Inner-freak.

The rising cases of people inflicted with H1N1 virus prompted me to seek medical attention for my 3 day old flu, and I was given a flu shot today along with vitamin prescription. With the rain steadily pouring since Saturday evening, I couldn't get out of the house, so there's a good chance that I got it from Rose, our new household help who arrived last Monday with a bit of fever. I hate getting sick, so I admit that I'm a freak with regards to cleanliness.. I'm a certifed germophobic, and I take cleanliness seriously around the house. If you're gonna see me clean my room, you're in for a freak show. I never use broom cause it carries those grimy stuff in incalculable proportions, and I don't want any of that near my room or our house. I scolded Rose quite a few times before when she tried to clean my room. I can't really blame her, brooms and that thing you use to gather dirt are staple in every Filipino household (and we do have that at home), but for some reason, those two send tingles to my spine, and weird as it may sound, I refuse to even touch it. I'd rather go down and scrub the floor with a mixture of soap and bleach, and then rinse it multiple times with water. And to check if it's really clean, I wet tissues with alcohol and wipe the floor with it. I'm even fond of using Lysol spray that supposedly kills 99% of bacteria. And if I can afford it, I'm going to buy that UV sterilizer (like the ones you see at restaurants in Korea), and God knows I'm going to put everything in there.


I understand that this is is some sort of a freakish behavior which I'm not really proud of, in fact, I had been chastised for it. But I can't really help it cause one, I'm an O.C. ( and it's in my nature to keep everything ridiculously clean, tidy, and organized ^^), and two, I have considerably weaker immune system than others (if someone has flu, I'm the first person to get it), so it's imperative that I take the necessary precautions. I believe everyone has their own freak side, compulsion, or weird behavior, and most often than not, we prefer if it stay hidden. My parents are two very organized people who are fond of using antibacterial cleaning agents, filing cabinets (meant for offices not homes), alphabetically arranged books, and labelling things with expiration dates, so it's but natural to produce an offspring who share the same compulsion.


Chris is somewhat similar to me in that department, although I'd say he's much worse. He hates using public restrooms (unless it's absolutely, 'matter-of-life-and-death' necessary), jimjilbang, and bath houses. He cringes at touching doorknobs and faucets so he uses paper towels to insulate his hand. I heard it's a lot worse when he was younger, but going to military helped desensitize him, so he's not as much of a freak like he was back then. But I know that he still hates handshakes, and I'm pretty sure he prefers to bow a couple of times to greet people than get his hand in contact with others. He just doesn't have a choice for his job calls for endless handshakes from suppliers on a daily basis. I know he's quite embarrassed with it, and as much as possible, he wants to show some semblance of being normal. He thinks it suggested a weakness a male shouldn't have. But in my case, I don't see any problem with it (only because I'm a freak myself). He's masculine as any situation calls for, and masculine as needed to be, and for me that's enough. Being 'too-sensitive' doesn't make him half a man in my weird, freakish, O.C. standard.