Is that neccessary?

One day you may find yourself on an unfamiliar street. You may say to yourself, "I think I'll have some tea." When you order your tea, you may find that the (tea) barristas have taken upon themselves to insert gelatinous tapioca balls into your tea or as they are more commonly known in the states, "bubbles". You may ask yourself, "was that necessary?".
Likewise, you may say to yourself, "I think I'll get a massage".  You may find that you are directed to a tub of hot water in which you are expected to soak your feet. As your shoulders continue to ache (the purpose for which you came into the massage parlor), you may ask yourself "is this necessary?"
But then again, maybe you wouldn't. Maybe you are not the type of person to be picky about these things. Maybe you do not have particularly strong convictions about how your tea should be prepared, or how your shoulders should be rubbed prior to or without a foot soak. And so I will direct the subject matter of this post so that it may be both subjective and objective. Because of all the questions you could ask about other things, "is this necessary?" is a question which you might also ask about you, yourself or your behaviors.  Of course when I say "you",  I really mean "me".
It's so funny because I'm over most of the major changes. The move, the job, the having human contact outside of work. I have made accomplishments in all of these realms by and large on my own steam and in no small part due to the help I have enlisted from others. But I find that it is the small things that I really let drive me crazy. For example, there was the thing about the mint tea...it's all about expectations. I had an idea which I thought was reasonable enough that with some effort I would witness this abstraction (thought) given life in the physical realm. Now on the one hand, you may say, "let it go, it's not important". You may think, "that is a pretty silly thing to get upset about". But let us examine the roots of the issue so that we may be entertained with a character study of Sloppy J.
First, let us examine the afore mentioned attitude. That if a thought is reasonable, with intention and due diligence, it can/will be born into fruition. Is it not this very attitude which allowed me to accomplish all the things I have thus far? Without faith in this idea/philosophy, I would not have committed to coming to Taiwan, meeting random people at the night market, moving in to a sweet place, or finding a sweet musical outlet. Yet now, I see a conflict between this most useful belief system and the suggestion that my preferences and idiosyncrasies may be too rigid. But if it were not for my peculiarities, I would not have studied music like I did, or been discerning enough to choose a lifestyle which is healthy and interesting. And so I hold tenaciously to some preferences.
For example, anyone who knows me knows that I love sushi. There is a most unexpected phenomenon here in which Japanese restaurants are ubiquitous and yet do not serve sushi. Mostly, it's barbecue or "Tiwanesed" Japanese. They also may have a limited selection of sashimi. Now I know what you're saying. "What did you expect? It's a different country and culture, the sushi is not going to be the same as American sushi." I hear you. You're right...but just hear me out. We know that sushi is rice with fish on top. It's pretty simple. You take some rice. You put some fish on it. I am astounded by the lack of ability to make this food item in Taiwanese Japanese restaurants. They look at me like I have five eyes when I order only rice and Sashimi so that I may make my own. Like I just farted and a hole in the space time continuum opened. So it's hard for me to understand why they can't figure out how to put some fish on some rice, in a JAPANESE restaurant. This kind of thing gets under my skin.
Another example of an unexpected phenomenon was when I went to have a massage. Apart from the jet lag and culture shock, my shoulders have just been wrought with tension since I arrived in Taiwan. So  I walk in to the room and laid down on the bed only to be greeted by the thumping bass of some pop music. I tried to be patient. I really did. But every bass bump was like someone knocking on my head trying to get in. I had to leave... I was MOST unhappy. The very idea of playing club music in a massage parlor offends my sense of all that is correct. As I said before, I have strong preferences and find it difficult to be flexible about certain key points. Because, if I go to what I think is a sushi place and they don't have sushi, I'm not really sure how to react. If I go to a place where you are supposed to relaxed and I feel like I'm getting pumped up to hit the town, I have trouble being flexible on that point.
So this is what makes me me. This conclusion that I'm about to make is why I am who I am. Because I am willing to assert that there are somethings in which purity and specificity are important, nay, essential. Because knowing that I am picky is knowing myself and accepting that part of me. Humans are not particularly known for their saintliness...in recognizing and accepting our "devils" we become realer and happier AND, the most important part is that we treat OTHERS better because we recognize our own faults as well as those in others. And when we don't punish ourselves we feel less obligated to punish others.
So sometimes it's about accepting tapioca in your tea. And Sometimes, it's about accepting tapioca in your soul  :) (:
-Sloppy