Every so often, I catch myself doing something that comes across as abnormal, and I wonder if perhaps I have OCD. I tend to think not, but here is a short list (you don’t believe that, do you?) of things about which I am very particular. I post these as part of an observation on the oddities of humans. We all have little quirks, and they interest me more than is probably healthy. Some of the following are weird, some may not be so unusual.
#1. Numbers. They mean a lot to me. It’s very important that I remember combinations of numbers, whether it be phone numbers, birth dates, or library card barcodes. I get upset if I have to look up a number and can’t remember it off the top of my head. I also like number patterns. The book I’m reading right now is a trilogy in one volume. Each of the three books has exactly 31 chapters. There are a total of 1024 pages in the book, which is a meaningful number if you spend much time on a computer. Right now I am 42% through the trilogy, and everybody knows that 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. My favorite time of day is 8:17, because I was born on the 17th day of the 8th month. I worked at camp one year, and each staff member was assigned a number (for role call), from youngest to oldest. By chance, I was number 17.
#2. My eyebrows. I’m fairly obsessed with trimming stray eyebrow hairs. I check them several times every day, and as soon as a new hair breaks the skin, I dive in with my ultra sharp tweezers. It actually started when I bought these tweezers for 88 cents a few years ago at Wal-mart; I’ve never used a pair that were as sharp, which has become significant to me. These tweezers get the short hairs that are only visible if I’m standing centimeters away from the bathroom mirror. It doesn’t matter that other people can’t see them. I can feel them. Consequently, I often accidentally nick my eyelids trying to get the microscopic hairs. Then they turn red and blotchy. I try to cover it up with makeup, but it doesn’t always help. So, no, I didn’t get socked in the face; I tweezed my eyebrows.
#3. Order. I thrive on order. There is only one right way to make my bed, and it has to be the same every time. I have a hard time not vacuuming in straight lines. I only keep from doing it because the nap of the carpet doesn’t follow straight lines, and I have to make it lay flat. I almost arranged the napkin dispenser and salt/pepper shakers during lunch at work today. The napkins weren’t at the direct center of the table, and I really would have preferred that the salt/pepper were at one end of the napkin dispenser, equal distance apart. But then someone would have used them, and thrown everything off. When I take something off a hanger in the closet, the hanger *must* be moved to the end of the bar with the group of other unused hangers. Just about everything I do has a pattern, even if it only makes sense in my head.
#4. Rightness. This can be a struggle for me, because I am very concerned with being right. But beside that, I just want things in general to be right. Last night at Applebee’s, I got my bill and I had been overcharged by $0.50 for bacon. I didn’t care much if I had to pay 50 cents extra, but the amount on the bill was wrong, and that’s what got me. So my conscience compelled me to point it out, and I then felt very awful when the server apologized, because I didn’t know how to bring it to her attention without coming off as petty or rude.
This has become lengthy, so I’ll stop here and pick up some other day.
