happen to me all the time, just some times. But on a frequent basis enough to irk me. :P
Posted by
Anonymous |
7:55 PM