Who is Nelson? (or nelsonpants, or Nelson Pants, or Sir Pants)

My 28th birthday having come and gone recently, I figured it was time to go ahead and do one of those frivolous 'get to know me' bulletin posts you see on Facebook and used to see on the Barren Wasteland formerly Known as Myspace.

1. I always wear socks. ALWAYS (except in the shower). I can't be barefoot, it bothers me. I've never owned a pair of sandals, and likely never will. I wear sneakers even on the beach.
2. Aside from loathing the taste of it, I have a weird physical reaction to American Cheese, as if I'm allergic to it.
3. As a kid, watching movies in a theater was always a big deal for me. Watching the Star Wars trilogy on the big screen was the highlight of my childhood. Film is my favorite art form.
4. Small talk is just about impossible for me. I can't do idle chit-chat. this often makes for long awkward pauses in face-to-face conversations with friends and family. I try to work on it, but I can't hold up a conversation unless the subject matter is something that interests me.
5. I was quite sheltered as a kid. I didn't have many of the experiences kids tend to have. I didn't party in High School. I could count the number of friends I had on one hand (with fingers to spare). My first date (and kiss) came at the age of 20.
6. As religion goes, I'm Agnostic. I'm seeking my own understanding of the world. I have occasional clashes with my family on this. No, I'm not coming back to church.
7. I don't wear shorts. It's all-pants, all the time around here.
8. And speaking of pants, most of mine are girl jeans (I love flares). As weird as this may sound (and I still feel weird about it sometimes) I like the way they look and fit on me.
9. For a brief (very brief, you would have missed it if you blinked) period in High School, I thought I was a Republican. Of course, my HS years were pretty much an endless series of identity crises.
10. I wish Sorcery were real.
11. I feel a ton of guilt over my dating/sex history. I've only been with white women. I fear that people may think I'm one of those black men that have weird anti-black woman hangups. It's not true. That I've only been with white women hasn't been intentional, that's just the way it's worked out so far.
12. I spend way too much time worrying about what people think of me.
13. I've spent most of my adult life working in customer service (Wal-Mart, AT&T). Since May, I've been hard at work shifting from that to a career as a writer. The road ahead is hard to see at times and there's a lot of uncertainty, but I feel this is what I'm supposed to do. I'm good at it, and it's what I want.
14. My #1 goal is to ring in 2012 with the completed TSS novel.
15. Save for one year as a toddler in Ft.Smith, I've spent my entire life in Little Rock. Before 2008, I had very little experience with the big city life. Then I flew to New York in February 2008, and it's not hyperbole when I say it changed my life. It did. It changed everything. The world is a lot larger than I believed it to be.
16. I'm more about new experiences than I am about having things. Visiting a big city for the first time, seeing a band/artist that I've been a longtime fan of, discovering awesome new bands/artists, new movies, different food, that's what I look forward to.
17. My desire to try new things, go to new places, and meet new people is constantly at war with my deeply-ingrained shyness and anxiety.
18. My birthday is a pretty big deal to me. It's my day -- the only one I get in the year. I'm not a parent, there are no relationship anniversaries as I am single, and I've done nothing notable to have a holiday in my honor (unless there's a National Cable Installer Day I am unaware of). Every year, I hope to ring in another year of being alive with huge blow-out celebrations where a ton of friends come over and we party all night. It never works out that way. It makes me wonder whether my expectations have been unrealistic. Most people my age have put their hard-partying days behind them, as they have kids and/or long-term spouses now. While this is understandable, I still struggle with the disappointment of my own expectations. Not that I'm ungrateful for those who are able to make it out. Trust me, it is appreciated.
19. I don't know if I would call myself a full-blown believer, but Astrology interests me. It seems to line up too often to ignore.
20. I like living alone. I like having my own space. Everything is where I choose it to be. Everything looks like I want it to. I come home to dead silence, which is awesome. If I want the silence to continue, I can. If I want music, I can have that too. If/when the right woman comes along, I would prefer we live separately, even if we're married. I know that may seem weird, but yeah...
21. I'm the biggest sucker in the world for pretty eyes and a nice smile.