Very 'normal' things that make you feel awkward

[DancingDucks]

First of all I'm sticking a 'lighthearted' in here. 😊

A friend and I had this conversation the other day and it made us both laugh, so maybe it'll cheer up a wet and windy day for some.

Some of mine:

When people wish me happy birthday on Facebook. It's very lovely of people but makes me feel so weird and embarrassed, so I now have my birthday hidden.

Waiting to get off a bus. Not sure what I think will happen, but I get all weird and stressed in case I forget to thank the driver. Which would never happen because it's so drummed into me.

Standing behind people at a cash machine. Even though I stand well back, I fear I might look a shifty and robby type, so try to arrange my face as benignly as possible, hence looking slightly vacant.

Walking past my own house. This is so weird and I've no idea why it makes me feel like I should give a jolly wave to my house.

Please tell me I'm not alone in my weirdness ...

Omg you've unlocked a memory for me!

I remember the dashing out the loo to get to my bedroom and shutting the door before the flush had finished when I was a kid. What on earth was that about?!

Awkward moments for me are getting up from the table (pub/restaurant) and trying to find the toilets. Also getting out of a swimming pool and walking to the changing rooms. Cringe everytime 😬 😳

Can relate to so many of these....!

I’ve been dreading my last day at work for 32 years now. 5 years to go. I hate leaving dos. They’re going to get me a voucher and look at me 😭

Went to the cinema recently. Booked 5 seats in a row. Almost empty cinema but you have to book specific seats online.

Got there to find a bunch of teenage girls in our booked seats. Seemed a bit awkward to get them to move when it was 90% empty so we sat across the aisle in an empty row. Taking up most of the row but leaving the aisle seat free.

Movie just about to start and a women on her own carrying loads of bags and food hurried in checking seat numbers. Of course she had the aisle seat next to me and sat down with all her shopping bags wedged at her feet and balancing her giant popcorn and cola on her lap. There were waves of awkwardness. She’d obviously booked thinking she had a row to herself! She spent the whole movie very very quietly sucking the popcorn and hardly moving.
I spent the whole movie needing a wee but not daring to try and get past her and all her bags.
TLDR. Awkwardness caused people to bunch together in an empty cinema.

I worked in the same place for 20 years.
Managed to retire 2 weeks after giving notice with holidays accrued etc.
Literally got a few colleagues saying cheerio and a few gifts.
So relieved.

My shoelaces coming undone. I don't know why but it's the most embarrassing and awkward thing to have to stock to tie them up again 😂

My very special daughter has ‘not having to open things in front of everyone’ in her birthday wish list. Every year.
We take her breakfast and her gifts on a tray and leave her to it. She is always lovely and grateful after that.

The calling people by their name thing (sorry if I'm repeating can't be arsed to RTFT); I hate it when some people overuse your name. There is is one dentist I see that addresses me by name at the end of every sentence!

Why do they do it? I think these people think it is respectful, but I find it so jarring and want to tell them to stop.

Having a cleaner. I felt so awkward and embarrassed by the whole thing I cancelled after one clean. Could really do with a cleaner too but my weirdness won't allow it 🤦‍♀️

-Welcoming people into my home - that awkward moment of standing around in the hallway before getting drinks etc 😮
-Eating an apple in front of people - I can’t bear the crunching
-Wedding speeches - I get so embarrassed on people’s behalf when they’re not gifted orators 😫 To the point I feel like running out the room!
-Wondering if I should greet every fellow dog walker (even when they don’t make eye contact)
-Picking up dog poo, it always seems incredibly undignified (don’t worry, I always do!)

I am fine with most of the aforementioned, but the thing that has me just dying of awkwardness is serving dinner guests food I’ve made. As soon as I have to stand at the table kind of presenting everything I’ve cooked and start slicing roast meat or passing around serving dishes to them, I die inside. God knows why.

Oh yes! Sometimes sitting there, cringing!

I relate to so many of these

Im am a walking ball of awkward though

I can identify with many of these! Also:

I'm always worried my osteopath thinks I'm a pervert. I have lower back and hamstring pain, and a lot of her work can get quite close to my undercarriage. She is very thoughtful and will always tell me to let her know if I'm uncomfortable as she's aware it is such an intimate area. I don't want to look like an uptight prude so will always enthusiastically say 'no that's absolutely fine' and then spend the rest of the appointment worrying that she thinks I'm getting some kind of sexual pleasure from it (i am female by the way).

Walking behind someone at work when we have to go through several doors. So I say thanks the first time they hold it open for me but it feels ridiculous after the third or fourth door.

A dear colleague at work was retiring so we organised a little do for all of us to say goodbye and present her with the gifts I'd bought. It was meant to be a surprise but someone let the cat out of the bag & she got really upset & left at midday never never to return! She explained to me after that she hates that sort of thing. I've learned my lesson not to assume people like presentations but I wish she'd said something sooner & we wouldn't have arranged anything

This made me laugh so much (in a good way). I'm the same. And also for many of the other things mentioned, including thanking the bus driver.

Yes this !! I hate walking across the road at a crossing, I feel so exposed 😆😳

When walking out of a shop, if the person in front of me sets the alarm off, I don't want them to think that I think they are a thief. So I have to make a comment suggesting that the sensors are over sensitive or that they always go off when I walk through them too.

Ordering fish and chips.

if I ask for 2 fish and chips will they give me 2 fish and 1 lot of chips. I make sure to ask for 2 fish and 2 portions of chips. The word portion has to be there. I remember stressing about it so much as a kid in case the order was wrong.

Oh god yes. Or going to pay for (say) a top and realising the assistant is wearing the exact same one. I have to put it back and walk out!

Someone holding the door for me when I'm slightly too far away and I have to do that awkward jog.

Phoning to order a takeaway. My OH feels the same. Our favourite Chinese isn’t online so we have to do it quite a lot!

Someone retired at work recently, and their manager was planning a lunch (in the office) to say goodbye. It was cancelled at short notice and I assume that was because they didn’t want the fuss. Completely understand it, and now I would always check what they wanted.

i cannot bear the thought of a leaving do!
i have been there so long, i might never go

When you're on the phone to a call centre and they ask for your phone number. The pauses in-between saying the digits just make me want to die. They might say mmhmm or repeat the numbers, which is fine. It's the ones that are just silent and waiting for you to carry on that kill me. How much of a gap are you supposed to leave for them to write down what you said. Worst is when they have a delayed reaction but because you can't bear the silence you hurry to blurt out the next three digits and end up talking over their late response to the first bit. It's the most embarrassing thing ever. Kill me now.