I had a woman try to talk to me briefly on a short flight. When the cat mom talk ran its course, she spent the rest of the flight snipping the pilling out from the crotch of her knitted pants. 🤢🤦🏼♀️
In my late 20s one v engaged convo stands out.. (an older woman "Normandy" taught me there's corruption in every industry she'd ever worked in). Went from talking a mile a min, then suddenly silent. Did our own thing for the rest of the flight. Nothing bad/awkward. Was intense, then over. LOVED her.
I had a two part flight after spending the night (a six hour layover) in the Vegas airport. The first part was fine, the second part a last minute boarder who was separated from her spouse wanted to natter about nothing. I wanted to sleep. She kept "accidentally" elbowing my ribs and babbling at me.
She'll regret it after 5 minutes when I've pointed out that there are two main theories of lift that don't agree with each other and that as such no-one actually understands how the metal tube we are currently trapped in actually stays up un the air.
on my last flight the lady sitting next to me was converting her anxiety about her kid starting college into general endless grousing about the city it was in. she did not allow silence of more than ten seconds. that is who i imagine OP to be
is the traffic bad. i bet it's bad. should we use the public transit. i bet it's bad. is the school in a good part of town (noooo, it's one of those famously gang-ravaged new england universities, they just trick you with all those photos of vibrant autumn maples and 150-year-old lecture halls)
A lot of people are just waiting to tell you their story. I love to engage with them and have heard the most remarkable things. The spry tiny old man at the gym who was a tunnel rat in Vietnam was the latest.
She doesn’t want to talk with someone, she wants to talk AT them. Huge difference, and the worst kind of person to be trapped in a confined space with.
this framing is so funny. yes I'm on a plane reading a book because I'm JUST SO FUCKING COOL. sitting here with my china miéville because I've got 4-10 hours to kill and wish to do so quietly is somewhere between a septum piercing and an eyepatch in terms of personal coolness
There’s a long way between noticing something interesting your seat neighbor is doing (ex. knitting) and seeing a commonality you can mention casually, vs. asking the person reading a book to tell you their vacation plans and subsequent life story.
the last time i talked to people on a flight, i was in the middle of a big family of southern Black women who were delighted to learn i was also southern and we spent the whole flight chatting and sharing snacks. this woman is Not that
The nicest was flying to Paris sandwiched between two French ladies while I had my cat in a carrier at my feet, and I felt I had to say "just to let you know, I've got a cat" and one of them was like, "with you?" Uhhh no... at home?
the time before that, i was on an open seating flight and saw a lady with a toddler looking very nervous about who was going to end up sitting next to them, so i did because i love babies, and by the end of the flight the toddler was in my lap. again, this lady is Not that
If I'm seeing a thread, it's that you chose to interact with those women because you saw a connection, and having earbuds in would in no way have prevented you from starting those conversations. I like the way earbuds can indicate to others that I'm not interested in being approached at the moment.
Yeah, I am down to make friends while traveling and chat it up with folk... But that is a mean lady full of entitlement, and derision for other people. Fuuuuck that.
Yeah, like people still talk on planes! It just depends on the vibes. And if your vibes are “anyone around me doing anything else is faking it just to avoid talking to me”, then yes. No one will talk to you.
last time I talked to someone on a flight, we were both going to see the same kpop group in concert. when we landed we exchanged a hug and now we follow each other on instagram. still very much an anomaly!
her wording is I force my will on others and ignore their pleas to be left alone!
She sees the signs she just keeps on forcing them to listen to her.
I bet many never say a single word to her.
If that is anxiety on her part, she needs a doctor not keeping seatmates hostage.
i felt so bad. she was clearly terrified some asshole was going to be forced to sit next to her and get annoyed the entire flight. i used to be a nanny and children trust me implicitly
also one time i was walking behind a family and their toddler got stuck terrified at the top of the escalator. so i said "hey! is it okay if i carry him?" and they said yes and i said "is it okay if i carry you?" and he said yes so i carried him down the escalator, put him down and that was that
Last time I talked to people on a flight, it was a grandparent-aged lesbian couple who bought me a glass of wine because we had to sit on the runway for like three hours and “we all deserve a drink after that.” This woman is also Not That.
The best plane ride I ever had my ex husband & I got separated so I was up front with lots of leg room & the sweetest old people who nodded at my book which we discussed for maybe 30 sec until they read their own book, my ex was next to this fucking type of lady while having nicotine withdrawals
I one time sat next to a Greek businessman who told me he was one his 3rd transfer of the day and asked me, 'would you mind talking"? We ended up having so much fun!
On the flip side I sat next to an American guy who said to me, "Gonna tell you upfront, I don't want to talk". I hadn't said a word! People bring so much of their own baggage on flights...(pun intended)
I’m realizing I’m taking her statement like a direct attack on the thought that I can be AuDhD in public and not have someone thinking it’s rude and bad manners to not want to talk to a chatty normie.
Like you wanna talk? Ok but what if I don’t make eye contact and I keep having to ask what you just said because I’m overwhelmed with trying to concentrate on someone talking at me while a million other noises are going on
At least I have one episode of The Pitt that I can direct them towards, be like “you see how that guy with the ankle injury is? That’s how I am on the inside, can you deal?”
It's funny, I was raised in this way- like your goal as a person is to happily entertain anybody who engages with you, like a good proper extrovert, if they want to bother you.
It took until I was an adult to admit I hated doing that and stopping
So I think it's a weird cultural thing too
Yes exactly I was raised like that too hahaha. Everyone tells you to be like that so I got very good at masking. Only in my adulthood did I know that was what it was called. I think my husband knew it from the moment we met, that I had a shell for talking to people in public
Yeah I remember being 10 and my mom was like, "honey that's everybody. Nobody likes this, we do it because we have to" hahah
I think.... everybody does this to some extent. These days the return you get for it just isn't as huge anymore
My 85 year old mother is a TALKER (not a listener!), and she does not know how to keep quiet, ever. I fear for anyone who is seated next to her. It's horrible.
Also, she's a collaborator who didn't realize the people she was supporting would turn on her if she didn't show total loyalty and it's unhappy that everyone else doesn't like collaborators.
80% chance she wrote this about herself and she doesn't understand how "in spite of" is best used sparingly and also how to avoid using it in places where it would be considered highly ironic - like I'm absolutely sure her lack of education wasn't a detriment in her career writing for conservatives
"I'm like really boring and no one wants to listen to me talk about how I saw some crazy stuff on The View today, please give me attention! I'm a grown up, by the way..."
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As for the earbuds, yeah, one hundred percent accurate. Most people got shit chat. Me too, so I won't get offended if you wear yours back at me.
i can’t imaaaaagine why no one wants to talk to her 🙄
This woman gives up the game by saying “inconvenienced by strangers” she knows she sucks and still persists.
She sees the signs she just keeps on forcing them to listen to her.
I bet many never say a single word to her.
If that is anxiety on her part, she needs a doctor not keeping seatmates hostage.
It took until I was an adult to admit I hated doing that and stopping
So I think it's a weird cultural thing too
I think.... everybody does this to some extent. These days the return you get for it just isn't as huge anymore
I gave him a fake name.
When the battery hits 10% I furiously rummage through my bag for the backup battery so I don’t miss a single jingle.