Am I Weird?

I’m not sure if I’m violating the laws of the blog universe but I saw this on cousin Jana’s page and am running with the idea without being “tagged”. I fully expect the cyber authorities to show up at my door and take away my privileges but I thought it would be an interesting post so here goes. Not sure why I would voluntarily choose to unearth goofy things about myself for public display but here are four weird things about me. It’s supposed to be six but I’ll choose to be thorough with four instead of divulging all my quirks because there are exactly six odd things about me and no more, right?

1.) I’ve got a number phobia of sorts. When listening to the radio or watching TV there are certain volume numbers I cannot leave the dial on. I’m cool with even numbers but simply cannot handle the odds with a few exceptions. Those exceptions would be multiples of five and a number like 11 that is the same going backwards and forwards. So…2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, o.k.…1, 3, 7, 9, 13, no way. I’m not sure if my hearing will suddenly leave me or if my head will suddenly explode if it settles on 7 (strangely my “lucky” number as the date of my birth) but that’s just the way it has to be. If Rachel’s turning things up or down and lands on such a number I will make the adjustment or notify her of the circumstance we find ourselves in. She knows how much it bugs me and it’s rubbed off on her to some extent. Don’t believe it? If you look back you will find all of my post time stamps to be on the “0” or “5”. I manually set them all to avoid numbers that are out of line with my numerical anxieties.

2.) I remember…everything (mostly). Minor vacation details from my childhood, who did what at a sporting event eons ago, who was wearing what at a family event. Of course I can’t remember to do the one small thing Rachel asked me to do during the day unless it’s written on a to-do list. This makes playing games of trivia enjoyable. It’s also interesting to sing along word for word with a song I haven’t heard in years and not only nail it but then immediately start singing the next song on the album because the running order is stuck in my memory bank forever. This propensity for remembering songs comes in handy when you discover Huey Lewis and the News on CD at the library 20 years after you bought the cassette tape with your birthday money and proceed to put on a personal karaoke show in the car track after track.

3.) When I go to certain restaurants I’m there for one item on the menu with zero consideration for alternatives. If I’m at Chili’s it’s Chicken Fajita Quesadillas no questions asked. At Baker’s Square I’m eating the Chicken Cheddar Bacon Melt so don’t even hand me the menu. It may sound boring but I’ve found the one thing makes my tummy smile and the taste buds dance more than anything else so why mess with a good thing? Perhaps I missing out on another item that is superior to my stubborn selection but I’m too busy enjoying my feast to think about it.

4.) I am in a constant state of studying and internet multi-tasking. I used to love watching television and lost all interest in it when I began my first Master’s program. I don’t get reality shows. I’m not interested in strangers’ lives to the point that on a two week break from school I did a self-study on baseball Sabermetrics because I’m just that goofy. I live on my laptop scouring the information super highway for anything new. I can’t even watch my most beloved sports teams without surfing for information and entertainment while semi-viewing. About the only thing I can give full attention to on the screen is a DVD…unless I’ve seen it before then I’m back to half watching while I click away. I’ve even managed to balance video gaming and net surfing, washing the dishes and reading online articles…wireless signals are wonderful!

If I must reach the half dozen requirement I’ll steal Jana’s need to sleep with two pillows. Perhaps that’s more common among the Deurs than I know. I need one to lay my sleepy head on and one to hug. Rachel claims I love my extra pillow more than her. I hope the fact that I sleep restlessly without the secondary pillow and just fine when she’s out of town is not evidence of this. And finally…hmm…shall I recognize my wordiness when reporting things online? A friend once read one of my posted stories on the old site and said it was funny but he could have said the same thing in two sentences. Just trying to entertain…of course if you agree with him you stopped reading many words ago.