Non-"Hi" Sayers

There are too many non-hi sayers in the world. Now, in a big city I can understand people not saying hi to every stranger they pass... But what about in a smaller community type of thing? Like what about your apartment building? Just fricken say hi when you see someone. Do it. It won't kill ya.

I'm a bit of a shy hi-sayer, but I'll step out of my box to do it. Then if someone doesn't say hi back, I feel like I just got slapped in the face! Ouch, the sting of rejection! And if a person doesn't even look at me so I can have the chance to say hi, then I have trouble bringing myself to do it. I can't yell, "HEY!!! Uh yeah ... hi ... ahem ... just wanted to get your attention so I could say hi."

*Cringe*

Yeah, no. Won't happen.

But why can't you say it back? In Whistler we went hiking and passed a whole group of hikers. Both Vanessa and I said hi. Nuthin. We got hardly so much as a glance in return.

The other scenario is when people say they saw you somewhere but didn't say hi. What the? Why not? Am I that excruciating to talk to? Or maybe you don't care to hear how I'm doing? Hmm. Well perhaps I've snuck away hoping someone didn't see me too. There are those times, perhaps you go to the mall, throw a cap on and hope your pizza face doesn't scare too many strangers. But you don't really care either way. Until you see that person you know. It's likely a guy you've had a crush on all your life or an ex and his new squeeze. In those cases you duck and run for cover as fast as possible.

Oh yeah, and there were special cases where I'd die if someone I knew saw me. A couple of times in the past I took odd jobs in "marketing". I usually had to wear some special outfit and prayed to God that I didn't see someone I knew. I'm talking about a "Get Cracking" mock turtleneck while promoting eggs to the public... Uh, or the time I had to dress as a cave woman to sell a golf simulator machine (see explanation below). God how I'd never be caught dead doing that now. Anyways, in both cases I was caught red-handed by people I knew. Luckily there are no pictures to prove any of it ever happened.

So I got on a bit of a tangent there, with my main point being I suppose there, in fact, are times you don't want to say hi to people. All I can say is that those are the exceptions and you should just put yourself out there. Show and little love and you'll get some in return. Right? I still try, even though I get snubbed once in a while.


... About the cave woman and the golf simulation machine: The marketing slogan was the evolution of golf and there was to be a cave woman and a woman in a tux. Why women? Well, it was an oil trade show of some sort with 99.9% of men at this thing. I was really really hoping to be the one in the tux. So I almost died when I saw the Jungle Jane outfit I had to wear. Sweet Jeasus. I got a few oil tycoons' business cards though. Too bad Jungle Jane wasn't into the jet set lifestyle. Guess I'd stoop to being scantilly clad for a buck back then, but not to taking it all off!!!