"Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you." --The King and I (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

When I signed up for a class on Building Better Work Relationships, my thinking was:

• Review time is coming up. It's good to take a class now and then because it shows the boss I'm still interested in growing professionally.
  
• Maybe they'll have snark reduction tips.
  
• It'll get me out of the office for a few days.

What I didn't realize was what got me there was not what got most people there.

Quite a few people in this class were there by someone else's choice. Prisoners. There by edict. Their bosses sent them. You know why their bosses sent them? They have unbelievably sucky social skills. Like worse than mine. I know! Right? Hard to believe but there they were.

Monday, it was so bad that, when we broke for lunch, everybody just sort of looked around, grim and lost. I invited a woman to have lunch with me. Relieved, she accepted. Tuesday, she materialized at my side at lunchtime, my new BFF. My own personal Squiggy. Except with less charm (see "sucky social skills" above.)

So, I invited a couple more people to join us, to their intense relief. And the four of us had a remarkably awkward lunch. You ever feign interest in people who aren't interesting? It's deadly. DEADLY.

*narrows eyes* You're doing it right now, aren't you?

Maybe I do need this class. *Sigh.*

(And, as you can see, so far, I've gotten nothing on snark reduction tips. Well, what's a FAIL in the real world can only be a WIN for the blog.)