Dubious Etiquettes - 1

Many a times, I have been confused as to what etiquette should I apply in a lot of day to day events. For example, what do I do when I pass along a hallway and I see someone coming towards me. Should I look at them ? If they dont look back at me, should I still keep looking at them ? Sometimes, it is the battle between my mind and action and my heart beats more and more as the distance gets shorter and shorter. What if I looked at them and they didnt look at me initially, and I start looking elsewhere and now it could be that they are looking at me and I may seem like I am not looking at them though I actually did some seconds back. Should I periodically refresh my sight into looking at them. If they look back at me, should I smile. And there is always the distance factor. Sometimes, you look at someone who might be 10 ft away and do you smile at them then. In that case, should you keep a smily face till you cross over or should you smile and look elsewhere going about your own duty as if you have something else on your mind though there is nothing going on in your mind other than to think about the fact that the smile went well. There is a weird category of people who just look through you, and to them, even if you smile, it will look like they are looking at you and they wouldnt respond...It gets more awkward when you pass across a group of individuals out of which you identify some. Do you smile at the ones you know or give a group smile. The same is true when I am with a group of people and someone whom I know passes me by. If I am talking something seriously, should I take a quick break into giving a smile. The person to whom I am talking to, facing me will suddenly get this unrelated smile just to realise that someone passed us by. Sometimes, if the other person waves his hand, do you return it back by waving your hands while you are talking to someone. It so happens that sometimes, when people I know wave hands to someone behind me, I start waving my hands back to them assuming that they waved hands to me (inspite of the uncomfortable feeling that I go through, since I am already talking to someone) just to realise that they waved their hands to someone else. In the meanwhile, the person whom I am talking to might get an attention diversion just to be perplexed by the fact that I was waving my hands for no reason..:) The worst case is when you see someone whom you know in the hallway at a slightly far off distance and wave at them to realise that they didnt notice you. I try to look around to see if anyone saw me waving just to console myself that I avoided an embarassing moment.

Another place where I get confused about etiquette is when I am in the restroom. This probably happens mostly in the men's restroom. You are there side by side going about your own business when you find that the person standing next to you is someone whom you know, not very closely, but you share a smile and little chit-chat here and there. Do you talk to him then or wait till he gets to the taps. What if I finished earlier than him. Should I wait till he gets along the tap as well, or should I pretend that I am going about my business till he finishes or go out and wait for him outside or just dont care. What if he finishes earlier. Should I wrap up things quickly enough to join him near the tap, especially if they had smiled on their way into the restroom. Sometimes, it so happens that they start talking to you even when you are seriously going about your business. Do you talk to them? Or, do you ask them to hold on till you are done. I randomly react to such occurences since I am not sure how to react. Sometimes, I just give a smile back to them nodding or answering shortly saying "yes" or "no" or "hmm...hmm". Some people dont leave you till you give a descriptive answer. They ask you questions like "to what value should the register be set when you operate in xyz mode". I cant escape now....can I... The worst case is when you get a cell-phone call when you are inside the restroom. The uncomfortable feeling and the fumbling that you have to do in picking up the call is one thing. Do you speak normally or should you lower your voice, for no apparent reason... I dont know. Especially, when you go about business-2, what do you do? I once got a laugh from the other compartment and also a vocal exchange...."People dont leave you...do they?".... That was one of my most embarassing moments... If the cell-phone call is from someone you know, it is okay. If it is an official call and you just cant miss it, what do you do? What happens to people who listen to your conversation from outside if you chose to go ahead and take a cell-phone call. I dont know how others react. But, I really dont know how I should react...