I'm weird

Really, I am. I'm mostly normal, but I'm pretty weird too. I'm ok with it, I embrace my weirdness. Everyone, really, is pretty weird. We all have our own quirks and idiosyncracies. Here are some of mine.

I hate the sight/sound of television in the morning. The only sound I can handle in the morning is NPR while I'm waking up, and music of MY choosing later. Or silence.

I never listen to the radio except NPR. This has been the case for years and years. I gave up on conventional radio in the early 90s. Occasionally (usually because I've forgotten a cd or my iPod) I'll try one of the local independent stations. Other than that, silence is preferred.

I don't mind the sound of a hair dryer if I'm the one using it. If it's the sound of someone else's hair dryer it puts knots in my stomach.

I talk to my plants.

I talk to myself.

I'd list talking to my pets, but that's not weird, that's normal.

I don't like ice in my drinks because I can't stand the feeling of a sweaty glass. Thusly I haven't filled my ice trays in years.

I leave cabinet doors open.

I vacuum, THEN dust. This isn't necessarily weird, but I know there are 2 camps.

I brush my teeth immediately after getting out of bed. I cannot get in the shower if I haven't brushed my teeth. Go ahead. Try and make me.

I have several obsessive/compulsive habits, some fueled by superstition, some just OCD.

If I spill salt I automatically take some and throw it over my left shoulder.

If I'm walking side by side with someone and we 'split a pole' (where someone walks on one side of the pole and I walk on the other) I say 'bread and butter.' I don't even know what the superstition is.

Whenever I drop a spoon I look to see what direction it's pointing because my mom always said that if you drop a spoon you've got company coming over.

I can't let paper money sit without putting the bills in order and facing the same direction (larger bills in back, smaller in front). Change isn't really safe around me either.

I won't look at my cards in any card game until all other players have looked at theirs. The only exception is if I'm a dealer, but usually everyone has already looked at their cards by the time I'm done so it's almost a moot point.

I'm habitually scatterbrained when it comes to keys, ids, credit cards. My friend John was with me once when I was getting ready to leave for work. While in the process of gathering up my ides, keys, lunch bag, etc., John asked me "How do you manage to get dressed in the morning?" In my family this type of behavior is referred to as 'Pulling a Leslie.'

I time myself when I'm brushing my teeth. 30 seconds per quadrant.

I'm a very slow reader. My comprehension is excellent, I always tested high on standardized tests, I took accelerated English classes in high school. But reading a book is slow going for me.

I love geometry and algebra. I am also a huge fan of origami because I love folding things. I also love putting stickers on things.

I read the Sunday paper in the exact same order all the time. If I'm reading someone else's Sunday paper I become belligerant if someone disrupts this pattern. Maybe not belligerant. But I am quite put out.

I will open the windows of my house, even in the dead of winter, just to get some fresh air moving around. My thermostat is never higher than 65 in the winter. Summer is a different story. I am a firm believer in 'it's not the heat, it's the humidity.'

So, that's just some of my weird little things. I'll write more some other time. I'm full of 'em.