Tales from the road: Fun things to say

Traveling alone means that you delight even more in talking to strangers. I have not been in the mood to get into deep conversations with anyone - this is more of a selfish journey than a making-friends journey for me - but at the same time, some idle chitchat has been fun. So far I've yukked it up with a diner waitress in Illinois, a cool older couple from LA that I bumped into at two different scenic views in Colorado, and the lady who works at the Plainsman Museum in Nebraska. And I have to admit that there are a few phrases that I have become very fond of shocking people with, and watching their eyes blink in confusion as the words pass genuinely through my lips. They are:

"Where am I exactly?"

"Um... what time zone are we in here?"

Finally, my most favorite is, when asked where I live:

"Actually, I currently live in my car."

People really don't know what to make of that one. They usually pause for a second and look me over quickly, visibly wondering if this preppy, younger-looking-than-she-actually-is blonde girl is bullshitting them, and if so, why would someone of this seemingly good-girl demographic be making up some hair-brained lie about being homeless? Or, is it possible that she actually does live in her car? (Wisely, I think, I did manage to refrain from the temptation to deliver this line to the cop who pulled me over for going 55 in a 45 in Utah when she looked at my driver's license and asked if the address on it was current.)

After relishing in the looks on their faces for a few seconds, I laugh and give the skeleton version of my story, the degree of depth that I go into varying depending on my own mood. Since I'm not exactly looking to make friends right now, the explanation usually goes something like this:

"No, no. Ha ha. I don't really live in my car. I just like saying that. I'm actually in the process of moving to California from Virginia and making the cross country drive... Yep, by myself."

Chew on that, people.