I hate running into people I know.
When I want to see you, I’ll see you.
However, if we aren’t scheduled to have a “meet-and-greet,” and you still see me somewhere (wherever it may be), just act like you don’t see me. I’ll be more than happy to do the same.
Look, it’s not that I’m snubbing you. It’s just that… if I was HOPING to run into you, I would’ve called you and planned something prior to going wherever I am. Since you haven’t received a call, I truly don’t want to see you, whoever you may be.
It’s nothing personal.
Just because we both HAPPEN to be in the same place at the same time doesn’t mean we are forced to stop and chat for half an hour. No. Act like you don’t know me; I’ll act like I don’t know you; the world keeps on turning; everybody’s happy.
My worst nightmare is the following: After a grueling 18-hour workday, Michael boards the 10:29 PM train from Brooklyn. The entire train is virtually empty. Finally prepared to listen to music and allow his brain some much-needed recuperation from the strenuous mental exercises he put it through during the day, he sits down in an open three-seater. He stretches his legs and thinks to himself how beautiful the world is. Suddenly, his imagination is halted when a herd of rowdy Islanders fans boards the train. The Islanders-Rangers game just ended. Islanders have won the game, 6-5, in the 10th round of a shoot-out. “Oh, shit….,” Michael thinks to himself, watching as hundreds of drunk Islanders fans flood onto the train. One young man joins Michael’s three-seater- an old acquaintance from his elementary school (we’ll call him Dave). “Mike? Hey! What’s up?” “Oh, what’s up, Dave?” Michael puts his headphones back on with no hesitation. “Stacy just broke up with me…” Michael reluctantly lowers his headphones, “ah, sorry to hear that, man.” Michael puts his headphones back on, this time with slightly more hesitation. “I just don’t know what I did wrong…” Michael exhales deeply, dismissively. “Yeah, these things just happen sometimes, I guess.” Another stranger joins the three-seater, pushing Dave to the middle seat, eliminating the crucial buffer between Michael and Dave. For the next 49 minutes, Dave tells Michael all about his recently terminated relationship with Stacy. Also over the course of the next 49 minutes, Michael constantly considers faking a seizure to excuse himself, but ultimately decides that the negatives of such a maneuver outweigh the positives, though just barely.
You see what I mean? I hate having to talk with people that I don’t plan to talk to.
If you see me, act like you don’t. If I see you, I’ll act like I don’t.
But Michael, how do we know if we qualify as somebody you actually would want to say “hi” to?
A general rule of thumb: if I’ve asked you to hang out with me at any time over the last year, I’d love to stop and chat. If not, stay away from me.
I’m not “holier-than-thou” in the slightest. The only reason why I’m able to say this and get away with it is because it’s TRUE. I guarantee all of you feel the same way as I do, but nobody is going to say it for fear of excommunication from society. I don’t care; I’ll say it. It’s what everybody’s thinking.
If you knew, whenever you went out, that you wouldn’t be running into people from your past, you would never feel obligated to “do yourself up.” People would feel so much more comfortable.
Stop being an ass.
Start ignoring your old friends.
Until next time,
Michael J. Erickson, CEO & Co-Founder
