small talk @ work

I can’t handle small talk situations at work. Small talk with some jerk behind the counter at a Speedway is a lot different than small talk with some jerk you have to talk to 5 days a week. There’s just a lot of pressure when it’s someone you deal with on a daily basis. I don’t want to stand out in any way, because I know that to these people I’m a fucking weirdo. The fact that I’m not racist is enough on its own to baffle these people, let alone the fact that I listen to whiny punk music and I know an inordinate amount of furries. So I just act as like a mirror in these interactions. I just reflect their personality back onto them. I always find myself contradicting my personal beliefs due to this. The other day I enthusiastically offered back “God bless you too” to one of my more zealous coworkers. What the fuck was that? I’m just never in my element when a co-worker attacks me with conversation. I find myself saying things like, “is it Friday yet?” when I know for a fact it is Tuesday. My biggest fear is that I’ve misread all of my coworkers and they think I’m this insanely annoying guy who just repeats the same 5 lines over and over again all day. I guess it’s safer for them to think that than to learn that I voted for Obama. Okay here's another example of how awkward I am at work: I answer to 3 different names other than my own. There's a guy who calls me Bill, a guy who calls me Dan, and a lady who calls me Brad. Those are all close enough to Ben that I gave up on correcting people. I drew the line when this guy at Penn Station asked me if my name was spelled "B-E-D." "Um no. My name is not Bed. Nobody's name is Bed, in fact. Nobody ever."