7 weird/interesting things about Chris

Rita recently tagged me for a meme: 7 interesting things about my significant other. I don't know if Chris knows I'm doing this, but here goes.

1. Chris has a severe needle phobia.

Obviously, he can't watch when he gets shots or has blood drawn. He passed out once when a nurse was putting an IV in before surgery; luckily, he was already lying down. But he also can't listen to other people talk about needles. He gets queasy and needs to run away or cover his ears. He's never actually passed out during a conversation, but I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. He's also put off by blood. We've already determined that could never be one of those dads who watches his children being born. His place is at the head of the bed, preferably duct-taped or otherwise secured to a chair, with a helmet on. Oddly, he has a tattoo.

2. Chris has a hard time closing cabinet doors.

Whether it's in the bathroom or the kitchen, Chris tends to leave cabinet doors open. I attribute this to the fact that he's often thinking about something other than what he's actually doing. More than once, I've bonked my head on an open door.

3. Chris is extremely ticklish.

A lot of people are ticklish. I'm ticklish. But Chris is beyond ticklish. He starts giggling if you start making grabby gestures at his mid-section. And once you get him in that frame of mind, any touch on his torso, whether intended to tickle or not, sets him off laughing and flailing around. (Duck.) But even worse are his feet. I once read that a person can't tickle himself, but Chris can tickle his own feet. In fact, he sometimes starts giggling if he handles his toes too much while clipping his toenails. It really is as funny to watch as you're imagining.

4. Chris can burp better than anyone I know.

He excels in both volume and duration. He can burp the alphabet or pretty much any word. He can do it on command, too. It's a dubious talent that I'm afraid he will try to pass on to our kids.

5. Chris is unable to do "guest" cleaning.

You know, guest cleaning: in the hour before guests arrive, you stash things in bedroom closets; vacuum of the rugs; do a quick wipedown of the sink, mirror, and toilet, and hang a fresh hand towel in the bathroom; and just generally get the house presentable. Chris gets distracted in the course of cleaning up and starts, like, alphabetizing DVDs or filing bills.

6. Chris loves and uses tie pins.

His co-workers make fun of him and call him "old man," but he still uses a tie pin every time he wears a tie. It is old-mannish, but it's also kind of cute.

7. Chris played his first badminton tournament in utero.

His parents were both competitive badminton players and his mom played a major tournament while pregnant (and showing) with Chris. I'm pretty sure she won, too. It's basically in his blood.