relationships

I have spent the last four months developing relationships with people. They are strange relationships,though. They last between 10 and 30 minutes. I talk to a stranger, gain their trust, make them laugh, make them love me, and then have them sign over their life to me. I thought it was going to be difficult, but turns out I'm pretty good at faking this exchange. The key to this relationship for me is to get them to ask as few questions as possible. We focus mainly on them; their house, their family, their bug problem. The minute they start asking questions about where I'm from or what I do, I want to run in the opposite direction. Truth is, if I divulged my whole story they would have the same fleeing reaction.

This trend extends far beyond my door-to-door exchanges. I have found that, in general, I am an impossible person to get to know. I push people away to their utter exhaustion, and once they've given up I am finally ready. I ask plenty of personal questions, to keep conversation heavy and focused solely on the other person. I don't answer questions. Answering questions make you responsible for your actions. I prefer to relinquish responsibility, keep the relationship primarily their responsibility, with me just weighing in when I need to. If they are invested, they are responsible when it ends. Because, just like my 30 minute daily relationships with eager pest control purchasers, the relationship will come to an end. Unlike my 30 minute daily relationships with eager pest control purchasers, I will not come out with anything but a new coping strategy.