wanted: New avoidance Techniques

Is there something inherently wrong with avoiding people?

I’m not talking about anything malicious or mean-spirited; I mean a mutual-avoidance. I’m referring to people who may have a different sense of humor from you and so you don’t prefer their company. Or perhaps your personalities don’t jive really well. Or you don’t have many common interests and so conversation runs dry pretty quick between the two of you. As long as it's mutual, it isn't wrong or hurtful, right?
For the sake of argument, let’s say that this other person is not as bothered by these things as you are, resulting in a one-way avoidance, rather than a mutual-avoidance.
(We’ve all been that other person, the one who’s just a little bit dense and doesn’t grasp the “mutual” part of the avoidance deal. I’ve done it, I’m not judging, but that doesn’t make it any less awkward.)
As time goes on, if they never catch on to the ‘hey, buddy, we’re avoiding each other’ cue, they’ll just keep talking to you, and finding excuses to get in touch with you. Where once it was minimally distressing to bump into them in the super-market, it is now aggressively bothersome. They become annoying, obnoxious and shockingly abhorrent.

If you could just discover a way to ensure your paths would never cross, then everything would be fine.

So why does the Universe keep insisting on throwing these people back into my path? Are human beings not meant to ever avoid each other? It’s as though the Universe is calling shenanigans on me, telling me that I have to try it again, but I’m not sure what I did wrong the first time. I’ll just continue to brush these people off with lies and insincere smiles, and continue to be genuinely shocked when they reappear later.

Let’s take Clinger, as an example.

I've known her for 5+ years now. Every time I try to cut her out of my life, she finds a way to sneak back in. (she clings, get it? so her name is Clinger? ho ho, I'm so clever) Deleting her number from my phone in no way affects her ability to call/text me so, to my chagrin, I've had to keep her in my phone. It's been over a year since I've seen or heard from her, but I keep her on Facebook and in my phone because you never know when she'll be back... *creepy Psycho music* As if on some imperceptible and unpredictable cue, she reappeared recently.

She saw me first, much to my dismay, and called out to me. She was looking at me with the cruel mockery of Fate written all over her face. She immediately engaged me in conversation, closing off my escape routes by tightening our proximity.

We went through the obligatory "How are you"s and "So where have you been"s, topping it off with the "We really ought to get together sometime to catch up."

I don't want to be rude here, guys, really I don't, but: Life has recently thrown me a curve ball and I'm currently dealing with the repercussions of that. I just want to go to work, come home, and sit in my apartment with my books and be left alone while I deal with Life. The details are personal and I don't much feel like spreading them around to everyone who feels like "catching up." What is so wrong with that idea? Just let me be my hermit-hobbit self.

There have been a lot of people on my personal "To Avoid if at all Possible" list who have popped back up in the last month. I think it's the Universe flaunting its own list of "Candidates to Replace Blockhead when he Graduates" because I could definitely see Clinger on that list. Until now it hadn't occurred to me that she was an eligible candidate, or even up for consideration.

I wonder what the Universe's decision-making process entails... Can people text in their votes? Will there be a random drawing? Is it like a raffle?
Or maybe the Universe is letting me have first pick?

That would be nice, 'cause truth be told, I'd much prefer to constantly brush Clinger off my shoulder than have Fungus Girl perpetually sprouting up in unexpected places.