I have to sleep with my fan on too -- and I have to have at least 4 pillows on my bed (I normally have 6, but one is decorative and then one just stays on the floor all the time).
When I'm hanging wall decorations, pictures, etc. they have to EXACTLY proportionate to each other the the wall. My sconces are EXACTLY the same length away from the middle picture. My coat rack is exactly dead center on the wall in my foyer.
I also have a thing with never making numbers round -- I set my alarm for 6:57, not 7:00, I set the microwave for 2:56 instead of 3:00. I don't care about whether they are odd or even, but they just can't be round.
I usually always wake up before my alarm goes off, but occasionally I don't, and if my alarm wakes me, I consider it a bad omen for the day.
I also will grab grocery items from the back of the shelf because not as many people (or just workers) have touched them.
I usually always wake up before my alarm goes off, but occasionally I don't, and if my alarm wakes me, I consider it a bad omen for the day.
I also will grab grocery items from the back of the shelf because not as many people (or just workers) have touched them.
Oh. My. God.
I was just thinking the same thing. I guess my brain subconsciously makes a point to try and wake me up before the alarm goes off because it's a rather rude awakening, but in cases where it doesn't because my sleep schedule has gotten thrown off or I'm particularly fatigued, waking up to an alarm totally screws up my day.
I never set my alarm for exactly "7:00" or "6:30" It's always for "7:01" or something like that. Also, I have two different alarm clocks--one is a battery-powered travel alarm, and the other is a clock-radio. The clock-radio is set to go off first, and the travel alarm clock is set for about 10 minutes later.
I have the travel alarm because I am worried about the power going out and my clock radio alarm not waking me up for work. (And it has happened, so having my back-up alarm isn't that weird, I guess).
Also, I buy make-up often. I love it. The weird part is that I literally have small drawers filled with it, but I rarely wear it.
I hate riding in elevators with other people. Something about the awkwardness of standing next to strangers in a small space. So if I notice someone else waiting for the elevator, I will either decide to take the stairs instead or loiter around and wait until I can get the elevator to myself.
Last edited by jellydisney; 05-14-2008 at 07:14 AM.
My desk has to be semi-untidy for me to study. If it is really tidy or too messy I can't concentrate. When I go to the library I spent and additional five minutes on my desk so it becomes semi-untidy.
Also I cannot stand the view of fingertips marks and any smudges on windows, mirrors and floors. You might as well shoot me. It pains me so much.
Also, I buy make-up often. I love it. The weird part is that I literally have small drawers filled with it, but I rarely wear it.
I buy soap.. I have a small cabinet about the toilet in my bathroom that is literally FILLED with soap. I probably would have to take 5 showers a day for the next two years to use it all.
but i keep buying it. I totally can't help myself.
The first thing I notice about somebody are their eyebrows, and if they have BIG messy eyebrows God Help me! I cannot help but obsess over them, They need to pluck those things! I.e. when I see an old Madonna video I have to actually turn it over because I get so stressed about her brows.
And I weirdly have soap I've collected but never used to Karmuz..
What is something you do that you KNOW FULL WELL is weird, strange, or abnormal... but you do it anyway?
I flip thru magazines BACKWARD. When I find something I want to read, I read it. But I continue to flip thru the dang thang BACKWARD. I don't know WHY I do this, but I know it's not "really normal".
The other thing I do is count things. I think it's a sign of an obsessive/compulsive disorder. I've been doing it since at least junior high. I mostly do it when I'm bored--like while watching TV or riding in a car.
I have been diagnosted with OCD, it runs in my family on the maternal side. From what I have researched, EVERYONE in the world has small obsessive thoughts/compulsive actions...such as the eating M&Ms by color, counting things, or having to have the hangers or clothes facing a certain way.
How they diagnose OCD, is if you have much, much more of these things than the average person (to the point where you spend a lot of time during the day with the obsessions/compulsions) and the amount of anxiety that it causes you NOT to do the compulsive activities when you have the obsessive thoughts about it.
For instance-I do the M&M thing, the hangers/clothes thing, AND the counting...and it's just the tip of the iceburg.
alinell-I relate with the counting thing. When I was a kid, I used to sit in school and count the ceiling tiles, floor tiles, etc. It even got to the point where I would count the lines in the alphabet letters on things. (Like the letter A has three lines to make it, etc.) I do the same thing with digital clocks, and it is really bad-I cannot have the digital alarm clock on my side of the bed. I will lie awake and stare at it, and count the lines that make up the numbers. (It keeps me engaged, because it changes every minute...) I do this on license plates as well, when I am driving. At times, when I am under stress, I physically cannot stop myself.
I also have to "check" my purse often, before I go to the store, in the car, in the store, and before I check out-numerous times. I have to be sure that I have my debit card, checkbook, cash, etc. The obsessive thought/fear is that I will go to checkout, and not be able to pay, hence the compulsive activity.
I could go on, but I'd be here all day.
Most of the time, though, people don't know that I have it. I am not a compulsive handwasher or anything that would make it super obvious.
I do find the show Monk, hilarious, though-because I can relate.
my feet CANT EVER be covered with the blanket..it can be -100 and my feet have to stick out... i feel claustrophobic if they are covered.
volume on tv HAS to be on an even number.. i cant stand it if its on odd. and thankfully my hubby sets it to even every time cause he knows ill go nuts lol
when i turn off a burner, i cant just walk out of the kitchen without looking and making sure i really turned it off
when going somewhere i check that my wallet is in my purse.. then i check again lol
i go to sleep with the tv on the same channel each night... and the volume set to 10.. if its 12 or 8 i cant sleep.. has to be 10
i really am weird lol.. didnt knwo it till this post lol
alinell-I relate with the counting thing. When I was a kid, I used to sit in school and count the ceiling tiles, floor tiles, etc. It even got to the point where I would count the lines in the alphabet letters on things. (Like the letter A has three lines to make it, etc.) I do the same thing with digital clocks, and it is really bad-I cannot have the digital alarm clock on my side of the bed. I will lie awake and stare at it, and count the lines that make up the numbers. (It keeps me engaged, because it changes every minute...) I do this on license plates as well, when I am driving. At times, when I am under stress, I physically cannot stop myself.
I think we're related. Ceiling tiles, license plates, lines in the road, corners in the walls, sides to a window, etc. etc. etc. The hardest thing is listening to a lecture--I'd get bored, start counting, and lose track of everything that was said. It's a wonder I graduated at all!
1. I can't wait to change out of my work clothes when I get home. It's like a stress reliever for me, like taking off the stress of the day. and theyre just not as comfy as my sweats/tshirts/yoga pants, etc
2. I won't leave anything (like the tv or stereo volume) on 13. don't know why, just dont like it!
3. I memorize liscense plates of cars around me. ALL THE TIME.
4. I count things too. ceiling tiles, floor tiles, drawers, magazines on waiting room tables, etc.
What is something you do that you KNOW FULL WELL is weird, strange, or abnormal... but you do it anyway?
I flip thru magazines BACKWARD. When I find something I want to read, I read it. But I continue to flip thru the dang thang BACKWARD. I don't know WHY I do this, but I know it's not "really normal".
Your turn!
I also flip through magazines backward, so does a girl I used to work with.
I have that thing with even numbers going on too, mostly with the volume of the radio and TV.
When I eat things like pretzels, M&Ms, etc I always have to chew one piece on one side of my mouth, and the next on the other side. And it usually has to even out, like I can't eat an odd number of them. Or if I have no choice I will split the last one in half and it 1/2 on the left side and 1/2 on the right.
At work I have three pens - a blue ink, black ink, and red ink. All 3 have to be sitting at the top of my keyboard no matter what time of day it is. Also, whenever I leave work to go home, all of my things have to be in there place - the pens, stapler, hole punch, etc. I can't stand to come back to work in morning and have anything out of place. The attorneys I work for like to leave files for me on my desk after I go home for the night and I hate this - I have designated places for them to leave files but they forget a lot of the time.
I double, triple, and quadruple check that the alarm clock is turned on every night before I go to bed. I am so scared of forgetting to turn it on and not getting up on time for work in the morning.
If we have used the stove or oven, I always go back to the kitchen 2 or 3 times to make sure they are off after we are done.
I always double check the doors to the house (back door and front door) to make sure they are locked before I leave for work.
Before I get out of the car, I always check several times to make sure all of my windows and sunroof are closed, the lights are off, etc. I'm terribly scared of forgetting this and someone breaking in or rain getting on my leather seats.
After I have used my debit/credit card at a store, when I am walking out of the store, I always double check to make sure that card is back in its place in my wallet. I have left my card behind a couple of times while shopping and I think that is what spurred that.
I'm sure I have others, but those are what come to mind right away. I probably do have some sort of OCD, but I guess I'm not the only one who has these kind of tendencies.
