day #14

QUIRKS

Alright friends, if you used to follow my other blog back in the day, this may be a repeat for some of you.  But it's the requirement for day 14, and I'm willingly obeying.  

The truth of it is, I love quirks. I love getting to know someone and realizing their quirks are just as funny as mine! Why do we hide these unique little things about ourselves? Just to fit in and seem "normal" ?? Normal isn't fun! Everyone's got 'em, I say let's flaunt them. I'll start, and display some of my silliest quirks so we can all get a good laugh.

Sometimes I pick chunks of my hair from the back of head and twirl it in a sequential rhythm (over-over-under) . This action doesn’t necessarily mean I’m nervous or bored, although it does seem to happen then too. It actually started when I used to make fun of my mother for the same action. What started as teasing, then became habit.

I always count stairs when I'm going up or down, always, so I can tell you confidently there were 17 steps to where I lived in Tennessee, 16 steps to my apartment in OKC, and 4 steps outside my apartment now, down the little path.

My hands (and most of the hands on my dad's side of the family) are extremely wrinkled on the palm-side and look like they are 80 years old. My friends in high school actually celebrated my hands’ 80th birthday, when I turned 18. I always hated them, but now I don't mind them so much. (My hands, not my friends.) haha

I played drums for so long that when I hear music of any kind, rhythm is the very first thing I notice. I actually have to consciously choose to pay attention to lyrics and other elements. I even find myself drumming to the music on the alarm clock radio when I wake up, before any conscious thought even enters my sleepy brain.

For whatever reason, as of the last few years, I’ve stopped using my sister’s name entirely. Now I just call her Sister. And I think she finds it endearing. =)

I still have a piece of graphite stuck under the skin on my side where I got stabbed in 5th grade. But don't worry, it was an accidental stabbing, not a violent stabbing.  I wonder if it will ever surface?  gross...

I get hungry every night if I'm still awake at midnight. This is what I call second dinner,or 4th meal. This is also why I try to go to bed BEFORE midnight. Daniel used to get so annoyed with me every night when I'd say "OMG you know what sounds delicious right now?  TACOS!!!" haha...

When the television is on, I have to put the volume on an even number or a multiple of five, even if an odd number is actually the volume level that is most desirable. I am willing to suffer the difference of one notch higher or lower in order to keep it on an even number.

I pop my gum backwards, and loudly. This is not a nervous habit, but something I do EVERY TIME I have gum in my mouth, and most of the time I don't even know I'm doing it until my jaw gets sore or someone smacks me for annoying them. Which is why I try not to chew gum at all anymore.

As I shop for groceries, I have to put the items in the cart in a logical order (frozen things with frozen things, produce in the basket on top, boxes lines up neatly, drinks with drinks.) I cannot possibly handle a cart that has items carelessly tossed in. I must rearrange. And this is why people don't like grocery shopping with me, and why I'm more than happy to do it solo.

I have a long fuse. I very rarely get mad about something. But, I have a very short fuse with technological devices malfunctioning (i.e. my office printer spewing ink at me, cell phone reception that cuts me off or drops my call, computers that freeze up.) I get violently angry at these things in 3 seconds or less. At this point I believe in percussive maintenance. (smack the crap out of it)

When it comes to food, I will try anything once. Surprisingly, my list of things I will never eat again is short, and seems to be things that most people like: Dr. Pepper, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Crutons, Black Olives. I think everything else I've ever tasted, I've liked and would eat again.

October is my favorite month for the following, very important reasons: cooler weather, post-season baseball, sweaters and hoodies, blankets, orange and yellow leaves. Come on, nothing beats that.

I think sandwiches are my favorite food. Of all the awesome dishes I've had at restaurants, or at someone’s house who is an amazing cook, I still think its hard to beat a good samich. =)

I love dishes. (yeah I'm that lady and I'm only 25!) In the last couple years I've acquired enough dishes to feed at least 30 people at once, even though my apartment would only accomodate maybe 4. So come over sometime for dinner!

I'm a super-pro when it comes to Packing/Moving. I have a very specific system of packing. Every box is labeled with a letter and a number. Each box has a corresponding note card that has listed on it the complete contents of the box. This way, when I wanted to find the cord that runs from my computer to my printer, i just open up my notecard-box and go through the "desk" cards. Then I just have to find box D5. My boxes in storage were always lined up label facing out, and in order box 1 on top, box 6 on bottom, etc. Sister made fun of me when I moved into my apartment and I had boxes in their specific place to be unpacked. She asked me where the box labeled OCD was. Boooooo, Sister.
I think I was born to mother. I miss my college friends, but I think I mostly miss taking care of them. I loved having people in Edmond (my hometown) who weren’t from Edmond, and when they needed a button sewn back on their shorts, or their pants hemmed, they came to me. I loved baking cookies or cupcakes for their birthdays, and I even loved taking care of them when they were sick (and "sick" usually meant hungover.)

I think I classify as a clean freak. I cannot STAND when dishes or glasses are left out in the living room, or even if they are sitting in the sink. Dishes have 2 places they belong in my world: 1) clean and put away in the cabinet or 2) full of food at the table, being USED. Any other place is really quite unacceptable for me, including the sink!

I'm sure I could go on for days and days, seeing as I'm fairly quirky. But I'm chosing to embrace it!! My friend Bryan and I actually have had this thing going for years, we call it "IFILWS" which stands for "I fell in love with someone..." then we finish the sentence about a random stranger who displayed their quirks in public. Example: "IFILWS for dancing down the aisle in Walmart to the music over the loudspeaker" ... or one of my favorites Bryan said recently: "IFILW two grown-ass men for running barefoot like children across hot sand, from shady spot to shady spot, so as not to burn their feet... giggling the whole way." Bottom line.. we ALL do hilarious things. We are funny folks! Just share it and embrace it; it makes life so much more FUN!