Mr or Miss Try To Hard

Ever been in a group of people where there's that one person that seems to be trying a little too hard to get involved in the conversation? Or been somewhere when a person you didn't show up with suddenly tries to get involved with whatever you're talking about regardless of whether the conversation wasn't directed at them?

We've all been there or experienced that one person. I have a couple of persons that come to mind when thinking about this topic and one in particular has become nails on a chalkboard to me. Most of the time, I think it's the person being socially awkward - but other times, you just need to chalk it up to trying too hard.

I try to get along with everyone but I admit I'm shy. I'm usually not the first person to approach new people but once introduced to someone, I try to be friendly and will eventually open up. But when someone comes on a little too strong, I tend to get turned off - I think I'm of the mindset of getting to know somebody slowly...I don't need to know your life story in the first hour of our meeting.

I had a run-in with the person I refer to above- we'll call him 'Mr. TTH' (Try To Hard). Yes, I can conclusively say that he is trying too hard. Mr. TTH has recently been coming out to more and more events in the DC area even though he reminds everyone at every meeting that he lives over an hour's drive away. After having a couple of interactions with Mr. TTH and thanking the Lord that I was a married woman, we got the "behind-the-scenes' story about Mr. TTH from college - and let's just say that he didn't have very many fans - he was the geekiest geek among the stereotypical group of geeks. And as our friend mentioned - you know it's bad when no one in this group likes you. I laughed then but now I totally get it.

It's nice that Mr. TTH wants to get involved but how do you break it to him that he's trying too hard at everything? I've also come to notice that Mr. TTH doesn't enjoy silence - if there's silence during a conversation, he feels the need to interject with something or just echo something you just said. Mr. TTH also doesn't have a sense of personal space - his approach is crowd now, ask later. I saw it happen the other week - he put his beefy claws around this girl he had only met once before and then asked, 'Is this okay?' She answered, under duress (I'm sure), 'Yeah.'

But I think the straw that finally broke the camel's back with me and Mr. TTH was when he made the comment (not in front of me but in front of two of my girlfriends), 'I need to move closer to DC - the girls here are easier.' First of all, why would you say that out loud? It's not true and I'm QUITE certain it's not the girls. In fact, if he said that in front of me, I'm pretty sure I would've responded, "Um yeah, I don't think it's the girls - I'm sure if you moved closer to DC you would see the same amount of action as you're seeing now.' And if you were the type of person to make lewd comments like that, as Mr. TTH has proven himself to be, why would you say that in front of girls? DC girls, no less!

So now when I see Mr. TTH, I cannot help but think about nails on a chalkboard and try to be polite by saying 'Hello' and then getting the heck out of his presence so I don't lose my cool and blow up at him for some stupid drivel that might come tumbling out of his mouth.

Do I feel sorry for Mr. TTH? No.
Yeah - I can be a bit mean sometimes...and I can live with that.