Pet Peeves & Idiosynchrasies

Alicia & I had a moment this morning. She, Shawn, & I were chatting about "that's my baby" black men (the one's who usually come with more than one baby momma & refuse to take responsibility for their actions), while I was ironing her & Shawn's clothes for church. Alicia grabbed her digital camera and started to take a picture of me, freshly rolled out of bed, puff uncombed, sleep in my eye, and generally looking morningly. I told her that if she took the picture I'd put her out of my house that moment in pajamas & all (a strong statement I know, but I wouldn't actually follow through). Alicia later told me she thought that statement was rude. I apologized if it hurt her feelings and explained it's one of my pet peeves and that I thought it was rude to take someone's picture in that setting without permission.

I hate having my picture taken, especially when it's without my consent. There's a certain level of vulnerability I feel when I'm caught off guard, and someone having a picture of me (especially when I hadn't prepared for it) leaves me feeling as if a small part of myself has been stolen. It's just one of the many pet peeves & idiosynchrasies I have recognized I need to manage:

• I don't like the smell of food in my house when I'm going to bed at night.
• I don't eat mayonaisse, mustard, relish, or salad dressing.
  
• I like my shower curtain closed unless I'm getting in or out of the shower.
• I like the toilet seat down and the lid up.
• I've been told that essentially, I'm a neat freak...but I look around and see how much more needs to be done around my house.

Marcelle (my Brazilian friend) has a lot of the same pet peeves & idiosynchrasies, a lot of why having her in my home for a week post-Katrina was like heaven...company without conflict! I'm looking forward to picking her up from the airport (she's just coming back after 3 weeks in Brazil) and spending the afternoon with her, hopefully helping her unwind. She wants to go to work this afternoon (and I thought I was a workaholic), but I'm going to try to convince her to come watch our team play soccer instead. It'll be a good way for me to work out some of the tension I've had built up, a way for her to get her mind off her recent personal trials & post-pone going to work, and time to delay us getting back to nurturing our pet peeves & idiosynchrasies.