My Gayness is not what defines me

Really, people.

For fuck's sake, stop saying "I love curry/tikka masala/Indian Food" when you're trying to start a conversation with me.

There's more to me than my Indianity. As incredible as this may seem, I *do* have other interests. There are just so many other things that you might try instead. The class we just left, for instance, that's a good starting point. Or what I think of the War in Afghanistan, or of the Simpsons, 30 Rock, reality shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or even House (of whom, I will then admit, know nothing, and we can then move on to other things), or of Terry Pratchett, Robert Irwin, Tundra Comics, or what I think of Eat, Pray, Love. Or of Mexico, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan, Pakistan, Morocco, or Egypt.

If you have to compulsively talk about food, there are a million starting points to choose from, which do not include the words "curry", or "Tikka masala" or "naan bread". Has it struck you that I might be vegetarian? Or that I might not really like "tikka" anything? Oooh, or that I actually prefer Ethiopian-Finnish fusion cuisine? And, while I'm impressed that you eat more than chilli hot dogs, I really don't care. Your affinity for Indian food will not make me like you better.

Or maybe, you were just being, um, what's the word... "sensitive". Well, this kind of sensitivity blows. And blows open your incredibly limited range of things to associate with India or the Indian sub-continent.

Perhaps, henceforth, I'll go with "Oh, I *love* meatloaf" the next time this happens, huh?