Monday, August 3, 2009
The Personal Touch
 Ever meet those people that are the touchie-feelie types? You know the ones that HAVE to full-frontal assault you with a monster hug everytime they see you...or randomly touch your arm for no reason at all...or want to rub your shoulders even though you KNOW you didn't shiver and you can't think of any other reason for them to get all that friction going? I'm not one of those people. I live with this inpenetrable six-inch bubble of personal space between me and the world. Oh...don't get me wrong, I don't go all rabid dog on someone who is a TF (touchie-feelie), but as soon as their twitchy fingers rest awkwardly on my innocent stander-by arm, I have to actually tell myself not to flinch away, In fact, you can pretty much guarantee that I'm not hearing a word of whatever they're saying because I have this internal monologue that goes off in my head upon contact. It sounds a little something like this. 'Her hand is cold. REALLY cold. Like dead-fish cold...and kinda rough too. She needs to moisturize and exfoliate. Oh No! She's squeezing now...I can feel her finger bones...' Touching people is an intimate experience for me. Instances in which I would voluntarily touch someone: A) I think you really REALLY needed a hug and felt compelled to give the one-armed to-the-side-with-a-back-pat thing B) You are a really close friend or family member and therefore have probably already hugged me before...or patted my head...or hit me (thanks lil bro!) C) You are old (don't ask me why but I have no problem hugging old people, in fact, I LIKE to give old people random hugs - gives me the happy bubbly feeling...weird, huh?) D) You are that special someone...you know - my sugar lump lump. Does this make me emotionally constipated? Am I tactilely retarded? I don't know. But if you are one of those select few who have the gift of the TF (touchie-feelie), be careful around us NTFs (NON-touchie-feelie). Instead of shoulder-arm-draping us, give a friendly wave and a smile...we love that. Labels: Social Standard |
posted by Nornie Gal at 12:15 PM