Everyday something new to learn - I'm not sure I'll ever catch up on all these blogging terms and 'rituals' ...
After having been decidedly (and successfully) introduced to the world of the meme last week, making me believe I was off the hook for the time being, I came home today to find I've been tagged. Or is it 'tapped'? Anyway, Blue Wren invited me to 'play' and I'm not quite sure whether "thank you" is the adequate answer, when in fact I feel a wee bit, well, confused about this new challenge ... Do you have some kind of secret agreement, trying out what it takes to make me uneasy? Just kiddin' ... but still. I really don't know about this one.
Five weird things about me? Are you serious? I'm not sure whether I'll come up with either far too many to name them or having to make some up in the end, for lack of real life quirks ... Let me think ... maybe I should be spontaneous about this one ... what is weird about me ...
... (brooding) ...
Okay, here's one thing for a start:
I have this habit of walking in the dark. I really like it. Both inside and outside the house. I have been going for nightly walks in our local forest for years. I would wander through the wood, memorizing every branch of the way, every turn and every shortcut until I knew where to raise my feet to avoid stumbling over a certain root or where to leave the way to avoid the mud after a period of rain. I didn't have to see, I just knew my way, walking confident and sure of step. This went so far, that after some time I actually had problems to find my way in the wood at daytime. I knew what a certain tree looked like in the moonlight, how it's outline resembled an indian chief on a horse, but I never recognised this tree and the left turn it indicated when I went there for an afternoon walk. I also have this habit of walking around inside the house at night, without ever turning on the light. I like to get a feeling for the distances, for the whereabouts of things, without having to see them. So I might get up at night, feeling thirsty, go into the kitchen and fetch myself a drink, all in complete darkness. Like a vampire ... Mostly this works just fine. Sometimes I hurt my toes real bad though, not taking movable objects into account. And recently I had to discover that 'Aceto balsamico' isn't a good choice when really desperate for a drink at night ...
And while writing this, I came up with another one, here's No. 2:
Some of my friends find it actually a bit weird that I manage to spend whole afternoons in DIY stores, strolling through shelves full of tools, fittings, wood, mountings, tiles and other useful stuff. Myself I really can not see anything weird in this and frequently wonder what's so strange about the fact that actually I do not only like to look at all the above mentioned stuff but in fact enjoy working with it even more. I like plastering walls, tiling, building, whatever. Even installing the underfloor heating system. No guts no glory, girls.
I gotta think about No. 3 for a moment ... oh, right:
I absolutely NEVER enter the inside of a taxi. I conceive a deep abhorrence for taxi cabs, don't know why. I find it highly unnatural to be sitting next to a complete stranger for one thing (you're not expected to sit in the back seat of a taxi in Germany), talking trifle and exchanging insignificant information about traffic and the weather in an atmosphere of anonymity and time pressure. I also have this inexplicable feeling of the situation being somehow improper. It's really beyond rational explanation, I just can't do it. I'll rather walk five or six miles instead.
Here's No. 4:
I have a thing with the smell of books. I always sniff at them first, even before looking at the content. I really don't like books that have a musty or niffy smell on them. Did you know that an English or American book for example smells distinctly different from a German book? I think it has to do with the kind of paper that is used, or the bleaching of the paper, or maybe whether it's coated or uncoated paper. However, there's a certain smell of paper that I really love and it's pure bliss if I discover a book that combines an interesting content with a beautiful cover and this certain 'scent'. It'll sure become one of my favourites ...
And finally ...No. 5!!
I absolutely and tremendously loathe moths. Not the small ones but anything from the size of a small butterfly upwards. You know, that furry kind of moths with real chubby bodies, that leave yucky, kind of powdery, black marks on everything they touch? They have this really hectic, uncoordinated way of flying, very different from a normal butterfly. Ugh, I hate to admit it, but I absolutely detest them and I almost freak out when I have one inside my room. Since I still cannot kill them (not out of fear - out of pity!) I have a real problem. It's some kind of phobia. I would rather spend the night sleeping on the kitchen floor than putting a foot inside a room with a big black furry moth in it. Apart from that I have no problem with other insects (despite being allergic to insect stings I really don't bother much).
Now, isn't this weird!?
4 comments:
Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? Great post! I like hardware stores too -- not because I actually get into plastering walls or installing under-floor heating -- but because I love all the strangely-shaped little things, the nuts and bolts, the shelves and rows of tins full of things I have absolutely no understanding of. In a hardware store, I feel like a child again -- full of wonder and quiet delight.
I can totally relate to Walking in the Dark. I often imagine that I'm blind as I move about a familiar space sans lights. My favorite activity in HighSchool was walkin' in the woods at night. It was more than just knowing we were going to get drunk. lol! The way you described it took me back. Thanks
And the book thing, as well. There is something different about the smell of each book. Even those that are similar, still have their own bit of uniquity which is easily recalled even years later.
The only really weird thing as I'd call it, is the Taxi deal. {-; Even that makes a kind of sense, and has an eco-friendly side-benefit to boot!
Thanks for "tagging" me last night. I was actually able to fall asleep within minutes after reading and replying to your comment.
Oh, hello Blue Wren, hmm, okay, it wasn't really hard. In fact it was much easier than I thought. I didn't expect to come up with five things at first when in the end I could easily have added five more ... typical case of deranged self-perception!
What you write above, it's so true ... wonder and quiet delight ... sometimes I feel tempted to buy something without even knowing what it's used for, just for the sheer pleasure of choosing something out of this abstract variety. It also happens to me with haberdashery (does anyone use this expression anymore?) ... I could spend endless hours looking at buttons, braids and ribbons. I really seem to like little things that come in multicoloured varieties ...
Thank you Michael, for making me feel that I'm not really weird after all! It's kind of reassuring to know I'm not the only one out there with certain habits ... wonder what you're going to reveal!
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