Quirks

Those of you tuning in get a 2 for 1 today!





I had a conversation last week with a good friend of mine and the issue of pickiness came up. "Am I too hard to please?" she asked. That is one difficult question for me to answer, mainly because each of us is picky about something- whether it's food or music or ties. Me personally, I have certain things that bug me (which you'll soon read) but I'd like to believe I'm less particular than most people. My reply to her was that she WAS in fact picky about certain things, but generally I wouldn't put her in a catagory with people who are demanding about A LOT of things. That conversation has got me thinking- and you KNOW that's dangerous. What is it that makes a person "picky"? That of course begs the question, Am I too picky? I remeber a date I had a few years ago where the woman had me driving my hungry ass to five different restaurants before we stopped because she wasn't happy with the places I chose. If I was any less of a gentleman, I would've left her punk ass at restaurant #3 and went home, but my mama taught me better than that. That simple but effective act would have made this story SO much better, but needless to say, I didn't talk to her much after that....

Is the root of pickyness a matter of preference? Say, preferring more expensive name brand clothing over cheaper run of the mill digs or preferring sneakers over boots?

Is pickyness learned behavior? For example, if you got whoopins everytime you forgot to clean your room as a youngin', you learned quickly to keep your drawls (or drawers) off the floor to avoid a good beating.

Is it an innate reaction to things that alarm our brains- a sort of ancient instinctual brain fart genetically passed down from the caveman days? We ALL know people who run for their lives screaming bloody murder whenever they see ANY tiny animal with six legs or more. I'm sure if West Nile carrying mosquitos were 8 inches long instead of a few millimeters, I'd be running for cover too!

OR......

Is it a matter of choice? Do people actually make a conscious decision to be anal retentive to prove a point? I remember another date where the girl I was with (and her 2 friends) fussed at the Japanese waitress at the downtown Benihana's for the ENTIRE MEAL because we weren't brought warm towels when we sat down- something the women experienced in the posh Buckhead area of Atlanta. This may sound too ridiculous to be true, but I assure you it happened.

I'd like to be fair and share my own personal quirks rather than psychologize someone else's. I can't address another person's pickyness without judging my own right?.... I'll even break them down by category to make it more concise:

Movies:
I don't like when they toss in the title of the movie in the dialogue at the end of the movie for dramatic effect. For example, Tom Cruise saying, "I am the last samurai..." at the end of The Last Samurai- virtually ruined the whole action packed film that I liked until that point.

Food:
I don't like the fact that just about any "American" restaurant you go to serves virtually the same items- burgers, chicken sanwiches, fajitas and wings. If I had my way, all chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesdays, Chili's and TGIFriday's would close up shop for eternity and be replaced by individual restaurants serving individual food items. I realize that it's impossible to have 2 million different food choices- but dammit a man can dream right?

Religion:
When I was about 7, I wanted to be Jewish- so much so that I asked my mom how to become Jewish. She told me I could convert but it wouldn't be easy and this was before I met anyone who was Jewish or knew what the hell Jews did. In fact, I met Jordan when I was in the 7th grade and he was the first Jewish person I had ever met. We rode the school bus together (#18 baby!) and I saw him virtually everyday for two years before I even found out he was Jewish. I just liked the sound of the word. I suppose that just shows how much I value religion.....

Music:
AW HELL!!!! This would normally be a long blog of it's own, but I don't want to sound like a whiny little biyatch so I'll keep it short and sweet. I think free/shared/stolen downloads are the greatest things to happen to music since the vinyl record. I applaud anything that reiterates how shitty the music has been from major record companies and it's about time listeners started taking their tunes by force (just don't get caught!). Oh yeah, techno and Christian Rock are both pretty bad too....

Porn (I couldn't resist!):
I don't like porn that looks like it was made in a studio with an expensive set, make-up artists and a string of fluffers (look it up!). I prefer the gritty stuff that looks like a camera crew busted in on some random couple in the midst of their love making. The more authentic it appears, the better. Can someone explain why they STILL put dialogue in porn? I can see why they wanted the porn industry to seem legit in the 70's, but these days there is no excuse!

People:
I don't like people who complain too much. Life is too short to spend it bitching about how much better you wish it could be. So with that, I'm gonna end it here and let you decide for yourself I'm too picky.

By the way, I have a special request. If you're reading this, please include one or two of your personal quirks in the comment section (including you Nicky!). If you're uncomfortable with strangers knowing your business, log in as anonymous- not like anyone would know who you are anyway. Gotta love the net! Oh yeah- insanely random bouts of curiosity is another quirk of seem to have.....I hope you don't mind.