Seeing coworkers outside of the workplace

[CoffeemateCNA]

Is it just me or does anyone else on here find it EXTREMELY awkward to run across coworkers when you're not at work? I'm not talking about favorite coworkers, just the ones that you only interact with at work (and even then it sometimes feels like too much). It seems to happen to me once every month or so -- I'll be at the grocery store, pharmacy, movie theatre, etc., and see them. I feel like I at least need to acknowledge their presence with "Hi" but I'm usually at a loss for words for anything more than that. One of us usually does a forced "Oh, so you're not working today" or "Ah, grocery shopping..." and then we go our separate ways and pretend it never happened (and what's even more unpleasant is running into them a second time during the same trip).

Does anyone else also experience this awkwardness?

[yousoldtheworld]

I have only been to the grocery store ONE TIME when i havent' run into someone from work. And that's in a year. It's ridiculous. I HATE IT.

[pca_85]

Depending on who it is, I've done everything from greet them to run in the opposite direction, as I know they move at a snail's pace unless there are doughnuts involved.

[interceptinglight, CNA]

I guess I'm kinda thick because it doesn't bother me too much when I see a co-worker at a store or on the street somewhere -- I just smile and say hi. It was worse when I was a school kid and saw someone from my class at the store