I have definitely come to terms with the strange things that make me me!  I feel people shouldn’t be ashamed or afraid to show how they are unique.  Out of the billions of people in this world, no two people are exactly the same.  Instead of trying to fit into this box society has created, it might be time to live outside the box.

What an intro eh?  Where is this going you might ask yourself?  I thought I could take a little time to explain some strange things about me.  Likes, dislikes, things that make me tick, things that I fear… you know really get deep!  Here we go…  Feel free to judge.

• Smell greatly affects my mood.  If there is an awful smell, I am instantly irritated and irrational.  This could be because I’m a bit claustrophobic and I feel I can’t escape the smell, which causes anxiety.
• I rationalize just about everything, so that it makes sense to me.  If someone is being awfully mean, I will make up a story about their day (which I choose to believe), explaining their behavior.
• I hate the look of spider webs, whenever I see one, my mind instantly goes to someone making me eat it, don’t know why this is.
• I do not like opened doors.  I get flashback’s from the movie The Sixth Sense, when the lady walks by the door and it has freaked me out ever since.  How many movies show an opened door, pan away then show a man standing in the door?  It’s freaky.
• I usually don’t drink soda’s, but if I do, I really like when they are flat.
• I had a toy growing up, it was a little truck with a man in it and I called it Gus Gus (named after the little mouse from Cinderella of course).  I loved Gus Gus, so much so in my adult life every pet I’ve had, I have named it Gus.  Next on the list might be an English Bulldog, how cute would a Bulldog be with the name Gus?
• I enjoy drinking from interesting mouth pieces (is that what you call it?  Mouth pieces?).  Propel bottles (with the twisty top), Camel Bak bottles, sippy cups, things of that nature.  If I find a good one, I will drink everything out of it, wine being a favorite.  Could be the sensitive teeth, but it is more enjoyable to me.
• I am terrified of driving.  I used to drive all the time and everywhere, but since I moved to Chicago and sold my car, whenever I get behind a wheel I have mini panic attacks.  I did kind of hit a lady walking downtown, but it was very gently.
• I never wear clothes when I don’t have to.  Frankly I do not like them, they are too constricting and if I could always be in the nude, I would.  Speaking of constricting, my husband Matt has found me on a number of occasions in the nude with a cut up shirt on the ground with a pair of scissors.  If I feel like I am constrained, I almost lose it and in some cases innocent bystandards (said shirt) gets it!
• I am really weird about veins, I won’t even touch my own.  Just talking about them, made me stop typing this to cross my arms.  No touching veins over here.  Giving blood or having surgery is a major deal for me.
• I have a slight obsession with other interracial couples.  My dad is married to a white woman and she calls my type of relationship a “reverse” because she says it’s more common for a black man to be with a white woman, rather than my way- white man, black woman.  My husband calls our type of relationship “the right way”, lol!  So when we see couples “the right way”, we nudge each other.  I guess my obsession is more when I see a black girl with any another race.  I just stop, stare and admire.
• If I see an amputee it is crazy hard for me to not look at their limb.  It is terrible, but it is something that I can’t stop myself from doing.  Stories run wild in my mind wondering how they lost it and how they perform daily tasks.  I have not known an amputee, so I have many unanswered questions.
• I have always wanted to have a food fight, like a good one!  I know that I would have so much fun, but then again I know my fun would be cut short because I would think of the person who has to clean up and feel badly.
• I may or may not apologize to inanimate objects if I accidentally bump into them.
• Before entering my bed each night I have to do a full scan of the walls and the blankets for fear of spider invasion.
• I love to cook, but I refuse to grate anything.  Too many painful experiences and lost nail polish.
• When I am bored I enjoy performing infomercials in my bathroom mirror.  You know, explaining all the ingredients in my soap, demonstrating how it’s used and how it’s a necessary purchase.
• I cry when most people do not.  I’m talking… commercials, when there is an overwhelming applause, powerful music, elderly love, the monologue from Coach Carter, “Our Deepest Fear”, I could go on and on.  My best friend D is just like me, if I see something ridiculous that makes me cry (Volkswagen laughing commercial) I have to share it, and then she responds with something even more emotional and we just keep one up-ing each other… we are always laughing and crying. This is another example…

• I absolutely love speech impediments, like love them!  Lisp, stutter, whatever it may be, I am such a fan. Not to make fun at all, I truly am just touched by them.  I took a few speech pathology courses and I don’t think I did very well because I didn’t think these were issues that needed fixing.
• If you say you are going to be somewhere at a certain time it really erks me if you are not there.  If it’s going to take you 20 minutes, don’t say 5 minutes because what I do is imagine something awful has happened.  Car accident, held up, hurt in some way, with no way to contact me and I really build it up to the point that I am overly upset when you finally arrive.
• I have actually never gotten really really mad.  I think it would feel nice to have a good scream, but usually I just cry, it’s hard for me to get angry.
• You may have read about my elevator experiences in another blog.  That is weird The Rules of Chi Town Living.
• I am obsessed with my cuticle cutter.  I take it everywhere with me.  You might notice more times than not, I have a fresh manicure, compliments a la Jasmine and I like to keep it fresh.  Also I have this anxious, thumb skin biting issue (that’s a mouth full), so to not offend, I try to cut away the left over picked at skin, with the cuticle cutter (sounds sick).  It is very therapeutic.

With some of these things, I think to myself, man that is really odd, but whatever I’m not ashamed.  I have admitted it and if it doesn’t go away, I am so fine with that.  I should probably keep a running tally here.  This is definitely something I can add to as these things come to me.  In the words of Adam from Workaholics, “Let’s Get Weird”.  I feel the chanting beginning…  How are you weird?