"Are You Busy?"

"Are you busy?"
The question I hate more than all others.
What does it even mean?
Most likely, you're going to ask me to do something I don't want to do. Hold a flashlight. Watch your dog. Move a couch. I'll go along with it because I'm a sucker.
But what if I am busy? What if what I'm doing doesn't look like busy to you, but it is to me. What if I'm writing this blog post. That keeps me busy. But to you it may look like I'm dicking around on the computer. "Are you busy?" is a question of importance, priority and value.
Sometimes people ask when they think they have something cool for you. "Hey. Are you busy? No? Cool. I'm coming over to hang out." I may not have anything to do, but that doesn't mean I automatically want to hang out.
My solution to this seemingly non-existant problem. I never answer "Yes" or "No." I always say, "What's up?" Just tell me what you want.


I'll most likely do it, anyway....