One of my favorite things is something my dad does- every time he gives someone money of his credit card for fast food or some such, he makes a “whoosh” noise. After years of seeing/hearing that, I do it sometimes, too.
There was a point where I would say “meow” every time I saw a mirror. I had to be reflected in it, but didn’t have to look at myself.
I also check all mirrors to make sure they are not two-way ones.
When I count my steps, I only count to 4 or 8, then restart.
I only feel bad about roadkill if it is on the edge of the road. It was so close to not getting hit! The ones in the middle? Their fault.
The first box on the shelf, doesn’t matter who picked it up, I won’t take that one. I am better about this now.
There was a time where if there was only one item, I would come back later, or go somewhere else. If I was in a bind, I would get a different brand even.
If I needed 10 cans of beans, and there were 10 cans on the shelf, I would take 9, then pick a different brand for the #10.
If I saw someone take the first item, I could consider it gone and made no effort to avoid the first can, but if I weren’t there, the first can was #1 and I would not take it no matter how far back it was from the edge.
I do the same thing, but only for candy Valentine hearts and jelly beans, not for Skittles or M&Ms. (Of course, M&Ms all taste the same anyhow.) The designated order for hearts is white, pink, yellow, purple, orange, and green. Sometimes pink and yellow will be reversed, depending on the brand. The jelly bean order is more variable but usually has white first and ending with red, green, and black (if there are any licorice beans).
One time I even wrote a letter to Brach’s complaining that I didn’t get enough green hearts in a bag. I was rewarded with a couple of coupons for free candy.
Upon reflection, I realize I have a few more quirks.
One - constant tapping/drumming. There’s always a rhythm in my head. No, I’m no genius - it’s usually some variant of the Amen Break. But I’ll tap this on a desk repeatedly. My boss called me out a few months back - “why the hell do you do that?” I replied that I simply always had a rhythm going in my head. He was astounded. I was astonished at his astonishment. “I thought everyone did…you don’t? What a sad, gray life.”
Two - I frequently tap/smack the door frames. The top comes from being 13 and just being amazed at how quickly I was getting taller (I shot up about six inches from age 12-13). I used to love touching high things just because I could. And now I still do. The sides - in my freshman year in HS, a bunch of us got into this habit of taking the index and middle finger and using it to slap things / each other. Doesn’t do much damage, but snap your wrist correctly and it makes a wonderful smack. I still do this to the side of door frames.
