Being an introvert makes social situations a little challenging at times. Even when it is with people I like or want to know better, I find gatherings quite hard to deal with. It’s not that I hate people, mind you. Even though I do prefer the company of animals to most humans, that is not it. No, it’s the small talk that does me in. I loathe small talk. I can talk at length about things that range from random trivia to deeper subjects but the tedious ‘getting to know you’ questions and chatter drive me batty. Mainly because the mundane conversation can be used to judge and people have sorely forgotten how to be polite and inquiring without belly flopping right into someone’s personal life. “Are you married? Do you have kids?”