A Question of Perception

I was in the checkout line at a grocery store today and the man standing behind me said, "Hi. How is your day going?"

"Fine," I said. "How is your day going?"

"Horrible," he said. "I have to work tonight and I hate my job. It's the most boring job in the world." 

"Sorry to hear it," I said.

 "Do you know how boring my job is?" he said.

"No," I said.

"My job is as boring as watching paint dry," he said.

"I love my job," I said. "It's the most exciting thing in the world I can think of to do."

"What do you do for a job?" he said.

"I watch paint dry," I said.

[This blog post originally appeared on October 20, 2014.]