People are so strange, you know? I mean, I am under no assumption that I'm all that normal, although I try to masquerade as normal by day. But people, they are strange. Perhaps my neighborhood and this university skew strange (actually I'm pretty sure of that) but wow. It's not unusual for me to walk by someone wearing something socially unacceptable, or talking to themselves (not always in English), or exhibiting any other number of strange behaviors. So, I'm going to confess some of the weird things that I do. I encourage you to do the same.
1. I practice my orders in my head. Over and over. Heaven forbid I momentarily pause and consult the menu when placing an order. Nope, I'm going to spend the entire time in line at Starbucks saying "Tall decaf nonfat no-whip Mocha" over and over and over in my head. Juuuust in case.
2. I don't touch public door handles with my entire hand. I will extend my pointer finger so that it does not touch the door handle because some time long long ago I decided that this was the most used finger and therefore if it didn't touch door handles, that was somehow more sanitary. But mainly I just try to refrain from touching door handles entirely. I'm one of those "use the paper towel that I dried my hands on to open the door" people. Or I use my shirt or jacket sleeve. In an extreme emergency I will touch a door handle, if I absolutely have to. The idea makes me visibly shudder. Which is why I carry antibacterial gel in my purse.
3. I count things. A lot. If I'm walking to work, or to meet a friend, or anywhere, I'll count things as I pass them. I find myself sitting on the bus on my way home, spacing out and counting the windows, or how many people are wearing hats, or whatever. I hate math but somehow, once upon a time, my brain decided that when it's idle, counting is the thing to do. I don't even remember not doing this.
4. I practice conversations in my head. Some of them are conversations I will never have with people I don't even talk to. I usually do this in transit as well, or while I'm running or on the elliptical machine. In the last few years this has transitioned to composing blog entries in my head as well, although I only type out maybe a quarter of the things I think to write about. I guess it helps the time pass, and also helps make me just a little bit quicker on the uptake. I hope.
5. I am extremely observant. I notice things that no one else ever notices. To the point that I have learned to refrain from saying "Did you see that guy's ring? The guy wearing the blue Mossimo sweater from 1997? His ring was a really unique design" because everyone else only maaaaybe realized there was a guy there, and that his sweater may or may not have been blue.
