THE BUSINESS OF LYING
I said I wasn't gonna eat anything. He asked why."I'm on a diet", I replied. A lie*, of course, but it was far less lengthy an answer than to elaborate on my economy, appetite and general taste in relation to the place we happened to drop by.
And so the four of us got in. Pristi and I, plus two guys we had just met in an event. It was a Padang restaurant. A costly-looking Padang restaurant.
They picked their dinner and took their seats. I was seated, too- foodless.
"Why don't you have your dinner?", the same guy asked.
"I'm on a diet", same answer.
"What?"
And I gave him a reluctant smile. This would not do. "Nothing", I said.
"She's on a diet!", snapped the other guy, and then he blurted impatiently, "O God!".
My grinned grew broader.
Because, one: it was a blatant lie- so blatant that everybody in their right sense would notice it instantly. Very cheeky of me, too, to lie blatantly twice in a row on the same subject. And two: because he didn't mean what he asked despite the fact that he asked twice.
Now that I come to think of it, as I'm writing this, I'm beginning to feel p*ssed off. So this guy deliberately threw me a question, yet just a second later didn't care enough to hear what I gotta say? What does it mean?
Well, everybody knows this simple rule: "ask questions = show an interest". He wanted me to believe that he was interested in me. What a BIG lie.
Hear ye, folks. The true sign of interest is when you listen. The best of friends is the one who would listen- even when you say nothing. They give you the priceless access to their ready ears. And when they really listen, you know they care. Sincerely.
So when this guy did not listen to my answer, he didn't really care what I said. He didn't mean a fiddle what he asked. And people who don't mean what they ask are not worth answering to. You should just ignore them. It's actually a lie and an insult- to pretend to be interested while condemning you not interesting enough to listen to. The hypocrisy.
Therefore I'm not sorry I lied twice about my being on a diet. I only did a disservice to a person who was a bigger liar than myself- he lied twice, too. He started all this business of lying.
But next time (yeah- I reckon there will be next time, since a great deal of people seem to lack the prominent "skill" to mean what they ask) when facing such a plight perhaps I should just keep quiet. It won't make any difference to the asker- and it keeps me from lying and being enraged. Win-win solution.
*I mean, seriously, why would I need a diet? I'm wearing size 6.
posted by eloque @ 3:50 AM
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