88. Liking things, not liking things

I used to think I liked pretty anything: food, places, books, items. (Not including politics or politicians here.) The one exception to that was fried eggs. I’m not sure when the exact moment I started not liking them was, but the thought of them has always made me gag. I don’t know whether it was the smell or the texture, but they just have never appealed to me. (I’ve lightened up on scrambled eggs and egg bakes. I don’t mind them as much, but they need lots of veggies, cheese, hot sauce, and meat in them.)

However, I feel more able to express things about what I like and what I don’t like. Maybe I always felt like I was letting someone down or disappointing them by not liking something.

For example, I don’t really like cake and ice cream. I don’t mind them separate, but something about the two coming together just doesn’t do it for me. It’s too sweet and I don’t like the moistness of the cake added to by the ice cream. It just turns into a cold, cavity-inducing mess that gives me a headache. (I can still get behind pie and ice cream.) I would back down before when I was questioned about this, “How can you not like cake and ice cream?”, but now I (sometimes loudly) espouse my displeasure with cake and ice cream.

This is the same with movies. I’m not a critic and I don’t think my opinion matters all that much, but I’ve accepted my tastes. For example, I really didn’t care for Django Unchained. Most of my friends give me the same look and say, “You didn’t like Django Unchained?” Yes. Maybe it was because my stomach wasn’t in the mood for violence that day (or that I don’t care for that much violence), but it just didn’t do it for me.

I also don’t enjoy running with people. Contrary to the belief that working out with someone makes you more likely to go outside, I actually prefer to be by myself and I also can motivate myself pretty well. (Not to brag, but I workout at least five times a week.) That’s one thing that I like about myself. I’m a pretty good self-motivator.

I think that goes with what jobs I do as well. When I’d tell people that I worked for a brewery, most people comment on how awesome that would be. It wasn’t bad. The free beer perks were nice, but I don’t do well under lots of pressure. I think that goes back to my need to please everyone. (It’s a blessing and a curse.) And when lines get backed up, there’s bound to be things you miss or people getting upset. Handling money also makes me nervous at times. I’m always worried that I’ll give out the wrong amount of money.

Also, I would not be a good ref for youth sports. In fact, I think that would literally be the last job I’d like to do. Too many crabby parents. Too many late nights. No thanks. I saw way too many parents yell at officials last year.