Quirks

My wonderful sister, Kimberly, has just "tagged" me in one of her blogs. Because of that I am to write a similar blog about myself with 7 Quirky things about me that all of you may or may not know already. The last step is to also then tag 7 other people to write about their quirks on their own blog. I'm not going to do that part though... I guess the whole part of my brain that has an aversion to mass/chain emails is likening it as such. But, if any of you that read this need an idea for a new post on your blog, feel free to share your quirkiest quirks with the rest of us.

1- Ok, so I know that anyone who knows about what I am about to tell you would be very disappointed in me if I did not own up to this characteristic in me as my absolute number one quirk... with that said: My number one quirk is my "Sticker" issue (even thinking the word makes me gag). Ever since I can remember, the idea of stickers, face paint, people writing on their hands, peeling labels, etc... have honestly made me ill. Sometimes I have a better handle on it than other times, but there have been actual instances where I have lost my lunch over encountering one of the afore mentioned objects. I prefer to use the word "label" as opposed to "sticker" mostly because it grosses me out less. Stickers are ok if they are in their proper context. Like scrapbooking. But once they become applied to clothes or skin, and even worse, once they start curling up their corners... I'm done for. And stickers on food is even worse. It just seems so wrong. I carefully choose my fruit and vegetables at the store to avoid those with labels on them. I also can't stand when labels on bottles, cans, etc... start to peel off. Anything that's sticky that starts to collect grime and grodies is bad. And face paint, stamps on hands, any writing on the skin... can't handle it. Halloween can be a hard time. Funny though, someone once asked me why make up doesn't bother me... maybe my narcissism ousts the gag reflex. Also, tatoos don't have the same effect. The rub on ones do, but not real ones. Not sure why.

2- Even though my number one quirk is probably quirk enough to account for 7 of them, I'll go ahead and list 6 more, just for Kimberly's sake (though I think she's just determined to expose me for the weirdo I am to the entire blogosphere...). I have to have all the silverware in the drawer stacked up nicely on itself. it can't be askew or haphazardly thrown in. All spoons must be neatly placed on the same sized spoons, all forks must be laid nicely on the same sized forks. I have a friend who years ago, while "helping" me put away dishes, thought it would be funny to mess up the silverware drawer and then stand in front of it so I couldn't fix it...

3- I can't stand it when dresser drawers or cupboards have clothes or something sticking out of them when they're closed. It also bugs me when cupboards and drawers (or even containers of any kind) don't/can't close all the way.

4- I prefer to have two straws in my drinks. Unless the straws are mondo thick straws, I can't drink my drink well unless I have two of them. Bradford, dear heart that he is, has even gotten in the habit of asking the waiter's for an additional straw. Or he just gives me his. I can't remember when this habit started. Its sometimes embarrassing when I ask for another straw and the server looks at me like I'm and idiot for not seeing the one already sticking out of my cup... just humor me man if you want your tip.

5- Whenever I have cash, I like to have all the bills facing the same direction and in order of their amount. Kind of on that same vein, my DVDs have to be alphabetized...

6- If I'm ever popping bubble wrap (because its strangely satisfying), I can't leave any of the bubbles un-popped. It drives me crazy.

7- I love fluffy animals. Anything that is fluffy temporarily incapacitates me and all I can do is obsess for a few minutes over whatever it is that triggered my behavior.

My 7 things turned into more of a "let-me-tell-you-about-my-OCD-issues" synopsis rather than a list of my quirkiness... maybe they're one in the same, I'm not sure. I probably don't notice all my quirks either, so if any of you know of additional quirks in me that I failed to mention, and that you feel are prominent go ahead and let me know what they are.