just keep walking...just keep walking...

By nature, I'm not exactly an outgoing person which is why I love the Facebook.  I like that I don't have to talk to people over the phone to get updates on them or deal with large emails full of pictures.  I'm sure that you all are reading that and thinking that I'm a) insensitive, b) lazy, or c) a stalker.  I will admit guilt about being lazy, but stalker?  Definitely not.  Facebook wouldn't have a news feed if you weren't supposed to read what people write.  We all know what some guy from high school thought about his lunch and how many pounds our college roommate needs to lost to get to her pre-pregnancy weight.  I hate that there's this stigma in saying, "I saw it on your Facebook."  Everyone needs to get the hell over it.

Anyway, so I've never really been good at talking to strangers.  It kind of makes me have panic attacks.  All the painful small talk, "Hey!  How are you?  What have you been up to?  How's it going?  Good to see you!" it all makes me want to vomit.  Or the king of them all, "We should catch up/hang out/grab a coffee sometime," because when people say that, it's barely ever true.

Today I saw a not-so-stranger walking toward me, an old coworker who is also listed as my friend on Facebook.  This was one of those friend requests that I accepted because I couldn't think of a good reason not to, even though we never talked once outside of work.  At that point, the panic set in.  Do I say hi?  Do I pretend I don't see her and then risk being the ass who didn't acknowledge her first?  I mean, it's not like we have a damn thing to say to each other, and I'd be completely lying if I said I missed her.  I was on my lunch break, so I could have said hi, made an excuse and said I had to get back to work, but then I couldn't do that because I was actually going out to smoke, not back into work, and then I'd have to go into work, hide for a minute and then go out to smoke.  Gah!  Awkward!  Panic rising!

So I did what any lazy introvert would do, I pulled out my phone.  Acted completely engrossed in something and was able to slip away unnoticed.  It's rare times like this that I'm glad I currently have semi-natural, bland, hair coloring.