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The "Standard of Ur" from ancient Mesopotamia

The "Standard of Ur" from ancient Mesopotamia

13 May 2008

Six Unremarkable Quirks meme


My friend Lisa at Eudaemonia tagged me for the Six Unremarkable Quirks meme. Here are the rules:
  • Link the person who tagged you.

  • Mention the rules in your blog.

  • Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours.

  • Tag six bloggers by linking them.

  • Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Being on the eccentric side, I had a hard time narrowing my quirks down to six. Here are my picks.

1. I detest making phone calls. Sometimes, my furnace doesn’t get checked for the winter because I put off making the call until air-conditioner weather. I rarely do reporting anymore because I have such a hard time getting myself to call the interviewees. I’ll probably never get to travel with Dr. Who because I don’t voluntarily go into phone booths.

2. If no music is playing, I hum. Constantly. It drives me up a wall. My husband has never mentioned it, let alone complained—what a gem he is!

3. When I play music in 4/4 time, I play the fourth beat too early unless I’m playing with a metronome or an ensemble containing enough strong personalities that I follow their lead instead of vice versa. This habit, too, drives me crazy.

4. Television as background noise is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Whenever I check into a hospital, I always ask for a television-free room, but as yet have had no luck getting one. In doctor and car-repair shop waiting rooms, I sit as far as I can from the infernal thing and sometimes turn it off when no one is looking. In our bedroom, we have what my husband calls a “marital aid”—a set of TV headphones that allows him to watch television to his heart’s content without my hearing it.

5. I can write in reverse like Leonardo da Vinci. (But not in Italian.) I can also read upside-down text—a useful skill when one is sitting across the desk from someone. Probably not coincidentally, like Leonardo, I’m lefthanded.

6. I have to chew on something as I write. Agatha Christie was lucky; she had the same urge, but healthy, low-cal apples satisfied it. Before my mouth contained orthodontia, I chewed gum. Now, my mouth fixation of choice is chocolate. Warning: Do not try this at home unless you enjoy spending time in the dentist’s chair.


Now it’s someone else’s turn to reveal her or his quirks. I’m tagging:


13 comments:

Farrah Rochon said...

I'm the same way with phone calls.

Thanks for tagging me with an easy meme. :)

Lisa said...

These are pretty funny! I can identify with #1 -- once my work day is over. Because I spend so much time on the phone for work, I hate to use it when I'm on my own time. I screen all my calls and often won't even go to see who's calling if I'm on my own time. Love the "marital aid"!

Shauna Roberts said...

FARRAH, I look forward to seeing your list.

LISA, who would have guessed? Two out of two respondents so far are phonophobics.

Sidney said...

I am with you, Lisa and Farrah on the phone issue. Thanks for tagging me. I'll check out my quirks.

Rae Ann Parker said...

Thanks for the tag, Shauna. Hmmm, this might be hard to narrow it down to six.

Charles Gramlich said...

Lana has that number 5 as well. And she's left handed. So is her friend who is here visiting from Canada. I'm surrounded by left handed women.

Carleen Brice said...

LOL. I'm with you on the phone thing, and my husband is on the tv. He'd like to ban them from public places and I have to say I'd agree. Why do we have to have tvs in grocery stores, restaurants?

Shauna Roberts said...

Looking forward to it, SIDNEY.

RAE ANN, I had the same problem. It helped that the quirks are supposed to be "unremarkable," which means one can eliminate from consideration all the really bizarre stuff.

You are a very lucky man, CHARLES. ;-)

CARLEEN, I can't figure that out either. It seems almost everywhere one goes nowadays, there's a TV blaring.

steve on the slow train said...

Shauna, you can go with The Doctor, for the TARDIS is not a phone box but a police box (unless you're a policophobe as well).

My daughter Sarah is left-handed and she can do that reverse writing. She can also rearrange letters of names into words. I'm a rightie and can do neither.

And somehow I've managed to dodge this particular meme bullet. It's probably just a matter of time.

Shauna Roberts said...

STEVE, your news about the TARDIS is greatly welcomed! But I fear with your last comment you've painted a bulls eye on your backside.

Travis Erwin said...

Interesting quirks.

Sphinx Ink said...

Thanks, Shauna--I especially like the writing-in-reverse and reading-upside-down quirks. How cool! I share at least one of your quirks, which will be on my own list--to be pubbed on my blog tomorrow.

Lana Gramlich said...

Well, I can't WRITE in reverse, but I can read upside down or backwards.
As for the chocolate, you say that like it's a BAD thing! *L*