Thursday, May 15, 2008

CHICAGO - The Personality NOT the Musical

A quote from a book I recently read:

Many of the people I now count as friends apparently had to overcome some initial repugnance toward my supposedly radioactive personality. Though I’ve never completely understood it, over the years I’ve come up with a few theories to explain this intriguing phenomenon. People are thin-skinned.

This struck me because I cannot even tell you how many times I’ve been told something along the lines of: “you used to scare me” or “you were sooo mean to me” or “I thought you were a real bitch when we first met.” I always find this so funny because these people are clearly still talking to me years later, and are often really good friends. Apparently they decided the pros outweighed the cons and got over it at some point. Or maybe the con (aka my personality) became the pro?

I know I can be up front, abrupt, honest, rude or whatever you want to call it. Robby refers to my ‘radioactive’ personality as CHICAGO. I’ll give him some sass and he’ll say “ooo-kay CHICAGO!” I suppose that the term one chooses for my personality is directly proportionate to how big a pussy you are. Oh, I meant to say thin-skinned. :)

So here are my questions:
Are you spoken to so pointedly about your personality? It can’t be just me…can it?

How do people say they remember you when they first met you?
(Janice no need to answer this one, I already know…you bitch!)

13 comments:

Sun Tea for Sinners said...

Some people say "bitch" like it's a bad thing. Any woman that has an opinion and is vocal about it is labeled as a bitch. I say own your bitchyness and wave it like a banner! I'm totally not saying you are a bitch, but if you were, I'm really ok with that. Please don't hit me.

Janice said...

Well, it's true. No one has ever compared me to Kathy Bates in Misery. And I remember on several occasion you saying whatever to people and me being shocked that it even came out of your mouth, not to mention before they even walked out of ear shot. And you remember that next time your mutts want to come and play with my dogs. Then we'll see who the real bitch is.

Annalyn said...

I think I’m too quiet for people to come up with a strong opinion of me right up front. Having said that, I made a comment to MM our first day of training and she has never let me live it down. I merely commented that she and I couldn’t be friends because she’s an Aries {said in a particular tone, apparently{.

Katie said...

People always say, "Man, I used to be so afraid of you. I thought you were so mean! You're always really quiet until people get to know you."

I guess sitting back and assessing the situation translates to "mean". I'm still friends with all those same people, so apparently they got over it.

Joey C Johnson said...

We've talked about this before, yes people always say they thought I was a bitch or mean or that they were scared of me when they first met me. My current coworkers actually warned new people about me...but we all know what I think of my coworkers, they're all Bitches!

Growing up my mom always told me "Smile, you look mean!" Maybe I just have a mean face?

Melissa said...

I was scared of you when I first met you in person. I think part of it was that I wanted Danilo's sister to like me and I just wasn't sure what you thought.

But then something happened during our wedding weekend. I mean, we had already been corresponding and talking and stuff, but that weekend was nothing but great feelings.

Then we rapidly got to know each other much better and have continued to do so over the years...it's been nothing but love, baby. :)

I'm not sure what people think of me when they first meet me. It might be the opposite of what people might think of you when they first meet you. People might think - wow, I thought she was a sissy at first, but now I see that there's actually some substance there. But I just don't know...

I kind of like this CHICAGO thing. Since I've lived here my entire live it is such a handy excuse. Yeah. I'm going to use that now, anytime I'm feeling crotchety.

Regina said...

Oh, I get the SMILE comment too. I'm F-ing working...do you smile every second when you're working. Geesh, go smile in your cubicle!

Our friend Steve said when I started dating Robby he was scared for Robby because I had a look on my face and I guess it was a mean look. I've come to the conclusion that my resting look gives the impression I'm unhappy. And I can assure you my crazy eyebrows do nothing to help me look sweet as peach pie. They only add a serious Eastern European look, which you know what meanies those Eastern Europeans are!!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm commenting--I am often described as "abrasive."

Regina said...

Yeah, Marianne commented.

Marianne is my neighbor with the sweetest and most energetic dog ever. Penny is her name and my boys LOVE her and want to lay in her bed and feed her and play fetch with her.

Apparently Marianne is abrasive, which accounts for why we hit it off so well!

Heather said...

"You were soo mean"...I know that is a direct quote from me! We even called you Mean Jean. But, obviously, it didn't stop me from being your friend. The last time I saw you I told you that. You have been my friend through some major events in my life. So even though you are a b-face, I love ya!

Unknown said...

So, I take a while to make comments. My first thought was that you were hilarious, but then again there were so many other people for you to focus your mean b-face on. I guess if you would have been saying "Jory, don't be a retard and skip ahead," or "Jory, you really should keep your sandwiches in a baggie instead of your briefcase, are you retarded or something?," I may have thought you were less funny.

Cara said...

Goddammit I HATE it when people tell me "smile!". What the hell? I gotta have a smile plastered on my face 24/7 or you're gonna feel uncomfortable? Jesus Christ. Whatever. My sister says she used to be uncertain about you.

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I just thought you were loud. Then I found out you were a bitch. Which is why I stuck around. . . :)

Matty