my daughter, odd?

What makes me weird?

I wrote most of this a couple of weeks ago, but then got stuck on what to put for the sixth one. Martha, I didn't forget that you tagged me! I really enjoyed writing these, and it actually helped me out in one of my graduate school interviews. During a student-led interview, one of the questions asked was, "What makes you weird?" I told them about dressing up to go to movies. Yikes, if I go there, I'll have quite a reputation to live up to! So, here goes . . .

"Each person who gets tagged needs to write a blog post telling 6 weird things about themself as well as clearly state the rules. After you state your 6 weird things, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says “you’re tagged” in their comments and tell them to read your blog for information as to what it means."

1. My Own Special Accent. I was born in Chicago, but raised in Texas. However, I say certain words in certain ways that do not resemble vernacular from either region. In particular, I seem to pronounce "il" words with an "el" sound instead of "ill." I say, "pello" for pillow and "melk" for milk. I never thought this was odd until friends started pointing it out to be. I have no idea where these pronunciations arose from, but I have no desire to correct myself. I should starting saying, "It's just my accent, I'm from ----" and make up a town.

2. 60 to 0 in Three Minutes Flat. Especially driving home from work on late evenings, I like to play the coasting game. When it's late, and no other cars are around, I like to exit from the highway and just remove my foot from the gas and break and see how far I can coast. I go up the off-ramp, turn a sharp curve at about 25-30 miles per hour, and am able to coast nearly to the stop line where I would make the next turn. I don't know why I get so much enjoyment from this game, but now I'm confident that if my car were to stall or run out of gas while I'm driving 65 mph on the highway, I'd be just fine :)

3. Hygienic Paper Particulars. I fold my toilet paper, whereas most people wad. I never thought this was strange, until I began to find out that most people just wad. Wadding sounds disgusting to me - how can you be sure that your hand will be protected when wiping? However, I have met a few fellow folders (though I've learned that it doesn't mean we're soul mates), but I have never met anyone who does what I do to my tissues. I fold my tissue in half, and blow my nose at the top point, roll it down a little ways, and continue blowing. I can get 3-5 good blows out of one tissue, without risking coming into contact with my snot! My friends who notice this have commented that it looks like I'm rolling a joint or something.

4. The Fan Personality. This is how my former roommate Heather described it. I'm not a geek, I'm not super-obsessed about one thing in particular, I just am easily sucked into things like Harry Potter, LOTR, LOST, etc. While Heather introduced me to LOST, I'm the one who's always sending her links to new LOST websites and convincing her to buy LOST magazines with me. Whereas Heather dreads trilogies, I relish in them. I think movies are best enjoyed when you dress up for them or go see the Thursday night midnight showing. To date, I've dressed as a pirate wench twice, a Hogwarts student, and a Bond girl. I've also been known to host bizarre theme parties, such as a Chuck Norris party this past summer. Sadly, I found myself reading that Harry Potter conference article Martha posted thinking, "You know, I'd kinda like to go to that, minus the Potter porn part. That's just disturbing." Still, yesterday my coworker and I both admitted to flirting with our Magic Time Machine waiter who portrayed Harry Potter. I only admit that knowing I'm not the only one :)

5. Compulsions. I think I have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies. I always count the steps I walk up (16 steps in my home staircase, 48 up to the third floor of one of class buildings, etc), and have to start left foot first so I can end on my right foot. On the rare event that I encounter an odd-numbered staircase (and I can tell you which ones those are in my alma mater) I just feel completely off. I also crave symmetry and balance. I often feel off when I scratch on side of my body, until I scratch the other corresponding spot as well. When I'm walking along a sidewalk, if I notice that one foot has been stepping on too many cracks or ridges, I have to make sure my other foot touches a corresponding number. I don't count this, I just go by how I feel, which often means I'll start stepping on more cracks with my left foot, only to feel that I'm over on the left, then I switch to the right food, and switch back and forth until things feel "right." Also, this compulsion for balance and symmetry extends into my typing. Only one friend has noticed that my rapid typing is actually typing mixed with me compulsively hitting and deleting keys, so my fingers will feel balanced.

6. Spring Flings. I am notorious for having spring flings. Since starting college, every spring break I have hooked up with a guy. By "hook up," I mean, connected with a young man who I soon started dating - definitely not the MTV spring break kind of hook-ups! While not all of these relationships were "flings," unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which of my friends you talk to) none of these spring break romances lasted into the fall. I'm hoping that now that I'm out of college and don't have a spring break this year, I will be free from these yearly "flings." I've noticed that many of my relationships follow the seasons, beginning in the spring or summer, and ending in the fall or winter. It's interesting, now that spring is approaching, I'm noticing a few of my single friends starting to get more guy attention - is there really something in the weather that makes men start pursuing? This could be an interesting research project. Doesn't sound like a legit thesis? A TCU finance professor recently published a finding that the success of stock trading days in Chicago corresponded with high or low windy days. I think human behavior is more affected by weather and climate phenomenon than we'd like to admit.

I tag Laura (again), Sheri, RC, and that's it. The rest of you guys have already posted this.