Polite nodding.

Let's say you're the country's ..Lawn Bowling Champion
And one day you're having a conversation with your friend about how
you won your International Lawn Bowling Championship ( just an example la huh)
You're going on with much animated enthusiasm about how you swung (or is it rolled?...strike?)
and won 1st place in the championship, how you train everyday and how you are
as determined as Smeagol trying to get the ring from Frodo.
You go on, and realize that your friend is smiling, responding in 'ahh's and 'wow's while nodding along at what you're telling her. You wonder why she's not saying much
but then you're thinking she must be so intrigued at your winning title.

Congratulations!, she's politely nodding at you.

Because...you're so damn full of yourself.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather meet up with someone and have proper interactive talks about our lives, what we're doing or even something like..how your mother is.
When talking/bonding/catching up with someone, you obviously want to try to make the conversation interesting right?

Let's say you are Malaysia's Lawn Bowling Champion.
Would I really want to meet up with you to talk about your Lawn Bowling? NO.
Because :

1. If I wanted to know about how you're doing lawn-bowling wise, I'd just read it up online
(esp since you're Malaysia's Lawn Bowling Champion, you're probably not hard to find)
2. I'd follow you on twitter, where you can talk about how your swing (or is it strike??) has gone better, or how you're so tan now that you're in the sun.
3. I'd look up your profile on facebook/instagram/foursquare

I'd be happy for you, my friend, a Lawn Bowling Champion!
probably ab-tastic, having a posse and representin'.
But if I'm no stranger to you, sometimes maybe sometimes, I'd like to know more about how you're doing other than all the swinging (striking?),tanning,push ups you've been doing.
I would've probably stalked you in all social media platforms, that I even know when you poop okay.

I mean don't get me wrong, if you (the Lawn Bowling Champion) started playing the violin
and picked it up in 4 days, got famous on youtube and was scouted,
by all means go on about how excited you are and violin is your new passion.
We're catching up because I want to talk to you about how you've been, especially if it's
your new passion, like violin. I don't want to hear you go on and on about Lawn Bowling!
and casually slipping in Lawn Bowling in to every conversation:

' I like papayas '
' Ya. I eat papayas everyday for fibre, that's essential now that I'm training for my
Asian Lawn Bowling Championship!'
..

' I started playing Skyrim, I never expected I would enjoy it..doesn't it seem like playing a hardcore Harry Potter game?! '
' Just like how I started Lawn Bowling, and didn't' expect to enjoy it so much but it requires more physical strength than a computer game la'

..

' I won 10 years worth of Peanut Butter M&M's!
I never expected to win it when I entered the "win 10 years supply of Peanut Butter M&M's" contest.
' Just like how I never expected to win The Lawn Bowling Championship of Countries on the Equator. People ask me if I enter these games to win, I don't!
I just enter to see where I rank in the countries on the equator '

* holds imaginary gun to own head*
but with the humble bragging..maybe I should hold an imaginary gun to your head instead

I'd rather have stupid conversations about the Lady whos mouth got impregnanted by a squid, than listen to how shiny your lawn bowling throphies are. I'm already your friend so you really don't need to impress me. You could have snot running from your nose and I'd still be your friend, laugh at you, but still be your friend.

I'm sure Datuk LCW doesn't go to his friends baby's fullmoon and go on about how he trained
for the Olympics, or how has so much free,sponsored,endorsed 100 plus he can bathe in it,
or how he got unexpectingly close to PM's wife, Rosmah because of Badminton till she wants to hug him!

Sometimes people forget that it's not all about them.
Sometimes, not everyone wants to hear about what Lawn Bowling prizes you have on your shelf.

Let's try to be more conscious about what others are saying, not just conscious about who listens to us and all our achievements. Let's try be more interesting conversation. Here's to, minimal awkward polite nodding! *clink*


Ps. I don't actually know a lawn bowling champion.
Ps2. The examples above are extremely exaggerated, thankfully, no one I know is that obnoxious
Ps3. I laughed to myself at Ps2 , I crack myself up hur hur hur.