I've decided that I need to come up with a make believe career to tell strangers. After yet another episode of "Oh you're a therapist, let me tell you all my troubles". It drives me nuts! If you're a mechanic and I've met you for the FIRST time I don't start asking you to diagnose the weird noise in my vehicle, I don't demand veterinarians that I bump into on a casual basis to treat my dog, neither do I ask a nurse in the grocery store what I should get to stop coughing. So WHAT possesses people to decide that all their dirty laundry should be aired to a COMPLETE STRANGER?!?!
I've come up with a plan to find a pretend career I can use when a stranger asks me, "What do you do?".
My initial idea was to say a farmer, I know enough about that to be believable. But then I remember Andrew getting stuck in Tractor Supply Company talking engine parts with a lonely farmer. I'm thinking there are too many farmers in my county to be able to do that and not get stuck talking for hours about how much rain we are or aren't getting, how my pasture rotational plan is working, what pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers I am using this year, how many inches my corn's grown this week, or what I thought of the newest Harvester/Combine/Planter/Chopper at Empire Farm Day.
So I'm taking suggestions, what should I use as my quick get away imaginary career? And does this happen to anyone else, or just me?
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2 comments:
hey :) we're still in florida and eileen's got 2 super suggestions for you!
suggestion #1:
you could say you are a troubleshooter for biochemical machines (aren't all therapists? ;) )
suggestion #2:
you could say you do what leeny does -- a clinical laboratory scientist (and she'll tell you the 5 things that you need to know to say what you 'do') ... and if they STILL try to pull out those test results and get you to explain/diagnose them, just say only doctors can legally give a diagnosis. **
** she assures you, 19 times out of 20, the conversation stops after you first tell them what you do.
This doesn't happen to me. What happens to me is that people (strangers) always, always ask me when I'm done with school and what I'm doing next (or if I have a boyfriend, but that's another story). It really is the dreaded question. I'm so tired of saying "I don't know, actually," and then listening to all their suggestions (my least favorite is editor for Insight Magazine, which I get often). Friday I was able to say, "Well, I'm not sure, but I think I'm going to teach English in Prague," to an acquaintance for the first time, and it was a beautiful moment.
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