It seems to me like you're patronizing these men for no discernible reason except for the fact that they have approached you.
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but for whatever reason he is enamored to the point that he can’t seem to hear and process what I say, which I find to be a huge turn-off.
If you prefer to meet men in a solely intellectual setting, you should learn to rebuff these people quickly and thoroughly. Someone who approaches you outside of a sphere where you are comfortable (or actively seeking male companionship) should receive no mixed messages from you if you don't want to drag it out with someone that you were not interested in to begin with. Don't give him your number if your snap judgement has determined that he's not worth your time.
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“I have a hard time keeping in touch when it’s not about planning an event or something specific” and they keep calling with nothing to say.
Generally, people don't plan out their every conversation, especially on the telephone. The extension of this gesture (the phone call) is just their way of maintaining your interest (assuming that you are interested). The way that you've phrased it here makes it sound like you expect every moment to be filled with stimulating conversation, and that simply isn't rational--especially when you hardly know someone.
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but typically guys think it’s appropriate to interrupt me at the grocery store, or wherever, when I am deeply in thought.
Do you do a lot of deep thinking at home? Typically that sort of thing is better left to the time when you can devote your whole being to it. I don't go to the gas station to work Calculus problems, because I'm not going to be able to focus. I realize that you are extremely protective of your space, which I can sympathize with, but the fact that you deem it as "inappropriate" for someone to speak to you at the grocery store seems pretentious to me. Like it is inconsiderate of them to bother you. Think about it from an individual's perspective. He sees an attractive, self-possessed woman in the grocery store. The odds of him encountering this woman again are low. So he approaches you. He has no way of knowing that this will upset you, and when you give him your number even though you (internally) livid with him, he thinks he has a chance. He continues to inadvertently cross lines that you have failed to clarify (calling even when you have trouble staying in touch, which for most people means, "you need to do some of the legwork here").
I do think that you need to try and feel less threatened by it. For most of these guys, asking you for your number is probably a little intimidating. They are worth the 5 minutes it would take out of your busy day to politely rebuke them.
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I don't have time to follow up with random strangers
This confuses me a little. Doesn't everybody start off as a random stranger?
If you really want to get rid of them, get a beer belly and get started on that mustache.