snowflake

i am back at library-in-the-hood. i have to say, i was quite pleasantly surprised when i walked in and saw how very very nice it looks. new carpet, new paint, new furniture. i was actually feeling good about being here. and my new 30 minute commute didn't hurt either (a nice change from the hour and twenty minute mass transit version). i spent the morning unpacking books and rearranging things. nice. quiet. relaxing. and then i went to lunch.
there is a chinese takeout place three doors down from the library. i have never seen them actually prepare any food there and there are no tables and you have to order through bullet proof glass. it may or may not be a front for a drug operation. anyhoo, i go in there often to buy bottles of water to go with the lunch i bring from home since there are NO lunch options here.
so as i am walking the thirty feet from the library to the chinese place, i am yet again accosted by the local men.
local men: hey how you doin' snowflake?
me: (quietly keep walking)
local men: hey! i said, "how you doin'?"
me: (continue to walk silently)
local men: what?! you walk through my hood and you can't tell me how you doin'?!
me: (enter chinese place with sigh of relief)
okay, i ask you my beloved blog readers ... am i rude? is this a cultural thing that i am not aware of? is snowflake not an insult? am i expected to speak to all the local men as soon as i exit the building? am i not allowed to walk silently and annonymously, communicating with no one (that is my favorite way to walk). what gives, men of queens? why can't you keep your comments to yourself?