we're all just a little bit crazy
this post will be dedicated to the little part of everyone that's just a little bit obsessive-compulsive. i'll list mine and you all can list yours (though there's no way yours are as weird as mine).
- small, shelled candy (m&m's, skittles, etc...): i have to have an even number in my mouth. i chew half with one side of my mouth and the other half with the other side. i try to do four every time, so when i do four, then i can't have two of the same color on the same side of my mouth. for example, if i pulled out two greens, a blue and a red, i could do green-blue and green-red but not green-green and blue-red. if i pull out three or four of the same color, i will drop them back in until i get an acceptable combination. if there are only three or five left, i will bite the odd one in half with my front teeth and half goes on each side. sometimes, i will just pour a bunch into my mouth. this is only acceptable if i split the volume between the sides of my mouth. the colors rule does not apply if there are only three or five left or if i'm eating them in the dark or if i eat a bunch.
- pretzel rods: i always bite with my molars and try to split the rod lengthwise.
- regular pretzels: they're shaped after monk boys praying. if you think of them this way then the boy's elbows go into my mouth first.
- stepping on cracks: i try to avoid stepping on cracks for ease of mind. if i do step on a crack with one foot, then i must step on another crack with the other foot in the (almost) exact part of the foot that first stepped on a crack. for example, if i step on a crack with the ball of my left foot, then i must step on a crack with the ball of my right foot to feel balanced. i cannot step on a crack with the heel of my right foot, unless i then counter it with a crack with the heel of my left foot and then a crack with the ball of my right foot. this phenomenon only happens when i walk by myself or if (while walking with others) i'm conscious of it.
- stairs: when going up or down stairs, i count the number of stairs. for stairs i use often, i know then exact number of stairs. the stairs on the north side of my building has 2, small landing, 21, 2nd floor, 9, small landing, 9, and third floor. the south side: 18, 2nd floor, 9, small landing, 9, and third floor. at work in the stairwell between the basement and 1st floor: 10, small landing (ground level), 9, and first floor. the back stairwell at work has 10. the front of the building has 6. i prefer an even number of stairs so i can take them two at a time and not worry about leftovers. for an odd-number of stairs, i will take the first step by itself and then the rest two at a time. same rule applies as with cracks while walking: only happens when alone or when i'm conscious of it. if i zone out during a conversation while walking over many cracks or while going up/down stairs, this is probably why.
- radio volume: this isn't so prominent anymore now that i have a different radio. i had a cd player in my truck that used numbers for volume. i had to leave the volume on a number ending in 0, 2, 5, or 7. nothing else felt right.
just typing these makes me realize how weird i can be. they're not too extreme so that if i don't flick a light switch on and off 27 times before i leave a room or else my family will die. that kind needs professional help. no, these are just little things that i just can't help doing. i can't imagine anyone else's being as weird as mine without seeking help, but i look forward to reading them!
p.s. if you don't understand any of these, ask me in person next time you see me. for the first three, i require that you supply the m&m's (plain) or pretzels.
posted by scott at 2:31 PM
20 Comments:
I can only listen to volume on odd numbers. Sometimes I have to look away because I know I'll annoy them if I see it end up on an even number. It's kinda like a sickness.
I always brush my teeth the same way. And I can't rush brushing my teeth. I have to have a certain amount of time and I need to get all the regular rotations.
I have to step with the same part of my opposite foot on a crack too. I actually did it using shadows this morning too on the way into work.
I like to, but don't always get to, put Chapstick on right before I fall asleep. I hate going to bed with dry lips.
Yay for strange quirks!
ummmmm.
hmmmmm.
That was four minutes of thinking, and nope I can't think of anything like that.
It drives me crazy when my hair is long enough go over the tops of my ears.
another thing. when walking on brick pads, i generally try to step on a brick so that it is parallel with my foot.
this morning, i just threw caution to the wind and stepped on cracks like crazy and stepped at odd angles on the bricks. man, i feel so crazy!!
p.s. anonymous comments are allowed so don't be shy.
wow. are all engineers this weird?
:)
not that chem majors aren't...
jenny~ it varies from engineer to engineer, but we generally don't get out into society much. chemists must have some strange quirks too! you can tell us jenny; we're all a little crazy here!
I have to eat hard shelled candies one at a time. If I eat more than one it has to be an even number and I can't mix colors in my mouth. Usually I separate the colors into their own little piles before I start eating them. I also count stairs even when I already know how many are there. My morning and night time routine has to be in a certain order or else it throws me off. I have to crawl into bed a certain way or else I feel weird when I lay down to sleep. I have to take the tab off a can of pop before I can thow it away. I also have a certain way I have to rinse my mouth after I brush my teeth. I'm sure there's more....
When I eat Skittles or M&Ms I divide out the colors into piles then put them in rows of two. If I have an odd number, I eat the extra one by itself and then eat 2 at a time, both the same color. Or I can eat more than 2, as long as I am eating an even number of the same color.
Here I thought I was the only one who ate pretzel rods like that, Scott!! Ha!
When I am stressed, I find that I will click or tap my teeth. First on one side and then on the other. I count as I do this, having to do sets of 5 on each side.
I have to dry off the same way when I get out of the shower. Right arm, left arm, face, squeeze hair in towel, back, right leg, left leg.
Everynight before I get into bed I have to make sure that my closet door is closet tight. Even if I have just closet it and know that it, I still have to check.
When I eat any sort of colored candy (Skittles, M&Ms, Good & Plenty, etc) and I get down to fewer than about 15, I sort them all out by their colors and eat the one that have the most until I have an even number of all of them. I then take turns eating one from each group until they're gone.
Toothbrushing: lower left outer, lower right outer, lower left tops, lower left inner, lower right inner, lower right tops, upper left outer, upper right outer, upper left bottoms, upper left inner, upper right inner, upper right bottoms. In that order. Always.
When I walk on tile floors where the tiles are about 18" across I walk like I'm a chess knight. Two up, one over with the left foot; two up, one over with the right.
I always take stairs two at a time and try to remember which flights are odd numbered and which are even so I can always land on the top (or bottom) instead of one off.
I don't step on cracks in the sidewalk. It has nothing to do with my mother's back.
I like things being in order & patterns. My mom has a 3-leveled wrack for plates. If at all possible I arrange the plates so each level has one less plate than the level below it. If I'm at someone's house & they have books or movies out of chronological or numerical order, I "correct" it for them.
I stand corrected:
What is wrong with you people?!?
ha! we're all freaks! come, join us matthew...
i thought i saw it last weekend, but it turned out to be something else. and it was up in peru so it's not worth it.
and you get a b+ on that last comment. easily passable, but it is a major mistake.
You were at my house yesterday? :) I didn't even know that did I?
we just studied ocd in psych my last week of summer school. I can't really think of any anymore, but I used to look over every part of my room for spiders before going to bed and I used to like to run up the stairs and shut my door after it was shut. That was rather weird, but I was quite young. I always slept fully covered, face and all, because I was very scared of ET hiding beside my bed.
In response to Matt - people who are perfectly normal have some serious issues.
As to the grammar issue, it really could go either way. It depends on if you're wanting emphasize how much time you've worked or how many hours you've worked. When it comes to time, either one can be done properly.
I never said I was normal, I just have different quirks then some of the posts here.
And you might want to define "normal" for this to make any sense.
When putting an appliance away, I always make sure the cord is wrapped around in the same direction.
Before going to bed, I have to make sure that the blankets are all neatly arranged and straightened with no wrinkles and evenly proportioned lengths on 3 sides before I can get into bed for the night.
ooh! a grammar war!
...or is it a grammatical war?
David, your profile is Inaccessible and so I have nothing but your first name. Please correct this.
And you "grammanitarians" need to let up on internet grammer. I cannot stand total lack of grammer and spelling on the internet though. The lack of capitilization on the part of Scott in his blog and comments for example. Your blog isn't an IM message, you could format it just a little.
Does anyone else mess up the verification for posting a comment about 50% of the time like I do?
ode to matt~
as for morgan and wilhelm, it's built into their personality.
misspellings on the internet or anywhere do bother me greatly, but i can let some grammatical errors slide mostly because i don't know every grammatical rule. despite the fact that misspellings and poor grammar bother me, i generally don't say anything because i don't want to put anyone down because of that.
my lack of capitalization has nothing to do with spelling or grammar. i just don't feel that it's necessary because this isn't being graded, it won't affect my getting a job anywhere, and it doesn't have to look professional. under these circumstances, i feel that hitting the shift key is a waste of a keystroke unless using it produces a totally different character. i mean, it is my blog after all.
I know about OCD and if you're wondering if you have it...take it from someone who knows...it sure looks like you do. Some meds might help.
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