"I YAM WHAT I YAM AND THAT'S ALL THAT I YAM!"

Popeye and I have a lot in common. He joined the Navy, I joined the Navy. He eats spinach by the can, I eat spinach by the can (I'm still working on the "squeezing it into the air and catching it in my mouth" part). He smokes a pipe and has freakishly large forearms, I once smoked a pipe and...you get the point.

He was also fond of saying to anyone who would listen, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam!" I don't really remember why he said that, but it got me thinking: When it comes to my classification as an eater, what am I?

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Truth is, I've been defined as a lot of things. I've been called two-faced and a traitor (for eating in IFOCE contests and with AICE eaters). I've been called a blogger (because this website overshadows my eating skills, which I won't argue). I've been called "a limp-wristed pansy" (because I gagged on the balut...that stuff was nasty, people!). And, most recently, I was called "independent" (according to Carey, an unnamed assailant branded me with that label).

Funny thing is, "independent" is a pretty fair description of who I yam.

I'm not an IFOCE eater, meaning I'm not ranked or contracted by them and I don't limit myself solely to IFOCE contests. Honestly, the thought of swearing off local contests, restaurant challenges and competitions against friends is horrifying. I'm also not an AICE eater, even though the term "independent" is in their title. It's true that I have eaten with AICE eaters in restaurant challenges and I call more than a few of them friends, but I've never eaten in an officially sanctioned AICE contest.

So I guess that makes me an independent eater. There, I said it, I'm independent. Not tied down by contracts, rules, commissioners or any other organizational bodies. I eat what I want, when I want, with who want, where I want, and how I want. And, if I'm not feeling in the "fertilized chicken egg mood," I'll even eat as little as I want.