Just a *little* weird

Annie over at the Wattlebird blog wrote about how weird she is, and I thought I’d follow suit. Here are 6 strange/possibly interesting things you probably don’t know about me:

 

1. When I’m at work, I must open my Outlook first so it’s on the far left on my lower toolbar. If I ever accidentally close my Outlook while other programs are open, I’ll close all other programs so that when I open Outlook again, it’ll be on the far left. Mainly, this is because I use Outlook so heavily that I like to be able to go directly to it without having to search too much.

 

2. I have little tapping & touching quirks. For example, if I step on a sidewalk crack with one foot, I need to step on another crack, with the other foot, at the same spot on my foot. I.E. if it’s my toes that touch the crack on my right foot, I need my left toes to touch the next crack. If I attempt to make my toes touch the next crack, and instead touch it with the middle of my foot – now I STILL need to touch a crack with my left toes and now I ALSO have to touch a crack with the middle of my RIGHT foot. I don’t really have to think about this too much, I just kind of do it automatically. If something prevents me from finishing this little . . . whatever it is . . . I don’t flip out or anything. But I have a slight feeling of “something is unfinished” for a while. I also do strange finger tapping and rubbing (I rub patterns on my fingernails with my other fingers) and it all has to even out.

 

3. I often think of seriously morbid and horrific things happening, all around and to me. For example, as I cross a bridge on the way to work, I think, “What if someone came up behind me and just pitched me into the freezing river?” and I think about how I hope I won’t panic but will force myself to swim to the edge before the water makes my muscles freeze up. Or maybe I should just try to float on my back. But my heavy coat and shoes might make that difficult, so should I take them off so I’m more bouyant, or will I freeze faster that way? I imagine being kidnapped, run over by cars, trapped in fires, driving off cliffs, being impaled, all kinds of stuff like that. Now, before you advise me to seek professional help, understand that I don’t WANT any of those things to happen. But I do imagine them, very matter-of-factly. I like to be prepared, you know? Don’t park next to vans.

 

4. I have a lot of conflicting and contradictory beliefs and attitudes:

a. I believe a lot of conspiracy theories and I really don’t trust many people in power. I fully expect high-ranking people of all organizations and societies to be involved in some really evil stuff. I teach my kids that if they’re lost, to first look for someone who looks like a mom – not to try and find a police officer or other uniformed person. At the same time, I have an old-school outlook on parenting, respect for elders and authority and position. My Dad’s a cop and a good one.

b. I believe in hard work, personal responsibility and looking past your crappy circumstances to find something better to hope for and work towards. I am not very sympathetic to people who can’t seem to handle every day life. At the same time, when I consider a person to have suffered disadvantages in their upbringing, I am quick to excuse their poor choices and behavior and point to the big bad system who has done them wrong and taken away their access to doing things the right way.

 

5. I often turn dark purple when speaking in front of groups. Even with people I’m very comfortable with and have spoken in front of a bazillion times before. Even when it’s just discussing something during a work meeting. You can always tell if I’m embarrassed, upset or flustered by something – my face will be purple.

 

6. I am completely fascinated with Colonial/Pioneer/Amish/Mennonite cultures. Basically if you had to make something out of a rock or a tree to get by, I am interested in hearing your story. Also, I found out that an ancestor of mine helped found Germantown in Philadelphia. It’s a Quaker/Mennonite area, and happens to be where the abolition movement in the U.S. began. Yay! Run and get Colonial House and Frontier House from your local library or Netflix. I guarantee you will both want to go through those experiences, and realize that your romantic notions of those eras are very unrealistic!

So – are you strange, too?