Salutations

So, one of the things that's really caught me off guard over here is this...when people say good bye they say 'See ya soon.'

At first glance, you're probably thinking 'So what?' Let me just explain that in a work environment when a coworker or your boss says 'See ya soon', I'm instantly mentally scanning my calendar for the day thinking 'Hmmm, when is the next meeting I have with this person?' For weeks, I thought I was missing meetings or deadlines. I finally asked a coworker (after he said 'See ya soon') what exactly he meant by that. He looked at me strangely and said 'SEE YOU SOON or SEE YOU LATER'. Right, point taken. I'm an idiot.

Well, I got to thinking that there must be something that American's do that is equally confusing. Eureka! Last week I think I found one. Have you ever noticed that most Americans, no matter what the context of an email, will generally sign it 'Thanks, So-and-So'. Regardless of whether or not the person who will receive the email has done anything deserving of a Thanks....there it is at the bottom of the email. For a nation of individuals that on the whole is somewhat self-centered, why do we do that? Very strange, indeed. Wouldn't it be funny if we started signing emails with 'Your Welcome'???

Thanks,
So-and-So