Deadlock Victim

Eavesdropping.

How many of you have ever listened in on a conversation that you weren't involved in? Raise your hands. Come on now, be honest. I admit I do. I sometimes have lunch in the food court at the mall I frequent. While I sit there eating, I have a habit of listening to whatever conversations are going on at the tables around me. If there is no one there, I will watch the people as they walk by.

People watching is an interesting thing, you can learn a lot about people from this eavesdropping and people watching. I don't really listen with the purpose to gather information or anything so much as the way they talk. You can always tell certain groups of people by the way they carry themselves.

Some of the groups I have come to identify by the way the act are mostly pretty obvious, but it is amazing how consistent the groups are. Some include the retail management types, the IBM/tech guys, the teens, the senior citizens, they all have that distinctiveness to them. The retail managers make me smile the most, they act as if they run the world, an air of self importance. It is really quite funny how they puff themselves up and try to throw their weight around as the claw their way to middle management. The tech guys also have their own little groups where the only conversation is about tech stuff. Generally they are also proudly displaying their work badges as if they were "Get out of mall free" cards. The teens always trying to act cooler than everyone else and generally coming across as fools. Seniors like to gather in groups and complain about everything.

There are no real revelations here, but it is entertaining to see them fall into line time after time. I don't know what really brought this on, but there it is.

posted by Chris @ 8:00 PM