Most of the time I avoid small talk. My first boyfriend used to call me every day to "catch-up". It was sweet, and considerate, and I could live with that; but then he started calling several times a day. It bugged me because not that many things were going on between calls to make up for good conversational topics. So I used to tell him "you either come over and spend time together, or you stop calling me!" He did. Come and see me.
My agenda is definitely lighter these days; no one (I'm interested in) is calling me, and no one is showing interest in spending time together.
Could we interest zeh Lady in a classic bottle of dry, red small-talk? No? As zeh Lady wishes...
Most of the time I avoid small talk. There isn't always the time and the place for big talk - not that I have that much depth anyway. So, I mostly keep to myself, just barely making through the required daily social interaction. I used to love chatting to mom. Now she comes up with subjects that made the Romanian news two days after I read them. Maybe she should open a Twitter account. This way I wouldn't have to shout "Not interested!" several times because she didn't hear me the first time.
Most of the time I avoid small talk. But some people will never or rarely go beyond that, so it's down to small talk because that is their safety zone. I have some people I feel comfortable being around without much talk. It feels good. It feels as good as looking at your online friends in Gchat without necessarily saying anything to them.