Because, like, y’know

This morning I rode the elevator in my office building with a chick who was talking on her cell phone.

During her conversation, she said the following: “Yah, yah, but like, I mean, really, like, y’know. Seriously.”

Um, what?

This wasn’t said in fragments, as if she were acknowledging what the other person was saying. This was one sentence.

I had to frantically commit this list of words to memory before I got off the elevator so I could record them here for posterity, but it wasn’t easy. I’m pretty sure I’ve done permanent damage to my brain.

How did we get to the point in our society where a random combination of adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and other words constitutes a full sentence? Obviously the person on the other end of the phone knew exactly what was meant by these verbal droppings. And although I hate to admit it, I suppose I probably would have too, if I knew the context of the conversation. But that’s not the point.

Because, like, seriously? WTF?