(beware- I'm going to sound like a total TV geek here.)

You know how Monica has all these weird things that will drive her crazy... like for example... the flowers on the bedspread have to be facing up because that is where the sun would be...

My personal one is that the T.P. has to be put on the little tubing thing the right way... so the loose end hangs over the top of the roll, as opposed to it falling against the wall behind the roll...

I hope that is clear enough...

So what are your "weird things"? What are the silly things you have to do?

I had a friend who always steped over this little 2 foot area of his room. He felt that he couldn't step on that one spot, or it would be bad luck.

So, fire away!

*quietly leaves for therapy*

Other than the toilet paper, I have a problem with the silverware drawer being the first drawer to the left of the stove. That is just where it is supposed to go! No exceptions, or I get all crazy-like.

My CD's are in alphabetical order. I have to alphabetize them, or I get really frustrated. I think a lot of people do that though.

And the most bizarre.. well, I am not sure how to even explain this one, but I know some of you do it too. I count on my toes. I will be watching TV, and Cartman will say "Bite my Ass", and I will count out the letters to see if the phrase "Bite my Ass" has an even or odd number of letters:

B-I-T-E M-Y A-S-S

Hmmm... okay... odd. Then I move on to something else. I started doing this when I was a little kid, and now it is just a habit. It annoys the hell out of my girlfriend because we will be sitting around watching TV and my toes are just flapping away. D-R-I-V-E-S H-E-R B-A-T-T-Y !

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Originally posted by JohnConstantine:
Only my VCR and TV clocks can (and must) be set to the correct time. The bedroom clocks must be a minimum of 3 minutes fast and no more than 5. The clock on the microwave is always a minute or two faster than the bedroom. the nasty old LED one that's on top of the fridge is always the fastest in the place.

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Oh. My. God. This would drive me freakin' INSANE! I am completely anal about my clocks. ALL of them have to be set to the correct time. Because of the arrangement of our kitchen and the types of appliances, we have 4 clocks in a two foot space. And it drives me nuts that I can't get them all to change at the same time. I've finally got them down to all changing in a 20 sec period, but it still drives me nuts to see 12:34, 12:34, 12:34 and 12:33. And you don't want to be anywhere near me after the power goes out or a daylight savings time change. I set my watch to the Naval Observatory Clock over the internet (to the second, mind you) and then with my watch go around and set all the clocks in the house (and cars). It amuses my wife to no end.

So that's my thing... do whatcha wanna do.

[Edited because there's no such place as the Belly Button Observatory]

1. Shower and towel off
2. Put on shirt and underpants
3. Deodorant
4. Hair gel
5. Put contacts in (left one first, always)
6. Put on socks (right one first)
7. Put on pants/shorts/jeans
8. Shoes come next, ALWAYS right one first, but I don't tie the laces until both shoes are on
9. Brush teeth

And then I can go about my day.

(edited because I *do* wear pants, believe it or not)

[This message has been edited by Seacub (edited December 06, 2000).]

When I am flipping through the radio stations using my pre-set buttons, I have to press EVERY ONE. Even if number 2 has a song I like on it that I want to hear, I have to push the rest of the buttons anyway... even if just really quick, then they all have been pushed and I can listen to number 2 with peace of mind.

Sigh.

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Originally posted by WeepBoy:

It has to hang off the BACKSIDE of the roll!

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*Gasp!!!* The Backside?!!! The horror... if it's not hanging over the front/top of the roll, I get so pissed at whoever last changed the roll.

[had to fix the code, yo.]

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Originally posted by Seacub:
I've been known to do friends a favor and correct their "over the top" errors when I'm at their houses.

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Originally posted by WeepBoy:

Hahahhah!

I correct too! Whenever I see it flapping away from the front-side of the roll, I always turn the roll around for them. Don't get me wrong, If I use the last of the toilet paper in someone else's house, I will just tell them it is time to change the roll. But I would never put a new roll on myself. I will correct for them, but I ain't doing all the work for them, yo.

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so YOUR the reason I find my TP hanging the WRONG WAY- over the back of the roll...

hee hee. I never realized my TP fetish is so common, in one way or another.

When eating dry cereal (a very rare occasion, as I don't often even bother with breakfast), I have to dunk all the bits under the milk with my spoon. I don't like it unless it is moist.

When little, I used to "make soup" with my ice cream after having eaten most of it.

I like food either hot or cold, not room temperature. Unless it is something like chips. Chips can be room temperature. But I've been known to put things like party left-overs (e.g., bowls of Spanish peanuts, Triscuits) into the fridge.

When I buy a dozen flowers, I ALWAYS part it out into two or more clumps. The arrangement MUST have an odd number of flowers in it--if they are all the same. Mixed bouquets just get plonked in a vase. But a dozen roses, for example? I never put the entire dozen into one container. I usually divide it into seven and five. Then again, I usually share the flowers I buy with the whole household. And I usually buy two dozen, so I have 21 in one container, and three on the kitchen table. Occasionally I can live with just two flowers in one vase, but it bugs me.

I don't like orange or yellow things. These colors bother me. As a child, I would get irate because I wasn't allowed to wear black.

We've discussed food-eating rituals already. I still eat Little Debbie Swiss Rolls in stages.

I read compulsively. I don't do the "count the letters in a sentence" thing, but I make anagrams and read things upside-down and backwards and spelling mistakes really set me off. I have been asked to proofread things before and have had a piece of paper thrust under my nose and have had each and every typo and incorrectly spelled work leap out at me instantaneously. (I am far less anal about this online, where typos just happen all too often to get tweaked over them.)

I set my clocks ahead. But not my watches. And all my clocks have to all be the same exact time. We have a lot of power outtages in my household, and it drives me crazy that the clocks all have a different time showing. I gave up and restricted my anal-ness on this score to my bedroom and car, meaning that I only fret about 5-8 timepieces (including watches, which must always be exactly precise) instead of twenty. There are ten different clocks in the kitchen alone! I'd go mad trying to keep up.

Hangers must face the same way in the closet.

CDs must be alphabetized.

When I read a book with a dustcover, I have to take the dustcover off or it bothers me.

If I'm making a cassette dub and I write something down wrong, I can't just cross it out and go on. I make an entirely new liner. In fact, I often make labels on my computer so I'm not happy with my handwriting anymore.

I don't sign anything "Love" unless it is my family, VERY close friends, or someone I actually do love "in that way". I feel that it cheapens the sentiment otherwise.

I won't mix metals. I wear mostly silver jewelry, and it drives me crazy that my only functional watch has gold trim. If it didn't have a black leather band, I couldn't wear it. I'm weird.

I also won't wear brown and black together and it bothers me to wear black with any shade of blue. And I don't care for white things, they are too high-maintenance.

I prefer solids to patterns. I won't wear ornate jewelry if I have on a patterned top. And it is usually a patterned top, since I don't like patterns on my lower half. I make exceptions, but I don't like it. I think leopard print is tacky, but I also think it is funny. So I wear it, but I think I'm being funny, not stylish. 99% of all the shoes in my closet have heels higher than 2 inches, despite the fact that this makes me look six feet tall.

I don't like my ears to be exposed, so I rarely wear my hair back or up.

I can't sleep unless all of me but my head is covered up by blankets. And I have to have two pillows so I can stick my hands between them.

I name vehicles. If your car doesn't have a name, I will find the perfect name for it and use it.

I don't like most condiments or gravy on my food. I don't like my food items to mix together. I don't like cookies with nuts or Jell-O with fruit in it. I never add pepper or salt to anything, ever.

I occasionally feel sorry for inanimate objects that I feel have been ignored or neglected. I apologize to things like dishes if I break them.

I talk to animals.

I have a compulsion to buy things that light up and I carry toys in my purse at all times.

I can go years without smoking but if I'm stuck in a room with cigarette smoke and I have some cloves on me, I will join in.

I won't touch beer or most wines. My father used to kill slugs by pouring beer into piepans in the garden, and I associate the smell and appearance of beer with dead, slimy, bloated slugs.

I find it easier to stick up for someone else than for myself. I am very assertive on someone else's behalf, and very easy-going and laissez-faire when it comes to protecting my own rights and feelings.

When I played with LEGOs, all the walls of any structure had to match.

I'm sure there are many more.

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Originally posted by Seacub:
Of course the TP hangs down the back of the roll! I've been known to do friends a favor and correct their "over the top" errors when I'm at their houses.

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Oh my god, me too! Only the other way around.

I didn't realize people got so militant over it, and I've been known to hang mine the wrong way, so I always figured I was doing a nice thing. Maybe I ended up pissing someone off instead!

As a hint, it sucks if you have long nails and the roll flap is hidden somewhere between the roll and the wall.

I will change rolls for people, but not if it means rooting through cabinets. If I see a spare roll out, I'll do it.

I think we've already expressed our preferences about toilet lids. I prefer the seat down but am okay with the top flap being left up. And I think fuzzy stuff on the toilet lid is acceptable but covering the tank too? That's just icky--but that's also more a taste thing than a quirk thing. I don't think anything of it if someone has johnny clothes on their toilet. Even if they have the Southern-Belle-doll spare-TP-roll-cover doo-dad. Well, okay, I admit it, I do, but it doesn't ruin my day or anything.

How many people try not to use guest towels in their own homes? My mother sets out guest towels instead of regular towels during the holidays. I alays pat my hands dry oh-so-carefully (or use my jeans!) and then make them look as if I didn't touch them at all!

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Originally posted by Seacub:
Heather, I have a specific order too, or else the rest of my day is miserable. It goes a little something like this:

1. Shower and towel off
2. Put on shirt and underpants
3. Deodorant
4. Hair gel
5. Put contacts in (left one first, always)
6. Put on socks (right one first)
7. Shoes come next, ALWAYS right one first, but I don't tie the laces until both shoes are on
8. Brush teeth

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Hmmm.....shirt, underpants, socks & shoes?
You must really have "Casual Friday"! HEHE

I have to fold the bath towels so that the edges aren't showing. Edges are bad.

My hamburgers never have ketchup on them--they must be dipped. That way I can control the amount. Also, I never eat the middle. I eat in a circle around the edges. This is referred to as the "circle burger."

Like Lorelei_Lee, I only like things hot or cold. And when it's hot, it better be HOT, not just warm.

All of the clocks in my house are set forward at varying times. In the kitchen, 4 minutes ahead; the living room, 7 minutes ahead; the bedroom, 5 minutes ahead. I'm not sure why it has to be like this, but I feel all weird if it's not.

Hospital corners. I cannot stress this enough.

I must, must, must have a drink in the car at all times. You never know when you'll get stranded and be thirsty.

I have been known to compare every one of the same item of clothing in my size, just to get the "best" one.

Well. Seeing this all written down scares even me.

If I'm at the computer, I must have music on. Don't touch the volume button or I might be forced to remove an arm or something. I have to have music on all. the. time.

like the hangers in the closet... they TOTALLY have to hang the same way!

And cereal... how could you eat it DRY? I pour milk all over the top so it's wet... and always end up with too much milk.

I have a food-eating thing with Little Debbie Nutty bars. They are the wafer-like PB Chocolate bars. I can't just chomp right into them... I have to eat one layer of wafer at a time. End of story.

I totally always feel sorry for inanimate objects too... what if they feel lonely? The poor toaster was starting to get "good toaster vibes" from the girl toaster on the shelf at the store... and really thought there was a good relationship in store for them... then along I come and snatch him away... to sit alone on the countertop with no other toasters to talk to. (an extreme example.)

But even little bugs... they have feelings! I'll see a little ant walking along and wonder if it's a lost little kid looking for mommy...

(therapy...yes I know it's a good thing.)

I talk to animals too... but that isn't a thing... it's a talent.

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Originally posted by Anna Beth:
... Sometimes I fold it into the little triangle for fun....I have been known to compare every one of the same item of clothing in my size, just to get the "best" one...

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Don't worry, you are SO not alone in these things. (aka me too)

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Originally posted by Lorelei_Lee:
I name vehicles. If your car doesn't have a name, I will find the perfect name for it and use it.

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Originally posted by aellis:
Hey, my truck needs a name. Do you actually have to see/ride in it or can you name it sight unseen?

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It helps if I know something about your interests and some general information about your car such as age, reliability, color and quirks.

One of my Pulp-obsessed friends has a black vehicle now dubbed "Carvis".

My evil, red, ancient Mustang started out in life as "Sally" but is now "Red Sonja, Car of Doom".

This one isn't mine, but I love what a friend named her first car: "The Putt".

I've also been involved with naming "Spencer", "The Blue Goose", "Lemonie" (yellow car owned by a Melanie), "The Baby Doo Green Machine", "The Green Bean", "Bubba", "The Hearse of a Different Color" (vintage hearse painted by at least fourteen different people), "Beast", "Burple" (backfired constantly and was mauve), "Shazzers" and "Rio the Geo a.k.a. The Speedbump".

I did not help my roommate name her car and her vehicle is named "Doris". I can't take credit for that one. And it doesn't really feel like a very "Dorissy" car, being a new gold Saturn without too many cranky habits. But once she saw that the bus in "Almost Famous" was also named "Doris", it stuck.

Burple, Carvis, Lemonie and Spencer are my favourite car monikers--suiting both the personality of the owner and the car itself.

And cars and computers do respond to being named and given "soul" and "character". Not sure why, but I've had instances where cursing at or praising or begging the petulant and misbehaving vehicle or 'puter by name has been more (seemingly) more effective than not.

IMHO, of course.

I'm not just talking about discount stores, either. I've done this in upscale places like, hmm, Saks and Bebe and found drastic quality variations.

Not that I can afford to shop there on a regular basis or anything.

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Originally posted by Anna Beth:
I have been known to compare every one of the same item of clothing in my size, just to get the "best" one.

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So I'm not the only one who does that? I don't know where I got it from, it's just a habit.

And, I'm really anal about the way hangers are in my closet. They have to be placed so that the open part of the hook faces towards me. Anything else is unacceptable.

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Originally posted by Lorelei_Lee:
I'm not just talking about discount stores, either. I've done this in upscale places like, hmm, Saks and Bebe and found drastic quality variations.

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Yes! The worst I've found: Gap (and all their other companies). You can try on the same size all day and never get the same fit. Buying khakis in there is a real bitch.

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Originally posted by Seacub:
Of course the TP hangs down the back of the roll! I've been known to do friends a favor and correct their "over the top" errors when I'm at their houses.

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You best stay away from my TP!!

CDs are always in alphabetical order by genre...

Clothes are grouped by what they are (i.e. - shirts and pants) then by color...all black items together, all red in another section etc. Hangers must face with the open in to the back of the closet.

Presets on all radios must be in order from left to right, the lowest spot on the dial to the highest.

Bedroom clock must be 10 minutes fast, everything else just has to be fairly close to one another.

Books and must be stacked with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on the top. (and woe to the person who messes this up)

Kitchen spices are in their rack in alphabetical order.

All towels must hang in precise folds with the ends matching, not overlapping or at an angle.

When I vacuum, I always get the little carpet lines to overlap so it looks all the same shade with no visible wheel marks from the vacuum.

All of the cereal has to have milk. I still do not understand my brother's desire for completely dry cereal out of a cup (he's 15, so it's not just a lil kid thing anymore)

I get all fussy over hair left on the drains. (I live in a dorm) I have really really long (almost 3 feet) dark auburn hair, very noticable on drains. Also clogs them really nicely too. I know that no one else wants to shower with my gigantic hairball in the shower with them so I pick it up and throw it away. No one else seems to understand this concept...

I used to be incredibly anal about the TP roll. The flap HAD to come over the top. Then, 5 years ago, I got a cat. He found the idea of piling the whole roll TP on the floor humorous. So, now the flap has to hang down the back or I end up with the whole roll in a pile on the floor.

My bed must be made as soon as I get out of it in the morning. I will do this unless I am EXTREMELY late. Drives me crazy to come home to an unmade bed. And yes, it is made the same way, with all the pillows and stuffed animals in the same places every single morning.

I never noticed this one until my boyfriend and my roomie pointed it out to me. I have to fold things. I can't just have a piece of clothing lying around. It must be folded or hung up. If it isn't, I will fold it or hang it up. Case closed.

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Originally posted by Its Kat:
You best stay away from my TP!!

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Word.

Bloody battles have been fought over much less important stuff.

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Originally posted by Gilly:
I used to be incredibly anal about the TP roll. The flap HAD to come over the top. Then, 5 years ago, I got a cat. He found the idea of piling the whole roll TP on the floor humorous. So, now the flap has to hang down the back or I end up with the whole roll in a pile on the floor.

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I've only had one cat who tried to do this. I tucked the tail end of the roll into the middle (where the spindle goes). Only works on some TP holders. No annoyance trying to dig flap out from between roll and wall when trying to stifle a big, wet sneeze. No cat-induced pile of soggy TP on bathroom floor. Best of both worlds.

BTW, ditto on the radio presets. I didn't ever even consider that someone could preset from high to low, that's how "wrong" it seems!

Some of my interests: theatre (especially musical) geek, Muppet-a-holic, music junky (particularly jazz, swing, show, and classic rock), addicted to The Princess Bride

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Originally posted by WeepBoy:

And the most bizarre.. well, I am not sure how to even explain this one, but I know some of you do it too. I count on my toes. I will be watching TV, and Cartman will say "Bite my Ass", and I will count out the letters to see if the phrase "Bite my Ass" has an even or odd number of letters:

B-I-T-E M-Y A-S-S

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I don't do it on my toes, but I count things out alot too!! To make it worse, I don't like things that end on anything other than 5 or 10, so I will do them over and over and over again until I get the results I like.

Gold and silver together.. no no no, please, no.

I used to obsessively count syllables on my fingers.. like tap my finger against my thumb (like making an OK sign) and then the middle finger against my thumb and then ring finger, and then pinkie, and then back to pointer. To count syllables. I don't understand it, but I'm glad I don't do it anymore.

If I'm on the phone, I have to be doing something or else I will go crazy. I can't just have a phone conversation without feeling like I'm wasting my time.. I think that's an indication of how often I multitask, yes? So if I need to pay attention to the conversation, I play Solitare obsessively. Quickly.

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Originally posted by Jamie:
*shyly* Lorelei_Lee, could you maybe try to name my car?
My car: 2000 goldish-tannish Chevy Cavalier. Power nothing.

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Okay, I'll try.

How about "Zoot, the Amazing Nonford", after Muppets Zoot (the Electric Mayhem!s mellow blue saxophone player) and Mumford (Sesame Street: Mumphy performs magical tricks with his assistant Grover. These usually backfire. He once turned Grover into a rabbit-monster. Bald with a small moustache and large, dark cape, Mumphy usually totes a magic wand. "A la peanut butter sandwiches!").

It is, after all, a Chevy, ergo an amazing non-Ford.

If it were some kind of blue, I'd suggest calling it Miles (last name "Pergallon" optional). (Ouch.)

If you think it's more of a "girl name car", I'll try thinking up something else.

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This one isn't mine, but I love what a friend named her first car: "The Putt".

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*curtsy* Aw, thanks, hon! Yes, that was my old primer gray Datsun B-210....

Our cars have to have names, too. Currently we have The Yuppie-mobile (forest green Camry).

My radio presets must be in order from best-liked station (KROQ) to least liked/listened to (oldies). And yes, before settling on one, I must switch all the way through.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches must be made accordingly:

Lie out two slices of squishy white bread on a napkin. Get the peanut butter (smooth Jif ONLY) from the cupboard, and the jelly (grape jelly ONLY) from the fridge. Get a knife and a tablespoon from the drawer. Spread peanut butter. Spread ONE TABLESPOON of jelly (it just doesn't WORK if you use a teaspoon to do this. And you would NEVER use the peanut-buttery knife to do this, WOULD YOU?!). Put jelly slice on top of peanut butter slice. Fold napkin carefully around the bottom half of the sandwich, so jelly doesn't dribble out while eating....

CDs and books are arranged first by genre, then alphabetically, yes.

The closet must have shirts/tops to the right, jackets, dresses, pants and skirts to the left, hung in order of length/dressiness. Empty hangers go in the middle. Pants and skirts must be hung with clothespins, not over the hanger, or else I can't see what's longest, and it takes up too much room. I'm equally anal about sheets and towels in the linen closet and washclothes in the bathroom, in that the folded edges always have to be all facing the same way... out!

Laundry must be done this way: first towels, blankets, grubbies. Then good/delicate clothes (that don't go in the dryer). Then whites. Whites are always last. Unless there's the rare load of Majorly Grubby Towels, like when I'm doing a refinishing project. If that's the case, those go last.

Any toys/dolls/stuffed animals I have, when done playing with them, must be placed sitting up and forward. It upsets me to go into a toy store and see dolls or critters thrown face-down. They can't SEE ANYTHING that way! And they're prolly sad, too.... So I fix them.