"What do you mean this coffee is 2 dollars?!" she screams at the barista before throwing the hot beverage all over his face. He wriggles in pain, blinded permanently. She laughs "hey buddy, I'm just kidding. What do you take me for- some poor person?" She leaves without tipping, knowing that the energy she put into the exchange was way better than a dollar, besides she's broke.
I enjoy awkward interactions, so I usually engage a cashier in some conversation like "isn't this place the place to be?" or I just make a dorky observation about the pastry case "Sure looks good, probably filled with rat poop... you don't have to tell me, I'm hip" [winks]. I am either a ham or dead-pan, but people rarely know what to say back- so I win! I am the champion of Talking the Most! My friend says it's uncomfortable for her when we go places where I talk to people. My friend tells me I should try not saying anything or I should be "normal", let the people do their job (she actually pleaded with me). Now, we go somewhere and there is a "normal" interaction highlighted by me punctuating every "normal" exchange by looking at her and smiling. You're probably stupid, so I wrote a script:
CASHIER: What will you have?
ME: An 8 ounce latte, please [turns smiling face toward her friend]
CASHIER: That will be $2.45.
ME: No problem, here you go. [hands over exact change while slowly turning head to her friend, smiling]
end scene
I think I do this to emphasize my effort to appease her; To let her know I value her comfort and to showcase my willingness to compromise. Ironically, it's probably more uncomfortable the new way! I like to embarrass myself. I think that it is to relieve my own tendency to take myself too seriously, but a psycho-therapist might say something else.
PSYCHOTHERAPIST: That will be $110
end
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