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muckefuckNo one rolls his eyes harder when amateurs diagnose deficits than I do, but I've got this friend and I'm beginning to suspect he's "on the spectrum", as they say. The first time we IMed, I ended up really putting him off with my joking around. I was being silly, making up outlandish occupations for him to conceal my embarrassment at having forgotten what he really does and he didn't grok the intended humour at all. I'd kind of forgotten about this until last weekend, when he messaged me about driving back up to Madison and crashing. Immediately he felt a powerful need to clarify that he meant he crashed once he was back at home and I had to reassure him that, no, I wasn't worried that he was posting to FB from the side of the road covered in blood.
Later that same evening, he reminded me that he'd mentioned introducing me to a friend of his who was applying for a job where I work. His idea of how to do this was sending us both a nine-word IM headered "Virtual introduction:" and concluding with "Discuss." I recognise that modus operandi--it's one I would've made use of back in my first year of college, thinking it a bit cheeky and disarming in its artlessness rather than, y'know, simply obnoxious. But even then I had the sense to do it face-to-face so I could gauge the response and be ready to jump in if the introductees had nothing to say to each other.
Which we didn't. My attitude is basically, you wanna know about my institution, ask me some questions and I'll answer them, okay? If the guy had any, he kept them to himself, and since he wasn't right in front of me, I felt no compunction to fill the dead space with banter. Today I heard from my friend again and he was like, "Did you two ever get a chance to chat?" and I was like, "He never contacted me." So what does he do? Another IM to the both of us saying, "Say hello and stuff." I had to gently suggest that maybe he should just send his friend my e-mail address so he could contact me at his leisure if he felt the need. He did, we'll see if I hear anything, but why am I tutoring someone only three months my junior in how to bring together strangers?
Later that same evening, he reminded me that he'd mentioned introducing me to a friend of his who was applying for a job where I work. His idea of how to do this was sending us both a nine-word IM headered "Virtual introduction:" and concluding with "Discuss." I recognise that modus operandi--it's one I would've made use of back in my first year of college, thinking it a bit cheeky and disarming in its artlessness rather than, y'know, simply obnoxious. But even then I had the sense to do it face-to-face so I could gauge the response and be ready to jump in if the introductees had nothing to say to each other.
Which we didn't. My attitude is basically, you wanna know about my institution, ask me some questions and I'll answer them, okay? If the guy had any, he kept them to himself, and since he wasn't right in front of me, I felt no compunction to fill the dead space with banter. Today I heard from my friend again and he was like, "Did you two ever get a chance to chat?" and I was like, "He never contacted me." So what does he do? Another IM to the both of us saying, "Say hello and stuff." I had to gently suggest that maybe he should just send his friend my e-mail address so he could contact me at his leisure if he felt the need. He did, we'll see if I hear anything, but why am I tutoring someone only three months my junior in how to bring together strangers?
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