I spend much of my waking time being silent. That is not the same as saying I am the quiet type, which I'm really not. But I tend to be quiet, and in being silent, I often miss important social cues, information about parties, friends, coworkers, and so on. It isn't unusual for me to be the last person on Earth to discover certain things, like a surprise birthday party, or certain cultural words, and on occasion, even and especially contemporary popular vernaculars.
That's okay. I really don't mind. (https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boy-on-tin-can-phone-listening-744297028)
For some reason or another, the phrase, "You know what I'm sayin'?" keeps popping up in my head. Quite a few people I know quip this phrase, and they quip it lots during a conversation. As a quiet person, when someone says this phrase while talking with me, I look around and wonder if some other person didn't understand. It is a strange expression for me. It is a question without really asking a question. Maybe it is some sort of search for comfort or acknowledgment of what was just said. I also sometimes take the phrase too literally.
This weekend, a friend excitedly showed me a new bicycle helmet he purchased and ordered. "This is gonna be a badass blue helmet, you know what I'm sayin'?" he told me. And I was like, "Yes, I know what you are sayin'" but I did not say that and only nodded. In fact, I am not quite sure if I am to, like, explain in explicit detail an answer to his question; that is, am I supposed to answer the question at all? Like: "Yes, you informed me that the string you used to measure your head had provided you with some questionable calculations between centimeters and inches, and now that you think you know the appropriate circumference of your head, you are happy you have purchased a metallic blue bicycle helmet that will arrive, hopefully, from Amazon, tomorrow afternoon."
And of course, I'd love to finish that with, "You know what I'm sayin'"?
But I am quiet, so I say nothing and only nod. Although we did talk a bit more about riding bikes in the mountains, races, and things of that nature, I never answered any of his repeated and often, "You know what I'm sayin'?"
Well, I don't know. I am probably the last person on Earth to ask about popular cultural expressions, you know what I'm sayin'? But one thing, though, about being quiet: I may be silent most of the time but wait until I laugh, and that's when the fun really starts. I have an apparently loud and contagious laugh, which means I am truly not the quiet type.
You know what I'm sayin'?