Have you ever met someone and instantly felt the hairs on your arms rise up? Then they speak and the hairs on the back of your neck join in. After five minutes you just think to yourself, “dude, please don’t stand so close/talk to me/come anywhere near me”!
We have a new guy at work. He freaks me out completely! He is chatty and all about being my best friend, he is also old, much older than me, in his late 60’s old. He does everything slowly and methodically and slowly. He was hired as our new driver. He hasn’t driven yet. He is doing admin stuff like filing, slowly. He keeps coming to tell me what he has done and lands up talking for ten minutes about crap I have no interest in. He seriously Freaks. Me. Out!!!!
I am not a sociable person, at least not with weird older guys at work. I have friends, I have colleagues who are friends, I don’t need anymore.
Yip – happens to me quite often … that instant and inexplicable hair-raising dislike of someone, usually accompanied by an uncomfortable knot in my stomach. Odd that, but it normally turns out to be for a very good reason!
We had one at our office. Freaked everybody out. Try this ‘fuck-off-in-a-nice-way’ trick:
“Sorry X, very busy, can’t chat now.”
Avoid eye contact.
Get Wendy to phone you pretending to be a client whenever he comes by.
And do the same for her.
Cough in his face – a lot. Casually mention the contagious airborne virus you may have picked up from your son.
If all else fails, take two Panado and call me in the morning…
With you on the weird guy at work!!
Poor guy is probably very lonely, and now you’re breaking his heart 😉