Do Quirky Habits Shape Our Friendships?

[lisab]

I apparently have a quirk of which I was heretofore unaware:

I have to have the correct spelling in the subject of a thread!

Habits.

 

[S_Happens]

I was about to post that. I just finished googling to make sure a nun's habit wasn't spelled with two bs.

 

[Redbelly98]

I didn't know I had a quirk, until someone pointed out to me that I put only one sock and shoe on at a time. They asked if I ever put both socks on, then put shoes on, and I said no. They told me that I was odd.

Does anybody remember the episode of All In The Family, where Archie and Michael got into an argument about this?

 

[Office_Shredder]

Sometimes I'll start responding to a thread, spending a lot of time (10 or 15 minutes) doing google searches or calculations to make sure I have the right information. Then, more than halfway through composing the post, I'll think "Nah, this is not worth responding to" and give it up. If only I'd thought that to begin with!

I've probably lost about 400 man hours doing this.

I'll often start counting modulo 4 when walking up stairs, and at the end start taking them in twos or threes (or walking in place on the steps) to line myself up so I finish off at 0. I then try to remember what number to start at next time so I don't have to do that.

 

[DaveC426913]

Sometimes I'll start responding to a thread, spending a lot of time (10 or 15 minutes) doing google searches or calculations to make sure I have the right information. Then, more than halfway through composing the post, I'll think "Nah, this is not worth responding to" and give it up. If only I'd thought that to begin with!

Guilty.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I apparently have a quirk of which I was heretofore unaware:

I have to have the correct spelling in the subject of a thread!

What the heck are you talking about?

 

[BobG]

Does anybody remember the episode of All In The Family, where Archie and Michael got into an argument about this?

Yes! The one sock/one shoe thing makes sense. If there's a fire right in the middle of putting your shoes and socks on, the person that does one sock/one shoe can hop across a wet lawn and keep their feet dry while the person with two socks will get wet feet.

 

[BobG]

Since Tsu works nights I often do the grocery shopping. I go late at night so that I can race through the store without interruption - I can spend $300 in less than twenty minutes. If there is no line at the checkout stand, I can be on my way home within thirty minutes of arriving at the store.

For this reason I can't shop with Tsu. She likes to look and ponder things, which drives me nuts!

I ran into this same problem yesterday while grocery shopping. I know exactly what I want from the shelf and there's some guy browsing right in front of what I need.

I wanted to shout at him, "Shop like a Man, damn it! Women browse; men visualize what they want to buy as they drive to the store and plot out their exact motions to obtain their desired goods!"

 

[Redbelly98]

I ran into this same problem yesterday while grocery shopping. I know exactly what I want from the shelf and there's some guy browsing right in front of what I need.

I have a master shopping list that I can print out. It's organized by which aisle each item is located in at our usual grocery store. Before leaving, I spend a few minutes at home checking off which items I'll need.

At the store, I'll leave the cart at the end of an aisle. Then walk down one aisle--it's faster than pushing a cart--and perhaps back up the next aisle. I know exactly what I need from each aisle before walking down it, and whether I'll be able to carry everything in my hands before returning to the cart.

 

[turbo]

A friend of mine have to read everything backwards.

When I was writing training manuals and systems descriptions, I read everything backward as part of the proofing process. Spell-checkers couldn't catch jargon or industry-specific phrases very well, and it's too easy to scan right over mistakes when reading front-to-back.

 

[turbo]

SOmeone I know doesn't eat tomatos, but he'll have ketchup. Nutter

My cousin's husband loves spaghetti,but he won't touch anything with elbow macaroni in it.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I've probably lost about 400 man hours doing this.

You have a staff?

 

[Office_Shredder]

You have a staff?

I spent about ten minutes thinking up a witty reply for this, but decided it wasn't worth it

:P

Ok, seriously
Yup. It's about 6 feet long, hickory wood, with a crystal ball on top

And it's sentient and answers posts for me

 

[windsupernova]

I usually read magazines from the back cover to the front.

I count everything

When walking in a tiled floor, I always make sure I don´t step on the lines.

I read every instructon manual, for everything, even if tis something I´ve used before

 

[Danger]

he won't touch anything with elbow macaroni in it.

Maybe he could try sprinkling some glucosamine sulphate on it. That cleared up most of my joint problems pretty well.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Sleeping: When I was a kid I always slept on my back. But at age 15, likely due to long-distance cycling, I ended up having surgery to remove a huge pilonidal cyst located at the base of my tailbone. I was told that I couldn't sleep on my back for about 2 months, and I haven't been able to ever since. Either side or lying on my stomach is fine, but up until the last year or two, it was impossible for me to sleep on my back. Only recently have I managed to snooze a bit on my back while watching the tube. This was a real disadvantage as someone who did a lot of air travel. The ability to sleep on a plane would have made life soooooo much easier. I ended up buying an extra battery [power ports were not generally available yet on airplanes] for the laptop and watching tons of movies instead.

Can't stand to read for more than an hour or so on a plane either. I think the pressure changes make it difficult for me to focus.

 

[Danger]

I don't really consider this a quirk, since I'm fairly certain that any cultured male members of PF will agree with me, but my wife thinks it's weird. As far as I'm concerned, the hottest show business personality is the dancer on the left-hand pylon at the end of the 'Strawberry Mini-Wheats' commercial. I'd send her fan mail, but I haven't been able to find the name of her agent.

 

[redargon]

I have to have the TV volume and radio volume on an even number, if I am with someone else, I have to ask them, to make it even. I just cringe whenever it stays on an even number!

I do this too, especially with my car radio, but I've been forcing myself to change it 'cos it is a little disconcerting to others. I hate it when people change my radio settings in my car while I'm driving, so I expect people don't appreciate me doing it to them either. Oh, and odd numbers are ok... if they're multiples of 5.

 

[Borek]

When walking in a tiled floor, I always make sure I don´t step on the lines.

As Good as It Gets.

 

[JasonRox]

Sleeping: When I was a kid I always slept on my back. But at age 15, likely due to long-distance cycling, I ended up having surgery to remove a huge pilonidal cyst located at the base of my tailbone. I was told that I couldn't sleep on my back for about 2 months, and I haven't been able to ever since. Either side or lying on my stomach is fine, but up until the last year or two, it was impossible for me to sleep on my back. Only recently have I managed to snooze a bit on my back while watching the tube. This was a real disadvantage as someone who did a lot of air travel. The ability to sleep on a plane would have made life soooooo much easier. I ended up buying an extra battery [power ports were not generally available yet on airplanes] for the laptop and watching tons of movies instead.

Can't stand to read for more than an hour or so on a plane either. I think the pressure changes make it difficult for me to focus.

Haha, something similar about sleeping happened to me. I remember sleeping on my back as a child, but when I got one of my surgeries, I had to sleep on the couch. It forced me not to rollover onto my right ear. And now, I still sleep on my side. In the past year though, I've been able to nap on my back.

 

[Borek]

When walking in a tiled floor, I always make sure I don´t step on the lines.

Hm, sometimes I walk only ON the lines, to not fall down.

 

[Dadface]

I like to puff out my chest,put my right hand on my hip and swivel my head around gormlessly.It's not so much of a quirk more of a hobby.

 

[Redbelly98]

I have to have the TV volume and radio volume on an even number, if I am with someone else, I have to ask them, to make it even. I just cringe whenever it stays on an even number!

I have a similar quirk concerning the radio station frequency.

For FM stations, I only listen to those frequencies that are an odd multiple of 0.1 MHz. Eg., 90.1 and 90.3, but never 90.2

 

[DaveC426913]

For FM stations, I only listen to those frequencies that are an odd multiple of 0.1 MHz. Eg., 90.1 and 90.3, but never 90.2

Hey! Me too! But I always thought it was because the even stations played lower-quality music... lots of hiss and snow.

 

[Huckleberry]

I shave and brush my teeth in the shower. Things get messy when I forget what I'm doing and get things out of order, which is why I try to always brush my teeth or my face first; rather than shaving my face or my teeth. I hate it when autopilot messes up.

I pay an unusual amount of attention to people's hands when they talk, or they are walking by; if I even notice them at all. I often don't know what to do with my arms when I'm not using them.

I sometimes catch myself counting my teeth with my tongue. I don't know why. IT's not like thye have gone anywhre since the last time.

 

[mcknia07]

I do this too, especially with my car radio, but I've been forcing myself to change it 'cos it is a little disconcerting to others. I hate it when people change my radio settings in my car while I'm driving, so I expect people don't appreciate me doing it to them either. Oh, and odd numbers are ok... if they're multiples of 5.

Now you so totally sound like my cousin. Him and I have the same quirks, which is weird, but maybe it just runs in the family Tho, I can't do the multiples of 5 thing...

 

[Redbelly98]

My PF sig has a clickable link.

A line is automatically displayed at the top of the sig. Another line is drawn under the link in my sig.

I have omitted the last word of the sig from the link, in order to make those two lines be the same length.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

My PF sig has a clickable link.

A line is automatically displayed at the top of the sig. Another line is drawn under the link in my sig.

I have omitted the last word of the sig from the link, in order to make those two lines be the same length.

What browser are you using? The lines do not appear the same length to me. The lower line is much longer than the upper one.

The length of the lower line depends on the browser, the browser settings, and the available fonts.

 

[Redbelly98]

Using Firefox, font = Arial.

Your wise words have freed me from my quirky habits, and I have changed my sig so that the complete text is part of the link. Equal line lengths be damned!

Thank you.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've been wearing a watch the doesn't work for over a year now. I don't really need a watch anymore, but it doesn't look good to show up for a contract negotiation while not wearing one. Since my twenty dollar special from Radio Shack looks exactly like a Rolex, I keep wearing it.

I even had a factory manager threaten to take my "Rolex" if I didn't have a system up by the deadline. I told him that if I didn't make it, he could have my watch.