You know something funny?

That was a rhetorical question. I'm sure you do, in fact, know something funny. That was a conversational gambit intended to allow me to tell you something I think is funny.

In the states, I used to have a great deal of trouble making small talk. That harmless, meaningless, pointless low level banter you're supposed to do with people you've just met was something I could not figure out how to do. If there was no point in the conversation, why should I bother?

Thanks to my last two jobs, I found a reason to make small talk.

Money, honey.

I get paid to make small talk with people who just want to practice speaking English. And as stupid as that sounds, someone else is getting paid even more for finding a way to schlep people like me over here to let other people talk to them. Making small talk for eight hours a day is what puts money in my pocket and beer in my belly.

Life is funny.