Every man has his follies - and often they are the most interesting thing he has got.

Your oddities are not the first thing to sand down. The habits and enthusiasms that make no sense to anyone else are usually the places where you are least borrowed from other people. Competence tends to look alike, while foolishness is particular. What you apologise for at dinner is often the part somebody still remembers a year later.

Consider dropping one apology this week. Mention the strange hobby, the unreasonable collection, the thing you love badly, without the small disclaimer you usually attach to it. Notice what that does to the conversation.