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It'll even happen if I'm thinking about a word, suddenly, my mind has deconstructed the word so completely that I don't even recognize it as a word I already know. For example, in thinking of the word "window", I might unconsciously be so busy pulling apart and looking at the word that my conscious mind goes, "What does window mean?" "Is that even a word?!" And then a few seconds later I remember, and then feel silly.

I am SO glad that you posted this. I don't feel like a freak now.
 
Yeah, usually I ask for clarification and when I do I get that look which says "How do you not get this?"
That's when I speak my mind and go through many of the different applications of the question.
It's annoying at the very least.

I guess the ability to finish others sentances stem from the same thing.
Ohhh, yeah! And I'm the only Intuiative in my family, they are all Sensors, you should hear them trying to give me driving directions, not good, not good at all. They all think I'm a bubblehead and were totally shocked when I stayed on the Dean's List all through college... LOL
 
So I'm at the doctors for a migraine today right?
The doctors asking all these normal questions, then out of the blue she goes
"What's today?"
I was instantly confused! I'm just sitting there thinking:
"Does she mean what today's pain rating is?" "is today a holiday?" "Does she mean "what does today mean to you?" ' 'Does she mean what are your goals for today?" "Is today the day you're reclaiming life? Chasing your dreams?" "Hopes for the day?" "Thoughts?"
I eventually asked if she was referring to my headache and she just shook her head and said "Just answer the question."
After more thinking I decided to, on a whim, say "April 4."
She accepted that answer and moved on.
Easy as that.
So, this got me thinking, anyone else have moments when they were all in a deep INFJ tangem, when it was unnecessary ? Did this create an awkward situation? I'd love to hear stories :happy:
OMFG that shit is adorable. seriously, I would hang out with my INFJ JUST for this, even if he wasn't a great friend anyway.
 
So I'm at the doctors for a migraine today right?
The doctors asking all these normal questions, then out of the blue she goes
"What's today?"
I was instantly confused! I'm just sitting there thinking:
"Does she mean what today's pain rating is?" "is today a holiday?" "Does she mean "what does today mean to you?" ' 'Does she mean what are your goals for today?" "Is today the day you're reclaiming life? Chasing your dreams?" "Hopes for the day?" "Thoughts?"
I eventually asked if she was referring to my headache and she just shook her head and said "Just answer the question."
After more thinking I decided to, on a whim, say "April 4."
She accepted that answer and moved on.
Easy as that.
So, this got me thinking, anyone else have moments when they were all in a deep INFJ tangem, when it was unnecessary ? Did this create an awkward situation? I'd love to hear stories :happy:
Ha .. i have a story like that..
I was in a fast food place and after ordering, the guy asks me " U're staying here??" and was thinking " Is he asking me if i live in this town?" " In this area?" "How should i react to his indiscretion??" So i told him that it's none of his busines where i live!
He got confused and explained that he only wanted to know if i'm staying there to eat it or i'll take with me so he can fold it :D ...
I think i turned red.. i could feel my cheeks burning
 
Would it be outrageous if I said this doesn't happen in England?
Just quickly before I offend anyone, I mean my American friends have more of a tendency to say, "What's today" rather than, "What's the date?" or... "where are we today... the... <trailing off>" (answered with "7th of April").

Etc.
 
Would it be outrageous if I said this doesn't happen in England?
Just quickly before I offend anyone, I mean my American friends have more of a tendency to say, "What's today" rather than, "What's the date?" or... "where are we today... the... <trailing off>" (answered with "7th of April").

Etc.
I'm not offeneded...I'm from the US but I think it's a Northener thing. I'm from the South and we say, "What day is it?" Now let the discussion of all the answers to this question begin!!!
 
My first day in a certain teacher's class.
Teacher:"Where are you from?"
Me* where my parents are from? Country or the village? Origin or where I was born?*
After a while
Teacher: Was that a trick question
Me: :: shrug:: "village name"
I hate that question. I always avoid answering it and usually end up giving a lecture on how inappropriate it is to just simply assume that just because I'm of a different colour, that I'm from a different country.
 
I hate that question. I always avoid answering it and usually end up giving a lecture on how inappropriate it is to just simply assume that just because I'm of a different colour, that I'm from a different country.
I don't understand why people would not be proud of being from a different country...every time I ask people that, I really hope they are from far-off, unique country that I haven't studied yet. It's a disappointment every time someone tells me they are from the city we are standing in, and only slightly less disappointing when they name a another city that's still in the same country that we are standing in.
 
I don't understand why people would not be proud of being from a different country...every time I ask people that, I really hope they are from far-off, unique country that I haven't studied yet. It's a disappointment every time someone tells me they are from the city we are standing in, and only slightly less disappointing when they name a another city that's still in the same country that we are standing in.
It's not about being proud, or not proud. It's not even related to that.

It's about being differentiated from the rest as "being from somewhere else by virtue of skin colour".

It separates the second, or third generation Asians, South Asians [and people from non Caucasian backgrounds basically] from those of Caucasian backgrounds. It's almost taken for granted that just because someone's from a non-Caucasian background that they must be an immigrant/new resident --- whereas for people of Caucasian backgrounds it's almost always assumed that they must be part of the original settlers, or at least first wave.

As third culture kids, we grow up getting asked regularly "Where are you from?" based on skin colour, and maybe accent. But that same question is not asked of people of Caucasian backgrounds because it is generally assumed that they must not be immigrants, right? It creates a separation based on skin difference - and a stereotypical assumption that if you're not Caucasian, then you can't be a second, or third generation citizen of a predominantly Caucasian country.

I'm not saying this from a negative point of view. It just gets annoying to get asked every other time one is out in public.
 
It's not about being proud, or not proud. It's not even related to that.

It's about being differentiated from the rest...
...I'm not saying this from a negative point of view. It just gets annoying to get asked every other time one is out in public.
This explains the response I get sometimes, I hadn't considered the impact of frequency of the question. Being Caucasian, I don't hear that question often, which is disappointing, I only get the "You're not from around here, are you!" when I fail to recognize a local custom or reference, and then I finally get to talk about where I've lived, although most people seem uninterested in anything other than their own little slice of the planet.

Please answer me this one little follow up question, if you don't mind; Is there ever any context for such a question, I mean, can you tell if someone is differentiating you versus hoping to learn of people from somewhere other than the usual locale? I don't pop that sort of question off based on a visual inspection, I usually only ask it when people have an exotic accent, or make references that seem geographically unique.
 
Please answer me this one little follow up question, if you don't mind; Is there ever any context for such a question, I mean, can you tell if someone is differentiating you versus hoping to learn of people from somewhere other than the usual locale?
I'd say an intimate or academic setting. Outside of the "public" eye. It also depends on how you ask more than who you ask. You'd find that if you ease it into an ongoing conversation, rather than making it one of the first or only things you ask about, you'll get better responses. Also, never sound too excited or overly interested.

That's a huge giveaway of "Oh boy, here we go again. Here's another one who thinks I'm some sort of novelty, or freak show. How embarrassing."

But then, everyone's different. Everyone's going to react differently based on their prior experiences.

For example, I remember that when I first started High School, I had a very thick accent and I noticed people chuckling and passing comments. One guy just randomly came up to me [and I didn't know that guy at all, but I was already influenced by prior interactions] and all he said was "That's a very interesting accent." and without thinking, I just told him to "F--- Off! How did that sound to you?"

It's tough especially considering that it's really our reality. I mean so many minorities constantly hear so many things non-stop that many of them can't help be/become defensive even when they wouldn't naturally be inclined to be. An example of this is that I'm going to an employment workshop for new Canadians, and while showing Linkedin, the presenter went to a Group and one of the top posts there was "Get rid of Canadian Immigration and send them back to their home countries because they're eating up our jobs". The guy who posted it was coincidently of Caucasian descent. The teacher was embarrassed and apologized and I observed the faces of the immigrants there. No one said anything. Or even made any kind of gesture. You can guess as to why, or why not.

Anyways ... yah ... This isn't a thread about struggles of minorities. Though it is one of my favourite topics and I have a lot to say about it.
 
For example, I remember that when I first started High School, I had a very thick accent and I noticed people chuckling and passing comments. One guy just randomly came up to me [and I didn't know that guy at all, but I was already influenced by prior interactions] and all he said was "That's a very interesting accent." and without thinking, I just told him to "F--- Off! How did that sound to you?"
Awesome, that guy had it coming! :D

At my last employment, I worked with five or six Eastern Europeans (Belgium, Bosnia, and Serbia from what I remember), and after working with them for four or five months, they started coming up to me from time to time asking what certain English expressions meant, or what the real difference was between two English words that seemed similar to them, etc. I was more than happy to help, but I never hand out unsolicited comments regarding someone's verb conjugation or pronunciation. Unless it's to offer a sincere compliment, I fell that it's bad form to ever refer to someone's language skills.

"Hey, your pronunciation doesn't match the local standard, let's talk about your previous residence..." and "I noticed you are still struggling with verb conjugation, what language do you really speak?" are not my idea of an acceptable opener for conversation.

Also, never sound too excited or overly interested.
Being overly interested in many facets of the universe around me is a BIG part of who I am. Why is this a warning sign? Are you referring to being overly interested in the person I'm speaking to? (as opposed to the ecology, bordering nations, architecture, etc. of someone's previous country of residence.)

I apologize if this comes off as argumentative, I've edited it four times with the hope of keeping it unoffensive. Thanks very much for your feedback, by the way.
 
Being overly interested in many facets of the universe around me is a BIG part of who I am. Why is this a warning sign? Are you referring to being overly interested in the person I'm speaking to? (as opposed to the ecology, bordering nations, architecture, etc. of someone's previous country of residence.)

I apologize if this comes off as argumentative, I've edited it four times with the hope of keeping it unoffensive. Thanks very much for your feedback, by the way.
^_^ This is one of the things ... isn't it? Now you're coming across as overly cautious ;) Loosen up a bit :p

j/k

I suppose a better word would've been "overly enthusiastic" ... Maybe it's just me and my heightened sense of another person's emotions/intent etc --- but I can pick up fake interest vs genuine interest a mile away. You know ... there's a difference between saying:

"Oh. You're from Pakistan. That's great. Do you mind answering a few questions because I've always been interested in learning about the culture there."

vs

"Wow! OMG! You're from Pakistan! My best friends' sister's mother went to a Pakistani restaurant! Do you know the owner? Do you like spicy food? I looove listening to Bollywood music! It's sooo amazing!"

Yah ... Trust me, I've come across people who've acted like that in front of me. Good intentions, but stereotyping nonetheless.

That's what I meant by "overly interested" .. should've said "overly enthusiastic". xD
 
Discussion starter · #57 ·
Alright then, I've just had ANOTHER awkward INFJ moment...Here goes:

So, I was with a large group of gals at a contemporaryballet performance. It was an incredibleperformance, the choreography and music and just the entire ballet was just soinspirational. The story was confusing,throughout the whole ballet you found yourself confused but at the end of theentire performance, you felt like you had just seen an amazing show. So afterwards, we were all standing outsidethe theater waiting for some of the others in the group to join us outside. Mymind was going 1000 MPH, just devouring all the things I had seen. I was inspired, and in a creative burst, andbasically in my INFJ happy place.
One of the girls turned to me and said simply "What didyou get?"
Without a question, I assumed that she was asking what I had"gotten" from the show, what I was taking away with me, how Iunderstood the story etc.
I answered accordingly.
Then after a few moments of silence and odd looks, Irealized.
She was referring to the shopping bag I had across my arm.
She was asking me what I had gotten from the store.
Oh gosh.
Talk about embarrassing.

So, the silver lining from the situation is that I hadanother INFJ story to share with you all :)
Have you guys had any more of these moments lately? Pleasedon't tell me I'm the only one ;)
 
I think this was just me being dozy rather than any INFJ-ness as such but here goes.....

I was recently at the dentist where I tend to zone out anyway, especially if there's any pain involved. So, the dentist has just finished working in my mouth. He's standing to my right and he tells me to rinse out into the basin thing to my left. I'm rinsing out staring into the basin thing and I hear him say "Put your tongue down there". I think "What? He's wanting me to lick the basin clean? That can't be right." I'm paralysed for a few seconds and then I think maybe he wants to see my tongue. I'm about to turn to him, stick my tongue out and say "aaaaaaahhhhhhh". Then I think "No, that can't be it. It's not like I'm at the doctor's with a sore throat". At last I realise he means for me to put my tongue against the tooth he's just worked on - i'd previously said that the cavity seemed enormous (a filling had come out). So, after 7 or 8 seconds I finally get what he meant, put tongue to tooth, and tell him the tooth now seems fine. He probably thought "um, this guy's a bit slow". Which indeed I was.
 
That awkward INFJ moment when you make a joke that ties together something that was just said and something that came up in the conversation about fifteen minutes earlier and everyone just sort of looks at you blankly and you have to explain what you were referring to.
 
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