Joan has listed 5 of her weird habits. I don’t know – they all sound pretty normal to me. I have the same shower habits, actually. Different music for different times of the day. Eminem in the morning, Indigo Girls or Shawn Colvin at night. It just seems RIGHT to me that way.
But still – they’re fun to read. I love people admitting how “weird” they are – and then, of course, you get people saying, “Oh my God, I do that too!!”
Here’s another one. His first one:
I have to eat pop-tarts by first eating the crust off the edges, then eating the center.
See, when people admit something like that – (not that it’s totally weird – but it is specific) – I don’t feel as alone in the world. We all have these “quirks”. Different ones, sure, but we’ve all got them. It’s like one of my favorite posts: Here are the things that make me a geek. The THINGS people admitted in the comments section!!! (One example is: “I know the number on the trash compactor in Star Wars by heart.”) But there are SO MANY MORE that just were awesome! All these quirky eccentric beautiful geeky admissions – it’s one of my favorite conversations we’ve ever had here. I just LOVE it.
So here are 5 of my weird habits:
1. I can eat fruit by itself – or on top of cereal – but I pretty much refuse to eat any fruit that is baked into anything. Blueberries on top of cereal? YUM. Blueberry muffin? Ew.
2. One of my ongoing weird projects is what I call my Country Index Cards. I have two enormous boxes of meticulously filed 5 x 7 index cards that I have created – with information on … well … different countries. Facts, cultural information, timelines, current events – I add to this growing archive as much as I can. If I read some random fact about, say, Mongolia … that I never knew … then it’s time to break out the Mongolia cards and add it to the list. Obviously this project could very quickly overwhelm all my time so I do have to keep it under control. I add to the index cards whenever it seems really pressing to do so – or whenever I learn something I didn’t know. Certain countries (Iran, for example) have probably 100 index cards alone. Other countries don’t interest me as much, so they only get one or two cards. Sorry, Honduras! Nothing personal – I just don’t really care about you and life is too short for me to give a shit about EVERY country! But Iran? Fascinating. Uzbekistan? Give me more. Serbia? Bring it on. Russia? Fuggedaboutit. Anyway. This is one of my weirdest habits and believe it or not – I actually am kind of embarrassed about the project because it doesn’t really lead anywhere … But – to be fair – I DO whip out those cards on occasion – Like, I’ll read some news report about the Ukraine – and think: “Wait, wait, wait … I seem to remember something on the index card about this … hmmmm …” So then I file through, pull out the “Ukraine section’ and read up. Yup. I’m weird.
3. I pretty much have to wake up before 7 a.m. or I feel completely out of control. I try to revel in sleeping late – but I just can’t stand it. I like to be up before the sun comes up – and actually – it’s more than “I like to be up” – it’s more of a compulsion. I HAVE to wake up really really early in order to launch my day off in the right mood. I prefer to wake up at 6 a.m. – but I can do 7 a.m. without too much psychological fallout.
4. I can remember conversations I had 20 years ago, 25 years ago, in as much detail as if I were watching a movie go past my eyes. I remember who said what, and how they were standing, and how he reached back for a drink when he said such and such … It’s not a photographic memory – not really – but a … human behavior memory.
5. I have this counting thing that I do with my right-hand. It’s mainly unconscious – but I’ve done it since I was a kid – and it is far too insane to describe. It’s not like a Howard Hughes thing – it’s not THAT bad – I don’t need to lock myself in my room if I DON’T do the counting thing – but … once the counting-thing starts (and it has to do with even numbers – don’t ask) – I have to just quickly finish it up, or it will haunt me. I can, by the way, do the counting-thing while I am doing other things – and you won’t even notice. I can be having a conversation in a crowded bar and do the counting-thing at the same time. A tiny compulsion.
Anne’s weird, too!! I love the title of her post. hahahahaha
I love the counting thing. I worship the counting thing. I love it so much that honestly, even though I don’t get it, I admire it. I remember when you explained it to me, I still didn’t get it, but it made me incredianly jealous. And I’m soooo not being patronizing in ANY WAY. I admire this skill because it’s so odd and so out of the ordinary and absolutely NOONE else can do it.
I hoenstly think it’s a mark of genius.
I, by the way, can remember lines of dialogue that I’ve heard only once, from movies or TV shows that could have happened over 30 or 40 years ago.
For instance, I can remember lines from The Mothers In Law, Dragnet, and December Bride, as well as E.R., MASH, and Law and Order.
I can’t ever do this with plays. Ever.
This, is not a skill and is a mark of insanity.
You have a mind like a steel trap, Alex.
Funny though, isn’t it – that SOME things you NEVER forget (lines from Dragnet) and other things you just can’t hold onto in your brain?
Why do certain things just STAY??
I forgot that I tried to explain the counting thing to you … hahahahahahahahaha
I think one of the strangest things I do is make up sentences as long as possible that when you type them, ignoring punctuation, you type the same number of letters with the fingers on your left hand as the fingers on your right hand. For example “The old man had a small brown mouse at his house.” See? 19 letters with each hand!!
I think I need professional help! :)
timmac –
Beautiful! Incomprehensible but totally beautiful!!! :)
I have the fruit thing, too, Sheila, but specifically with bananas. Pretty much only bananas. I love a fresh banana, but that brown, soggy mess called banana nut bread or bananas in pancakes? I’m INSTANTLY freaked out, like I need to leave the room if anyone’s partaking in front of me. I cannot stand the whole smushy smell of it.
Tinmac
I think that’s AWESOME!!!!! I don’t really know what it means, but I think it’s AWESOME!
Sheila
Yeah, but here’s the thing. I can remember old dialogue from Bewitched, but I have absolutely no idea what day it is today. I’m not kidding. I honestly don’t know if it’s Monday or Tuesday.
Alex –
hahahaha at least you’re married to MacGyver – she can keep you on track.
Oh.
And it’s Monday.
It IS Monday. I thought it was Monday. I won’t remember it’s Monday by the time I get to rehearsal today. I will have no idea you told me it was Monday in about 3 hours.
No. Idea.
tracey –
I am with you on the banana thing. But I don’t even like bananas “raw” or by themselves- Like – if i take a bite into something that has banana in it, and I am unaware of it – I will gag and spit the piece out. It’s that strong an aversion.
Weird. It seems to me that everyone likes bananas!!
Now, if you transfer your fruit thing and replace it “anything that is green except salad”, then you have my adversion to veggies.
Personally, I’d rather my friends know 50 year old dialogue from screwball comedies than what day of the week it is.
Yeah, but, I always sound like an idiot, and I have to constantly ask people what day it is, This is why I have a calendar though. I live by my calendar.
What’s awful, is when I do’t have the calendar, and someone says:
“Ph, let’s meet for lunch on thursday.”
and I have to go:
“Okay, let me run to my purse and I’ll let you know.”
Because withut my calendar, thursday could be tomorrow. And I don’t know what that means.
….how many typos are in that post?
I particularly like the “Ph”.
“Ph, let’s meet for lunch.”
I thought for a second it was supposed to be a sort of dismissive sound – like a sniff of contempt – but now I realize that you were just trying to type “O”.
WA ha ha ha HAHAHA hahahaaaaa…
“Ph, let’s meet for lunch.”
“Ph, I’ll call you later.”
“Ph, got a ciggarette?”
hahaha
“Ph.”
The ultimate show of contempt and disregard.
You share #4 with James Thurber.
I also have a penchant for retaining really obscure historic facts, for example Robert E. Lee was buried with no shoes on, because a flood in Lexington, VA had washed away the local undertaker’s supply of adult sized caskets and the only one that could be found was too small for him with his shoes on…I tried that little factoid on my wife and her response was “Ph!”
i occasionally catch myself touching my thumb to each finger for every syllable i hear, think, speak, or read. and sometimes counting them. then a wave of self-hatred thankfully crashes and makes me stop. and i usually listen better from that point on.
Tinmac
I just spit out my coffee.
But see, here’s the thing, YOU know really cool stuff, that like, PEOPLE want to know. You could tell that trivia to a normal person and they wouldn’t go “Ph” at all, they would write it down and store it somewhere.
Who cares that I know that Mike Brady said:
“….and gre-e-e-at big ruby right in there.”
..when he was explaining to Marica how Cleopatra wore her braces.
Who, I ask you. Who.
weird–brendan i do the same thing! that is so weird!
i also love the title of this post. jsut made me laugh.
The fruit thing is funny. I have that with mayonnaise. I refuse to eat a sandwich with it on it…even a tiny bit. I can’t even scrape it off the bread and then eat it. I won’t eat it if plain mayo has touched the stuffings of the sandwich at all. Yet I love tuna salad sandwiches which have far more mayo…it’s just mixed in.
Bren –
“thankfully a wave of self hatred crashes”
hahahahahahaha
I absolutely love how quickly Timmac assimilated the “Ph” insult.
hahahaha
Brendan
You’re a genius. Runs in the damn family.
We should always carry “Ph” with us. I think Tinamc’s use of it is brilliant, and I think it works for many situations.
I like that it’s a bit bitter and bit off putting. No need to curse, or get angry, just a simple “Ph!” and you’re done.
I like it.
Alex,
Appreciate the support, although mostly my obscure historical observations are met with glazed looks! I do suspect there are more people out there who are interested in Marcia and MIke Brady’s dialogue than you think, though!
My cousin Ken is one of those people who knows, within literally .57 seconds – which Brady Bunch episode it is.
Like – nothing has even HAPPENED – you see Alice dusting a vase – and he can shout out the episode.
Tim –
and then there are people like myself who need to know about Robert E. Lee’s burial debacle AS WELL AS Marcia’s braces.
Red,
That’s why your website is my first destination in the morning and last one at night, I really can relate to a lot of the stuff you write about. The scope of your site is so all-encompassing, and I really enjoy laughing/crying/learning/contributing along with you and your friends.
Ph.
JUST KIDDING!!!
Thank you. :)
Edges-first is the only way to eat PopTarts.
I thought everyone knew that.
Bingley – in my mind there has never been a question on that score.
Im like that with Cosby Show episodes. I can normally peg which episode it is in the opening seconds and can tell you every scene and what the moral to be learned is.
First of all–I don’t know about anyone else, but I NEED to hear more about the counting thing. None of this “it is far too insane to describe” stuff. I say, “Let’s have details, dear.”
For myself, I am borderline addicted to Sugarless Popsicles. My favorites are the two-packs of Orange and Grape. I always eat the Orange one first. To do otherwise might involve throwing the Earth off its axis.
I can remember rounds of golf from 25 years ago, and tell you every shot that all four members in the group hit. I have played with guys who couldn’t remember what they did on No. 8 that day, and I can tell them what they did on No. 8 eleven years ago.
One more–if I am wearing a sweater, I won’t take it off even if the temperature goes up to 90 degrees. Once it’s on, it stays on. My friends know this quirk, and enjoy much levity at my expense.
DBW –
//For myself, I am borderline addicted to Sugarless Popsicles. My favorites are the two-packs of Orange and Grape. I always eat the Orange one first. To do otherwise might involve throwing the Earth off its axis.//
i am guffawing with laughter. I LOVE IT!!!
Okay. The counting thing.
Here are the basic tenets:
If skin touches skin (as in – finger to finger) – then that counts as 4 (each finger equalling 2 – an even number, obviously). But if – accidentally – my finger touches my sweater, or something inanimate – then that will result in an odd number. So: Finger = 2, sweater = 1. So then I must touch my sweater one more time – to even it up.
So this then results in me tip-tapping my fingers away – onto each other, and then onto the sweater (or whatever) – in order to end up with an even number.
Oh, and to add to that – if all 5 of my fingers touch my wall, for example – then i will feel compelled to tap the wall twice – with all 5 fingers touching – because that would then add up to 10.
It’s the odd number that torments me as something unfinished.
I sense there are many depths to the counting thing, but I will be happy for now with this little explanation. My son does a little counting thing on the roof of his mouth with his tongue. He doesn’t like to talk about it.
BTW, aren’t all of our own idiosyncracies “tiny compulsions?” It’s everyone else who has “major problems.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
I totally relate. I’m the same way. I am sure there are huge Freudian depths to my need to even everything up and not leave any odd numbers hanging …. but I have enough psychological problems to worry about – I’m just gonna leave this one a mystery.
Tip-tapping away as we speak …
Of course, you realize I will pester you subtly with odd numbered things now that I know this–it’s my nature. LOL
Oh, I don’t care about odd numbers when they are abstract – it is only TACTILE odd numbers that bother me. I don’t know why. I can look at 2 + 3 = 5 and have no bad feelings about that at all. But finger touching sweater = 3, not 4 – and I just can’t have that. So tap sweater one more time to even it up to 4.
I TOLD YOU IT WAS WEIRD!!!
1) Mostly I’m the opposite. Except for bananas.
2) That’s kind of cool. I wouldn’t do it, but it’s cool. :)
3) 7am?? Thought actors were like musicians. Work late, sleep to noon.
4) That’s not weird. I do it too.
5) Sounds a bit OCD to me. :)) But not weird.
According to most folks I know I’m just weird in general. I’m sure my kids would say everything I do is weird. Can’t pick out 5 things.
1. I eat fruit every which way – but ANY fruit in bagels is loathsome. Garlic? Onion? Salt? Sure. Blueberries? On a BAGEL? Ph.
2. I’m amazed.
3. I’m the same way with 9AM. Not that I’ve slept anywhere near 9 in five years…
4. I’m awed.
5. I don’t even UNDERSTAND it and I’m awed.
Might have to do this one.
Five Weird Things
Sheila’s got another meme (via Joan) that I have to try. How does it go? Just explain five weird things about yourself. I think I can find five:When I notice I’ve stepped on a crack in the sidewalk with one…
So many comments, so little time… First of all, with the tapping. I do a version of that in which my fingers of my right hand can’t unevenly touch things. For example, if the middle, ring and pinky finger touch something, I must go back and touch with my pointer and thumb to make it “even”. This is especially true at night when I am falling asleep. I drumb my fingers quietly-and evenly. Never even thought about it until this post!! ha ha
The Brady’s- my sister Christy knows them ALL very quickly, much like Ssor Nek. Nadnerb, care to share??? hee hee
I too thought that “Ph” was intentional. I rather like it, and now plan on using it in daily conversation. Very condescending. Awesome.
beth –
“I drumb my fingers quietly-and evenly. ” hahahahahahaha i am shaking with laughter
WHY??? WHY DO WE DO THIS???
all day I have been aware of how much I tap to make things “even” and now I feel completely bonkers.
I think it’s cool to learn these things about people. I have a weird quirk that is also very hard to explain (like your numbers thing- I’m still a little hazy on that), especially if you don’t know anything about riding horses, but hey- you asked, right?
When you’re riding a horse and heading towards a jump, there’s a certain point before the jump that you want to position the horse so that you jump over smoothly. You don’t want to leave too far away or too close to the jump, right? That place is called a “spot” or “distance.” You want to keep the same rhythm in the horse’s stride and jump the fence in that same rhythm.
So my compulsion is that when I’m walking, running, anything- I have the rhythm of a horse’s canter in my head and I have to find the correct “distance” to step over things, like cracks in the sidewalk.
When I’m driving, I do the same thing with shadows, lightpoles on the side of the road. I have the rhythm in my head and as I’m driving by, I mentally “jump” over the things on the side of the road.
Whew. I’ve never told anyone that. Does that make me weird?
The Pop Tart thing set me off on my weird eating quirks.
-I love green olives stuffed with pimento. I always eat them the same way: I suck out the pimento, eat it first, and THEN eat the olive part.
-When left to my own devices, I will sort any type of multi-colored candy (M&Ms, Skittles, gummi bears) into its various colors, then eat the extras so that there’s the same number of candies in each color pile. Then I will systematically eat one from each pile until they are gone. I always eat my least favorite colors/flavors first, so that the last one I eat will be my favorite flavor/color. I discovered at Thanksgiving that my brother does the sorting thing, too.
Oh, and a non-eating one: when I was a kid, I would play with toys I didn’t like very much because I felt bad for them and I wanted to even things out and play with all the toys equally. I’m not sure if this translates to anything in my adult life. Will have to think about that.
I have a weird thing with memory as well. I can remember numbers very well. I can still remember my parent’s license plate and my brother’s license from 50 years ago. I can remember telephone numbers and addresses with zip codes and social security numbers and my credit card numbers and bank account numbers. Yet if you introduce me to someone by name and we chat for a few minutes, 9 times out of 10 I will not remember that name 2 minutes later. If you tell me their address or telephone number, I will remember that but never their name.
The other thing that drives me nuts is all the women I know who instantly remember someone’s married name as soon as the ceremony finishes. If I remember their name at all I remember the first one I met them by. I know women who remember the first and all subsequent ones and connect them right up with no problem. I’ll bet they can even remember all the married names of Elizabeth Taylor in order or Zsa Zsa Gabor in order. I have no idea how they do it. I sure can’t!