No, they’re probably adorable. When you squeak “thank you, door!” is when it gets goofy.
What makes something a quirk?
I ask because… when I tie my shoelaces, I take the bows and the lace ends and tuck them into the criss-crossed laces. It works like a double bow to prevent laces from coming undone, it’s as easy and quick to do as a double bow, and it’s much quicker and easier to undo. Stops laces catching on anything (undergrowth, say.)
I don’t know anyone else who does this, but if you ask me, that’s their quirk - I’m the one being logical.
j
I do that too. I have some shoes that the laces are so long they drag on ground otherwise.
See? We’re the normal ones.
j
My cousin just got me some! Socks, pajamas, slippers. Suede-ish. Fleece-ish. I’m not sure the material, but some are so great, but not the kind of sock where my feet felt so great, I actually stood up, and walk around. Wish I would have got the name, but I don’t know what happened to them. Holes, maybe. Or they lose their magic after a lot of standing?
I have none ::twitch::. My wife, however, doesn’t close things: jars, chip bags, closets, cupboards, etc. Our kitchen sink has one of those spray nozzles that’s on a flexible metal hose; she never seats it back into the holder. We used to have a lot of spillages in the early days, but she’s gotten much better with jars and condiments. I still never pick one up by the lid, though. Also, throwing away any quantity of food is a sin for her, even the tiniest drop of salsa in a jar will sit in the fridge until I get tired of looking at it. Crumbs in the bottom of the chip bag: who’s going to eat those?
All that said, I wouldn’t trade her for anyone.
When returning to my house from place x, I strongly prefer not to (exactly) retrace the route I used driving there.
Probably related: I have several walking routes around my neighborhood which measure roughly 2 miles and do not require me to even cross my own path while walking on the correct side of the road (facing traffic).
I hate waiting in line, to an irrational degree. I’ll drive ten minutes out of my way to a different store to avoid standing in line for five minutes. I won’t wait in line for a pump at the gas station unless it’s the only gas station around and I would otherwise risk running out of gas.
I hate making and receiving phone calls. I’ll drive a half hour out of my way to talk to someone face-to-face in order to avoid a two-minute phone call.
When the cars in front of me don’t start moving within a couple of seconds of the light turning green, I’ll make a little move-along gesture with my hand. Nobody else can see it, except my passengers if I happen to have any, but somehow it makes me feel better.
I often silently count my steps when I’m out for a walk or hike. I usually count to fifty and then start over. But instead of the normal way of counting 1-50 (1, 2, 3, … 48, 49, 50), instead I’ll usually count 1-20, then 1-5, then 1-5 again, then 1-20 again, or some other symmetrical pattern that totals 50 (e.g., 15+10+10+15).
At every parking lot I use at least once or twice a year, I have a favorite parking spot and I’m disappointed if I can’t park in it or at least near it. That might be rational if my favorite spot were the one closest to the door, but it never is among the very closest. I have no idea how my unconscious mind picks my favorite spot, since there’s not a lot of commonality between my favorite spots in different lots in terms of distance to the door, left side vs right side, etc.
That’s for chili.
We do not allow commercials in our house. We regard Madison Avenue as a running psy-ops with the single goal of triggering envy and jealousy. This is done so consumers will spend frivolously in an attempt to gain status. We view it as poison, and put considerable effort into banishing it from our home. Our kids were never allowed external connections in their rooms, and could only have recorded shows. At the main TV we watch streaming or DVDs almost exclusively, and when we watch news or a special event, someone is in charge of the remote and mutes all commercials. We used to allow an exception during the super bowl, but that was back when the ads were funny.
We also mute all politicians and any speaker in front of a prepared backdrop. If they went to the effort to print and erect a banner covered with slogans, it’s not news, it’s propaganda.
TV ads usually change scenes once per second. After muting when I look away or read something, I can still see the flash-flash-flash-flash-flash in my peripheral vision. When the flashing stops, it usually signals the end of the carnival barkers.
She and my husband must be twins separated at birth. He will leave a tablespoon of food in a container and put it carefully away. No jar lid tightening for him either. I hate wasting food too, that’s why we have casseroles, and chickens, dogs, compost piles. In his mind that’s “wasting” (not the casseroles). So he waits until that tablespoon of food rots and I have to throw it out, but he never is going to change. He has many virtues (and many, many weird quirks).
I thought my dog was the only one who did this! We say she’s “orbiting.” I’ll be walking down the street and she’s just walking constant circles around me tethered by the leash like I’m the earth and she’s a moon. I’ve never seen another dog do that.
Shoes (light weight hikers) stay on all day even though I work from home sitting at a computer. Same with regular cloths (jeans or shorts, fleece top). I’m much more comfortable that way.
My wife goes straight to the PJ’s when she gets home. If I’m sure don’t need to do anything else that evening, I’ll take my shoes off.
I love tentacled creatures in the way many people love kittens.
I’m both very shy and extremely friendly. It’s very hard for me to introduce myself or initiate conversation but if you do talk to me I will be nice and fun. I wish I could wear a sign or something that lets people know this.
I refuse to let my husband write the official grocery list because his handwriting is sloppy. Instead I copy over his list to a clean template and add my stuff.
I give myself gold stickers for brushing my teeth twice a day and flossing. It works. I’m a behavioral modification nerd.
I just realized I forgot to floss today.
My husband puts chip clips on everything, and I think it’s stupid. This box of Cheerios that will be consumed in a week does not need a bloody chip clip. He’s so, uh, meticulous and methodical and risk-adverse it occasionally drives me nuts. Like just accept that there is a tiny chance the food will go stale and save yourself some time in the kitchen. (Me. Save me some time by not having to replace your stupid clips all the time.)
Trying to decide what’s an actual quirk or is just autism/stimming related…
I used to have a habit of cracking the cartilage in my nose the way one might crack their knuckles. Then five years ago I burst a blood vessel on my septum which led to a month of bleeding out and two cauterizations, so I had to force myself to break that habit.
I alphabetize and subcategorize all the books, music and movies on all my shelves. For CDs, individual artists are organized chronologically. And I keep a lot of Excel documents listing stuff…I have a huge one containing every Frank Zappa track, album on which it appears, and locations/dates of the live recording, if applicable. This serves absolutely zero function, but I find it necessary.
If I tell you I’ll meet you in Denver tomorrow at noon (a 13 hour drive), somehow I’ll roll in at 11:59. Yesterday I arrived at 2 appointments to the second. It’s not conscious at all. I have a riding buddy the same way–we’ll aim to meet at a trailhead 2 hours away and both pull in within seconds.
Whenever, wherever music is playing I am constantly making up new lyrics in my head. I do it so much that my wife became annoyed by it long ago so I don’t do it out loud anymore. I even annoy myself by doing it in my head but it’s like an obsession I can’t stop.
At the bar this past weekend was the Brooks & Dunn My Maria. Of course in my head I’m singing “diarrheeeEEEEeeeeah I hate you”
Like an old Ray Stevens song: “So take a load of diarrhea, send it to my wife”
When someone chews gum by me, I start to get nauseous. To me, someone is chewing and chewing and chewing this tasteless piece of rubber full of their saliva, over and over again. Okay, I can see putting a fresh piece of gum in your mouth and chewing it for 3 or 4 minutes and then throwing it away. But this constant chewing of a dead, tasteless piece of rubber? 