That's why you start with so-called "small talk". It's rare that anybody really cares to talk about the weather, or notable local news, or the performance of the regional sports teams. But these subjects are safe. They give your conversation partners an opportunity to give an opinion and hint at their real interests (their families, their hobbies, etc) without broaching subjects that others might find exceptionally unpleasant or offensive.
So, don't "jump from one topic to another that has nothing to do with the previous". Give your conversation partners opportunities to change the subject, in a way that feels natural.
This might not be an answer but my worked also requested us come in 2 days a week. So I ride my bike in around 11am and back home about 1pm. WFH the rest of the hours. I’m all about malicious compliance.
Happy birthday man...
Sorry I'd love to write a convincing and uplifting message but sadly today I don't fee tool great.
Haven't really celebrated my birthday since I was 18...
31 now and I hang with people like once a year, my 30th was at home alone.
Lots of anxiety and depression...
Hope you feel better soon though, message if you want, I'll want to listen! I can assure you I'm not too busy socialising instead! ;)
Sounds boring and typical, bit go for a walk somewhere you haven't been... Give you some fresh stimulation, and you'll feel a little less trapped being stuck indoors.
Would write more, but... I'm not feeling perfect, so I gave my best reply I could now.
Stay well! :)
It's funny to consider "love of country" to mean "the food, certain people, and beautiful landmarks", while simultaneously condemning the actions of its government, and like half of the citizens who live there.
Not that I'm criticizing, mind. I struggled with this myself for a long time before finally coming to the realization that this country is like a problematic family. You're told that you should love it even if you don't like lots of aspects of it very much. Like an abusive parent.
I'm in my 40s now, and I've finally realized that that's bullshit. I don't love this country. I used to, but I've realized that I only ever loved the idea of this country while the reality has been a profound disappointment.
Side effect: your voice cracks in an absurd way every time you use this power. Both parties find it too funny to continue fighting. They instead laugh at you.
It's made me very intolerant of ads. It's kind of surprising how much effort I will invest to avoid ads, and avoid supporting people who make a living from advertising revenue.
...just imagine if they were all doing something productive instead.
Props to @DogMuffins for helping to discourage their parasitic behavior and ushering them toward career paths that might actually utilize their potential in a positive way!
It IS perverse. You're having your eyes groped by strangers, all trying to get you to do what you have no desire to do. You just want to get what you came for and leave, but no, everywhere you look something is trying to block your path and distract you from your goal. And it's not even honest: you already know that none of these extraneous, unwanted come-ons you're seeing is anything close to true. In some cases, it's a full-on mental assault.
It's vile. I used to leave some on, but now there's not even such a thing as "acceptable ads" anymore just because of the sheer numbers involved. So now I don't just block: I go full extermination mode. I'm usually on desktop so if it's a one time thing, like a single ad on YouTube that managed to sneak by all of my walls and filters and I can't just pass it by because it's stuck in my field of vision, I'll actually do an "inspect element" and delete it on the spot. But otherwise, if I can't block 100% or very close to it, I find a different site or source, or shut down altogether.
I genuinely don't think our minds were made for this level of constant information onslaught and never-ending manipulation campaigns, and I don't think it's healthy or life-affirming to subject oneself to it without limit. So I don't. People get angry about it, but hey, more for them to enjoy if that's how they wanna roll.
Because people aren’t pouring 30-40 grams of sugar into their coffee. Also artificial sweeteners taste like shit and haven’t been proven to not cause other health issues.
[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation
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