Roblog

This tendency of mine applies to restaurant outings as well. I dislike getting the same thing everyone else is getting especially if I am ordering immediately after them. Perhaps it's also related to my preference to get something different at a restaurant compared to what I got last time I was there.

I think I can trace this back to 3rd grade, where I was auditioning to be in our school's 3rd grade musical The Wizard of Oz. Everyone who wanted to participate had to "audition", which for third graders was just basically answering a few questions and singing a bit.

I remember the teacher giving us an example of how it would go. I don't recall all the questions, but one of them was "What is your favorite food?" And her example answer was "Hot Pizza". We all then waited in the hallway for our names to be called to have our audition.

When my turn came, I was nervous. So when they asked me what my favorite food was, I answered "Hot Pizza," realizing even at the time that I enjoyed pizza, but I'm not sure it was my favorite. And I would not have added an adjective to my answer on my own. Maybe I was worried about getting the question wrong, so I just provided what I knew was an acceptable response.

I could sing and memorize lines, so I got a part. I was cast as the Cowardly Lion. I was excited and had lots of fun practicing and performing.

Several years later, though, I realized that my response to the food question might have made the auditioners think I would make a good Cowardly Lion. After all, it's pretty cowardly to not answer "what's your favorite food" with something genuine.

So now I can feel myself rebelling against selecting the same food as someone else. I don't think I let that tendency sway my judgement anymore, but I can still feel that urge rumbling inside of me.

Oh, wait - that's just my tummy. I must be hungry. I think I'll get some hot pizza.