I was a pirate, now I'm a nurse. That's funny.

[cyrano]

Recently a friend of mine and I were discussing movies, and attending the cinema, and I talked about how I didn't like to go, because people were impolite (talking, texting, rampant kids, etc) and I didn't enjoy the movie I was trying to watch. And she made the point that groups of people watching a comedy (the specific film in question was a funny movie, the ending especially so) enjoyed it more. The quote was "Comedy is better shared."
This inspired my usual "Why am I not like other people?" mastication. I know, from my theater experience, that a half empty house meant we'd be working twice as hard for half the response, and the basic theory was not in question. So I tried to go back and remember my responses to things I'd watched alone and with other people.
There was the disastrous "Austin Powers:International Man of Mystery" debacle, where I ended up watching it twice in one weekend with groups of people trying to share the comedy with me, because I was too timid to excuse myself and flee into the night. But I don't think that would have been any less funny watching it on my own. (I just would have turned it off sooner.)
Maybe I was just a misanthrope. God knows there's evidence for that. But would that excuse me from basic human psychology? I didn't think so.
Many times I have been reading and come across a particularly witty passage and laughed until the housemate demanded I share with her, but that came over poorly often enough that she's stopped doing that. A large portion of this reaction can be blamed on lack of context, I think.
When I first saw "Wazzup:Superfriends" I shared it with everybody who would hold still long enough. I think that increased my enjoyment of it. But I watched it 84 times that day on my own, so it's hard to tell for certain.
I suspect I'm just like all the other monkeys at the base. I'm just a snob.
And for those of you who read this far, I will say that the fucking cat just walked in my yogurt. I share this in the hopes that it will become comedy.

Comments

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I think that it's less that I worry about needing to fit in, and more that I'm taking my whole life and shaking it, to see what falls out. I'm looking at my iconoclastic ways, as one facet of myself, and asking how they serve me, if they make me happy, if they're me or just what I think is supposed to be me.
If everybody around me (people I've chosen to surround myself with for good reason) is enamoured of something and I can't work up the energy to be indifferent about it, is that because I'm putting forth effort not to like it? It is because it just doesn't connect with me? (And if it's the latter, I'm curious why I don't connect and these people I've self selected for compatibility do.)
I think I've embraced being an outlier for most of my life. It was a badge of honor. It's probably why I knew enough about Classical music to get hired at Tower. And I have no problem with that, unless I'm missing out on things that I'd really enjoy because I'm busy shunning them (like Duran Duran).
I've lost control of this ramble, but I think I've covered most of the points I wanted to. There's nothing inherently wrong with not fitting in. I kind of like it, in fact. But it's one of the many parts of my life that's under investigation right now, because I'm thinking there should be a way for me to be happier.