u/TheMalsh

It was my best mates 26th birthday yesterday and as a result a couple of us went around to his house to celebrate it.

In my group there is 6 of us, we all know eachother from school and all have partners.

In this group there is smaller groups of 3. In my group of 3, when leaving school, we would never have imagined being close with the other 3 because they were the “Cool” kids. We literally only became friends because we saw them at the local spoons when we were all 18, they told us to come and get to their table and since then have been so close. So the fact we were all sitting in my best mates house 10 years after leaving school was slightly surreal.

I think the weirdest thing for me is the fact that in my group of 6, one of the boys is now engaged to and owns a house with a girl in the year below us. They have been together 7 years. She was also in the cool kids group of their year. Her and my mate (fiancés now) just knew each other as people in separate years at school and never spoke. They probably spoke for the first ever time 7 years ago.

I was sitting at my mates house yesterday just thinking it’s such an unsurreal surreal moment. Not only was I now close to people that I could’ve never imagined speaking to again after school. I was also speaking to and having a laugh with someone who was in the year below who I doubt our paths would’ve ever crossed had it not been for my mate messaging her on a whim 7 years ago.

Serious replies only please.

I work with someone who is a lovely bloke, but all he does it talk from 8:30 AM - 5 PM which in the confines of a small company office is unbearable. At the same time, it’s genuinely impressive how someone can talk so much.

He is in his late 40s, possible early 50s has a partner and child and I honestly feel bad for them.

I am big into my fitness etc, recently he joined my gym and he manages to somehow bring it up in conversation everyday. I have been slacking in the gym as of late and despite me saying this, he still continues to talk to me about it. I try to say I’m not interested but he does not get the memo.

It’s not even like he tries to one up you, it’s just a story every single time about something usually extremely unhelpful.

I have just sat here for 10 minutes giving it the “Yeah” “mhmm” “I see” and yet he still does not know I am not interested.

I am not the only person that says this and every now and again somebody might get a bit snappy with him purely because they are trying to focus. How do you politely tell somebody that you do not care or to be quiet without offending them especially in a small environment like an office?