You know that you are getting older....
 

when I ask the 20 something year old dental assistant (female) how she is and I get a curt response "fine". It is not like I am asking her for a date but merely trying to be friendly. Perhaps I am old fashioned and expect an appropriately friendly response and a smile. Me thinking perhaps I could take the dentist aside and my darker side would suggest to him that I did his hiring next time....

Is this society more unfriendly than it used to be or are my expectations too high?

Women don't like to be asked about their age. She probably took it as you hitting on her.

She may have been just having a bad day. I'd let it go.

pretty silly to make a judgement about all of society, from one girls response, the one time you talked to her.

Next time call her "doll" and pinch her butt.

Clearly PMS. The obvious solution is to fire your female dental hygenist and replace her with a gay man.

Thankfully my hygienist is a touch older than I am, and is sweet as can be. Her boss (my dentist) is a great guy as well. Even their receptionist/scheduler is a great gal.

Been their faithful customer for 15 years!

Find somebody new. Having your teeth scraped clean is bad enough--no need to compound it with being in the company of a nasty attitude (unless you get some unintended boob contact during your cleaning--that's worth the grief).

I have a new one also recently. She had an attitude the first time. Conversations since indicate that she basically does not like people. This in a 25-30 year old nice looking lady. Maybe she's had a lot of disappointments, maybe she was spoiled rotten, maybe some other issue. She does the job adequately, and I like the dentist, so I deal with it. My last hygienist used to hold my head between her.....OK we won't go there :)

Maybe she is just not into older blokes. :D

Maybe your breath was bad and she didn't want a long conversation before you got cleaned:D

She's having a bad day/week/year/whatever.
Or maybe she didn't like the way you said it.

Women sometimes have their anti-male guard set to Red Alert 4.
Women seem to have thinner skins these days.

She's 'the boss' when you are in the chair.
You are an unpleasant bloody object to be serviced and cared for.
Like any piece of machine.

In the big picture, your best bet in receiving premium health care is to try and make her day easier.
Not worse.
Recognize that.

You know that you are getting older....
 

It doesn't sound like he asked her anything about her age. And yes, I agree, don't make an assumption regarding younger women because of one interaction. I was a young nurse when I started (22) and I looked even younger. I was always nice to both my older female and male patients. They always had a lot to tell me. I liked talking to them. And honestly, it goes both ways. There are as MAJOR grumpy old men and ladies out there. But we only see a tiny part of them. Maybe if I knew what was going on with the rest of their lives I would understand why they are grumpy. Heck, being in the hospital, being poked, whatever, is reason enough to be grouchy. Give the girl the benefit of the doubt. If she continues to be grouchy, figure out why and if she's just a mean person, pity her instead of being mad at her. I would hate to live every day like that...

Let's see.

You're at the dentist's office. Could it be that that talking while she is working on your teeth is the problem?

She's probably only used to being texted...

No one asked yet so.......
This thread is useless without pictures.....

expectations today are only tomorrow's disappointment still on the hoof.

the biggest clue that you're getting old is when urination takes longer than sex

Another sign you are getting older is when the doctor or his staff look so young you want to ask how they dressed up to go trick or treating or what Santa Clause is going to bring them.

It seems that my hygienist always wants to start a conversation the minute my mouth is forced open and filled with the tools of the trade.....

I guess it does seem that more people you come into contact with day-to-day seem to have some kind of chip on their shoulder. I brush it off--there are plenty more people who are friendly who more than make up for those who are not.

Must be something in the water.

Ask her if you can snap a couple pics of her, (face+body), and post them on a car BBS with thousands of random members and lurkers to critique her appearance. That'll warm her up...young women love attention.

Better yet, just snap them without asking her. Candid shots are the best. See if you can get her to pose on a ladder- we particularly like those shots.

yer old. you have forgotten about periods.....just sayin...:-)

Haha...so true.

Christ, you've never been grumpy and made a one-syllable reply to someone small-talking you? :rolleyes:

Annoying when you're just trying to be pleasant, yes. But as cockerpunk said, try not to paint an entire generation from one five-minute interaction. I've known old guys who were real dicks too.

Cheers

d.

My dad said you're getting old when you forget to zip up your fly after taking a leak.

When you get really old, you forget to zip it down at all.

People everywhere are calling me 'sir'. Sucks IMO.

Or get her up on a roof......ya - that's the ticket! ;)

Depends on who's doing the poking.....eh? :p

...Then you say back to her "Are you flirting with me?"

This is the best idea ever! If everyone knew this simple dating secret it would put Match.com out of business for ever.

You know you are getting older when you stop trying to make others happy, and stop expecting them to make you happy. People will disappoint you at every possible opportunity.

When I ask people "how are you doing?" I really don't care what the answer is. I'm just practicing the social convention of feigned politeness. I'm not trying to be rude; I'm trying to be genuine, and I genuinely just don't give a **** about most people.

Likewise, when people ask me, my standard answer is, "fine, thanks". That's it. If you don't know me, don't expect me to converse with you any more than necessary. I recognize that you don't give a **** about me any more than I do you, so why waste time for both of us with meaningless drivel?



The dentist I used to go to was an exception. Both he and his hygienist were Porsche owners and both enjoyed discussing the cars and races. He, more than probably any other person, sparked my interest in and love for Porsches.

Unfortunately, he died a few years ago and the office closed down. My new dentist only seems to enjoy talking about his 'comprehensive plans for dental health' and how many office visits I should budget for.

True story:

I don't wear a wedding ring because when I flew it was a huge safety factor. Also now with the farm I don't wear any jewelry or loose fitting clothing around equipment.

About ten years ago (which puts me at 48) I was getting my hair cut at a new place. The barber/stylist was in her late twenties and all sorts of a hammer. She is chatting me up a bit and then asks me if I am married, have a girlfriend, etc.

I'm smiling on the inside, thinking, Ol' Paul still has some juice...

I tell her that I am happily married, plan on remaining that way...very flattering that you asked, etc.

She gets a puzzled, then embarrassed look on her face: "Oh, I didn't mean for ME! My Mom just turned 50 and you two would get along sooo well.

Yikes!

I am really enjoying this thread and your responses. To continue as the original threader I went back to my root canal doctor and lo and behold the assistant is a different gal. This one is much more friendly. You don't know me but I am capable of stirring things up. I start with my standard question "how are you today?". She is much happier and livelier than the last one. I said that you are much happier than the last assistant.
She said who was that. I said I don't know her name and cannot tell you anyway.
I believe that some people are generally happy and some people are just plain glum.It's all in the personality.


I also agree with the above I don't like being called sir. Way too formal. Have a nice day and don't forget to smile!

That's so funny.


I was on a bus and there was a chick in her 20s looking very hot, lots of body language and looking me up and down with a hint of a smile going on. I sauntered over and was about to chat her up when she offered me the seat thinking I was an old age pensioner (not true).

The first time some cashier that looks 12 years old offers you a senior citizen discount it hurts. Then the cheap bastard in me remembers that it is a DISCOUNT and I just smile and say thanks! Now I don't mind at all getting a discount.

You know when you are getting older when you search for the thread that says you know when you are getting older and I found out that it was initiated by yours truly.

I will add to this thread coz I have a new one.

By trying to move a wall when parking my car.

This one can be fatal but I have never been involved. You know when you are getting older when you have been struck by a car and you are not in a car. Namely you are a pedestrian.

Another one. Women look through you not at you.

Enjoy your youth.

Happy New Year!:)

Guy

Remove thyself from my decorative front sod planting!

Happ Pee Gnuw Yar!

When you fire up the oldies station, and all the tunes are the soundtrack of your youth. My nephews 9,and 16 told me I listen to "old guys music "

I've dated a couple. They're pretty fun if you get the right one.

They come in all shapes, sizes, and attitudes....just make sure she doesn't have a mug like this one:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...lL._SY355_.jpg

I really hate when the classic rock station plays all the stuff that came out ten years after you got out of school