Chatterbox

I have a hard time with silence...especially awkward silences. I always feel the need the fill in the blanks with conversation. And don't even get me started on phone silence- that's the worst!
Yesterday, while talking to an orchestra musician from my show, I felt the need to blurt out "Jason (fake name) says hello by the way...yeah..he says hi." Now, "Jason" said nothing of the sort, but I felt I was floundering for conversation, and I wasn't diggin the I'll-just-stare-at-you-for-5-minutes vibe I was getting from the guy, so I made up Jason's greetings. Why? Why couldn't I have just said "Well, it was nice talking (or not talking) to you..gotta go!" Because somehow, bringing "Jason" into the conversation offered a tangent. Or so I thought. Instead the guy was like "Oh..cool." Silence. More silence. Enter me saying "OK...gotta say goodbye to some other people." Followed by awkward hug.