Things that make you feel awkward..

[ASTalumna06]

Awkward: Getting into an elevator with just one other person... especially when it's a co-worker. I never know what to say! I've trained nearly the entire office and pretty much everyone on my floor in this computer filing system, so I "know" everyone, but not well enough to carry on a conversation with them for even 60 seconds. I always TRY to discuss the weather, or something generic like that, because standing there in silence, even just going up two floors, can be excruciating!

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by DSTRen13

Yes! I hate when I see someone that I know, but not well, and I'm not really sure if they would know who I am if I *did* say hello. It's a weird situation all around. I don't really do the public transportation thing, but this seems to occur to me in grocery stores for whatever reason.

^^ or if you see an acquaintence but don't quite know (or remember) their name but have a strong suspicion that they know yours.

It's slightly easier if the person is a man because, as a man, you can easily default to "hey, dude, how's it going?" and go from there. But if it's a woman, you've go to handle it better.

[AOII Angel]

I have no problem with people cleaning my house!! I LOVE IT!

I feel awkward watching people sing (I don't mean professionals, but regular people.) so I can't watch AI or any of those shows. If someone sings to me, I literally want to fall through the floor. It happened once in a tiny restaurant. We were sitting with a group of physicians and physicians assistants when I was still a surgery resident (ie we were talking shop) and an opera singer was sitting next to us trying to eat a rare steak while I apparently was having a rather loud conversation about holding someone's heart during surgery. The convo segued into musicals and my general distaste for musical theater, at which point the opera singer stood up and interupted our conversation. He proceeded to seranade me with "Pretty Women" from Sweeny Todd and "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot. My husband loved it, but I really thought I was going to die...his eyes didn't leave my face the entire time!

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by lovespink88

I hate when you see and acquaintance that you kind of know, but you don't know whether to say hi or not. It's even worse when you're using public transportation with them for an extended period of time. And it's even WORSE when you're Facebook friends for whatever reason.

Oh boy... I have holes in my memory from a series of head injuries, which plays out in a number of ways. One problem I have is facial recognition. If I don't know someone well, I won't get any sense of familiarity upon meeting that person again.

In the not too distant past, I was at a sorority event. As I passed by a little group of people, a woman (not a member) yelled my name loudly and waved me over. I had no idea who she was. Because this is an ongoing problem, I've gotten to the point where I have no shame anymore. lol She reached out to hug me and I whispered in her ear, "I'm so sorry, I can't place your face" or something to that effect.

Turns out this was a person I should have known very well even though I hadn't been around her all that much, but I won't go into the gory details. It was a bad situation.

[PhoenixAzul]

When people (friends) are talking about plans and they're not really including you...but you want to join or do whatever they're talking about and it is awkwardly unclear if they want you to come too or not. I'm trying to be better about asking, "Hey, can I tag along?" but still...it makes me feel like the odd man out and then it makes me feel uber paranoid that they're talking about me behind my back or figuring out a way to get rid of me.

[Senusret I]

This thread reminds me of The Adventures of Awkward Black Girl!

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

This thread reminds me of The Adventures of Awkward Black Girl!

Oh man they took our sound cards out!

[HannahXO]

-When someone says "Oh, my niece/neighbor/cousin/wife/distant friend who I barely know found out you were interested in job/professional school/whatever and would LOVE to talk to you about it"...my dad always INSISTED that I call all of his random friends of friends of friends that had gone to med school (I'm premed). They knew I was calling, but it was still the most awkward conversation ever. "Oh hey person who I've never met, tell me what to do so I can be just like you..."

-Planning on meeting someone somewhere in public if you've never met them in person before. I have to meet prospective students for my job sometimes, and it's always like "uhhh...hey person looking lost, are you so-and-so? I think I'm supposed to meet with you..."


I really am a people person and not shy. I guess I just don't like forced conversations with stangers!

[IrishLake]

I don't feel awkward often, but I feel odd when we go to a bar or pub and there is a live band playing. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate good live music. But I feel like I have to watch them play, and that's boring. But I feel rude and awkward if I turn my back to the band and attempt to have a conversation.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

I don't feel awkward often, but I feel odd when we go to a bar or pub and there is a live band playing. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate good live music. But I feel like I have to watch them play, and that's boring. But I feel rude and awkward if I turn my back to the band and attempt to have a conversation.

You should. I will never understand people who come into a venue with a band, pay a cover and then proceed to chatter on like they're in their living room. Especially at this one very intimate place (yinzers - Club Cafe) I have turned around and told people to be quiet. It's REALLY stupid in this particular case, as there are about 50 ookabillion other bars within literally a step or two where no one is going to care if you talk over the jukebox. The only instance I can think of when conversation is acceptable is a cover band/party band at a huge bar and everyone's dancing.

In the words of one of my favorite facebook groups, "Shut the f^&% up, the band is playing."

-ex-band girlfriend/live music lover

[KSUViolet06]

Another thing that makes me feel awkward:

Talking to someone about a test/competitive thing/etc. when you did well and they didn't and they mention it.

Person A: Hey, did you hear back from admissions about SPED?
Me: Yeah, I got in.
Person A: Oh cool. Yeah, I got rejected. My GPA wasn't high enough.
Me: Um, oh. That's too bad.

I NEVER know how to answer that.

Or:

Classmate: How'd you do on that exam?
Me: I got a 97.
Classmate: Cool. I got a D.
Me: Ummm.

[sceniczip]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Another thing that makes me feel awkward:

Talking to someone about a test/competitive thing/etc. when you did well and they didn't and they mention it.

Person A: Hey, did you hear back from admissions about SPED?
Me: Yeah, I got in.
Person A: Oh cool. Yeah, I got rejected. My GPA wasn't high enough.
Me: Um, oh. That's too bad.

I NEVER know how to answer that.

Or:

Classmate: How'd you do on that exam?
Me: I got a 97.
Classmate: Cool. I got a D.
Me: Ummm.

This.

I've been dealing with a lot of this lately because I've gone on a few interviews and people ask about them but then seem sad. I try not to bring it up with my student teaching buddies but if they ask...

[KSUViolet06]

^^^That's why I'm glad the people I sit for always forget and end up asking how much they owe me.

[AGDee]

I do some computer jobs on the side, usually for co-workers. I always feel awkward telling them how much they owe me. I did a big job for my department chair which involved two trips to her house (Sunday and Tuesday this week). She was out of town so I was working with her husband and not her. He said "Chris said I'm supposed to pay you so how much do I owe you?" I told him "I charge co-workers $25 an hour and I worked on this for 7 hours so $175" and he said "Oh come on now, tell me a fair price, that is not enough". I wasn't sure what to do so I said "Ok, $200 will cover my gas too" and he gladly wrote me a check for $200. It felt awkward though. Most co-workers, after I tell them the price, write the check for more anyway. They do realize I'm giving them a deal, especially if they've ever used the Geek Squad from Best Buy for similar work. If they were strangers, I don't think I'd feel awkward telling them what to pay me. It just feels weird because they are friends as well as co-workers.

Also awkward: I am horrible with placing faces and I have no excuse like preciousjeni's. I am simply bad at it. I feel horrible when I say "It's nice to meet you" when I've met them before. I had that happen tonight. I was at my cousin's graduation dinner and my other cousin had brought a girl friend. She and I talked quite a bit and at the end of the evening, I said it was nice to meet her. Honestly though, I think she was at my house for our family Christmas with this side of the family. In all fairness, my cousin is quite the charming young man and always has a beautiful and intelligent young woman at his side so it can be hard to keep them straight. I just don't remember if I'd met her ever before!

[PrettyBoy]

When I see someone I know who I haven't seen in a long time, and they remember me/name, but I forget his/her name.