That Guy...

In my office there are about 200 people. I know about 10 of them. I actually speak to about 3 of them, and that's not that often. The majority of my interaction with people in my office comes as I'm walking from my office to other areas of the office to perform certain tasks, such as refilling my coffee, taking a whiz, going for a Diet Coke, hitting up the printer, or running to get any leftover food from catered meetings.

In these short interactions, usually there is just enough time to say hi as we walk past each other or nod in acknowledgment of each other. Rarely do I ever have a chance to talk for more than a minuscule 30 second time frame, so most of the conversations don't ever go beyond:

"Hi."

"Hey, how are ya?"

"Good, yourself?"

"Just fine."

"Ok, catch you later."

"Later."

And that's it. Interaction over. Quick, painless, and not awkward at all. I know it doesn't exactly help me to get to know my co-workers here, but that's something I'm willing to deal with. I'm sure I'm mostly an enigma to the people who work in my area and such, but I don't have a problem with it.

But there is one guy who is bound and determined to indulge in the most cliche-ridden, socially shudder inducing, mind-numbing small talk conversations. Today, for example, I was getting my daily Diet Coke from the pop machine as he was microwaving something in the same kitchen area. I hear from the side of me:

"How's it going?"

"Good. You?"

"Great. "

"Cool."

"...We're almost there, you know."

"Huh?"

"It's Thursday, which means we're almost to Friday."

"Yeah, that's right. Cool."

"Nothing like a Friday, is there?"

"Nope."

At that point I headed back to my office. Every time I'm around this guy, it's the same types of conversations. I want to be pissed off and not talk to him or be snide or show my utter disdain for small talk in some rude way, but I can't. You know why? He's just too damn nice of a guy. Seriously, he's a shining example of what the office nice guy should be like.

So what do I do? Part of me wants to be a total dick, but the other part of me really respects the guy for being so nice. Such a tough call...