Hey Substackers! Here’s your “pep talk” for the end of the week, which also includes some mild sh*t talking! Hope yall are having a GREAT week so far! Love yall! ‘Corey CoreyShirts.com
yeah if someone asks me "how are you" i usually just say "good" or "fine" and leave it there because i legit don't understand what the point is. but then i am autistic
Thank you Corey!!! The magic of getting older is you care less and less. It's marvelous, No Fucks Left to Give! I do say hi to others. If they ignore me fine. I go on my merry way, they don't change my mood because I won't let them!🫶✨️😁😎
It’s called common courtesy. No matter how crappy your life is, when someone extends a greeting to you, it is underwritten that you will return the greeting, no matter how bad you feel. You don’t have to say “good”, if you’re not good, but you should be able to muster a, “not great, but I hope you’re well“ to acknowledge the person who extended themselves to you. Some folks are just wrapped up in their own little worlds. What are you gonna do?
Being an introvert, the office pleasantries have always been awkward. My go to is "eye contact with a nod" so I don't need to engage and hear about anyone's weekend.
Thanks Corey. I needed that. Had an hour long anxiety attack but I think I’ll get up after hearing from you and go get some shit done. You da man (is that still a thing the kids are saying?)
“Good-n-u?” Almost sounds German, but Southern for “I’m having a swell go of it, young chap, thanks for asking!” Takes about two seconds to mumble. Sayin it since I could talk, usually accompanied by a Sir or Ma’am, because Southern Grandma 😁. I learned early. When it sounds like you’ve got a dip in, you’ve got it nailed.
I have to confess (cringe, blush) that I have had difficulties with the "Hi, how are you?" exchange. Fool that I am and continue to be -- I thought words had meaning and that this person who was asking this question really wanted to know how I was. Midway through a detailed account of my life at that moment, my mother would drag me away from the poor victim, hissing "You don't need to tell anyone ALL THAT!" "But-but-but... she asked how I WAS..."
Thus, I developed a deep hatred of the question, thinking "if these fools don't really want to know how I am -- WHY ASK?" I had several responses, such as "Who wants to know?" or "Compared to what?" Another one was, "I don't know, I'm afraid to look." Also "Do you really want to know or should I say Just Fine Thank You?"
I was SUCH a horse's butt...
Then, whilst working as a cashier at Ptarjée, I created another set of responses. "Hi, how are you?" "Technically speaking, I'm awake" or "Still on the right side of the grass, glad to see that you are the same" -- that second response being a BIG improvement. But the first answer was popular, too. (Come on down to MY aisle, folks, ten minutes of stand up whether you want it or not.)
Finally, after decades of needless jackass-idity, I do the call & response thing of hi-how-are-you and just-fine-thank-you and you? (Where's my goddamn medal?)
True story: Downtown Lancaster PA had its share of nut jobs and sooner or later, every last one of them became a personal friend of mine.
One man who was known as "The Waver." He was about 6 ft/6 inches tall, had gray hair worn in a brush cut, lean and presumably he was in prime physical condition because what he did all day was briskly march around town on his long skinny legs, staring ahead, and waving in a rhythmic and robotic manner. "HI" (wave) "HI" (wave) "HI" (wave)
I learned that if I said "Hi" back to him, he would break stride, stop, focus on me and say "It's a nice day, isn't it?" I'd say something like "It certainly is." "Well you have a good one" and snap! Back into his robot walking routine. "Hi!" (wave) "Hi!" (wave).
I was told that he went around the bend when his only son was killed in Vietnam, but I can't verify that.
At one company where I worked, we had to go through a communication styles workshop. One of those bullshit things corporate America loves. It was one of those that showed your primary communication style and a secondary style. My primary was extroverted with my secondary being the diametric opposite. Made for some weird interactions.
At the end of the class, we were each to talk about something we had learned about ourselves that we could apply in our day-to-day. One of the other guys in the class was someone I interacted with pretty much every day and his primary was my secondary.
What he said was that he had realized was the he was really reserved with people, using me as an example. He said that I'd see him in the hall, ask how he was doing, how's the wife (who had also worked there), etc. and he would reply with some version of "Fine", but that he never asked how I was in return. It wasn't deliberate, but now that he realized it, he was going to try to do better.
Now, your experience sounds very different, from the tone you used, that guy sounded borderline hostile, like he thought you were going to invite him into the bushes for a shag or something.
yeah if someone asks me "how are you" i usually just say "good" or "fine" and leave it there because i legit don't understand what the point is. but then i am autistic
You ever see me and give me a Go Dawgs, I assure you that you'll get a "How 'bout 'em." unless I am choking on something. Go Dawgs!
Thank you Corey!!! The magic of getting older is you care less and less. It's marvelous, No Fucks Left to Give! I do say hi to others. If they ignore me fine. I go on my merry way, they don't change my mood because I won't let them!🫶✨️😁😎
Oh the red hat thing - Nationals fan, Capitals fan & went to University of Maryland. Almost all their hats are red. This is a constant problem for me!
It’s called common courtesy. No matter how crappy your life is, when someone extends a greeting to you, it is underwritten that you will return the greeting, no matter how bad you feel. You don’t have to say “good”, if you’re not good, but you should be able to muster a, “not great, but I hope you’re well“ to acknowledge the person who extended themselves to you. Some folks are just wrapped up in their own little worlds. What are you gonna do?
Being an introvert, the office pleasantries have always been awkward. My go to is "eye contact with a nod" so I don't need to engage and hear about anyone's weekend.
Thanks Corey. I needed that. Had an hour long anxiety attack but I think I’ll get up after hearing from you and go get some shit done. You da man (is that still a thing the kids are saying?)
“Good-n-u?” Almost sounds German, but Southern for “I’m having a swell go of it, young chap, thanks for asking!” Takes about two seconds to mumble. Sayin it since I could talk, usually accompanied by a Sir or Ma’am, because Southern Grandma 😁. I learned early. When it sounds like you’ve got a dip in, you’ve got it nailed.
I’m a good “Gina.” lol 😂
I have to confess (cringe, blush) that I have had difficulties with the "Hi, how are you?" exchange. Fool that I am and continue to be -- I thought words had meaning and that this person who was asking this question really wanted to know how I was. Midway through a detailed account of my life at that moment, my mother would drag me away from the poor victim, hissing "You don't need to tell anyone ALL THAT!" "But-but-but... she asked how I WAS..."
Thus, I developed a deep hatred of the question, thinking "if these fools don't really want to know how I am -- WHY ASK?" I had several responses, such as "Who wants to know?" or "Compared to what?" Another one was, "I don't know, I'm afraid to look." Also "Do you really want to know or should I say Just Fine Thank You?"
I was SUCH a horse's butt...
Then, whilst working as a cashier at Ptarjée, I created another set of responses. "Hi, how are you?" "Technically speaking, I'm awake" or "Still on the right side of the grass, glad to see that you are the same" -- that second response being a BIG improvement. But the first answer was popular, too. (Come on down to MY aisle, folks, ten minutes of stand up whether you want it or not.)
Finally, after decades of needless jackass-idity, I do the call & response thing of hi-how-are-you and just-fine-thank-you and you? (Where's my goddamn medal?)
True story: Downtown Lancaster PA had its share of nut jobs and sooner or later, every last one of them became a personal friend of mine.
One man who was known as "The Waver." He was about 6 ft/6 inches tall, had gray hair worn in a brush cut, lean and presumably he was in prime physical condition because what he did all day was briskly march around town on his long skinny legs, staring ahead, and waving in a rhythmic and robotic manner. "HI" (wave) "HI" (wave) "HI" (wave)
I learned that if I said "Hi" back to him, he would break stride, stop, focus on me and say "It's a nice day, isn't it?" I'd say something like "It certainly is." "Well you have a good one" and snap! Back into his robot walking routine. "Hi!" (wave) "Hi!" (wave).
I was told that he went around the bend when his only son was killed in Vietnam, but I can't verify that.
I’m 72 and been living that philosophy all my life ✌️💙😎
Headed to YT to subscribe
At one company where I worked, we had to go through a communication styles workshop. One of those bullshit things corporate America loves. It was one of those that showed your primary communication style and a secondary style. My primary was extroverted with my secondary being the diametric opposite. Made for some weird interactions.
At the end of the class, we were each to talk about something we had learned about ourselves that we could apply in our day-to-day. One of the other guys in the class was someone I interacted with pretty much every day and his primary was my secondary.
What he said was that he had realized was the he was really reserved with people, using me as an example. He said that I'd see him in the hall, ask how he was doing, how's the wife (who had also worked there), etc. and he would reply with some version of "Fine", but that he never asked how I was in return. It wasn't deliberate, but now that he realized it, he was going to try to do better.
Now, your experience sounds very different, from the tone you used, that guy sounded borderline hostile, like he thought you were going to invite him into the bushes for a shag or something.