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but really annoying me? So maybe I'm selfish, but I don't know my neighbors really well and I generally don't want to. I'm with people all day and when I come home I don't want to engage with anyone I don't know. But I'm that person random people want to talk to out of the blue. It's always been me, in stores, on the bus, on airplanes, etc. I don't know why, but it's been for my whole life.
So this lady http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...d.php?t=114386 is persistent. I never hear her talking to other neighbors but she always has to say something to me. The other day I was coming home and was on the phone with my headset cord clearly visible and my mouth moving. You could tell I was talking to someone. She kept saying stuff to me and I ignored her until she finally noticed and said "Oh..." and stopped.
The first time she did this I was coming down the stairs and she was not visible in the dark and she startled me. On the stairs.
So today I came up the walkway and she was sunbathing on the lawn (extension of her patio, she thinks) and moving around in a weird way. As she turned over she saw me and said
Hi neighbor. How are you today? It reminded me of Mr. Rogers and sounded like something someone would be required to say to a customer at work.
Me: Fine.
Her: It's beautiful weather we've been having the last couple of days. Again, it felt like this-is-what-we-say-to-people-on-sunny-days. Must-spit-out-appropriate-greeting. [/almost-robot voice]
Me: Yep! with a slight upward inflection and I bounded up the stairs. That alone should tell her I'm not up for conversation, but she'll keep trying. At least she doesn't startle me on the stairs anymore.
When I come home I walk up a sidewalk along the building and when I get to the end I turn left to go up the stairs. If I'm facing the stairs her apt is the one to my right and on the bottom. I have to see her when I come home if she's in her chair on the sidewalk, laying on the lawn, or on her patio. Well, I see her before 7:30 pm. Then she goes inside. I don't want to make her feel bad. Do I keep responding out of politeness without engaging further? If I ignore her direct question that's really rude and I never want to be that. Putting in headphones won't help any more than being on the phone does.
UPDATE: The other update I erased because it had nothing to do with me. But this morning I was going down the stairs in a hurry to catch my bus and she was out on her porch. She said "Have a good day." I should've just responded but frankly, I didn't want to. It annoys me that she seems to seek attention. So I said nothing and then I heard "Did you hear me?? I said 'Have a good day.' " So now I'm being schooled? As I rounded the corner I called out (because I couldn't even see her) "..Yeah, thanks" and kept going. I'm sure I sounded annoyed because I was. Then she said something else and all I could make out was the word rude, I think. I'm not even sure because I was 4 feet from her apartment at that point. Because I was you know, trying to be on time to work. I think she doesn't work and is monumentally bored.
I can see this not ending well, with her finally getting so mad that she throws some kind of tantrum and calls me names every time she sees me, or complains to the manager (who's going to say "What do you want me to do?" because really, the apt. manager isn't Human Resources.)
So this lady http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...d.php?t=114386 is persistent. I never hear her talking to other neighbors but she always has to say something to me. The other day I was coming home and was on the phone with my headset cord clearly visible and my mouth moving. You could tell I was talking to someone. She kept saying stuff to me and I ignored her until she finally noticed and said "Oh..." and stopped.
The first time she did this I was coming down the stairs and she was not visible in the dark and she startled me. On the stairs. So today I came up the walkway and she was sunbathing on the lawn (extension of her patio, she thinks) and moving around in a weird way. As she turned over she saw me and said
Hi neighbor. How are you today? It reminded me of Mr. Rogers and sounded like something someone would be required to say to a customer at work.
Me: Fine.
Her: It's beautiful weather we've been having the last couple of days. Again, it felt like this-is-what-we-say-to-people-on-sunny-days. Must-spit-out-appropriate-greeting. [/almost-robot voice]
Me: Yep! with a slight upward inflection and I bounded up the stairs. That alone should tell her I'm not up for conversation, but she'll keep trying. At least she doesn't startle me on the stairs anymore.
When I come home I walk up a sidewalk along the building and when I get to the end I turn left to go up the stairs. If I'm facing the stairs her apt is the one to my right and on the bottom. I have to see her when I come home if she's in her chair on the sidewalk, laying on the lawn, or on her patio. Well, I see her before 7:30 pm. Then she goes inside. I don't want to make her feel bad. Do I keep responding out of politeness without engaging further? If I ignore her direct question that's really rude and I never want to be that. Putting in headphones won't help any more than being on the phone does.
UPDATE: The other update I erased because it had nothing to do with me. But this morning I was going down the stairs in a hurry to catch my bus and she was out on her porch. She said "Have a good day." I should've just responded but frankly, I didn't want to. It annoys me that she seems to seek attention. So I said nothing and then I heard "Did you hear me?? I said 'Have a good day.' " So now I'm being schooled? As I rounded the corner I called out (because I couldn't even see her) "..Yeah, thanks" and kept going. I'm sure I sounded annoyed because I was. Then she said something else and all I could make out was the word rude, I think. I'm not even sure because I was 4 feet from her apartment at that point. Because I was you know, trying to be on time to work. I think she doesn't work and is monumentally bored.
I can see this not ending well, with her finally getting so mad that she throws some kind of tantrum and calls me names every time she sees me, or complains to the manager (who's going to say "What do you want me to do?" because really, the apt. manager isn't Human Resources.)
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