Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Do you ever think anything you don't say?

My good friend Annie says that there are two kinds of people in the world. There are tellers, and there are... well, actually I forget what everyone else is, because I'm a teller.

Tellers, like me, will tell just about anyone practically anything about themselves. Annie, who is not a teller, would not for instance tell you about how bad the people on the subway/bus/stairs stunk. It wouldn't occur to her that you might be interested. But for me, there's no filter. From the mundane (but hilarious, I promise!) daily anecdote, to the just plain TMI (I just recently had a bra size discussion with way too many people), I always seem to let it all hang out.

Husband is decidedly not a teller. In fact, I have to beg him to tell me stories from his childhood, to tell me about his day. It will be interesting to see which side of the fence the Bean (and her future sibling(s?))fall on...

No one in my immediate family is a teller. Based on my limited dataset, I think that telling might be a recessive trait, but I need more data...



So what are you? Are you a teller or not-so-much?

13 comments:

The bean-mom said...

Sciencemama, I'm so glad that you're a teller! I love the stories on your blog!

As for me... I'm not so much of a teller in my "real life." Except to my husband, and other close friends. But I often find myself telling stories in my head, speaking to an imaginary audience. So blogging is a good outlet for that

ruchi said...

Heh. I'm a teller. No question. But I'm about .25 of the teller I used to be.

My sister is not a teller. But she's probably 1.25 the teller she used to be.

My mom is also not a teller. But she's probably 1.5 the teller she used to be. So ummm that means that one teller, and two non-tellers turned into ... oh no, the math is giving me a head ache.

Kate said...

I am definitely a teller. My parents are each probably half-tellers, in that they have the same stories they rehearse again and again, but it takes a lot to get them to say anything new. My sister is not much a of a teller -- she's way classier than me ;).

Jennie said...

I'm def. a teller, in fact I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

ScienceWoman said...

I like this. I'm definitely a teller. And blogging seriously reinforces the trait. So I hypothesize that most bloggers are tellers. And I suspect that most academics who enjoy teaching are tellers too.

Flicka Mawa said...

I'm definitely a teller. I wasn't always though, just as I wasn't always confident in social settings. I bet most bloggers are tellers, at least in their blogging lives! But sometimes I do walk away from things and think, wow I can't believe I told that person I barely know about my sex life! (Yeah, that's happened. Exactly that. I probably tell too much.)

EcoGeoFemme said...

I'm a teller, but I'd kind of prefer not to be.

Unknown said...

I fess up. I'm a teller too, with a twist. My thinking is caught up in my telling. Telling is how I make sense of the world. The story changes with the telling. Often it would be better to think before telling, and get the story straight. Sometimes I manage it.

Amanda said...

I'm a teller, but only in my "blog life." Otherwise I tend to be a bit quiet.

Anfa said...

When I was little, my mom would preface my leaving the house with "Now, don't you go telling anyone about our business!" I always wondered what our business was, since nobody ever told me ANYTHING!
Apparently, I am a teller.
However, I have kept some confidences for over 25 years, simply because the confider asked me to.
I think many, many things that I do not share, but I do like to talk, and write and communicate. I love a good story, and life has supplied me with many.

annie said...

i know i am late on this, but i am in south american. forgive.
first, i would absolutely tell you how the people on the subway smell, because you are my friend and therefore i KNOW that you would want to know about it so that you can mock them with me. it's like, who i am.
second, if it helps, mom and sister are tellers, me and dad are not.
and third, i think bloggers may be tellers - blogging feels a little antithetical to me, but at least i feel safe in assuming that people might be interested in at least SOME of what i am doing these days.

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