I'm random ... are you random?

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Joined: 23 Sep 2008
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Location: Louisiana

03 Mar 2009, 3:53 pm

Today I was sitting here at my desk and I noticed a map attached to some documents. It was a map of a delivery my company was to make from Shreveport (where I am) to Little Rock (where the jobsite is). I was comparing the two cities on the map, as Little Rock and Shreveport are comparable in size. I love comparing cities, it's been one of my obsessions for a long time. Anyway, I was thinking about the planned I-49 extension and the future I-69 corridor through my region, how it will look, etc. So I got really excited and blurted out to my co-workers (who were all busy WORKING while I was doing this) that our freeway system will look very similar to that of Little Rock once we have everything completed: I-20, I-220, I-49, and I-69. I never think anything about this, it's just how I am. One of my co-workers said to me, "you are VERY random" because I am always coming out with things like this out of nowhere. To me it's all important, but to them it's just some random statement. I told her, "you have NO idea how many times I am told that each week!"

I remember when I was a teenager and I'd be sitting around with friends, everyone was talking about music, playing the guitar, or whatever, and I would just randomly start talking about architecture, economic development, or city populations. My friends were always baffled about where this information was coming from, and WHY I would just say it in the middle of a conversation. I was often called "random" and "trivial" by my "friends" back then.

Last edited by sbcmetroguy on 03 Mar 2009, 4:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

lelia
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03 Mar 2009, 3:59 pm

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, me too.

Aalto
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03 Mar 2009, 4:11 pm

Frequency of usage of the word "random" is inversely proportional to intelligence

mitharatowen
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03 Mar 2009, 4:45 pm

I do this occasionally because I will be miles away in my mind and I won't realize that the other person didn't follow my invisible train of thought. So I will start talking in the middle of the story without providing the correct context. That can be seen as random. I love saying things that sound insane because they don't make sense but make sense to me. For some reason, just the fact that no one has any idea what I'm talking about is very amusing to me. I also enjoy the company of others who have random things to say.

pensieve
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04 Mar 2009, 12:10 am

In the past I have said random things to join in on conversation. I'm not as bad now. I try to say something similar to the conversation but subtly try to change the subject.

elderwanda
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04 Mar 2009, 12:59 am

This is me trying desperately to not get annoyed at the appalling misuse of the word "random." [takes a few slow, deep breaths]

Language is fluid and ever-changing, so I suppose I just need to buck up and get over it. Errgh!

But a person can't "be random".

Whimsi-Cal
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04 Mar 2009, 1:07 am

mitharatowen wrote:

I can be very random too. I also have an invisible train of thought that often shifts focus and when I do speak up it seems really random. I don't usually like to follow the conversations of other people because nine times out of ten its a boring subject.

sbcmetroguy
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04 Mar 2009, 10:23 am

elderwanda wrote:

I know, it took me forever to get over people using the word 'random' in such a sense, but considering I am 29 and it was becoming popular in my high school 10 years ago, I unfortunately got used to hearing it. That said, and understanding how the masses of uneducated young people use the word, I felt there was little to do but accept it and move on. I never was one for slang, so it was hard for me to get used to it. I'm over it, though, and I would agree that by the slang definition of the word, I am definitely 'random'.

Learning2Survive
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