You may or may not know, but I am a man of eclectic tastes. I like things that are so completely opposite it's ridiculous. The easiest example is my taste in music; I like Whitney Houston and Linkin Park or Boyzone and Bullet for my Valentine. I want to talk about things that are sort of guilty pleasures, things that shouldn't get you that do or even things that you get the mick taken out of you for.
For me the list is quite long… I am the butt of a lot of jokes with my friends. The first of which goes back to my taste in music and for this I blame my mother. If I'm honest, I was always a bit of a mommy's boy and I was raised listening to soppy girl music. The problem is that I never really grew out of it. Well the music anyway, I'm not a mommy's boy anymore. Anyway not only should I not really admit to liking Mariah Carey or Westlife I openly sing along to their music. When it comes to singing, I can't sing well but I love to, there is a song for every mood and I like to just go with it. That may not be such a bad thing, with the exception of the questionable taste in music, but I don't just sing to myself. I sing walking down the street, at work, in the pub, shopping, basically anywhere I feel like it. That is a bit weird I grant you and justifiably a reason to have the mick taken out of me for, so moving on.
Something that I am consciously trying to reign in, consciously but unsuccessfully, is my need to know the answer. I don't mean to prove that I'm right, it's becoming quite boring, I just need to know one way or the other. Here's an example, you're in a pub with a group of you friends and you are talking about something or other and all of a sudden none of you can remember the name of something, like a song or a TV show. A couple of hours go by then you get that glorious moment after more alcohol has flowed and one of you leaps up out of your seat and says "I've got it!" then everybody is all "Well done", "It was on the tip of my brain". Nope forget all that, if nobody can remember I have the awful and ever increasing habit of just taking out my phone, opening up the internet and searching for it. I will have the answer in seconds. Like I said though, I am consciously trying to reign in because I am begging to annoy myself - I just need to know.
Sort of linked with the last bit, my incessant quest for what pretty much everyone I know call 'useless facts'. I downloaded an application for my phone with more than ten thousand of them; it was like Christmas had come early. I was slightly disappointed though, there were lots that were duplicated but repetition just helps you remember so it was all good in the end. I think its odd that I'm the only person I know who finds these little titbits of information fascinating, my friends and colleagues invariably find it amusing that I am like a walking quiz book, one of my colleagues has taken to calling me Joshipedia.
The next item on my list is for being a bit of a sissy. I don't mean a wimp; those of you that do know me will know I'm not a wimp at all. I mean to say that I am in touch with my feminine side. One of my best friends always says that every man should use Clint Eastwood as a marker of how much of a man you are. I am nothing like Clint Eastwood… upon meeting me; he would probably kick my ass and call me a girl then more than likely spit on me for good measure. Being in touch with my feminine side makes me a little bit more in touch with my emotions. An arguably admirable quality, apparently women like it - on a side note, if you know any of said women please let me know. No, what is a bad thing is that I cry a little bit too much. It’s not that unacceptable I suppose, its only really films that get me. I do however have an ever growing list of films that make me blubber. The worst of which is Forrest Gump, that bit when he's talking to her grave… it has gotten so bad now that I start welling up about half an hour before that scene because I know its coming. I know, I know… this time I blame Tom Hanks. He has this innate ability to make me cry. And trust me when I say, a blubbering me is not a pretty sight.
The following is probably again, not so terrible, but I think I probably take it a little bit too far and that my friends is being a romantic. I am, through and through. I also think that everyone is in some way or another, even if they show is in different ways, if at all. Me, I'm the old fashioned, wear your heart on your sleeve kind of guy. I don't really have the money for extravagant gestures but I don't think that's what it's all about. It's about doing something unexpected and entirely personal just for the one you're with. And without blowing my own trumpet, I do that brilliantly. I do it so well because I want to do it. I like to make the effort and I like to be different and I hate when I get included in generalisations. I just hate generalisations really. I may well have admitted to being selfish in the past and in some respects I am, but when it comes to being a friend or something more than a friend I think I am completely selfless. I will always put the needs of others ahead of mine and go out of my way to get something if I have to. Not even if I have too, I just want to most of the time and that's what makes me a romantic. I could give you examples but that would take away the romance and the personal aspect of the things I have done in the past, you'll just have to take my word for it.
Not so much something that I get the mickey taken out of me for but something that people always find surprising is that I can cook. I rarely make things from scratch, if I do there is always a reason for it, but I am one of these people who can just cook. Don't get me wrong, I'm no chef, but I've never had any complaints. I never really learned how, I had to just eat what I was given, my mom struggles with warming things up in the microwave so it was eat or go hungry when I was a kid. I like to watch food programmes on the TV, I have cook books and to top that off, I'm not messy when I do cook and I like to do the washing up. A lot of the time I have to be in the mood, you know when you just look at it and think "Oh, I'll just do it tomorrow…" that's a bit like me. I am quite domesticated really, if a bit lazy but if I get in the mood to start cleaning, just sit back and watch me go. I'll clean around you and make you a cup of tea while I'm doing it. My friends have quite often said that I'll make a good wife one day…
The odd thing about all this is that I seem to be the only person I know who is as opposite as I am. My friends like the odd song that is different to their general genre but nothing really in comparison to me. I might have a fair few jokes poked at me pretty much on a daily basis but I do rise to it because it's funny and lets be honest after reading this, do you honestly think I've got a leg to stand? It can be very difficult to come up with any sort of defence either. When all you've got is that "Just because you don't like it…", not great. I hope that someone who reads this is thinking "I know exactly what you mean." That' would be great, I am a fairly rare breed to say the least, I won't say I'm one in a million because that would mean there are more than six thousand of me in China. I'm kind of like the odd one out who is stuck smack bang in the middle, know what I mean? It's good though; I believe in being an individual and believe me when I say you will never meet anyone like me.
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