5 weird habits

Belinda, over at Ninja Poodles, was tagged (by Ariel) with a meme. Belinda was politically correct enough not to tag anyone, but I find myself drawn into this meme, without so much as an invitation. Now you all know I hate memes, so I can only allow myself to participate because I haven't been tagged. (Does that make any sense at all?)

It's the 5 Weird Habits meme, which is probably exactly why I just have to do it, because aside from the five I'm about to list, I have the strange habit of having to share just what a total freak I am. No, I am not happy to keep my freak-ness to myself, I air it publicly, as if my eccentricities are, like the World's Largest Ball of Twine (on display in Darwin, MN), of some sort of interest and fit for mass consumption:

So my dear consumers, enjoy!

1. I'm far from being a perfect speller, nor is my grammar impeccable, especially in daily conversation - but when I'm writing "for an audience" (ie: poetry) it goes through several revisions for mistakes. No, that's not the weird part... I may not be a visionary, but I am a revisionary - to the point that I'm always in critique mode, even when reading flyers, magazines, newspapers, bulletin boards. Even when I watch the news, my inner critic is proofreading, finding any mistakes, and making commentary on them, aloud. I've come to avoid watching CNN, simply because the multitude of mistakes on their news ticker at the bottom of the screen drives me insane, and my bitching about them drives everyone around me just as crazy.

2. When I go out to eat and I'm done with my meal, I stack all of my plates/saucers/bowls in order from largest to smallest, put any garbage (napkins, creamer cups, sugar packets etc...) on top and then all of my silverware goes into my water glass, business end down. I then use another napkin to wipe my spot, and move my precarious nut-job pile to the end of the table to be picked up by the next waitress or busperson that happens by. Then, I start doing the same thing with everyone else's plates as they finish their meals, until virtually everything has been removed from our table. I cannot stand to leave a restaurant while my table is a mess. Any waitress who doesn't pre-bus gets a smaller tip than she would if she'd removed the dishes. Weird eh?

3. We have digital cable, which comes with that nifty "guide" function, where you can view every channel and every program at the touch of a button. On Wednesday nights, I KNOW I'm going to watch LOST, but even when I know what I want to see, I can't simply change the channel. I have to hit "guide" scroll through all the programs until I find the show I want, and then hit "select" to go to the desired channel. How anyone survives changing the channel without this option is absolutely beyond me. Ah, my beloved Guide, how did I ever survive without you!?

4. I consider the moon to be a sort of spiritual symbol, my talisman against evil spirits, bed thoughts and negative energies. I go out of my way to look at the moon, at least once every night, more depending on how my day has gone - and much much more on days when I'm stressed out, angry or frustrated.

5. This last weird habit is one I've never told anyone. Every morning when I wake up, before I do anything else, even before my eyes have actually opened most days, I say the names of my children inside my head. I don't remember exactly when I started doing this, nor do I know exactly what purpose it's supposed to serve, but it's a morning ritual that has become so ingrained in my psyche that I do it without even thinking about it anymore.

There are so many many more I could tell you, oddities of Erin's mind, my mental compulsions, but the meme is five weird habits, so there they are. I'll follow Belinda's lead to not tag anyone, but I'd love to see your perspective lists, should you have one you'd be willing to share!