rtfm

Goodness gracious.. people need to learn to RTFM. The "F" in this case, is FULL.

etiquette lesson #2

Today I saw a girl in the underground PATH that I knew, but I didn't say "hi" because I couldn't remember her name. But I remember now.. "Jessica". I guess it's too late now. Same thing yesterday, I saw another girl Cindy, I remembered her name that time, I said hi but I kept walking.

(Hmm.. what are the odds I run into two people from S&YL's wedding party within 24 hours?)

What is the proper ettiquette when you meet someone on the street? Is it enough to smile/nod and go on with my day, or am I expected to stop talk with them? If it is the latter, then I suppose everyone who has ever run into me has thought that I was a total jerk.

The way I see it there are 3 possible exchanges between two people in passing.

First with two guys:

A: [raises eyebrow]
B: [raises eyebrow while nodding]
A: [nods]

Guy sees girl:

A: [eye contact]
B: [eye contact, smile]
A: [smile]

OR

A: "Hi there"
B: "Hi!"
A: "How are you?"
B: "I'm fine thanks, how are you?"
A: "Great"
B: "That's good!"
[conversation follows if he knows her well]

OR if you're a jerk like me:

A: [eye contact, smile]
B: [smile] "Hi!"
A: [half-smile] "Hi"
[jerk walks away]

Girl sees guy:

A: [poke] "hey"
B: "Oh, hello!"
A: "How are you?"
B: "Fine thanks, and you?"
...and so on.

You need to look at it both ways though. Maybe that person is busy and
doesn't have time to talk. Maybe they're in a rush to get somewhere, or
are late for a meeting. Who am I to stand there and force them to waste
their time on me? And it's not like I gave them a dirty look. I *did*
smile. I made eye contact. That should be enough.

A week ago I ran into Baun, an old highschool buddy of mine. We stopped, chatted for few minutes to see what was up with eachother. He had finished his bio degree and was taking film now. Pretty cool. We almost took down phone numbers but figured we'd just bump into eachother again (because we take the same paths home every day) so we went on our way.

I think that was a pretty good exchange.