How to be liked by oddballs

Pizza, right before someone eats it.

If you haven’t figured by now, I’m obsessed by odd people. I like ‘em quirky, strange, awkward… you name it. There’s proof of it here, and here. I might go as far as to say some of this might hint that I’m one of them, but… who knows, right? I’m just text to you. Normal, normal text.

Anyhow, there is something about odd people that I find endearing. You look at them from afar, because you know, it’s almost criminal to get close to them. They’re so weird, you don’t want to be seen with them.

At work – yes, work, again – before I started my shift, I saw one of these oddballs hanging out in the cafeteria. While I was waiting for my shift to start, I was hanging around the water cooler when I heard him say:

- “Is this anyone’s pizza crust?”

No one answered. We just ignored him, because, you know, he’s so weird. We might get sick or something if we speak to him, right?

I thought he asked that question just to make sure he could throw it away and sit at the place, but no, that’s not why he asked. He proceeded to eat it. I remember containing my laughter, leaving the cafeteria and just exploding. I couldn’t stop. I was literally crying. At the moment, it seemed so funny. In a way, it still is. Odd and kind of strange, but I just didn’t know back then why he did that. The guy has Aspergers. He just doesn’t get some of the social rules we abide by. I don’t feel bad for laughing. I do feel bad for judging him. No lesson here, odd people can be funny and you can laugh. Just be respectful, maybe?

I’m not here to give a lesson about bullying or anything like that. I might be one of the worst people for that. I mean, #bullying is not even trending anymore, right? That’s not the subject here. It’s just a personal piece on this experience, which is odd and funny, but also I think is serious subject matter.

While I was writing this, I remembered this guy from high school. Everyone would call him Zombie and that nickname is the only thing I’ve ever heard anyone say to him. I don’t remember how I became friends with him, but I eventually did. He liked good movies and great music. We liked some of the same artists and we ended up going to concerts and films  from artists that no one knew or wanted to know while we were in high school. I don’t know why, but after high school we never spoke again. Not because he was weird, or because I was. Not because we got in a fight or anything. No particular reason, actually. We just went our own way and we haven’t talked since then. Actually, we spoke once when Radiohead released King of Limbs. We talked about how shitty the album was( and is… sorry). That was about it. Huh, pretty cool guy actually.

Life Lesson :  Unlike movies, there isn’t an Act III, where the tension or conflict usually gets resolved magically without the characters actually taking genuine risks. In real life, people don’t miraculously learn and become friends. There is no magic. Just be nice. It might be awkward, but you won’t die from it.

Actual Advice : That’s actual advice, no? Uhm… okay. You might have more in common than you think with someone that you consider weird. How’s that?

PROTIP :  Don’t eat pizza crusts that belong to someone you don’t know.