I HAVE ALWAYS FELT EXTREMELY WEIRD.
BUT I AM VERY HAPPY WITH MY WEIRDNESS,
AND I WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO BE
VERY HAPPY WITH THEIRS.
(Alice Sebold)
When I was a kid, I made up a game called "Teenager," which included prancing around the dining room table on the way to "work," fielding phone calls on the plastic phone from potential "dates," and ultimately getting married while wearing a blanket as a veil. This game was played by only three people - me, my little sister...and my maternal grandmother. (Before you all say how sweet that was, keep in mind, I also made up a game called "Plane Crash" where my friends and I utilized the dining room table for survivor-like purposes.)
When I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I eat the insides first then separate the crusts and eat them one at a time, like french fries. (This is not from when I was a kid. This happened the other day.)
I do not like crowds. At all. The noise, the press of bodies, leaves me wanting to claw my way through, out. I will brave a crowd if necessary or if it's an event I really want to attend, but it sucks so much energy out of me that afterward, I am totally exhausted.
I absolutely hate to not return library books on time. I tell myself that the fines are small or that the money goes to the library, but it doesn't matter. It just somehow feel like a personal failure.
I talk to the tortoises throughout the day. A lot. Even when they're sleeping. Even when I bet they wish I'd be quiet.
This week, let's celebrate our quirkiness! Go ahead and share some of your "weirdness" in the comments. (The tortoises would really appreciate it because it would give me something to do other than talking to them. They need a break.)
I love quirks. We all have them. Your peanut butter sandwich quirk is an interesting one :)
ReplyDeleteMy weirdest quirk is that I have to put the cream and Equal in my coffee the exact same way and order every time. My boss thinks I'm nuts ;)
I bet your boss has a few quirks of his or her own. :)
DeleteI always eat a peanut butter sandwich after eating popcorn. Must be the salt.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should put popcorn on your sandwich and save a step. :)
DeleteHA! My post today is about being 'that eccentric lady'. But I eat the crusts FIRST (just like I eat the cake first) because I like to save the part I love MOST (the squishy middle and the frosting) for last.
ReplyDeleteI didn't embrace my inner quirk until I was about a senior in high school. I think it is that I was tall and already stood out, so didn't want to stand out MORE until I finally realized I actually could thrive BETTER not fitting in.
The crusts ARE my favorite part. :)
DeleteI don't like crowds either. They are exhausting. And I feel the same way about library books. I eat crusts last, and I don't like frosting on my cake at all.
ReplyDeleteBut I do love quirks. That's a great opening quote today.
See, I love cake frosting. You could scrape it off and give it to me. :)
DeleteI'm with you on the crowd thing. I really don't like it though it's better outside then inside. I have some eating quirks. I never mix food together. The closest I come is putting milk on my cereal. I never put jelly with my peanut butter though I like both. I also don't use condiments.
ReplyDeleteYou're right - crowds outside are better.
DeleteAnd I suppose you could eat dry cereal then drink milk? :)
Quirks are wonderful! I can't let my fingernails get too long, and I get the heebie jeebies from the idea of painting them . . . they are clipped to finger length and kept clean from polish, etc. Ok, that's almost an OCD quirk, but there it is.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever see any of those pics of the people with the World's Longest Fingernails or something like that? If you haven't, DON'T. :)
DeleteI FINALLY got my laptop battery so wheee! (I loved catching up--I've missed reading your lovely writing!) Now, let's see...weirdness.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing, weirdness. I don't think the things I do are weird--and you wouldn't believe how much authors love Cathy-on-a-Stick, so really, what's weird? :-)
But okay, I have a whole slew of sports-related somewhat superstitious quirks. Like if I'm sitting with Mister Man and my team has the ball, I'll threaten to throw something at him if my team screws up. He's pretty darn invested in the games, for at least as long as he stays in the room with me.
Is that the sort of quirky behavior you meant??? :-)
I think it's really Cathy-on-a-Stick who has all the quirks in your household. Mr. H just needs to wear a helmut or body armor to watch sports with you, that's all. Nothing weird about that.... :)
DeleteI still talk to my dog. Even though she's like 15 years old and mostly deaf.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she still "hears" you, in her own way.
DeleteMadeline, we would SO have been good friends as kids. I made up a game called LAVA DEATH where I would put sofa cushions on the floor and have to hop on each one, otherwise I would die and wriggle around pretending to burn. (And yet I turned out normal. Sort of.) Other weird things I do: count stairs as I climb them, mutter to myself constantly when there's no one around, and fill up pages with handwriting so I can run my hand over them.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have played LAVA DEATH as a kid! And I talk to myself all the time...when I'm not talking to the tortoises, that is. :)
DeleteHA! You made me laugh... eating your sammiches like fries... I'm afraid there is nothing, absolutely nothing weird about me. *clears throat so you believe me*
ReplyDeleteWhat the HELL is Cathy-on-a-stick???????
Just the crusts, Cathy. Just the crusts. I'm not totally crazy. :)
DeleteAnd if you want to meet Cathy-on-a-Stick, go on over and visit Ms. Cathy C Hall. Tell her I sent you.