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The Four Levels of Social Entrapment

One of the most difficult aspects of interacting with other people is figuring out how to extricate yourself from a conversation without appearing rude or mentally unstable. You aren't allowed to just walk away - you need to have a reason to stop talking. And the reason can't be that you want to stop talking. You need to find a way to end the conversation without making it seem like you want the conversation to end.

This unspoken set of rules can turn an otherwise rational person into a flailing, helpless victim in a sea of self-perpetuated social anxiety.

It's like we're all competing in a game that no one wants to play.  And even though you can't ever win the game, you can prevent yourself from losing by pretending that you like playing long enough to be allowed to stop playing.


The game has four levels of difficulty.   
  
Level 1: Brief encounters with kind-of friends

There is a special kind of awkwardness between two people who don't know each other well enough to interact effectively, but are familiar enough that ignoring each other's presence isn't really an option.  No matter how much you like the person, you dread encountering them because you only know two things about each other and once you've covered those two things, there is nothing else and that is terrifying because you aren't good at ending conversations and that makes the horrible, strained silence all but inevitable.

But eventually you do run into one of these acquaintances and even though you both sense the impending awkwardness and desperately wish to avoid it, you have a social obligation to say hello. So you do, and the conversation derails even more quickly than you expected.


And then there you are, standing clumsily in the parking lot of Best Buy, frantically trying to keep the conversation afloat until one of you can think of a decently acceptable way to end the encounter. You stop caring about whether you make sense or not.  You'll say anything to avoid silence.  


At some point, the rapidly deteriorating subject material forces you to give up on being polite and just settle for the first bumbling phrase that comes out of you.  


Luckily, your artless delivery doesn't matter. The other person is just thankful that they finally have an excuse to stop talking to you.  

Level 2: Forced proximity 

 Trying to end a conversation in the grocery store is like battling a sea monster that has an infinite capacity to revive itself.  


As soon as you figure out how to disengage with the person, you run into them again and you have to figure out how to start a new conversation. And then you also have to figure out how to end that conversation.  No matter how many times you come across each other, it never really seems acceptable to not say anything.


You try to joke about it.  


Soon, however, you will exhaust your supply of pleasantries and lighthearted banter. 


The awkwardness of each new encounter is magnified by the awkwardness of the previous encounter until you have no choice but to pretend that you are so fascinated by the ingredients of what you're buying that you don't even notice the other person is there.  


Level 3: The Trap

However, some acquaintances don't share your desire to avoid awkward encounters. In fact, they often seek your company despite your complete inability to relate to each other. This person is seemingly immune to awkwardness and once they latch onto you, you are not allowed to leave until they are done with you.  


For example, you might be sitting by yourself in a cafĂ©, enjoying a cup of coffee.  And then you see her squinting up at the drink menu.  


She's trapped you at social gatherings a few times,  backing you into a corner and then standing at just the right angle so that you'd have to physically push her out of your path to escape.  She's extremely passionate about a variety of things that you have no real interest in, like veganism and the healing properties of soy.  She can talk about these things for hours without pause.  While you don't mind that she feels that way, you don't particularly want to hear about it in such great detail.  But she tells you anyway.  Over and over and over.  You might make a feeble attempt at steering the conversation to a topic of more mutual interest, but she doesn't want to talk about what you want to talk about.

The first time you escaped her conversational death-grip, you thought that she had probably said all she needed to say and that the next time you saw her, you could maybe talk about something else.  But no.  She checks up on you.  She wants to know if you've tried any of the things she suggested.  When you tell her that you "haven't gotten around to it yet," the cycle starts over again.  

You want to avoid this kind of interaction, so you turn your chair away, hoping that she won't see you when she turns around.   


But it's too late.  She's spotted you. 


She's not quite sure if it's you yet, but you can feel her eyes focusing on you.  You risk a glance to see if she's still there, even though you know that she is.  


And then you accidentally lock eyes with her.


Once eye contact is established, she begins to lurch toward you in slow motion, like a zombie in a bad horror movie.  You are consumed by a desire to bolt, but you don't.  Your obligation to adhere to social decencies outweighs your sense of self-preservation. You stay right where you are, unable to look away.  


You are going to have to talk about soybeans.  A lot.  And you are going to have to pretend that you like it.  To protect your dignity.    


Level 4: Well-intentioned social terrorism

The well-intentioned social terrorist does not alert you before they invade your safety bubble.  It's always a surprise.  You'll come home, exhausted and eager to finally feel safe from unwanted interaction. 



But then... 


You're cornered like an animal. There's nowhere to go.


You'd always assumed that your own home was a safe place - a place where you were not in danger of sudden, undesired social interaction.  But your pathetic delusions of safety implode into the realization that nowhere is safe anymore.  


You could tell them no, but you aren't busy and you don't have any immediate plans, so you don't really have an acceptable reason to decline their company.  

   

You could try to lie and say that you're just coming home to drop some stuff off before you have go somewhere.  But if you do that, you'll have to spend the rest of the night in total darkness, because if your friend walks by and notices that your lights are on, they're going to know you were lying.

 

But if you allow this person into your house, you are no longer in control of when the interaction ends.  This is not as simple as finding the right opportunity to walk away.  No.  This is some next-level shit.  You can't just walk out of your own house and leave the person there.  Where would you go?  

If you want to be left alone, you're going to have to wait it out until you can convince the other person to leave.



But even then, it isn't over.  

Now that you are aware that your home is not the impenetrable fortress of protection you once thought it was, you are forced to live in a constant state of slight uneasiness. Someone could surprise you at any time.  What if your friend decides to surprise you with a visit every day?  Now you have to worry about keeping your place picked up, "just in case."  You're scared to play music or watch movies because then you can't pretend to not be home if someone knocks on your door.  

You are no longer in control of your life.  



741 comments:

  1. your craziness is awesome. and like mine. so i'm awesome too.

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  2. Ahhhhh, so much truth. Read it and be complete.

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  3. OMG that is so true... It's worse at college

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  4. You rock!!
    Can I be you?
    OH!! I know!! I'll just stop by your house unannounced and LEARN how to be you!

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  5. Gosh, I love your work. Yep. So much.

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  6. I feel as though all four of those apply to one of my roommates. I'm never safe from him.... Hell, even when my door is closed and I'm getting ready to take a nap, he starts talking through it. I wonder if he also does this when I'm sleeping....

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  7. Pfft as you get older the social awkwardness is easy to get out of. You stop caring what others think.

    I don't allow anyone into my house anymore. House on fire and firemen at the door? No I'm busy. With fire.

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  8. I thought I was the only person who was always slightly uncomfortable in my own home because of the constant threat of visitors. It's nice to know I'm not.

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  9. This. Seriously. Allie, this is a work of genius and wonderment. And I can totally relate to everything in it! Keep doing what you do :)

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  10. FTW!! I prefer to sit in silence with my friends, though.

    I know. Weiiirrrrd.

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  11. Love it! Last comic with the blanket is my favorite.

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  12. As always, I love it! You're always spot on.

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  13. HAHAHAHAHA. Sums up the awkwardness of most of my conversations with people.

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  14. I feel you with this. The best thing to do with the last case scenario is make something up. Claim that you have to do brush the dog or wash the gimp or anything that is a chore that they won't want to do. And if they ask if they can come over later, say "Maybe" in an uncommitted tone, then refuse to answer the door or telephone. Then next time they corner you, claim that you were just so damn busy with the brushing/washing/stabbing glass into your eyes that you just couldn't answer the phone/door.

    That way, your home remains your fortress :D

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  15. Allie, my whole family loves you! We read your blog posts out loud whenever you post a new one. It's like a family bonding activity.

    "Hyperbole and a Half has a new post!"

    "WHOOOO READITREADITREADITREADIT"

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  16. Yeah I just about died at the cafe one. I've been in that position far too many times to count!

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  17. I died when they talked about ordering or not ordering a pizza. Allie, you make me laugh so hard, I have to stop reading sometimes.

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  18. I'm an asshole. When I want social pleasantries to end, I say "Ok, well, take care, see ya later". If they try and talk more, I smile and wave and walk away.
    ... I don't have many friends.

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  19. When my son was a baby we were out and about one day and a man came up to us and started talking to him and asking him questions and it seemed like it would never end (luckily, I was spared.) I was just starting to wonder how much longer it was going to last when my son starts CRYING REALLY LOUDLY and the guy ran away. I was like "MAN I wish I could do that!" Can you imagine being able to get out of an awkward social moment just by bursting into tears? Babies are so lucky....

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  20. The soy chick is pretty much the story of my life. It's terrible.

    That being said, Allie Brosh is unusually cool.

    ... And does anybody else think it's slightly creepy that the comment form has you "choose an identity?"

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  21. The amount of time i stalk this website and facebook waiting for new posts, and the time spent reading older ones to every friend I have is always worth it when I read your new work. <3

    Me and all of my friends die laughing when we read it. Amazing work.

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  22. My thoughts, exactly. Per normal. :)

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  23. Hahahahaha well yep, I feel that way ALL the time.

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  24. You crack me up. I've been waiting for a new post and yay!! Hilarious and relatable as always.

    Allie wins the internet, all bears and a unicorn. Or a unibear.

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. It's like you're in my head, watching my life.

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  27. Love it. My heart pretty much skips a beat whenever I see you've posted something new. Not like in a romantic way. In a, "Oh yeah, something else to distract me from looking for a real job" kind of way.

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  28. YOU NAILED IT!!!!

    This is perfect and it speaks the truth! In fact, because of stuff like this, I'm seriously considering moving into a house that has no windows so I can hide easier!

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  29. Yeah so, I have a new neighbor kid next door. Last night I was just sitting on my porch with my laptop and he was all "HEY can you come out here please?" Then I was stuck with the child talking to me for 30 minutes and asking me which car belonged to who, and he even went into my garage. He literally walked me around my own yard. "I have to go eat dinner now, but it will only take 10 minutes, what are you doing in 10 minutes??" "Uh, erm, I have to do 'work' on my computer?" "sounds boring"

    I'm afraid to go onto my porch now.

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  30. Allie, please. I really don't need any more help being convinced that people exist only in this world to harass me socially. I can hardly buy things in public from humans without going into a state of weirdness...

    I got a wedding invitation some months ago. 'Friends' that I haven't spoken to in at least 5 years are getting married, my plan was to ignore the invitation since I didn't really know them anymore. Instead, 3 weeks beforehand the brides mother calls me up asking if I was going to RSVP. Quickly, I lied to her complaining about how much work I have to do on the weekend, and that I'll probably be stuck there. She told me to check the invitation anyway and see if I could make the date.

    It was on a Thursday.


    I do NOTHING on Thursday.


    She's going to call me back, I know that much of her. I have no idea how she got my phone number either, or my address for that matter. They really weren't people that I even planned on associating with anymore. It's like some horrible nightmare where this damned social decency dictates that I NOT lie to her again and just go... but I don't want to at all...

    :(

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  31. What is sitting 'in my house by myelf...' ?

    :)

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  32. one time i DOVE behind a display of men's underwear and hid from someone i was afraid to talk to. imagine if they found me?!? awkwaaaard!

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  33. Can totally relate. Getting cornered at the train station's always an awkward one - it's not like you have anywhere else to go if you're already waiting on the train, and then you're pretty much obliged to sit with the person in question for the remainder of the train journey.

    Also awkward; going to the chemist/pharmacy/drugstore/whatever to buy some condoms and discovering that the person at the till is someone you used to go to school with and never really liked that much.

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  34. There's a girl in my office, I'm not naming any names (Carley), who continually initiates awkward and inappropriate workplace conversations when I'm stuck waiting at the printer, which is unfortunately next to her desk.

    Such as:

    Co-worker: Your hair's getting really long. It's pretty.

    Me: Thanks.

    Co-worker: You should grow it out really, really long and then donate it ... to me.

    Me: I dunno. If i did that, and it's unlikely, I'd probably want to give it to someone who really needs it. Like a child with cancer.

    (excruciatingly painful pause)

    Me: Umm, are you OK?

    Co-worker: The doctors aren't sure.

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  35. Lol social terrorism. Polite society is like that relative you never really want to visit but you have to anyway because their family. It will never go away =[

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  36. Oh my.

    Well done. My husband and I were just talking about the weirdnesss of running into someone at the grocery store...especially when youre walking up and down the aisles in the opposite direction so you run into them again approximately every 6 and a half minutes.

    This was wonderful, as always. Thanks!

    -JAB

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  37. The grocery store thing is so true. You try to skip an aisle, they do the same, and it just gets more and more awkward until you leave with only half your groceries because you can't take it anymore.

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  38. Here in the South, for some strange reason, elders of your church/ prospective church drop by on a Sunday afternoon.

    I realize I'm suppose to invite them in, give them a glass of tea, and guarantee them I love Jesus, but I always stand on the porch in "mmm, hmm"ing them praying to said Jesus they'll leave.

    It's the exception to the southern "always call first" rule...

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  39. I love how you can just describe my life so well!

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  40. Just blame how long it took to create this post on that awesome MS Paint frame of the grocery store aisle. It is a masterpiece.

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  41. OMG I don't have to go see a doctor about my social anxiety anymore! I've been worried the last few years that I was truly developing a condition, but now because of your amazing post and enthusiastic commentators, I think I'm maybe okay! Maybe I'll even try to go to the grocery store tonight!

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  42. I love the frowny faces in the eyes! Also "welp," the ultimate "I'm uncomfortable, must go now" word!

    PS- Don't be mad, but I thought you'd like to know: you wrote "I have to go sit in my house by myelf"... Everything else is fan-damn-tastic :)

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  43. oh my gosh i always get the surprise attacks especially when im at school ill be zoneing out at a table due to lack of sleep and some will rush up and say hey how are and its someone i havent talked 2 since high school and i dont know what to say either its so annoying and i feel bad they look hurt like why dont you know enough about me to talk to me? its so funny how you described all the attacks i never knew there were so many your so funny i love it

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  44. The grocery store interaction? Happens to me every.single.time.

    No matter which grocery store. No matter what time I go.

    It is the worst, worst, worst thing in the entire world.

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  45. So is this the first in a series of posts where you take posts from years ago and illustrate them? BECAUSE I AM ALL FOR THIS.

    ...also I just did a major archive binge and bloggerstalked you because you make my happy organ leak dribbly white stuff.

    ...

    yeah we'll go with that.

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  46. I love you. Thats all I can say. You validate all my awkward, terrible, sad anxiety issues, and it's amazing.
    Also, you is teh funneh. And everyone knows about you now, which is cool. Winning!

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  47. I'm a misanthrope... all my friends understand that.
    I'm lucky.

    http://laughinginpurgatory.blogspot.com/2010/09/30-days-of-blasphemy-day-1.html

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  48. I am an elected official and so occasionally get calls from constituents, some of whom have NO IDEA when they have talked long enough. One in particular I find endearing because, after I listen to him for his allotted time -- 15 minutes, because I play solitaire on the computer while listening -- I can say, "Well, that's enough for tonight, Jim!" and he will say, "Sure thing!" and we hang up happily.

    Wish I could use that on a few others...

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  49. I love this post Alot! Can totally relate with it: I have a friend who tended to do social terrorism, damn! if I let him in it was like he didn't wanna get out ever!, but if I said that I had something to do, he tried to talk in the entrance of my house, it was almost impossible to make him go. It was like "now I'm going into my house and you no, so leave me alone!". My mom let him in once and she still regrets that.
    :P

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  50. Allie your pictures are hilarious as always, but your writing just keeps getting better and better and better. I LOVED THIS.

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  51. I live in an apartment complex and apparently am friendly with too many people because this shit happens to me all the time!! What is almost equally bad is when my roommates have people over that I know but don't really want to hang out with and I HAVE to hang out with them because they are in MY house...its exhausting. Thanks for another great post!

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  52. I lovelovelovelovelove your picture of the grocery store aisle.... how long did that take? I might be able to print that out and trace it with a few years work.

    100% dead on brilliant as always.

    And then the eagle was like AAAAAWWK!

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  53. I do know how this goes. This cracked me up by the way.
    It helps to have a messy apartment to keep people OUT OF IT.
    It's MY TERRITORY!

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  54. Every time I read a post, I think to myself "I love her" because, you know, you tap so well into the craziness that rolls about in lots of our heads, but doesn't get properly expressed (with pictures!) to exorcise it from our beings. So, thank you for doing that.

    P.s. Once you get a little older you will realize that, yes, you TOTALLY can just walk away from people, even if they are still talking. It's very freeing. :)

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  55. There are benefits to spending too much time on wikipedia learning about random useless crap and being a total asshole.

    This article lists four of them.

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  56. I just read this while writing in a coffee shop. Ever since, I've been assessing every new person who walks in as a potential social terrorist... Allie, you're a brave soul for pointing out this often ignored threat to America. Be safe.

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  57. I check the peep-hole on my door to make sure none of the 3 other people who live in my building are out in the hallway to avoid all of the above interactions.

    These are just the things we awkwards must do.

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  58. hahaha omg, so totally true. i don't know how many times i've hidden in my house pretending not to be home... it's sad!

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  59. Dear lady, your good heart leads you into all sorts of trouble.

    Until you realise that the only true path to happiness is to realise that you, like all others, can function best as a rude, self-serving, social interaction sociopath where ignorance is joy and rudeness (with early parole) is bliss, you will suffer.

    May you be so narcissistic that you can be at least moderately impatient and earn yourself some freedom.

    ;-)

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  60. The closeups of the faces of the people you're trying to avoid made me laugh so hard.

    Also, I have that issue in the grocery store nearly every time I go shopping. I hate grocery shopping. I'd rather pull out my own fingernails.

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  61. What a brilliant post!
    Hilarious, obv, but also really cool visually, all your hard work paid off.
    I particularly love the angle looking down the supermarket aisle.
    THANK YOU ALLIE I LOVE YOU

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  62. You are a clone of my wife. She is 100% a "Clean ALL the things? :(" You have embodied a 21st Century archetype, and if you play your cards right, you can step into virtual demigodhood, like John Lennon, or Son of Sam.

    You so effing funny, that I punch my walls with rabid fury, and alienate my family, due to my envy and bruised hubris.

    Keep up the good work.

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  63. This just happened to me two hours ago. I was at the grocery store, saw someone I only kind of recognized, who asked how my birthday was. I described the birthday party my friend had thrown for me, realizing only a few moments ago now, that this person had actually been in attendance. Good one.

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  64. very funny and very trues..
    I am soon goin to write a post about you...
    hope you will like it
    <3


    http://hyphen666ify.blogspot.com/

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  65. It is often said that great novels are great because they teach us something about humanity. Your blog is the great novel of the digital age. A bold claim, perhaps, but I stand by it.

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  66. Long time reader, first time poster :D

    Just to say the this is probably the situation i'm more attoned to, and i want to tell you forgot one situation :P :

    -the excruciantingly annoying old ladies who love to talk to you and make you feel guilty when you try to stop the very long conversation

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  67. It's always a relief to see other people with introverted tenancies that find unstructured conversations to be miserable and guilt-inducing because you're expected to be just as extroverted as they are.

    The problem: How do I post this on Facebook? My friends who stop by unannounced might read into this!

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  68. #3 is the WORST. Well, maybe not as bad as #4 but I feel like #3 happens more often.

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  69. I avoid speaking to my roommate because just saying "Hi" or "Good Morning" will cause him to launch into a detailed description of the day's agenda..and I mean detailed. And there's no way I can say "Umm, dude? I don't care."

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  70. Ah, haha, totally right as ever!
    Aside from you missed one.
    The totally obvious lie in the hope they get the message -
    I was asked out for a drink earlier, my response was claw frantically at the car door and say 'yeah.. no, i have....stuff. There's stuff. I gotta do it. Long week. Another time. BYE! *hurls self out car*'

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  71. OH man, that grocery store thing happens to me all the time! SO AWKWARD!! Thanks for being so brilliant, Allie!

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  72. OMG Allie I LOVE YOUR BLOG!! Anyways, I tend to not make eye contact with ANYONE. Today that got me in trouble because I got a text message from a friend right after saying 'Are you avoiding me? Why are you being so rude?' But I wasn't being rude, I was in a rush to get to lunch and only know about 4 people that live in the city - what are the odds I'd run into one of them? Keep writing Allie I check your blog about 17 times a day just to see if you've posted.

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  73. Oh god. The grocery store. I ran into a professor there a couple months ago. Another time, I ran into one of my past students (I'm a TA). Whenever that happens, grocery shopping becomes the least of my worries. You try to anticipate where they won't be. "They seem like they could be vegetarian. I'm going to go look at meat for the next 30 minutes. Please, God, anything to spare me from 'Hey youuuuu! You're in this aisle now hehehe!'"

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  74. Oh my God, that last one is the worst part of school! People just stop by the dorm and expect to be entertained without calling or texting first. Then they try to eat your food and drink your soda, and they think it's totally okay to stay until midnight, even though you have an 8 AM and a metric ton of homework left.Or you don't even know them, and they're friends of your roommate and then you're double screwed because you can't just ask them to leave because they're not there for you.

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  75. I used to have a Level 4 - an old lady in a power chair. She was desperate for human contact because her kids just shoved their mom into a 1 bedroom apartment and pretty much booked it - I found out why. (On a related note, never EVER tell a disabled neighbor, "If you need help with anything, just ask". It's a recipe for your own misery)
    This woman was a bitter old hag that had nothing good to say about anyone or anything - her kids, her past husbands, her health, or the way her life turned out.
    It got to the point where I would close the blinds on the windows (especially the sliding glass door) and turn the lights off (thank you votive candles and oil lamps!) to avoid her. When she knocked on the door, I didn't answer (thank you, headphones and Mp3 player!). She'd even ramp it up by knocking on the sliding glass door. I've never felt such anxiety in my life.
    Sad to say it, but it was a relief when, one morning, I found her door open. I called her name, and went inside. I found her dead, slumped in her power chair, almost to the phone. I called 911, told them about it, and later had a short, terse conversation with a cop about the whole thing.
    Not something I'd like to repeat. Now, I'm just an asshole for the most part - I'm tired of social niceties making a recluse out of me. If I don't want to talk to someone, even a neighbor, I won't even make up an excuse: "Okay, then. I'm going inside now." or "All right. I got stuff to do." work nicely. :D

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  76. I have come to the conclusion that it is more fun for me to be a complete bitch. I would much rather avoid uncomfortable situations at all costs than be nice to someone I don't care about. :)

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  77. Allie,

    You always manage to read everybody's minds...and then we read your posts and are in agreement that this is all truth. I've had roommates in college who will ramble on and on ad nauseum about random shit that nobody gives a crap about...but there is NO way out of the "conversation."

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  78. I have totally done that ingredient reading routine in the grocery store!!

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  79. Sometimes there are perks to living in a foreign country (the exotic land of Canada!) where I know only a couple of people apart from my husband, and even then I only know them through him...I am just so socially awkward and horrible at small talk.

    So...WEATHER!

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  80. absolutely love :)
    shading is a nice bonus for us meek readers, WE LUVVVVV UUUUUUUUUU

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  81. I'm relieved to see that it's not just me who can never truly relax at home. Old neighbours (Aussie, here), the postie, people selling stuff - they always seem to turn up on Pyjama Days. The number of times I've had to answer the door in my pjs, with crazy hair and no bra... *shudders*

    Excellent post as always. :) Now, to return to the dreaded essay...

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  82. The life of the ADD introvert is hard.

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  83. I recently escaped situation #3! Although that might mean I've used up my good fortune over the next...I dunno... month....or something.

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  84. tee hee, i love this.
    i made a little .gif, hope you like it.

    http://i.picasion.com/pic29/611de096beb9978a54bc21cd0475ed50.gif

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  85. wow. this is exactly why I am shy. this is exactly why I preform as a clown and do burlesque. when I have my costume on, or have just done a show I at least have *something* to talk about. you should go into sociology or something. your insights into humanbeens are amazingly accurate! thank you!!

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  86. :D :D <3 amazing and well worth not paying attention in class today!

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  87. wow. I was just thinking about this exact thing earlier today! I have a co-worker that has money problems, kid problems, and other horrible things happening to her. I feel bad for her, and I want to be there for her. But any chance she gets she comes over to my side of the cubicle and starts talking about it. This can go on for an hour if I don't find an acceptable way out!

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  88. yep this is totally why i don't talk to people i don't have to. and i walk away from group conversations without any notice. because i've got better things to do.

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  89. So amazing. My friend nearly threw up just from laughing at the pictures alone.

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  90. A co-worker of mine likes to surprise me sometimes by cornering me in my cubicle and then going off about how stupid it is that grad school costs a ton of money, especially the elite ones she's applied to, but it's okay because she's got a full scholarship anyway if she even really decides she wants to go, which everyone tells her she'd be crazy not to, but still needs to write the application essays for, and then is all like, "Hey, can you look them over for me???" And at that point, I'm pretty much roped into editing her essays because I just want her to stop talking to me. Maybe she'll forget. Nevermind. I doubt it.

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  91. And as I read this, pretending to listen to my creepy kind-of friend, my giggles are mistaken for interest in their conversation, YAY. I forgive you though. I love this on a religious level.

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  92. This happens to me at work ALL THE TIME!!!!

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  93. I don't mind when people drop by my house, it's usually a very welcome occurrence. This may be because the only people who drop by my house understand that by doing so they release me from any obligation to be nice. I can just tell them to leave or say that I'm in the middle of homework or family stuff.

    If my friends are at my house and I want them to leave, I can just ask them to. The people I'm close to understand this, and the people who DO get offended aren't close enough to me for me to care if they are offended.

    Does that make sense?

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  95. THIS IS WHAT I BEAR EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!

    You left out Level 3.5 -- the person/s at work who feel the need to constantly drop by your desk and discuss how their life is going.

    Also, if there comes a time that you and Boyfriend choose to wed... In-Law conversations can quickly become Level SEVEN or higher.

    Your blog has changed my life. It even inspired me to create my own. I'm not going to be a web-ho and post the address, because you're super creepy and can find it if you want it. :)

    WELP, time to hit the road...

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  96. How do you know so much about my life? It's like, you somehow manage to pinpoint the feelings that so many of us have, but think we're alone in feeling. Amazing! :)

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  97. ahahahaaaaa.

    i love this. so glad i clicked on this link!

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  98. Nicely done with the grocery aisle pic with the depth and the perspective and the shadowing. You are really fancy-pantsing it up!
    And you're hilarious as always!

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  99. Another awkward situation - when you pass coworkers in the hall and feel obligated to talk to them even though you really really don't like them.

    A tight lipped smile and raising eyebrows never fooled anyone ... they know you're thinking, "Dammit! Did I have to pass you in the hall?? Why don't I have something in my hands to pretend to be reading?!?"

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  100. i feel like a total tool - i'm sitting at my laptop in a room of people trying to keep from laughing so hard I eject snot from my nose. I am not being very successful.

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  101. How could you do this, oh great Allie?
    How could you do this to me?
    My eyes have been opened and now I see
    That I am Number Three.

    -cries-

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  102. Of course, while the person is talking endlessly about soybeans, you have to somehow stifle the insane urge to yawn right in their face.

    I've gone almost cross-eyed trying not to yawn. It's torture.

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  103. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D_Z-D2tzi14/TH3mWop37sI/AAAAAAAADp4/dJyDTnE7xNE/s1600/lady8.png

    This picture is amazing. I'm not sure why. But it is. If I could bathe in this picture, I'm sure I would. But I will settle for a shirt of it.

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  104. Oh my god it's so funny and so fucking true. In the last couple of years, I've become much better at finding generic, friendly excuses to leave without sounding like an ass, but sometimes it can really be difficult. I always wondered if it was just me being crazy for having to think out social situations like this XD

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  105. So true! I think a different aspect of social entrapment is "awkward eye contact down a long hallway from which their is no outlet until you finally pass each other."

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  106. Weirdly, I've thought precisely those thoughts...the ones in the last scenario? And even more weirdly, I HAVE spent a few night in mostly-darkness for precisely those reasons. But then, I think I'm clinically anti-social :-)

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  107. The pizza convo was hilarious! :D

    I wish you had a few clones so we'd get a new post every day! Technology needs to catch up..!

    - Ipsita

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  108. Wow, that drawing of the frozen foods section is really impressive! Nice work!

    And, hilarious, as usual. =)

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  109. The last picture describes my wait for a new post here quite well! haha, it's very good, and very true. I identify with the last one the most. For some reason, strangers have taken to speaking to me as I walk home from the station at night, so I have to exhange "pleasantries" about my "career" and home status with someone I don't even know, that comes home on the same train as me each night, and walks in the same direction as I do towards home. Can't escape!

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  110. OMG! Thank you for remembering my birthday and posting a new one!

    Seriously, though, that was hilarious! You are very talented at being able to write about topics we can all relate to.

    Thank you for your blog!

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  111. I live in a ridiculously small town (when we moved in and got our utilities turned on they pried off the population number on the bulletin board at the municipal building and upped it by two) so pretty much every time you leave the house you are guaranteed one of these encounters. I've taken to wearing my iPod in the grocery store because it makes it easier to pretend I don't see/hear people.

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  112. Level 4 had me crying I was laughing so hard!!!

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  113. Oh man I am subject to the grocery store so often. Only I have the added benefit of having a husband who is super cheerful and loves to chat with strangers about the life cycle of ants.

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  114. You forgot Level 5 : Phone calls from elderly relatives.

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  115. When accosted at my desk at work I can IM a different coworker: CALL ME. "Oh, I have to take this - talk to you later!"

    Something similar needs to exist for normal life. Like an emergency button on the side of your cell that sends out a text saying "CALL ME NOW AND TELL ME I'M LATE FOR SOMETHING." Although, that doesn't work when someone drops by your house. Which, I might add, is the Rudest Thing Ever.

    And, I laughed so hard at this that I started coughing. Painfully. That's how funny you are.

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  116. If you happen to have a toddler/preschooler you get a convenient out to any conversation. "Oops my kid is eyeballing the fruit display, gotta go". "Sorry got to put my kid to bed", "Gotta run my kid jus stuck a pencil up his nose." Of course it helps if your child is a nexus of destruction like mine.

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  117. I usually just keep walking when I pass someone I sort of know. After waving and saying hello, of course. But I do not pause, for fear of being locked into a never-ending battle of pleasantries.

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  118. I have been known to skip aisles in the grocery store (only to circle back later) for the sole purpose of avoiding the 6-minute agony (and it's 6! SIX! Not, SEVEN! Six! It's like you're talking gorgonzola when it's clearly brie time, baby!)

    Also? I adore thee, o Lady of Blessed Dementia.

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  119. I am number three except I operate on awkward silence.

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  120. this is alarmingly accurate...
    and hilarious:) amazing!

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  121. Lol. I tend to get comments from people who never notice my new hairdo and then, suddenly, after three months, ask me if I had highlights done. :-P

    -French Bean

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  122. Hilarious! Funny I just had the situation of an "aquantance-id-rather-avoid" that stopped in at my house and without even being invited, walked in my house......had to use the "we were just getting ready to leave for the store" excuse....im glad im not the only one! I love your posts! They are so bruitally honest!

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  123. This is full of win. Or fail, depending on which part of the interaction you take on.

    Either way, your analysis is spot on! :)

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  124. OMG... You totally left out the conversation you accidentally started and wish you never did. You know that person that seems to know what they're doing whilst thumping a watermelon. They seem to know about melons and not uber creepy lookin, so you ask them, "are the melons good" only to be dragged into a long conversation about the green house effect on watermelons, while you look around trying to find a way to gracefully leave the conversation!

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  125. Every time I read one of your posts, I get that feeling of "Oh my god, I'm not the only one!!" =D

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  126. I have not laughed this hard for about three weeks. It was the Level 3 cartoons that got me.

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  127. I think these are some of your best drawings yet, the facial expressions are perfect.

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  128. I once finished a (brief) conversation with a friend I was grocery shopping with like this: "Oh. This isn't about me. [pause] I'm going back over here."

    Fortunately, she is the kind of friend who understands me.

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  129. Tried to run & hide when I ran in to my sister's ex. He's given up heroin & married the stripper. Nice. Have a life. Get out of my face. You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny.

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  130. Oh man, I can relate to all of these!!! I hate running into people that I know just enough that I can't ignore them... it's just an unfortunate situation all around.

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  131. You never fail to brighten my day! And by brighten I mean rip a ginormous hole in the ozone layer right above by head and scorch all the shitness out of my day!

    I hope you publish these in a book, I would put a copy in every room of my house.

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  132. it's totally awesome that there are people out there with similar thought processes as you.

    i'm always paranoid whenever i go out, anxious that i'm going to bump into someone i know but i don't really want to talk to.

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  133. Re: the panel at http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_D_Z-D2tzi14/TH3l7qQn1xI/AAAAAAAADpg/uk5APW0dWFE/s1600/lady3.png

    : ...I'm hitting the tip jar now.

    Many thanks, Allie; wonderful stuff.

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  134. You forgot one: someone you don't recognize who, as you gather from the conversation, you have apparently met before but who you can't recall ever meeting. You can't exactly just say, "I'm sorry, but I have completely forgotten about you. Please tell me why you know so much about me when I know nothing about you."

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  135. I totally DREAD Level 4. I think there should be some kind of law whereby people are not allowed to stop by other people's abodes unless they have called and made an appointment. Hey, doctors can do it, why not regular folks?!

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  136. Awesome! This happens to me with former college students of mine, or even current ones, same deal with the awkwardness and not knowing what to say. Worst thing is, I never know where I know them from, what class, what year, what their name is, but of course they know all those things (well, obviously their name) and want to chat, but I can't admit I don't remember where I know them from, and then I'm all, "Bye! Gotta run! To my! Thing!" When they know perfectly well there isn't one. Oh the deadly awkwardness.

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  137. Not to mention the fact you then have to worry about wearing a bra and brushing your teeth and you have to make sure you are always wearing socks so your unwanted intruder doesn't see your ugly, funny shaped toes :(. Luckily, when you have social skills like myself you are usually left alone with your farting dog and computer and you don't have to worry about people "being interested in how you are doing".

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  138. For the love of Thor, you just posted an hour ago, and I still can't get in the top 37 to ensure you know I still read your blog because these days you normally have 628 comments before I get here.

    So, I'm totally posting a comment now, before I read your blog post, so I can wave wildly and scream "Hi Allie! I still heart you 4-evah. TLA."

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  139. OMG, Allie...I totally love you. Not in a creepy, stalker-y way, but in a "Wow, I was just thinking along those same lines last week, but lack the personality, creativity, and verbal skills to accurately give voice to my thoughts" kind of way.

    You are totally awesome.

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  140. You're IN MY HEAD! *flail* This is awesome.

    Actually, I've gotten to the point now that I just go with a somewhat sociopathic solution. I just say "hey, I'm going to stop you there, I'm going now" or something, and go.

    It's rude, but most of the people I do this to either know me well enough to be aware of my quirks (and that I'm actually a nice person, but I get twitchy and rambly and slightly manic if forced to interact) or don't know me well enough to care that I'm being horrendously rude.

    It also helps to imagine yourself as some cool-but-rude character, like The Doctor or Sherlock :p

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  142. Once two people came over to my house to watch a movie we had to watch together for a high school class, and once it was over they wouldn't leave, just kept sitting there and talking, and I didn't know how to ask them to leave so I pretended to fall asleep. They were like, "I guess she's asleep," and thankfully left. Love your work Allie, thanks!

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  143. Bless your motherfucking heart!

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  144. Hahahahahaha...This reminds me of one of your first blogs the one about your neighbor! ha funny stuff. xD

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  145. Holy jeez! I got all excited about seeing this post so early. I was like "Ha! Maybe I have a chance of leaving a comment that she'll actually see!" But nope. You're taking over the internets too quickly, Allie!

    I don't even remember what I was going to say now. Probably something about making coffee and forced interactions with everyone. Like that time some random dude asked to take a picture of me eating his sandwich...

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  146. I fucking love this entry!!! Each and every level of social entrapment is like a magnifying glass to my daily life of not wanting to talk to people. Great work

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  147. In middle school, I had a friend who would just, in the middle of phone conversations get bored and shout OK BYE and then hang up. At the time, I would be so offended, but in retrospect, I love her.

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  148. My favorite was. "But it's too late. She's spotted you." and the ensuing picture.

    haha. Of course, all the rest of it was fantastic too. I do, however, feel you've missed one key level of social entrapment, and perhaps for good reason: it's uncommon, yet the deadliest of all.

    Like Level 3: The Trap, it involves a friend who spots you and/or ropes you into activities that you don't want to be involved in. Unlike Level 3, however, this acquaintance doesn't have lists of things to talk about. This person is the lurker, who creeps to the outskirts of a conversation, plants her feet and just watches you. When there is a lull in the conversation, they do not speak. They just stare at you, perhaps smiling slightly, eyes slightly blank but weirdly interested despite the absence of conversation. It's unsettling, and difficult to disengage from.


    (I just wanted to share)

    Your mind is brilliant.

    I hate reading your cartoons because it means when I finish it will be all over.

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  149. I think I've met that vegan chick.
    I wonder what it is like to go through life so interested in one thing that you become oblivious to social norms.

    That is the kind of person that gets so caught up in their ideals that they eventually take hostages at the discovery channel headquarters for not being 'socially conscious' enough. I mean it's the effing discovery channel for god's sake. Not that anyone would ever do that.

    Anyway, I don't remember the last time I laughed this hard. Thanks.

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  150. Hi Allie - I am SO much like you in that I'm so concerned about what people think of me, but it is funny how that changes with age (I'm - ahem - 38) - I still care, but less and less, in a good way!!! That was SO funny - loved it!!!!!!!!!! and totally related to it.

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  151. Allie. I am playing catch up on your historical genius.

    This is life.

    Wow.

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  152. God Damn, I lost the game.

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  153. all so true!!! Except, as Inky said, in-law (and future in-law) conversations can totally beat social terrorism.

    While still engaged and visiting my future in-laws, one of their neighbors came over with their infant son. My future father-in-law (who I'd only met once before this occasion thanks to them living in a different country) took the infant and proceeded, in front of my other future in-laws, my fiance, and these neighbors I'd never met before, to wave him in my face while asking me loudly "well?!? What do you think?! Fancy having some of these running around?!?!?"

    I was sitting on the sofa when this happened - completely trapped - no room to maneuver. The sofa refused to swallow me up and despite feeling like a piece of me was probably dying - or exploding- I was still alive and well, which meant I was obligated to answer. Except I had no idea what to say. I think, wide-eyed, I managed a half-terrified, half-sincere, half-totally-in shock "haha, well not for a while" kind of answer while desperately trying not to turn 100 shades of red and break out into a nervous sweat. (and that's despite the fact that under normal situations, the answer to a less threatening form of that question would have been a pleasant yes!)

    thinking back on it still gives me the shivers. *shiver*

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  154. A former co worker who I haven't talked to in months called today to tell me she's getting married. I congratulated her and there were many akward silences but somehow I am now going to be one of her bridesmaids.

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  155. Our gym is at the grocery store because nothing goes better with strawberries than the stench of sweat. Anywho, I was coming out of the gym and spotted a kind-of-friend working at the salad bar.

    Our entire conversation went like this:

    Me: "Hey, I didn't know you worked here."

    Her: "Oh hey! Yeah, I've been here for a couple of months."

    Me: "Cool. I don't think I've seen you. I tend to go in the mornings."

    Her: "That would be why; I hate mornings, haha"

    Me: -walks away-

    See? You can walk away from people when you're no longer interested in the conversation. I can surely say we were both pleased to have avoided an awkward ending =D

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  156. I haven't read all the comments, so this may be redundant, but I would like to add that Facebook makes these types of run-ins even more awkward.

    Once, I added a girl from high school who I didn't even like very well back then, and I ran into her in Walmart while I was in town visiting my dad. I acted like I didn't see her, though I'm sure she saw me.

    I have since learned to never add people on FB who I wouldn't want to talk to in real life. That's a lesson to live by.

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  157. The people in level one look like ketchup and mustard bottles. Just sayin'.

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  158. OMC u hit dat nail on da hed.

    Ma human sez dat social terrorism pics look just like an old co-worker.

    Glad I dont get to go outside since i an indoors kitteh.

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  159. I hate having those unexpected conversations with someone who is a friend-of-a-friend and the only thing you have in common is the friend so you say things like, "Have you seen 'the-friend-in-common' lately?" and it's really quite rude because it's completely obvious (to you anyway) that you'd couldn't even be bothered to inquire about the person you're talking to (nor make niceties) because there's really no point in talking about anything except for the friend you have in common with this friend-of-a-friend because this relationship is just basically perfunctory at best. Man. Life. Is. So. Hard.

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  160. This is absurdly funny, mostly because it's absolutely true! I can hardly imagine how many awkward social situations I've been trapped in...

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  161. I don't usually have these problems. We live in a city where we know very few people. Yay!

    Oh wait. I probably shouldn't be happy about that. =P

    But even when we lived somewhere with lots of friends they knew I just wouldn't answer the door if they showed up uninvited. I might be mean, but I don't handle people surprising me like that well.

    I really hate trying to end conversations on the phone.
    "So..."
    "Well."
    "I guess I'll see you later."
    "Yeah, later. You coming to TheFamousDanceClubMania?"
    "I'm not sure."
    "You should, it will be fun!"
    "Yeah, I'll think about it."
    "Good."
    "Yeah."
    "So."

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  162. I love your blog and the pictures :)

    I'm really introverted, so people dont talk to me. it kinda stinks, but the plus side is that I dont have to go through any of these situations

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  163. Allie,
    I have a solution for at least number 2 and 3: Headphones. And not those crappy ear buds but the over the ear obvious kind (I prefer the bandless "neck phone" ones). If you see someone in a store flagging you down all you need to do is take off one headphone have conversation 1 (if that), and your done. Cause from here on out they KNOW your listening to music while picking out delicious sandwich meat and therefore cannot talk. And works for number 3, I also utilize the "I'm REALLY into my phone" tactic and the glazed eyes staring off into space enjoying my music technic to see if they are lookinbg at me but avoid making direct eye contact...
    Just a tip so you can become and akwardness avoiding ninja QK

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  164. Yes!! This is why I don't answer my door. Foolish husband disagrees, and every time he answers it it's a sales guy. They are the only people left who would attempt to visit us!

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  167. if i don't care that i appear mentally unstable to people in my quest to avoid them, does that indicate that i'm actually mentally unstable? good.

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  168. You forgot elevators. Nothing screams awkward quite like being stuck in a small space with someone for what seems like endless minutes. Swear to god, it's like I lose my ability to form coherent sentences in elevators. I say creepy things like "hey gotta ride these old elevators carefully, heh heh. Heroerahsdphf" Just awful.

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  169. I am like a junkie waiting for your next post. Thank you...thank you...aahhhhhhh!

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  170. That's it. From here on out rejections of awkward forced interaction shall be met with "I'd love to but I have to sit alone in my house".

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  171. Excellent post! You've inspired me to finally start an illustrated blog. I've been blogging for years and the idea NEVER crossed my mind. Now I'm just so happy to write up my entries and draw for hours. Its a great way to release some tension and a great way to express myself. Anyway, love the post! Keep it up!

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  172. And this, ladies and gents, is why I don't bother with being polite.

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  173. I nearly choked on my own laughter.

    THANKS!

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  174. I have the just-realized luxury that extremely few of my friends in fact know exactly where I live.

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  175. "I totally DREAD Level 4. I think there should be some kind of law whereby people are not allowed to stop by other people's abodes unless they have called and made an appointment. Hey, doctors can do it, why not regular folks?!"

    Believe it or not, doctors have this problem even worse than most people. My mom is an OBGYN. I remember so very many times growing up being at a restaurant with my family and having a random stranger coming up to chat with Mom, usually loudly, often about their "girl problems". o_o Sometimes she remembered them, often she didn't. She's very good at faking remembering. XD

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  176. While I agree with everyone who has posted that as you get older walking away is easier, I do feel compelled to point out that the age at which this occurs is somewhere North of 40.

    I will be using this in my classroom to teach about expressive faces. Your drawing is both accessible, and very subtle. Bravo.

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  177. Man, I had this problem toward the end of high school this May. It got to the point where I couldn't go to the grocery store without running into five people I knew (small town--acquaintances are EVERYWHERE). I didn't really care for anyone I ran into, and conversations were horribly painful. Oh, also--am I the only one who always logs onto Facebook appearing offline? The constant threat of social interaction...eeek.
    Now that I'm in college and I have moved three hours away from my small town, I can go to the grocery store with no makeup and no one will ambush me with small talk. I love not knowing anyone at all, and that no one knows where I live (which is off campus--god knows I couldn't handle being surrounded by people in a dorm). On another note, my grandparents always do the show-up-unnanounced thing. They bring at least twenty tomatoes every time. My poor mom has to hide in her bedroom.

    Um, I guess the point to this comment is that YOU HAVE READ MY MIND, like the minds of so many others. Move to Kansas! I'd rather run into you at the grocery store than a former classmate.

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  178. GET. OT. OF. MY. MIND.

    MY SOCIAL-RECLUSE-ESQUE MIND.

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  179. I've never posted because you have plenty of commenters, but I feel absolutely compelled to tell you that your art has improved at least one level of magnitude. You are expressing new levels of emotional complexity, AWESOME LEVELS!

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  180. Allie I love you! I am always amazed at how beautifully you express so many things I've found "un-expressable" for so long. As a lifetime introvert and socially awkward person I truly appreciate your blogs. And your drawings are awesome, the expressions are wonderful! Thank you.

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  181. I'm like this. But on phones.

    It seems easier on phones because you can just hang up or pretend your phone battery died. But when you feel socially obliged to stay on the phone... it's like the world is ending.

    I hate phones.

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  182. So funny, and SO true!
    I've gotten better at these interactions in person, although I still struggle immensely on the phone. Usually I'll just wait for a pause and say, "well, I better get going!" Sometimes that doesn't work though... sometimes the person will keep talking to you even though you made it clear that you wish to leave. These are the worst people of all...

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  183. Ah, this is why I wear headphones whenever I run, whether there's music or not. It's also why I take a book to read for doing errands, so as to both look busy and have a reasonable means of avoiding eye contact.

    It's great to know I'm not the only one who pulls the shades and otherwise continuously plans ways to duck around these sorts of things. :c)

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  184. My husband DOES actually just walk away. Once the person in question said next time they met, "Hey! You just walked away when I was talking to you that other time!" Husband says, "Well you got boring." Person says "I said hello!" This is what happens when ADD tendencies and arrogance come together.

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  185. We have two #4s, one directly across the street and one not too far down the road. There is NO HIDING from these people. The one across the street even yelled "I can hear you in there!!!" when I tried to ignore her knocking at the door.

    Genius as ever!

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  186. I hear ya, I am NOT a fan of the "just-thought-I'd-stop-by." Not a fan.

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  187. I am glad those that are introverted have a central hub.

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  188. HOLY CRAP.
    I feel like this every day!!
    I can avoid most social interactions by looking mean and grumpy, but some people really don't give a fuck and still talk to me. It's really scary. :(

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  189. Oh god. The grocery store thing almost happened to us this past weekend while my husband and I were shopping for breakfast hungover.....HUNGOVER. Thankfully, since we were hungover, my husband put on his sunglasses and I pulled my 'hangover hat' over my eyes and we BARELY avoided a total social disaster.

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  190. Despite the billions of comments you undoubtedly get on each of your posts praising you for your genius and hilarity, I wish to express my undying love for your work. I can't explain how your writing and illustrations affect me. It's simply outstanding. Thank you. Keep it up. Forever. I implore you.

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  191. haha oh my goodness, I thoroughly enjoyed this post being the awkward socialite that I am, though I usually say something awkward to make them want to run far, far away from me and POOF! Awkward situation resolved!

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  192. I just go for "mentally unstable". It keeps 'em from coming back, too.

    Oh, and you're hilarious. Will you marry me?

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I'm super creepy and totally capable of finding you