Have you ever gone on vacation with someone for a prolonged period of time? Spent a week in someones home? Shared a room with someone in college or maybe a bunk at a camp? If so, you've definitely been exposed to other people's quirks. We all have them, but some are more noticeable and more intrusive than others. Some seem silly, some seem minor and some just don't seem to make any sense at all.
I've always been ultra aware of other's habits and being a bit of a opinionated prick, point out the good and, the bad and the ugly as I see it. The past eleven days I've spent up at my father's house in Ithaca. The first seven were just me and my grandmother. Every morning started exactly the same. I'd come down stairs around 8:45. I'd feed the cat, then start making her breakfast. I'd cut up a half a banana, top with two huge tablespoons of plain yogurt and then top with two sliced strawberries. Then I'd start my breakfast, which was different every day. During the making of this, I'd eat the other half of the banana and a strawberry or two. I'd have the coffee ready just as she'd appear from the bedroom. I'd then pour the coffee and then make her an Ego waffle or a half a bagel. This, was her routine. I was also told, she'd watch The View at 11:00 and One Life to Live at 2:00. She liked having a drink or two at 5:00. From the day my father left to the day he came back, she didn't watch TV during the day once. We had drinks anywhere from 4:30-7:00. She explained they usually sat down to eat around 7:30 or 8pm. Only once were we still eating at that hour. Change is good right? Or was I committing a crime against human nature?
So as the week progressed, my grandmother exclaimed "Why do I have to have strawberries, I don't even like them. Tomorrow I don't want them. The next day, I loaded up extra bananas and served the dish, sans strawberries. She was happy. My father returned a day or two later and the very first dinner, we sat down at around 7:50. The next morning he took over breakfast duty and she had, as she has the last three days, strawberries. Not a whisper of complaint. Was she testing me to see if she could get her way or just appeasing someone elses routine?
In the week that I was there, I got into my own routines. Most are ones that match my little quirks at home. Despite being pretty much an absolute slob when it comes to home cleanliness, I have a little pet peeve. Dishes in the sink! Especially silverware. It drives me nucking futs! I also tend to clean while I cook. If I cut something on a cutting board, it's wiped clean as soon as the item is removed. If I take food from a pot or pan from the stove, I immediately run water over it and scrape anything that might stick. The first day he returned, I of course, offered to do the dishes. Breakfast was over on day one and I walked to the sink. In it were all the dishes, a banana peel and the stems from the strawberries. There were five spoons, five knives and three forks. Three cups with saucers, three plates and two bowls with food and napkins still in them. I turned and counted the number of occupants in the kitchen. Could I possibly have missed a dining guest? I washed the dishes and threw out the peel and stems. The next day, the exact same. This drew my ire, because the garbage pale is at a distance in which you don't actually need to move your feet to throw out the peels directly after cutting. Not saying one person's way is wrong and one person's is correct, but I finished the dishes and glanced at the clock. It was 10:30. I had arrived downstairs at 9:15 and the coffee was already made and my grandmother was sitting there. So breakfast had started at around 9am and had lasted an hour and a half. I wasn't in a rush, but it dawned on me that aside from a cup of tea, one bowl of yogurt and fruit and maybe some toast, that one extra person had added another 45 minutes to our breakfast experience.
I live alone, so there is nobody to question my way of doing things or where I put things, but I have to say, in my own humble opinion, I have learned in all facets of life, to be efficient in the use of time. Almost to a fault. I tend to leave to get places later than I should and still arrive way too early. I do not have the ability to make 2 hours worth of work last eight hours and therefor appear to be doing nothing a lot of the time. I procrastinate when attempting projects, because I know I will finish them in a tenth of the time that they should take. This however does not always mean I am efficient. I do tend to rush if I do not deem the task important. Rarely is anything so important than to take double, triple or even more time to do something. This affects minor things in my life, like cooking. I tend to under cook things when at home and become too lazy to fix them. I do not do this however when cooking for others. I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of many.
So what is it about our human nature that we love repetition so much. We tend to eat at the same time, eat the same things, go to the same restaurants, go to the same bars, go to the same movies theaters, parks, museums. We watch movies and TV shows we've already seen when there is always something new on. We spend lots of time with certain people that bother us, rather than go out with friends we haven't seen a lot, because we are drawn to that comfort of knowing. We as a species, fear the unknown.
Obviously, when you've grown up living with someone you know their quirks and you adjust. My father lives in a new house and I just can't get used to certain things. Frying pans in a closet instead of above the stove. Bread products in the freezer. Everything but butter and cream cheese in that little place in all fridges for the "butter and cream cheese." Little things like that, I just can't get a handle on. It's not just him. It's all of us. I remember going away on vacation one year with about ten people. It took about two days before people took on rolls. One person was the earliest riser. He would start a pot of coffee. I would almost always be second, so I'd grab a cup. By the time, everyone else got up, three, maybe four hours had gone by and the morning was gone. We'd get dressed and get ready to head out, either for some miniature golf or maybe some shopping and then hit the beach. The first day we were there, I was getting ready to leave and noticed that the sink was filled with dishes. I knew I had eaten and had done the dishes for all the early risers, but couldn't figure out why there were so many. There was also food left out. I did the dishes. Apparently, some of my friends thought that Mr. Clean or the Dish Fairy was there and I even heard someone say "is there a dishwasher somewhere, because I left stuff in the sink and they were cleaned." Really!!! I don't mind, it's my little OCD thing, not theirs, but to think something other than a person you are away with actually did the dishes. C'mon.
It's not only food. I know people who are anal about coasters on their tables, and for good reason. Those marks are hard to get out if you can at all. I know people who are adamant about you taking your shoes off before coming into the house. I know people close all the blinds before going to bed. I know people who can't sleep without the TV on. I know people who turn on and off lights every time they enter and leave a room, even when they know they will be returning in seconds. There are people that water their lawns right before an obvious thunderstorm, because it's Saturday. I know people who go to certain restaurants only on certain days and eat the same thing every single time. I know people who if there is a detour going to work, will have their days completely turned upside down. I am never like that about anything. Things can be cleaned, things can be replaced, people aren't as curious to look in your window as you may think. I can't sleep with the TV on, but if tired enough find a way. I'm smart enough to know that the act of turning a light on and off actually uses more energy. How many times does a light go out when you first turn it on as opposed to while it's already running? I like variety when dining and rarely eat in the same place twice in a row unless it's a matter of need versus desire. Detours to me, as long as they aren't making me late are, at times, a welcome change of scenery.
So what makes us like this for real? Is it simple comfort? Is it that as we get older we tend to forget insignificant things and having all your ducks in a row makes life easier? It it sheer laziness? Are we all nothing more than the human equivalent of Pavlov's dog or Skinner's rats? I think it's more. I think we all suffer from some type of disability. I think in a way, we all need that certain stimuli every day that lets us know we're in the right place. Watch people you see every day on the train. Watch how they sit, how they stand, read the paper, eat their breakfast, listen to their ipods or any other action. I would almost guarantee they do it every day. I rub my eyes constantly, even when they don't bother me. Why? Maybe it triggers something else in me? Listen to people speak. So many of us start a majority of our stories with the same beginning. I am guilty of this. I say "by the way" constantly. I hate it, but it's involuntary. A friend of mine says "you should" whenever anyone tells them something about themselves. Whether they are looking for advice or not. I have another friend who says "Well" before every sentence. The list it never ending. We have scientist who study animal behavior and marvel at the routines, but we're guilty more than ever. We have routines on how we cook, clean, dress, go to the bathroom and even shower. I read a study years ago about bathing. They had a ten question questionnaire and the final question was "what body part do you wash first?" Almost 95% of the time the body part matched the answers to the questions and revealed one's major personality trait. I don't remember them all, but people that washed their faces were more vain, their armpits and genitals displayed low self esteem, their chests were proud, and their arms were laid back (because when holding soap, it's the closest body part). I don't remember what the traits were for legs, belly, back and hair.
I find people's quirks fascinating, but the reality is, that nobody likes to have them pointed out. I don't have any real routines that I know of other than some sayings and my desire to be under fire. If I have to be at work at 8am, I wake at 7:40, piss, wash face, brush teeth and I'm out the door. Sometimes I get dressed. It's a quirk that employers differ on.
I've always been ultra aware of other's habits and being a bit of a opinionated prick, point out the good and, the bad and the ugly as I see it. The past eleven days I've spent up at my father's house in Ithaca. The first seven were just me and my grandmother. Every morning started exactly the same. I'd come down stairs around 8:45. I'd feed the cat, then start making her breakfast. I'd cut up a half a banana, top with two huge tablespoons of plain yogurt and then top with two sliced strawberries. Then I'd start my breakfast, which was different every day. During the making of this, I'd eat the other half of the banana and a strawberry or two. I'd have the coffee ready just as she'd appear from the bedroom. I'd then pour the coffee and then make her an Ego waffle or a half a bagel. This, was her routine. I was also told, she'd watch The View at 11:00 and One Life to Live at 2:00. She liked having a drink or two at 5:00. From the day my father left to the day he came back, she didn't watch TV during the day once. We had drinks anywhere from 4:30-7:00. She explained they usually sat down to eat around 7:30 or 8pm. Only once were we still eating at that hour. Change is good right? Or was I committing a crime against human nature?
So as the week progressed, my grandmother exclaimed "Why do I have to have strawberries, I don't even like them. Tomorrow I don't want them. The next day, I loaded up extra bananas and served the dish, sans strawberries. She was happy. My father returned a day or two later and the very first dinner, we sat down at around 7:50. The next morning he took over breakfast duty and she had, as she has the last three days, strawberries. Not a whisper of complaint. Was she testing me to see if she could get her way or just appeasing someone elses routine?
In the week that I was there, I got into my own routines. Most are ones that match my little quirks at home. Despite being pretty much an absolute slob when it comes to home cleanliness, I have a little pet peeve. Dishes in the sink! Especially silverware. It drives me nucking futs! I also tend to clean while I cook. If I cut something on a cutting board, it's wiped clean as soon as the item is removed. If I take food from a pot or pan from the stove, I immediately run water over it and scrape anything that might stick. The first day he returned, I of course, offered to do the dishes. Breakfast was over on day one and I walked to the sink. In it were all the dishes, a banana peel and the stems from the strawberries. There were five spoons, five knives and three forks. Three cups with saucers, three plates and two bowls with food and napkins still in them. I turned and counted the number of occupants in the kitchen. Could I possibly have missed a dining guest? I washed the dishes and threw out the peel and stems. The next day, the exact same. This drew my ire, because the garbage pale is at a distance in which you don't actually need to move your feet to throw out the peels directly after cutting. Not saying one person's way is wrong and one person's is correct, but I finished the dishes and glanced at the clock. It was 10:30. I had arrived downstairs at 9:15 and the coffee was already made and my grandmother was sitting there. So breakfast had started at around 9am and had lasted an hour and a half. I wasn't in a rush, but it dawned on me that aside from a cup of tea, one bowl of yogurt and fruit and maybe some toast, that one extra person had added another 45 minutes to our breakfast experience.
I live alone, so there is nobody to question my way of doing things or where I put things, but I have to say, in my own humble opinion, I have learned in all facets of life, to be efficient in the use of time. Almost to a fault. I tend to leave to get places later than I should and still arrive way too early. I do not have the ability to make 2 hours worth of work last eight hours and therefor appear to be doing nothing a lot of the time. I procrastinate when attempting projects, because I know I will finish them in a tenth of the time that they should take. This however does not always mean I am efficient. I do tend to rush if I do not deem the task important. Rarely is anything so important than to take double, triple or even more time to do something. This affects minor things in my life, like cooking. I tend to under cook things when at home and become too lazy to fix them. I do not do this however when cooking for others. I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of many.
So what is it about our human nature that we love repetition so much. We tend to eat at the same time, eat the same things, go to the same restaurants, go to the same bars, go to the same movies theaters, parks, museums. We watch movies and TV shows we've already seen when there is always something new on. We spend lots of time with certain people that bother us, rather than go out with friends we haven't seen a lot, because we are drawn to that comfort of knowing. We as a species, fear the unknown.
Obviously, when you've grown up living with someone you know their quirks and you adjust. My father lives in a new house and I just can't get used to certain things. Frying pans in a closet instead of above the stove. Bread products in the freezer. Everything but butter and cream cheese in that little place in all fridges for the "butter and cream cheese." Little things like that, I just can't get a handle on. It's not just him. It's all of us. I remember going away on vacation one year with about ten people. It took about two days before people took on rolls. One person was the earliest riser. He would start a pot of coffee. I would almost always be second, so I'd grab a cup. By the time, everyone else got up, three, maybe four hours had gone by and the morning was gone. We'd get dressed and get ready to head out, either for some miniature golf or maybe some shopping and then hit the beach. The first day we were there, I was getting ready to leave and noticed that the sink was filled with dishes. I knew I had eaten and had done the dishes for all the early risers, but couldn't figure out why there were so many. There was also food left out. I did the dishes. Apparently, some of my friends thought that Mr. Clean or the Dish Fairy was there and I even heard someone say "is there a dishwasher somewhere, because I left stuff in the sink and they were cleaned." Really!!! I don't mind, it's my little OCD thing, not theirs, but to think something other than a person you are away with actually did the dishes. C'mon.
It's not only food. I know people who are anal about coasters on their tables, and for good reason. Those marks are hard to get out if you can at all. I know people who are adamant about you taking your shoes off before coming into the house. I know people close all the blinds before going to bed. I know people who can't sleep without the TV on. I know people who turn on and off lights every time they enter and leave a room, even when they know they will be returning in seconds. There are people that water their lawns right before an obvious thunderstorm, because it's Saturday. I know people who go to certain restaurants only on certain days and eat the same thing every single time. I know people who if there is a detour going to work, will have their days completely turned upside down. I am never like that about anything. Things can be cleaned, things can be replaced, people aren't as curious to look in your window as you may think. I can't sleep with the TV on, but if tired enough find a way. I'm smart enough to know that the act of turning a light on and off actually uses more energy. How many times does a light go out when you first turn it on as opposed to while it's already running? I like variety when dining and rarely eat in the same place twice in a row unless it's a matter of need versus desire. Detours to me, as long as they aren't making me late are, at times, a welcome change of scenery.
So what makes us like this for real? Is it simple comfort? Is it that as we get older we tend to forget insignificant things and having all your ducks in a row makes life easier? It it sheer laziness? Are we all nothing more than the human equivalent of Pavlov's dog or Skinner's rats? I think it's more. I think we all suffer from some type of disability. I think in a way, we all need that certain stimuli every day that lets us know we're in the right place. Watch people you see every day on the train. Watch how they sit, how they stand, read the paper, eat their breakfast, listen to their ipods or any other action. I would almost guarantee they do it every day. I rub my eyes constantly, even when they don't bother me. Why? Maybe it triggers something else in me? Listen to people speak. So many of us start a majority of our stories with the same beginning. I am guilty of this. I say "by the way" constantly. I hate it, but it's involuntary. A friend of mine says "you should" whenever anyone tells them something about themselves. Whether they are looking for advice or not. I have another friend who says "Well" before every sentence. The list it never ending. We have scientist who study animal behavior and marvel at the routines, but we're guilty more than ever. We have routines on how we cook, clean, dress, go to the bathroom and even shower. I read a study years ago about bathing. They had a ten question questionnaire and the final question was "what body part do you wash first?" Almost 95% of the time the body part matched the answers to the questions and revealed one's major personality trait. I don't remember them all, but people that washed their faces were more vain, their armpits and genitals displayed low self esteem, their chests were proud, and their arms were laid back (because when holding soap, it's the closest body part). I don't remember what the traits were for legs, belly, back and hair.
I find people's quirks fascinating, but the reality is, that nobody likes to have them pointed out. I don't have any real routines that I know of other than some sayings and my desire to be under fire. If I have to be at work at 8am, I wake at 7:40, piss, wash face, brush teeth and I'm out the door. Sometimes I get dressed. It's a quirk that employers differ on.
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