Jami's Personal Space Rules

Let's talk personal space. It's true that in different cultures the rules of personal space are different. And we all have our levels of comfort depending on the situation. But I seem to have two levels - Stranger Danger (which includes casual acquaintances and coworkers) and Inner Circle. Basically, from the time I meet you until I decide that we are good friends, you need to be outside easy touching range. By this I mean, if you can touch me without leaning or moving forward to do so, you are too close. It sets off my TOO CLOSE alarm inside my head. The alarm has nothing to do with how scary you look or how large or anything. I remember meeting a future coworker at an office party. The boss introduced me to this very sweet, middle-aged, short and soft-looking lady who immediately hugged me. My alarm went off so loudly inside my head, I feared that others were hearing it. Boss: "What's that noise?" Me: "What noise? I don't hear any alarm bells." Once you're in the circle, you can (practically) sit on top of me without me minding. I am a hugger, but only once we are at that point. I had a group of friends in high school that clumped together like a pack of puppies, and I loved that. Leaning up against each other, walking arm-in-arm, piling on the couch - it rocks. Maybe I'm odd and everyone else has stages. You can be this far from me, then this far, then closer - like wildlife approaching an unknown. But for me, it's just the two (or maybe three for people that I don't even want to be in the same zip code with, like OJ Simpson or the State Farm Guy). No gradations, no negotiation. Be warned then. If you keep advancing on me because I'm edging away, you're not welcome in the Inner Circle yet. If I invite you to share my chair - you're in. UPDATE: I can't figure out how to get the Dilbert to fit in the blog, at least on my computer. Here's a link to the Dilbert site.