168 - When people reckon I don't drink/smoke/dance with no good reason

The people at my work think it's funny when I drink, smoke and dance, because I don't do it at work. They saw me do all three for the first time a couple days ago when we all went out together. They just laughed, because the me at work is totally different from the me in a club.

I do drink, and I do smoke, and I do dance, when I feel like it. I simply choose not to, when I reject offers and invitations. Just because I don't drink six bottles of beer every night doesn't mean I can't hold my drink, and doesn't mean I'm some coward who listens to my mother's preachings on how alcohol causes damage to your liver. Just because I don't smoke three packs a day doesn't mean I don't know how to, it doesn't mean I care about the risks of lung cancer. And just because I don't bob my head, or tap my foot, to the beat of every upbeat song that's playing around me, doesn't mean I can't/don't/dislike to dance.

I drink and dance a lot. Everybody that really knows me, knows that. Judging by my appearance at work, where I am an employee, is not a fair assessment on the part of my colleagues. I'm there to work, not to pick up girls or anything, why the Hell would I dance, drink my body weight, or light up a cancer stick?

I guess my coming into work with a book in my hand every morning (and after every break) doesn't help my image much either. What kind of club-dancer reads in his spare time? What kind of person possesses a high threshold for alcohol, yet also knows the capital of Kyrgyzstan?

Well, how many people can even pronounce Kyrgyzstan, or point to it on a world map? (Or how about how many people there are that read during their lunch breaks nowadays?)

Bah, screw stereotypes, seriously.

Oh, but about smoking, I really don't smoke a lot. I have to really love you before I'll accept one from you. It's a weird thing, but smoking, for me, is like a special medium by which I can bond with other people, and um... if I don't take one from you, it means I don't want to bond with you over a smoke. I like the smoking, always do, but if I reject your offer, it means I don't like you.