> pointless blather <

have you ever been in a conversation with someone and their eyes glaze over and they look a million miles away?
ALERT: you may be talking about nothing important and wasting that person's precious time. (there is a slight chance they could be stoned as well, in which case change the subject to video games or fast food)

if you're the victim of useless chatter, your indicators will include unfocused eyes wandering and a feeling of your brain being claustrophobic in your own skull.
you must then go into survival mode and find a 'happy place' of numbness.
this can happen to even the most aggressive and impatient people.

not all useless conversation is negative and painfull. i have consistent immature banter that results in much hilarity, but no constructive use whatsoever. this is not the point of this blahg.

i find that the pointless blather that really makes me feel like screaming and biting someone in the face usually follows these two scenarios:

1) associate/acquaintance obligatory acknowledgment:
you are physically near someone you have indifferent feelings for / barely know and there is an awkward twitch of acknowledgment that induces a polite exchange. this includes, but is not limited to; "How was your weekend?", "Hey, long time no see", "Nice purse, is that new for spring?", "Hey man, did you catch the Leafs game last night?".
Bottom Line: you do not care if this person disappears from existence at this very moment so you can get back to a more productive conversation you were having with yourself in your mind. you would actually endorse spontaneous combustion.

2) family/couples/domestic diatribe:
you are in a home / personal life situation where you are familiar with the people around you, and you have been trained how to respond to regurgitated stories and explanations of household items and concerns. popular topics to ramble on about with a forced engagement in the form of a head nod and a 'oh yah?' from you, the victim; comparisons and justifications of children's mental behaviour, couples' barf-worthy nesting stories, household upgrades at a discount price!!!!, double dates that will never happen, people finishing each others' stories about 'exciting' moments in the grocery store or on garbage day.

Bottom Line: this is all shared information that will never improve you as a human being. people feel the need to tell you this stuff in order for them to feel normal. even though they haven't had sex in 2 years.
PS - no one will ever win the cheap award, but they will always be competitive about it