Our quirks

So, everybody has their quirks...and what better way to know our fellow farmers better than to share some of our own quirks (and perhaps find people with similar oddities!)

To start us off, here are some of mine:

• Certain words in the English language (my native language) make me absolutely cringe, and I don't know why (I think it's the sound). These words include: dish, cash, meal, fresh fruit
• I hate getting stuff on my hands, especially things like fruit juice that make them sticky. Consequently whenever I eat something that might get on my hands I have to be near a sink to wash them straight away. I can also "feel" the germs on my hands when I touch a rubbish bin or use the dishwasher.
• Whenever I have a plate full of food, I eat everything in a certain order. I won't start on one portion of the food until I've finished the previous. Whenever I have a roast dinner, for instance, I'll start with the sweet potato and pumpkin, then go to potato, then meat, then greens.
• No matter how cold it is in summer (usually early summer), I refuse to wear winter clothes or pyjamas.
• When I'm cooking, I read recipe steps multiple times over, often for many minutes, because even if I've understood the step perfectly well I feel like I might have misread it, and for several seconds to minutes I am literally frozen in place staring at the step even if I know perfectly well what I'm meant to do

So, now that I've made myself sound thoroughly insane, please share so I don't look stupid alone!

 

Well, squiggle you're not alone with the summer clothes thing and in the UK summer is a very loose term!

 

Hrrmmmm Quirks ....
Well i have VERY VERY bad panic attacks they have started to get worse of late .....
and very bad anxiety attacks as well ....
they are getting way beyond bad ,,,,
I was in the car with my husband the other week and i ended up in tears because every car that came towards us i could see in my mind it hitting us... it;s starting to get out of control ... but i make do

 

frogs - you are not alone...my anxiety is better if I am doing the driving. Gives me a sense of control however illusive it may be.

 

My quirk is that I can't stand to see messy children. When mine were young I always took a bag with a damp flannel in to friends houses and mopped up any child I saw with sticky mouth or fingers. Also how on earth can children do Finger Painting? I really do not get it. Once children get to a certain age (about 3 I would think) they are old enough to learn to handle a paint brush, pencil, crayon etc. Absolutely no need to get messy. So Squiggle, I agree with you, sticky fingers are not acceptable and I always eat my cake with a fork!

 

I don't drive at all and i think the new car we have adds to it because of the shape of the car

 

The roll of T.P has to be over not under. Whenever I would see a roll put on so it comes out from the backside, I would ask who did it and tell them the correct way to put it on. They(my kids) eventually grew to apologize for not putting it on "my" way

 

Oh, I agree with that one julie!

 

A fellow TP overer - I even change the ones in peoples' houses - just can't cope! I have a really annoying quirk for everyone else - I correct them when they use your instead of you're. As you can imagine the forum gives me palpitations at times .

 

And me, chookie! Grammar matters...

 

Believe me I have been tempted to do that in other peoples houses but I can hear my mom saying "Now Julie, this isn't your house. Leave it alone!" But I do change it at my daughters house and I'm sure she knows who did it

 

TP issue: Wow! You hit one there. Toilet paper MUST roll over. At work we have the holders that encapsulate the tp and when it is put in rolling under, the tp catches on the mechanism. It is sooooooooo frustrating and works against my ARD (anal retentive disorder). TP rolls over in my house and anywhere I can change it.

Also, toothpaste tubes are squeezed from the bottom......not the middle.

Another is a cupboard door or dresser drawer, etc that is left open......especially just a little bit. I don't understand why someone would go to the effort to close it partially but not completely. Close the drawer/door!!!!!!!!

One last one.....turning signals in vehicles. How hard is it to use your turning signals. One almost expects manufacturers to have made this difficult given how many people never use them. It's NOT difficult. Please use them.

 

I am so with you on the turn signal thing, sarann, drives me nuts when people turn without signalling, especially if they've just blasted by me at a high rate of speed. I guess the 30 seconds they gained really was more important than anyone's life. Of course, I'm equally irritated by those who forget to turn their signals off .

In the area of the bathroom, my biggest peeve is people who don't flush. Seriously, how hard is it to push the handle?

Squiggle, I totally get the sticky hands thing, I don't like having my hands sticky or dirty either. I can handle getting dirty (gardening, eating fruit, or what not), but I have to be able to wash as soon as I'm done. As for germs, I'm not a germ phobe, but I don't care to push a shopping cart unless I've wiped down the handle with the antibacterial wet wipes most stores put out now, and if the store is out, I carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in a little pouch on the side of my fanny pack (aka purse), and I'll use some of that on the cart.

I remember when I was in about eighth grade, my English teacher gave us a writing assignment. We were to write about our pet peeves; I didn't know what that meant, and when I found out, I couldn't think of a single one. Sure got over that.

 

Argh indicators! Their lack of use also irks me - I like to use mine since clearly if they weren't meant to be used they wouldn't be there! I was reminded of one of my quirks by hubby this morning. Alarm clocks - I have 4 of them, all set 5 minutes apart and on snooze, just in case 3 should fail at least I have one that will work and what really annoys hubby is that all our clocks are set 5 minutes fast so that I know I have an extra 5 minutes to play with in the morning!

 

Indicators are useful for not just other drivers but pedestrians too. How often have I waited for a car to pass before crossing the road, when he/she turns off before he gets to me. No other traffic around till he turns, then it seems like rush hour and I wait again!

People in a queque who stand right close behind you. So annoying. I have been known to step back suddenly and look surprised to see them there!

Straight queues which block the way. Can't people turn to make a corner.

One other 'game' I play is at the checkout. Some people absolutely refuse to put any of their shopping on the converor belt till the little divider is put on. I never put that divider on until they start to put their shopping on. They reach over to get it. WHY? Just leave a sensible gap and that little divider will soon be put in place, after all I don't want to pay for all their shopping too, do I?

 

Speaking of the checkout counter: I shop in arranged order, I place my groceries on the conveyor in arranged order, and it really gets me if the bagger doesn't put them in that order in the bags! Most of the time I will do the bagging myself ... I really think this one will drive me straight to the looney bin, but when I get home from shopping it is so much easier and quicker putting things away - they are in order! That probably doesn't make sense to a lot of people but it does to me. My hubby usually goes and waits outside during checkout time. It's just me!

 

Tex - we usually do our own packing in England. Like you, I want it done right - even Hubby won't get involved unless I give him specific stuff to pack. My grumble is that the checkout operator puts the stuff through so fast that you can't pack. Apparently some shops expect them to scan stuff quickly. Of course it doesn't make anything quicker as I take longer to get it packed in the correct bags.

Another pet hate is when someone takes ages packing their stuff, then finds their purse is at the bottom of the bag!

 

For me with checkouts, I'm the opposite to your farmerumf regarding the divider.
If you are closer to the divider just place it after your groceries. It's not that hard, but it can help to avoid little mistakes that simply leaving a gap won't always fix. If you aren't going to place a divider after your groceries I will lean across and get it, just in case the cashier doesn't realise the point of the gap. If you don't want me leaning across you, do it yourself.

 

I do understand Squiggle but you can leave a large gap if you are worried about it. A lot of people do start to load before the divider is there and then I place it. Alternatively they could just ask politely instead of reaching across. Sometimes they only have a couple of items and the conveyor belt is half empty but they still need the divider!

 

True. I do usually ask, however some people tend to sort of...drift off whilst they wait for their items to be scanned and don't pay all that much attention, in which case I'll either ask the cashier or reach across. I don't see the point in leaving a gap if there's a divider there for that very purpose.