I used that phrasing because it was conversation filler that’s irrelevant to the overall message of this article…ergo, meaningless drivel. It was small talk, akin to discussing the weather with someone you just met. Nothing wrong with small talk, just wouldn’t include a full transcript in this article.

And her comment wasn’t off base “a bit.” It was out of left field and inappropriate.

I didn’t want to dislike her. It was exam season. I wanted to quickly go to the kitchen, make a sandwich and return to my bedroom to study. She was actually quite pleasant (mentioned in the article) before her comment.