For some reason, I know a lot of quirky people. Oddballs with strange habits surround me. A close relative of mine cannot do anything important on Thursdays because he relates that day with ill luck, sickness and death – no meetings, no important phonecalls, no long trips, nothing.
A boy I knew in school used to eat paper – he lent me the first book I ever enjoyed reading, and we’ve been friends since. Another boy I knew used to shave off all his facial hair, including his eyebrows.
My sister has OCD – it manifests as an obsession with cleanliness and straight lines. A very good friend of mine is a synesthete. We are yet to put a name to it, but according to wiki, that’s what you call someone who can ‘see sounds’. He sees music and people’s moods in the form of colors. I am very envious of this particular quirk – it’s like being high all the time! 🙂
I’m only writing this because I received a message from a high school friend yesterday that read, remember when you used to fold your toilet paper into exact squares before you went to the bathroom? What was up with that?! LOL
I honestly don’t remember doing that! But a few hours later I was in the bathroom and that’s exactly what how I fold my toilet paper! Which got me thinking about idiosyncrasies and I came up with a few of my own which include:
- an unhealthy love for crayons, especially purple and yellow
- a mild form of kleptomania
- i like old/used books – with a Christmas dedication to someone I don’t know, a cracked spine, folded pages. I hate buying first hand books.
- i love the letter e. I play a game where I’ll focus on a page to see only the e’s and then I’ll stare until they dance before my eyes and that makes me happy.
What’s your oddity?
the stories of things 
I count the number of letters in words. Don’t know when I picked this particular habit up, but now I need to only glance at a word to know how many letters it has. My sister thinks it’s an improvement though–I used to count everything obsessively when I was younger–from the number of steps, to the number of tiles, to lines, to people in a room, to…
Hold up. Why am I exposing myself like this? 🙂
Hahaha, because I shared too! That’s endearingly weird 🙂 But you must never ever count food (e.g. potatoes) or children, because it’s bad luck, apparently.
Like your old friend, papers can be tasty (breaking the habit)
I love December Christmas calenders. Each date opened there would be a bible verse and chocolate.
Do you know the yoyo? (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-yo) at my age I still play it.
omg remember the free yoyos you’d get in a box of Weetabix? 🙂
and erm, where can i get these calendars with chocolates in them??
I totally remember those free Yoyos…
I think there calenders at some at UCHUMI and Shoprite Lugogo but you can only get them in the mid November.
I fold used serviettes in neat triangles.
No food, and no children. Noted. 🙂
I’ve tried to do the “e” thing. Epic fail. Lol. I think that one is yours alone.
Me too! No colour specialisations, but just to draw with.
Quirk? Hmm … When I see number plates, I want to “balance the numbers on a scale”. I am not sure how to explain what that means; basically, I try to shuffle the numbers about until they achieve as perfect a balance as they can. And then, if another car shows up, they can balance each other off so that when I add the third one, the probability that it will balance is at least … screech! –bang, crash, boom, slam.
Tiles that are out of order depress me. If I see tiles, I want perfect alignment everywhere. I have stopped this short of pulling out decades-old tiles.
i’m starting a petition to keep Rev off the roads!! we have enough problems without you balancing number plates and things 🙂 tres etrange!
Those people in the book dedications; I tend to build up all these fictitious stories in my head about what the back-story of the book gift was, then follow it up with what came after (invariably a tragedy). In a strange twist, one of the books I did that for was Tell Me Your Dreams, by Sidney Sheldon. And it had a chic in there who had an alter ego that was a synesthete. 😀
But…27th, balance in what sense? Which letters or numbers would weigh more than others?
I spent the day yesterday trying my hand at crayons…i essentially suck at drawing but hell that didn’t keep me from trying over and over again hehe.
Anyone remember Rubashov? Recall that introspection he used to do whenever he’d meet a new person- I do that, trying to figure you out even before I speak to you.
My best letters of course would be J, B and N. XD lol
I have a lot more….but that thing of the toilet paper; WINNER!! Hehe.
Over the years, I have accumulated an insane amount of green things. It was supposed to be a phase just like everything else.
This is not at all as strange as perfect squares of toilet paper though:-)
Princess:you will pick the tall glass…even when you are going to put only 2cc of juice in it. Am I going to get a confession?
Scotchie: hi! and welcome, O Green One 🙂
You guys are all nutters. But that’s okay- more strange people to know and love!
Um… I like to eat pencil lead. But doesn’t everyone?
Um, me i think it’s just you. Isn’t lead poisonous??
I, on the other hand, am perfectly normal
Y’all some freaks
and I don’t mean that in the good, Maggi-Gylenhaal-in-Secretary way
oddballs! yay. I’m home. – I twitch. my eyeballs and elbows and lower back. They all twitch.
– I sometimes intentionally get mascara onto my eyeballs. interesting burn.
– I iron my bed after laying it.
-I rock as i read. Gimme a good book for a few minutes and i’ll start to rock. Sure as anything.
-I love repetitive sounds. like the dripping of a tap. Who started the rumour that this is irritating?!?
I wish I was a synesthete. ‘slike having powers.
Tipsyalcophobic, you’ve won! Mascara on your eyeball, really? Is the bloodshot look and the tearing also interesting?
I can’t stand a dripping tap. Even the hum of a fridge annoys me. Silence is sacred 🙂
Kampire : such denial. Sigh. I’m making it my mission to find at least 5 abnormal things about you.
The burn is worth all that (sometimes). Repetitive sounds become like silence (when they fade to the background). They’re soothing naawe.
And Kampire? lies!
I’ve always loved chewing candle wax.
The sight of a disorganised room upsets me. I love arranging things around the house and putting things exactly where I’m used to seeing them.
As soon as I get back home from town, I must take a shower first thing. Even if I am hungry or even if I return home only 2 hours later having left when I’d showered.
I love closing my eyes whenever I am eating a chocolate, cookie, etc.