Hang-ups and Particularity

This weekend I was invited to dinner by a newfound friend, a dinner that this person would be cooking (don't worry MSU friends and colleagues: I am NOT talking about you. In fact, I love your food!). The problem is, that I'm quite picky and am afraid that I will not like the food that is prepared. Plus, I'm afraid to tell this person about my dietary habits. For example, I don't drink sugar beverages, and I don't eat red meat or pork. Because this person is Caucasian, I'm hoping for some type of vegetarian option (the last few white people dinners and functions that I have been to have had vegetarian choices). Too bad I can't say the same thing for my fellow brothas and sistas though. Perhaps we can meet common ground with chicken? LMAO!

I think that if this person does choose to serve beef or pork, I can bite the bullet and eat either one time, but that's not what I'm most worried about. I'm most worried about whether or not what they prepare will be nasty. I'm really particular about flavors and textures, and if the flavor or texture is slightly off, I have a hard time swallowing. Like when I was roughly six months old and had convulsions when my mom tried to feed me jello. I still can't stand jello till this very day!

I think I might have inherited my mom's particularity; actually, hers is quite worse than mine! In fact, me and Mr. C often joke when we have takeout food and she wants to try it. We preface everything with, "you're not gonna like it". One time (years ago), I went with her to a friend's house, where the person prepared dinner. She didn't like it and went to the bathroom to spit it out, only to find that the item got stuck in the toilet! After a couple of flushes, it went down. Phew.

This weekend, I'll try not to do what she did. It's just that I have hang-ups with food, cleanliness, etc., and this event poses much anxiety for me. And close friends who invite me over usually order take-out because they know how I am. Eating prepared dinners by people I don't know that well is something I usually don't do.

Until this weekend, my fingers are crossed...