As my personality can be very intense, sometimes maddening to be around, I have created the following list (in no particular order) of...
18 Things MY FRIENDS KNOW about me ...
or
18 Things YOU NEED TO KNOW if you wish to be my friend:
or
- I am allergic to Tobacco, and thus Cigarette Smoke. If you smoke, you cannot be around me. If you live with someone or spend time with a friend who smokes, I cannot be around you. You cannot have smoked (or been around someone who smokes) within the past hour if you wish to be within 15 feet of me.
Besides being allergic to tobacco, I dislike the odor and will go into uncontrollable coughing fits when exposed to even a whiff of it. I am hypersensitive to the stench of cigarettes and can smell it on a non-smoker even if he or she just happened to walk past a smoker and enter my vicinity. Many of my relatives smoke and I simply do not visit them, specifically due to that, regardless of distance. - I am Atheist, and thus do not tolerate attacks on my lack of beliefs.
If you are religious and want to convert everyone around you to your faith (as most of my family members seem to want, which is another reason why I do not visit them often), then please either keep it to yourself or expect me to lash out at you when you assault my freedom to not believe.
We can coexist peacefully unless you try to make me feel differently about what I consider audacious ignorance. - I neither like nor comprehend sports.
If you enjoy sports of any kind, please know that I was never taught and never learned on my own appreciation for sports of any kind. I dislike them and see them as a complete waste of time, energy, and money.
So, no, I do not know nor want to know "the score" or "who will win" the sporting contest in question. - I do not drink alcohol. No, it's not a religious thing (I'm Atheist, remember?). I simply find the taste, effects, and aroma of alcoholic drinks completely disgusting. I have no interest in losing my inhibitions on the level which alcohol takes them.
I can have a great time just sitting at home watching a fascinating show on TV, playing a game on my PC (no consoles here), or going to a movie and (maybe) dinner afterward (or before)... The dangers of alcohol use and addiction just do not appeal to me.
I do not know anything about the varieties of alcohol, nor do I care to learn. So, for all my high school, college, and former co-worker "friends" who think going out every night (or every weekend) and getting drunk as a skunk is a fun thing to do... I beg to differ. - I am Native American.I will not tell you what "percentage" I am because that is a governmental mandated requirement for registering as an indentured non-citizen within the United States.
No Native on any Reservation will ever talk about "blood percentage."
Certainly, my father's mother is German and Irish. Half of my mother's grandparents were European invaders (immigrants? settlers? don't make me laugh), but in my heart and in my attitudes, in my actions and in my words, I stand tall and proud as an Oglala Lakotah. My mother has explored and researched for years, to find that our families are Miami Native on her side and Oglala Lakotah on my Dad's side. - My morality is unquestionable.I do not tolerate any form of racism or ethnic discrimination, any form of sexual harassment or hateful activities. I am dire in my sincerity and tend to take things very seriously. However, I do fight for the rights and freedoms of the individual and the genocidally-oppressed Native Peoples of the North American Continent.
- My tact is (sometimes) questionable.You need to be conscious of my faults and be tolerant of my mildly-OCD personality, which - once unleashed - can overwhelm you with brutal straight talk on topics not found in general polite conversation.
I was abused as a child and tend to not notice when I speak out of turn. Some of my coworkers and extended family members who have known me for years still find me astonishingly shocking at times. - My sense of humor is raw, morbid, and stern.If you crack a joke and I do not laugh, smirk, or even take notice, it may be because I do not find much humor in banal or immature joking.
Your "Common Sense" is not the same as the Common Sense that I was raised with. If I do understand you, I will occasionally indulge you by playing along. This seems to make people think I am gullible, but I simply understand and wish to turn your humor on its head. I am contradictory and impulsive when in comfortable conversation. - I can be offensively contradictory.If you happen to say "Bless you" or "God" in any context, I usually think and occasionally may speak a contradictory term.
Being anti-religious, I do my best to keep my opinions to myself, but if you inadvertently say something relating to God or religion, I may come back with something shocking and dark.
For example: I sneeze and you say "Bless You" I will either say NO thank you or - if I am in a truly dark mood - say "Hail Satan" - not that I believe in Satan, as one must believe in God in order to believe in Satan. I simply say it to get a response and to make people re-think their perceptions. - I am tall but short.I have a habit of talking about my height, the average height of my family (6'5"), shoe sizes, and other aspects of life repeatedly. I am honestly "size-ist" and any time I see photos of myself in a crowd of shorter people, it reinforces my weirdness for talking about how short I am (6'3") in my family.
- I am meticulous and verbose, intellectual and introspective.I speak using words which some people seem to find incomprehensible. I will commonly talk in the same manner as I have written here. I use words like "indubitably" and "salacious" and even "auspicious" and "interim" within my writings and in casual conversation.
I am one of those grammar police who will correct you mid-sentence and enjoys marking up manuscripts and other people's writings, as well as my own. I know the difference between there, they're, and their, the misuse of to and too, tend to get furious when people write than when they mean then (or vice-versa). - I frequently make references to movies, television, and books I have read.
Sometimes I will - out of the blue - spout lines of dialogue from them. If you are unfamiliar with what I say it comes off a bit awkward sometimes. The most frequent nuggets of dialogue come from:
The Fifth Element, Highlander, The Butterfly Effect, Die Hard, Independence Day, Hellraiser, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (original Radio Plays or Novels), Red Dwarf, LEXX, Hogan's Heroes, Scooby Doo (the 1970's original), He-Man (the 1980's original), and Inspector Gadget, to name a few.
I am a film fanatic and sometimes just seek out spoilers to help decide if a film is worth seeing, but will ask you respectfully if you have seen the film yet or not just in case you wish me to not spoil it for you. - I do not socialize face to face very often.I have co-workers, former classmates, and family. Outside of that, I see few people at theatrical auditions and rehearsals. I consider most people on the level of "associates" who do not know me outside of a common environment like work or school.
It's not that I am afraid or uncomfortable, but I am just not used to knowing or hanging out with people who consider "going out" a regular thing. - I can be a real downer.I try to be positive. I try to keep my tact level far above my "lack-of-knowing what the heck you think is so fun or funny" level, but sometimes I just seem to interrupt and bring people down.
I have things to say. Some are profound and astonishing contributions, while many still will make you lose your train of thought, or just bring you down. I can be a downer, but - when in my element - I can just as likely be the person who gives you that million-dollar epiphany that changes your life for the good. - Country Music is never an option. Never, ever. NEVER!
- I may seem uncultured to many who has a wholesome upbringing.I have no knowledge of classical music. Not a clue. Ditto for Jazz, "classic" Rock from the 1960's (Beatles - who? Who - who? Grateful Dead - who? Stones - who? Not a clue).
My mom loves and raised me on ZZ Top, Styx, and the Eagles. I grew up listening to those as well as Poison, Motley Crue, Stryper, and many of the top 10 bands of the 1980's.
Having been abused by my father, I never received exposure to classical or many other bands that are the staple "MUST HAVE" bands for anyone else born between 1960 and 1980.
Even in my adult life, I simply have never found the desire or any reason to educate myself on classical music or those other bands mentioned. Certainly, I have tried listening to some of them, but just found absolutely no appeal in their vocals or instrumental stylings. - My priorities are thus:
- Creativity
- Emotional Expression
- Financial Security through dedication and alert focus while working
- Striving for Success and Advancement of my Dreams
- Cat Naps with my Cats
- Relaxation and Enjoyment of Life
- Coping with my past and finding creative outlets for the rage and instability hidden deep in my subconscious
- Relationships with loved ones
- Socializing with "Friends" and "Acquaintances."
- I am a bit OCD.My Mildly Obsessive-Compulsive personality can occasionally make people dread my presence or fear me.
Having been raised in a hard, harsh, impolite atmosphere of abuse and hatred filled with fear, my lack of social skills may occasionally terrify or shock everyone around me.
Anyone who knows me well enough and wishes to be the kind of friend who will help smooth over the ripples of inappropriate comments or disruptive looks or statements is more than welcome to be my friend.
