# Things that are essentially you.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [February 12, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582 "2003-02-12T15:46:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/1 "2003-02-12T15:46:33Z")
O.k… I just want to see what all of us Dopers have in common.
Please post things that are “Essential” to you… Like hanging out in a diner and talking were essential to Seinfeld and his crew. Take away the diner and the talking and they just wouldn’t be the same.
**This is the place for things that make you feel like yourself.**
Here’s mine:
\*Smoking after meals (thats a given)
\*Midnight waffles and conversation in IHOP-esque places
\*Sweet iced tea
\*NFL Football
\*I. Hate. The radio.
\*I like drinking beer, and going to local band shows.
\*_Bad Movie Night_
\*Laughing at other’s misfortunes
\*Long naps on the couch every now and again
\*Staying up late
\*Playing videogames for three days straight then getting sick of them, only to play them for three days straight again a month later.
\*Tatoos
\*Having more female friends than male friends
\*Crappy beer dives
\*Talking during movies
\*Late night beach trips
\*Singing out loud for no apparent reason
\*Humming when I eat good food
I think that’s most of it… what makes you _you_?
---
### Author:  [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/2 "2003-02-12T16:05:28Z")
Hmm. OK, I’ll play.
Me:
- bad seventies music sung at the top of the lungs in the car
- word games - Boggle, Taboo, Spellbound - on my computer or my Palm Pilot
- a pile of laundry next to the bed
- lighting cigarettes and forgetting to smoke them (the two-inch ash is my trademark)
- hoarding craft supplies and trying new crafts (see **broccoli’s** videogame thing above)
- cats lying all over the house
- big dogs
- talking to the TV
- soda out of cans, never in a glass
- noodles with butter, parsley and parmesan cheese
- piles of paperback books, open, as I try to read four or more at a time
- socks must match my shirt
- the Renaissance Faire
- Yankee candles
- black and white photos
- doodling eyeballs on scraps of paper
- alphabetized CDs
- making lists 🙂
- phone calls lasting several hours to my friend Beth (during which we don’t even talk to one another - she’s reading and I’m yelling at kids, or vice versa)
- nail polish
- costumes
- coffee
---
### Author:  [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/3 "2003-02-12T16:06:53Z")
Pajama pants and a t-shirt, a glass of chocolate milk with a straw, a messy bedroom with clothes and papers all over the floor, cereal for every meal, my hair pulled back but still messy, and a terrible parallel parker 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mith)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/4 "2003-02-12T16:19:48Z")
2 ndhand store shopping…boots (not cowboy boots) with EVERYTHING, even dresses…body lotions…men’s watches… taking a small backpack EVERYWHERE… carrying bottled water… flannel sheets…mountain biking… chapstick…wearing layers … collages…candles…tons of pillows…sitting with the sun on my back… wrapping my hair in a bun and taking it back out a million trillion times a day… asking people tons of questions about themselves…swings/hamecks
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### Author:  [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/5 "2003-02-12T16:34:04Z")
[ul]
[li]very literate / annoyed by spelling & grammar errors[/li][li]love a wide range of music, but am a bit of a musical snob[/li][li]voracious reader[/li][li]interested in astronomy & science in general[/li][li]like to spend time alone[/li][li]love animals / have many pets[/li][li]would rather be riding a roller coaster than just about anything else in the world[/li][li]humor is essential / love the SDMB for the incredibly intelligent humor[/li][/ul]
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### Author:  [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/6 "2003-02-12T17:24:40Z")
A random and incomplete list:
Avid Internet user
Cat lover
Conservative styles of dress, not concerned about latest fashions
Dislike most sports, especially football
Don’t watch much prime TV
Drinks must have ice in them (by extension, I’m an ice cruncher)
Enjoy movies but don’t have time to see a lot of them
Enjoy rainy, cloudy days over sunny days
Enjoy watching game shows, cartoons (especially Bugs Bunny, et al)
Fascination with weather and space phenomena
Get up early even on days off
Impatient, especially when driving
Laugh at things most people find to be stupid or absurd
Like to make bad jokes, mostly puns
Low tolerance for spelling/grammar errors
Messy, unorganized house
Must face towards doorway when sitting in a room (except when at home). This especially applies when in a restaurant
No caffeine after 3:00 PM
Nonsmoker, nondrinker
Prefer big, heavyset women to thin, petite women
Primarily a hard rock music lover, but will listen to most other things (except country and rap)
Small social circle, doesn’t like large gatherings
Stay indoors most of the time
Would rather stay away from discussing controversial topics (which is why you never see me in GD)
Write stories, draw pictures in spare time
---
### Author:  [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/7 "2003-02-12T17:31:21Z")
Reading books with the enthusiasm most people reserve for masterbating.
Composing smart-alecky things to say like the previous sentence.
---
### Author:  [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/8 "2003-02-12T17:32:53Z")
-My crazy kid
-Tattoos
-AbFab
-Punk Rock Night
-My sweet kitty
-Tons of food when friends come over
-Bubble butt
-Temper
-Arts movies and foreign films
-Red hair
---
### Author:  [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/9 "2003-02-12T18:30:22Z")
[ul]
[li]I am only rarely seen (other than work) without my favorite boy – my nine year old son[/li][li]The Boy’s and my overwhelming dorkiness[/li][li]Reading books while walking[/li][li]Extreme clumsiness[/li][li]Cooking with wild abandon and leaving the dishes for someone else[/li][li]Cooking way too much food for gatherings and such[/li][li]Never passing up the opportunity to make a smart-ass remarkMaking up little nonsensical songs and performing spastic dances to them[/li][li]Lying down in the shower with my feet in the spray until the hot water runs out[/li][li]General absent mindedness[/li][li]Hero-worship of Jim Henson, George Harrison, Pee-Wee Herman and Stevie Wonder (I am a pop-culture-saturated automaton, I know it)[/li][li]Summer summer summer! Baseball in general, Cubs & Wrigley in particular[/li][li]According to my SO, tight, low-cut tops are essentially me, as they’re about 70% of what I wear (except in winter, when it’s all bulky turtleneck sweaters)[/li][li]Masturbating with the enthusiasm Sock Munkey reserves for reading books [/li][/ul]
---
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/10 "2003-02-12T18:32:15Z")
Asking questions and anything else that fits therein.
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### Author:  [@lamafish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lamafish)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/11 "2003-02-12T18:44:02Z")
-I love animals with people names: ex: Dave, Ted, Ernie etc.
-Shiny things
-Twangy, banjo playing, blue grass music (dont ask)
-shallow but entertaining movies: ex: austin powers, adam sandler
-gatorade, mostly blue and light green
-worn out jeans
-always unmatch my dark socks
-more t-shirts than should be allowed
-NYC
-live jazz
-never watch the news
-always read the paper
-dogs
-I cross my left leg over my right one like a girl but my right one over my left like a guy
-I looove boobies
---
### Author:  [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/12 "2003-02-12T19:07:41Z")
I’m rarely without a cap. I prefer fitted caps, but will wear adjustable ones on occasion. The cap I currently wear most often is a black “GM Goodwrench Service” cap with a big “3” on the back (where the MLB logo is on professional baseball team hats).
I’m also never without a Zippo. The first time I lost one, I broke my ankle, the next time, I got fired. So I’m pretty posessive of it. I once spent 3 days in a funk looking for it, waiting for something bad to happen, until I found it in a jacket I rarely wear.
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### Author:  [@Big\_Perm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Perm)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/13 "2003-02-12T19:17:05Z")
- low tolerance for poor grammar (that seems to be common among more than a few us) 🙂
- video games (Team Fortress, Battlefield 1942)
- car audio
- the occasional smoke
- comedy central (the daily show)
- don’t watch much tv, spend more of it using irc the internet, etc
- non-fiction books, autobiographies about historically significant figures, or books written by them.
- great movies (even though there seem to be so few of them)
- Kevin Smith movies
- finding someone to listen to my bitches about work
---
### Author:  [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/14 "2003-02-12T19:20:31Z")
- Never seen without my watch
- Always wear shorts
- Never pass up the opportunity for a sarcastic response
- Dislike most sports
- Continues to live on Nintendo
- Very quiet and aloof, mostly just speaking when spoken to
- Relatively unhealthy diet, yet still ridiculously skinny
- No pattern to tastes in foods. I love hot dogs and bologna, but also nonfat milk.
---
### Author:  [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/15 "2003-02-12T21:21:23Z")
- The New York Times, especially the crossword
- Songs with women’s names for titles
- Movies about junkies
- The expression “Famous last words”
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### Author:  [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/16 "2003-02-12T21:37:04Z")
- Too many cigarettes
- Red Wine
- My Cats
- Too much internet
- Video games
- Wearing only Black
- Tattoos
- Piercings
- Very loud Opera
- B Movies
- “Arthouse” movies
- Ability to trip over my own feet
- Science Fiction
- Senseless arguing
- Sarcasm
- Cynicism
- Science
- Poor programming
- Occasional lapse into 'net shorthand when speaking to people IRL (OMG, yes it is true - I really do it)
---
### Author:  [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/17 "2003-02-12T21:43:57Z")
-injuring myself in interesting ways
-going to movies (if my math is right, I saw 124 in theatres last year)
-worrying
-participating in athletics
-playing tin can cricket (deserves special mention I think)
-eating large quantities of healthy food
-meditating (not nearly enough)
-drinking diet pepsi (which I am now trying to quit - in a month or so, I may be able to remove this one)
-listening to my discman
-breaking my discman (on number 12)
-buying DVD’s
-dating younger woman
-not talking for extended periods of time
---
### Author:  [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/18 "2003-02-12T21:46:22Z")
Black clothes.
Brief replies.
This: 🆒
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/19 "2003-02-12T22:54:05Z")
My sharp and pointy arm joints, thanks for asking.
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### Author:  [@no\_brainer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/no_brainer)
#### Post date: [February 12, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-essentially-you/154582/20 "2003-02-12T23:20:17Z")
-cooking (mmm…good food)
-reading (anything I can get my hands on)
-local punk shows
-good beer (another mmm…)
-a green thumb (nothing’s better than home grown veggies and herbs)
-no white socks (must have some cool pattern, at least)
-yoga (much more rewarding than I could have imagined prior to trying it)
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