When Being Friendly Turns Sour

Why is it difficult for some people to be nice? Even worse, why do I feel stupid about being nice and having this kindness rejected?

It all began a few weeks back when I was down in the locker room at one of my two gyms. This large, muscular man (a turtle in the making) who I spotted while lifting unfortunately had his locker right next to mine. So, to be nice, I shuffled away a bit, and asked, "How was it?" He replied, "How was what?" I then wanted to look him in the eye and say, "Your workout you dumbass." But I didn't. Instead, I stated, "Your workout," to which he answered back, "Good." I felt like a fool. Not only did he most likely think I was interested in him, I was upset for giving him the time of day as he undressed in front of me - obviously wanting me to pay attention to his cockiness. So from that day on, I've essentially ignored him as I didn't feel the need to be kind any longer.

Well today, as I was leaving the locker room, him and his roommate came from around the corner as I was tossing my towel into the used bin. Without thinking, I said, "How are you doing?" It's a common phrase I throw out to be nice. Well, not surprisingly, he said nothing. So I passed between the two and headed out the door. Not only didn't he respond, there was no head gesture, no acknowledgement, nothing. As a result, I've been irritated by my display of kindness all day. Silly, I know, but true none-the-less.

If only he was a reader of this blog. I could say to him, "Listen dude. Just so you know, I'm not interested. So get off your high horse and realize you're not all that." Maybe he is? Who knows. Either way, I suppose I shouldn't care about such trivial acts of unkindness and instead focus my energy on the more positive things in life - like making myself a tuna salad sandwich for lunch. After all, I'm hungry.