What are your quirks?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have many quirks, to be sure, but two that come to mind right away are:

I hate to wear shoes and will kick them off almost everywhere. At work, at home, even in business meetings. Because I never wear them, my feet seldom sweat and so they do not smell either (I have asked often enough to be confident that this is true.)

I often report my age to be one year older than it really is. I’m 41 but you will sometime hear me say 42. This goes back to having started kindergarten at the age of 4. For a long time I felt that I should be as old as everyone in my class and always added a year. It was such an ingrained habit that I still have to think about it to give an accurate answer.

What are yours?

2

Cool thread :wink:

I really hate leaving windows wide open, coz I am an ** extreme insectophobic ** and I’ve had some rather disturbing and embarrasing experiences where big bugs fly into my room. So if the windows need to be opened, I’d demand that they be left ajar.

And I’m with you on the shoes :D, hate 'em. When I have a chance to goto work or uni or anywhere in sandals or beach flip-flops, I usually do.

3

I always put my keys in my pocket or purse if I am crossing a storm sewer grating or getting in or out of an elevator. I feel my keys have an overwhelming urge to fall into these types of places, and I don’t trust myself to hold on tight enough.

I also have yawned during every single Lord’s Prayer I’ve recited in the past 28 years, and since I attend church regularly, that’s one significant post-hypnotic suggestion going on.

4

I have to towel dry after a shower… not air-dry. If I don’t towel off RIGHT AWAY, I feel like little particles of dirt that are floating in the air are going to stick to my skin :dubious:
Weird, I know.

I smile at anyone that walks past me…even if I’m feeling pissed off or depressed.

I don’t mind if my husband has a Playboy collection and I am happy to watch pornos with him anytime he or I feels like it, but I MUST delete all porn from the computer. It drives me MAD for some reason to see it on here (our computer).

When I go to a restaurant, I ask to see the dessert menu/platter BEFORE I order. This determines what exactly I will order for my main course.

5

This is more a compulsion than a quirk, but I have to be rocking practically all the time I’m sitting down, whether or not I’m actually in a rocking chair. I just get extremely uncomfortable if I have to sit still for very long. Been like that as long as I can remember. I’ve worn out more rocking chairs than I can remember.

I was in an honors psychology class in college, with only about 10 students. One day, we were discussing the different levels of retardation, and the professor was listing off the various behaviors exhibited by profoundly retarded people. One of the common behaviors he mentioned was rocking back and forth in the seat. All eyes in the class slowly turned to me, as I sat rocking absentmindedly in my desk chair, taking notes.

6

Anything honeycombed shaped (honeycombs, wasp’s nests, even a bunch of straws pressed together) will make me start itching and queasy to my stomach. Even typing this now, my arms and chest are starting to itch.

I almost always eat the main course of my meal last. If it’s a burger and fries, the fries all get eaten before I’ll even touch the burger and so on.

If I see my cat outside when I come home from work, I must say hi to him and then pick him up and carry him in the house. He used to meet me at the door so it’s just become an ingrained habit.

All my CDs, Books, etc must be alphabetized by author and, if part of a group, be in the order they were released if I know it.

All my hangars have to be the same kind and face the same direction. The shirts that hang on them must all face to the left and they must be grouped according to the visible spectrum. (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)

7

I’ve got plenty of quirks, but one of the most significant is perfectionism.

Everything always has to be perfect. Lately I got a new binder for learning foreign language stuff by myself. In the binder, there had to be three sections, and the dividers had to be placed so that there was an equal amount of papers in each section, and the tabs that said which section was which had to be in a certain position on the dividers, the text on those tabs perfectly centered, the tabs evenly spaced, parallel, etc. I had to remove and restick the tabs a dozen times to get it right, and erase and rewrite the text on the tabs themselves.

When I actually began writing, organization had to be perfect too. I never got past half a page because I kept erasing and rearranging things so that the text would be evenly aligned, evenly sized, consistent in format, etc…

Its very frustrating.

8

I never eat the tumours inside the belly buttons of navel oranges. Yech.

I sing all the time. The only time I don’t sing is when I’m in a bad mood (or asleep :D).

9

I alphabetize just about everything, including books, tapes, CDs, and movies. My closet arranged by the colour spectrum and by type of clothing (casual, dressy, sports).

I eat my food one item at a time, usually saving the meat for last.

10

I never, repeat, never wear hats. and never will. I just don’t feel right with a hat of any kind on my head.

Hoods are ok (as they are necesary sometimes).

I also never wear sunglasses. I have the strange (and annoying) aversion to looking cool, I cannot wear leather jackets, hats, sunglasses, shirts, etc…

11

I do the opposite. I absolutely must have a bit of everything on the plate on each forkfull.

It’s difficult to do when your meal consists of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, beans, black pudding, white pudding, toast And probably some other bits I have missed.

12

I do the “eat one food at a time” thing too! It used to bug the crap out of my grandparents. I usually start with the sides and work up to the main thing, but I eat ALL the fries and then ALL the burger. Nice to know someone else has my quirks!

I hate shoes. I come in, shoes go off. Socks sometimes go off, but the shoes are gone right away. I go barefoot as much as possible, sandals when I need some kind of foot covering, and sneakers to work.

13

Rampant paranoia about leaving things unlocked, cue fun and games of double/triple checking locks. Also:

  • Must wash hands. I’m not talking about manic compulsive behaviour (or am I?) but I hate having sticky/dirty hands.

  • Get really fidgity when any limbs are confined for more than 10 seconds. I really hate long distance flights.

  • Eat the meat of the dinner last. Come on, everyone should save the best bit for last!

14

I hate hats - always have even as an infant.

I have to recycle I have a hard time “throwing away” anything. If I can’t find another use for it I will give it to charity.

I take in every stray that has ever crossed my path. Animals as well as people.

If a black cat crosses my path I will turn around to avoid it. If I spill the salt I will throw some over my left shoulder, I can’t walk beneath a ladder even though I know these things ludicrous

15

If you don’t wear a shirt, what do you wear?

16

T-shirts. good ones.

I mean I don’t wear stylish button-up shirts with hard collars.

17

I thought I was the only one who makes damn sure he doesn’t drop his keys when walking over a storm drain.

I also prefer to go without shoes. I never wear them in the house.

I’ve also never liked wearing hats. I’ve never understood what purpose they serve. In the summer I sweat too much as it is and a hat just makes my head all that much more uncomfortable. I’ve never needed one to keep my head warm in the winter, either.

I never throw away an aluminum can. While I don’t recycle everything, I just shudder at seeing an aluminum can in with the rest of the garbage.

As for eating, I skip around the plate. With hot food I am in a quandary, whether to eat it first while it’s nice and hot, or save it for last after it has lost its optimum serving temperature.

I always sniff a new pack of chewing gum right after I open it. This probably isn’t all that unusual, though.

I used to alphabetize my CDs, books, etc. but I then decided this was just a waste of time. Besides., I have an alphabetized listing for each of these things in spreadsheets.

Any time something can be arranged by colors I will do so by following the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue. violet).

If I see a calendar and it’s not on the right month I can’t be at ease until I change it or point it out to someone.

Whenever I go to a restaurant I always have to sit where I can see the entrance. At my old job I always had to sit where I could see the door when I was in the break room. At my present job I have to be able to see the door whenever I am in meetings.

At the gas pump I always fill it up and then top it off at the nearest nickel or dime if the total doesnt initially stop at $xx.x0 or $xx.x5. I try to avoid getting pennies in my change whenever I can.

18

Now that one is quirky. I like it.

19

Okay here is another weird one - i have to sniff laundry when I fold it.

20

I have to open the window in any car I’m driving. In the dead of winter, I still crack it open.

There is only one route to my house from anywhere, despite the fact that according to the map, there are several. We bought my grandparents house, so I’ve been taking this route for over 30 years. It drives my wife insane that I still take a specific route with stop signs every other block, even though she has found 3 that have less stop signs, and 1 that has none at all.

I get nervous if I don’t have my Zippo in my pocket. I’ve carried one for years, and lost two. After I lost the first one, I broke my ankle. After I lost the second one, I got fired.