My autofill indicates I've used that heading before. I imagine it was for some sort of article. This time it's personal.
A.: Hello?
Caller: Hi, A. How are you?
A.: I'm sorry-- who is this?
Caller: This is Royal.
Pause
A.: Royal?
Royal: I stopped by, about a month ago? To look at a room.
A.: Oh, yes. The room has been let.
Royal: Oh, yeah. I found a place. I just wanted to check in, see how you were doing...
Why don't I screen my calls?
Royal: I was wondering, you know, if we could keep in touch, and you know, check in on one another every now and then. And maybe we could go out to eat.
A.: Er... that's nice of you but I'm not interested.
And so on. It takes another five minutes to get him off the phone. It could have been longer but a firm "well, I'm glad you found a place and you're doing well. Take care..." left little room for further conversation.
***
I was telling Martha--who understands my predicament--that I recently read that Tauruses don't do well with other people's blind persistence. That's why my mother's style never worked on me, and it's why my current roommate's efforts at friendship are counterproductive: when we (Tauruses) are charged, we shut off. I particularly resent being made to feel as if I'm in the wrong: where he got the idea that I would be a source of companionship is beyond me. It was not in the roommate ad or the lease. I'm also mystified as to why he's mystified: we had this conversation two weeks ago, in so many words; I said, "I am generally not interested in talking." There's a self-centeredness to his behavior: when he's not working on a paper, he'll feel free to bug me. Why doesn't it occur to him to assess whether or not I want to talk? Why does he assume that I do?
Thankfully, he's discovered King Street Blues, and has left me in peace.
I think this issue merits a poll.
Japan Finally Got Inflation. Nobody Is Happy About It.
10 months ago
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1 comment:
Well, I'm a little bit more forgiving of the guy that called you after meeting you to ask you out. That takes balls and I appreciate when people put themselves out there.
Your roommate is different story. I, too, hate aggressive talkers -- in fact I wrote about them here: http://fierceandnerdy.com/?p=4959
However, I will say that I used to be really good with roommates, until one day I just found that I didn't feel like talking to anyone when I got home anymore. I just wanted to be by myself. This is how I figured out that I needed to start living alone.
So I think you might have two problems on your hands.
1) Your roommate is an aggressive talker. That's not going to change. Aggressive talkers might back down for a little bit, but they never change, b/c that's an innate part of their character. You might have to come to terms with the fact that he's always going to talk to you, break his lease, or just learn to be aggressive back and say, "I don't feel like talking right now," when he tries to start up a conversation.
2) You might not be up for a roommate anymore -- especially one that you have to share common areas with. Is it possible to afford your house w/o the roommate? If so it might be worth it for your peace of mind.
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