I was sitting at lunch on Friday with my coworkers when it suddenly dawned on me: I don’t relate to people like much of the population.  There they were, talking about this and that movie or show or whatever and I, like usual, had pulled out my phone to play a game.  One of them asked me why I was zoning out and I said that they always talked about things I don’t know much about and don’t really care about.  So, they asked me what I wanted to talk about and I said something not related to entertainment.  There was a pause in conversation as they quietly thought of what else to discuss and soon enough, the conversation was back up again, once again about entertainment.

Yup, they can’t go a single conversation without making a movie or pop culture reference it seems.

I went back to my game and the next time I started to listen to the conversation again, they were on to religion; another topic I don’t know about or really care about.  Most of them were brought up Catholic and they talked about how they weren’t practicing Catholic, but considered themselves so just because they grew up with it.  I don’t believe I’ve ever been to a Catholic service before, so I had no clue what they were talking about.  Then one of them talked about raising kids as Catholics so they’d have some sort of moral guideline.  Kind of ironic since all of them have delved in less than savory behavior, whereas I’ve stayed away from such things without any religious upbringing.  So, once again I did not relate to the conversation and zoned out until the food arrived.

Now don’t get me wrong, I get along with these people quite well.  I enjoy working with them and have plenty of good conversation with them.  But, I’ve noticed that when we get together as a group (usually over lunch) and they get to talking, it’s almost always about things I don’t know about.  I don’t really watch movies or follow famous people, I’m not religious, and I don’t drink or indulge in other substances.  That covers about 90% of the shared experiences they talk about.  So in a group, I’m left to just sit and listen, or stop paying attention.

When it comes to talking one-on-one though, I get a lot better conversation going.  Things I do share with the majority of people is a love for food, travel, and updating each other on our lives.  More specific interests that fewer people share with me include business, entrepreneurship, reading and learning, UCLA, animals, photography, exercise, yoga, cultures, and philosophy.  There’s still plenty to talk about, but what I like is just not the topic of choice in larger groups at my office.  It’s too bad, since I love going out to lunch with these people!  It’d be nice if I could join in on the conversation more.