Inspired by both Lua(who will be added to the blogroll a little later) and Shiona(over there already) I thought it would be amusing and informative to make a few confessions of my own..concerning reasons why you might not like me in real life…..B)
Here they are, not in any particular order:
Reason 1. I am impossible to watch TV or a film with as I often shout at the TV, guess the next line or give away the entire plot with speculations. I am told I can ruin it so I try these days to be quiet…and often fail. At least at the cinema the risk of having my teeth pushed down my throat keeps me quiet.
Reason 2. I am blonde. Some people just hate blondes. I don’t know why; they just do.
Reason 3. My silent arrogance. ‘Nuff said.
Reason 4. My apparent tendancy to play one-up-manship in anecdote telling. If you’ve done it, I’ve (apparently) done it longer harder and better. I am told I will do this and it makes others feel bad. Truly sorry about this one; it’s totally unintentional.
Reason 5. I correct people. I don’t just mean professionally but generally. If someone gets something wrong, I am instantly itching to put them right on it, whether it’s a matter of knowledge or of linguistics or just of opinion. One day, someone is going to slap me for it. Along with the #4 fault, it’s something I am working on.
Reason 6. I can’t seem to stop myself offering information whether people want it or not. It means I can come across as a know-it-all and insufferable swot. Sorry. Again trying to amend my ways.
Reason 7. I am a dreadful packrat. Not a problem with a bigger house but in the current one my inability to get rid of things and to hoard is something of a problem
Reason 8. My addiction to scents. I am passionate about things that smell good, from expensive French perfumes, through herbs, through spices and food, all the way to incense and bath products. If you lose me in a shopping centre or a supermarket just go and look for me around the soaps…I am totally unrepentant about this one; you can prise the jasmine oil from my cold dead fingers…
Reason 9. I am useless at mornings. Doesn’t matter what time I get up, it takes hours to get me moving and functioning. In the meantime I am grumpy and unsociable and without mascara my eyes look like anaemic gooseberries. Don’t look at me till the Maybelline has gone on..
Reason 10. I can’t take praise. Or criticism either for that matter. I hate being either right or wrong. I’m usually right, though and people hate me for that sometimes. That includes me.
Anything to add??? (Please be gentle!)
Zen and the Art of Tightrope Walking 
Great post Viv! I love writing & reading confessions but I suppose you already know that 🙂
I’m with you on the addiction to scents… It’s my mothers fault really, she loves experimenting with different perfumes and oils, creating all kind of delicious scents and now I’m addicted to them 🙂
And one other thing- I love blonds! My dear sister is blond, and she is amazing! So all blonds automatically have my sympathy 😉
And if I may add one little humble opinion to the list- I think you are a very generous person who cares deeply about others and takes the time to help them.
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I do my best!
My addiction to scent came at a very early age when I tried to capture the essence of flowers by steeping them in water. Later came potpourri and pomanders from oranges and then making creams and lotions.
Now I frequent certain shops with such regularity that the staff know me….
What sort of perfumes does your mother experiment with? I love the heavy, rich oriental fragrances, but as a teenager my mother hated them and objected to me using them…
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Just like you I love spicy, rich oriental fragrances, but my mother really doesn’t like them; she’s more of a lavender-rose kind of woman, she likes making light, flowery scents which I think suits her pretty well 🙂
Now, whenever I smell the scent of a rose I look
around to see my mother and that’s my favorite thing about scents, how they can remind us of certain people, memories or places…:)
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The brain area that responds to scent is actually one of the oldest areas of the brain, in terms of evolution, and it also connects directly to memory, and emotional memory at that.
I’ve used the power of scents in many stories, both for good and bad reasons, over the years and it’s something I believe is a powerful and easily manipulated response. When I worked as a massage therapist I had to make sure that I could use scents in the room safely without triggering any untoward response. One lovely lady had very bad memories associated with lavender so I made sure that was a fragrance I didn’t use around her.
I wrote an article about the use of “sacred smellies” which appeared last year in an international magazine; I was proud as punch of that.
I love florals too, and citrus and….pretty much everything but it’s the woody, oriental deep rich smells I love the most and which suit me best…which is odd as my colouring is what’s often described as English rose. I was born at the end of the hippy era so maybe that was what sank in, even though my mum hates that sort of smell!
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10 things you really hate about you (me) might be as well the 10 things to love you must.
It is just a matter of perspective.
I like your view. Try less fear and more confidence 🙂 next time.
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A couple of them were things a close friend told me about recently and I was appalled that I might have unintentionally upset people by being thoughtless.
Confidence? I’d like a pint or two of that!!
xx
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Interesting post, Viv.
Honestly, it must be your humility that makes you list them as your faults…to me they seemed to make you more “normal.” Trust me, if I made a list of my faults, I’d have to plan for at least three coffee-breaks!
The point about your being a blonde…you must be speaking of non-blondes hating blondes, because from whatever I’ve heard, men find blondes more attractive! (I am sure that my vision is Hollywood-tinted!)
Regards,
Shafali
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I restricted myself to only ten things, so I didn’t get depressed by it!!!
I get quite bored by the blond jokes that do the rounds, which seem to reinforce an old idea that blondes lack intelligence or common sense. I find them funny and then tedious. As if intelligence can be judged by hair colour, skin colour or count(r)y of origin!
Blonds are said to have more fun, and gentlemen are said to prefer blondes but since I have never had hair of another colour, I can’t tell!!! I do however get total strangers coming up to me and telling me they love my hair. i get unnerved by it when someone starts touching it!!!
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hi, I’ve got an award for you , you deserve it, get it in my blog.
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I feel quite uncomfortable about this as I know that the award is offered with great sincerity and kindness. I really appreciate the thought but I feel very strongly that the kind comments and words and feedback I get are more than enough reward for the writing I do here and mean a lot more to me than awards.
I hope this doesn’t cause any offense.
xx
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It was great fun reading this. I had some hearty laugh.
It seems to me you tried to make yourself sound like big nuisance, but it produces the opposite effect. You are wonderful in your sincerity and sense of humour. I know I will enjoy your company a lot if we meet in person one day. 😀
P.S. I love blondes too.
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I think that one day we shall indeed meet, Shiona and what a time that will be!!!
The best antidote to self hatred is laughter; I hate upsetting people and after I have gotten ahead of the game and come up with the next few lines in a film(correctly) I am usually told to please shut up….I need gaffer tape to keep me quiet or it bursts out of me, and yes, I do it even if I am alone…
xx
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Please notify me when you have corrected #4 as I cannot tolerate it.
Until then I am out of here.
No wait, I reckon it’s okay since you call yourself out on it.
You are honest till it hurts and that covers a multitude of sins and at least part of #4 but I really hate #4.
I hate #4 because it forces me to put you in a slot with a lot of people in my mind. I know that you
(the you in my mind) doesn’t like it in there BUT: there is hope . There is a way out of the slot and escape from the bad company therein.
Please do your best :
THIS IS A TEST and it is true:
“I have seen a UFO for over 3 minutes ,it was stationary and close enough to me that I could hit it with a rock.”
remember THIS IS A TEST
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I’ve never seen a UFo but I do believe they exist. Can you tell me more? I’m fascinated!!
By the way, I ran these past my husband and daughter because it bothers me so much and they tell me #4 is all down to one person being insecure and as far as they are aware I’ve never done it. I do love listening to other people’s stories and I like to add ones of my own that seem to lead on from them. They also tell me I am too hard on myself. This may be so. But if I am not, then who will be?
Please tell us more about the UFO….
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A+ : removed from slot.
Thanks for the commentary.
I actually enjoy #4 in folks and sometimes push buttons to take it over the top. However, I must file these folks in a dark corner of my brain and I hated leaving you there.
You forced the UFO thing out of me because I hated leaving you in that slot.
I will talk about it later or maybe never.( could this be be #1 on things You really hate about me?)
peace
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*phew!*
When you want to share the story, we’ll be waiting to hear it!
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what a drama king I am.
I really didnt ever believe you were a oneupwoman 🙂 .
the story will probably be a let down but I will write it down as soon as I can.
It happened 10 years ago and until VERY recently only 4 people knew of it.
thanks for putting up with me .
peace
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Drama King? Love the phrase!
There’s no putting up; you’re a good friend to have around!
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You got a problem with that?
You’re only human.
Can’t all be perfect like . . .
Damn if I could come up with a good one. Go ahead, add your own.
michael j
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you got me beat there, Michael.
My teacher has been known to say, “Why do you expect me to be consistent? I am a sinful human being!”
Only human, yes, but it’s the whole thing of trying to be more than one starts with.
I try. Which is all anyone can do, I guess.
xx
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