Had a friend get bit
in bed - on the leg. Laid him in the hospital for a week - left him with an ugly looking divot in his shin. Flesh simply rots rather than heals. This was in the Chicago area and it was in a seldom used dorm room. Not likely to find the recluse in a regularly used area as they don't like company.
Smalltalk is dangerous. It is a drug. My advice to you would be don't try it; it could ruin your life. Once you take the time to learn it (to REALLY learn it) you will see that there is nothing out there (yet) to touch it. Of course, like all drugs, how dangerous it is depends on your character. It may be that once you've got to this stage you'll find it difficult (if not impossible) to "go back" to other languages and, if you are forced to, you might become an embittered character constantly muttering ascerbic comments under your breath. Who knows, you may even have to quit the software industry altogether because nothing else lives up to your new expectations.
--AndyBower