BS: I may be obsessive because........

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: RangerSteve
Date: 25 Sep 05 - 09:50 AM

My first instrument was a piano-accordian. When I play it, I breathe with the bellows. I can't play one of those accordians or concertinas where the buttons/keys play a different note depending on the direction the bellows is going, because I have to exhale when the bellows are going out, and inhale when the bellows are going in.

If I brush my bare arm against something cold, I feel a need to do it to the other arm, otherwise I feel off balance.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 24 Sep 05 - 03:29 PM

My father was obsessed with being early for everything. I remember my mother pleading with my father not to insist on leaving for church so early, because she hated waiting on the front steps for someone to come and unlock the door.

I once asked him why it was so important to leave so early, and he said "What if we was to have a pun'ture?" If we had a flat tire on the way to church, he wanted to be able to change it and still get there on time.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 24 Sep 05 - 11:13 AM

When I go to a party, I take great care to be on time, as if it were a hanging and I would miss all the fun by being 2 minutes late. I am usually the first to arrive.

I change the sheets on my bed every 8 person-nights; I have a row of safety pins on the bedspread to keep track.

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: Everyone is entitled to the minimum of self-deception required for self-respect. :||

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 23 Sep 05 - 11:23 AM

...I need to copy email memos from "the boss" & correct the spelling & punctuation before I make a copy for myself.

...my eyes glaze over & I lose concentration during PowerPoint presentations as soon as I see a spelling/grammar error.

The dumbing down of education is caused, at least partially, by teachers who have poor communication skills. How can they teach what they don't know?

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: open mike
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 06:11 PM

ob=obstetrics
sess=short for sess pool
com=as in dot com?
pulse=heart rate

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 01:49 PM

LOL

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: beardedbruce
Date: 22 Sep 05 - 08:56 AM

Peace.

Did I mention that 2 ( numbers) was prime as well?   (bg)(

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 06:45 PM

So are y'all telling me that filing my CDs under C for CD is not the way to do it? Damn, this IS getting confusing.

Beardedbruce--ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 05:59 PM

Without knowing anything about Captain Beefheart, I can say this: If Captain Beefheart is a person, it should be filed under B. If it's a band, it should be filed under C.

Jethro Tull, for example, should be filed under J, because it's the name of the band. (Unless you're talking about the inventor, and then it should be under T.)

However, it seems that, no matter what rule(s) you adopt, there are always confusing cases.

Ideally, a cataloguing system shouldn't require you to know whether something is a person or a band--because there will always be cases where you don't have a clue, and can't find out.

One of the curses of being obsessive-compulsive is you are always wondering whether you should change the rules and start over.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 05:49 PM

I'd file it under "Band." That would keep everything together.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Wesley S
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 03:58 PM

Guest - In my opinion "Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band" should be filed under B for Beefheart. Atleast that's where they are in my collection. If Don Van Vleit ever releases anything under his own name - then it will be a different story.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: beardedbruce
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 03:28 PM

29 and 31 BOTH being prime, is this a two-fold "gotcha"?


http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0876084.html

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Morticia
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 03:23 PM

You guys are just a leetle bit scary

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 01:44 PM

Well, GUEST, under my system he'd be under A's or E's. BUT, there'd still be the same thing to worry about.

"29 letters, 2 numbers, or 31 charecters?"

YES! You got it!

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 11:26 AM

I have sleepless nights over whether Captain Beefheart should be in the C's or B's. I didn't lay down a ranking by rank order in my head before I began to organise alphabetically. And any decision now would seem a cop out. I would like to plump for the C's because there is enough of a gap without major reshuffling. But my gut instinct says B's. It hovers near the complialtion section (at the end of course) whilst I ponder.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 11:18 AM

Well, actually, "The Odessa File" would, under the old filing rules, file under "Odessa." Initial articles in any language are skipped. "L'Oreal" would file under "O," "Der Spiegel" under "Spiegel" and so on.

Now in the MARC format, which is used pretty much world wide although with regional variation (UK MARC, US MARC, CANADIAN MARC CANADIEN, etc.) the title is filed the same way. BUT you have to tell the computer that in indexing the title it's supposed to skip a certain number of spaces: e.g., "The Odessa File" would have four skips -- for T, H, E, and the space. Skip three places and it would be indexed under the blank, skip five and it would be indexed under "d".

The MARC field would look something like this:

245 14 The Odessa file

245 tells the computer that it's a title, 1 means something that I forget right now and don't feel like asking, and 4 skip four spaces and then index.

So the next time your library's online catalog can't find the title you're sure should be there, try various spaces from the first letter: 0, 1, 2, etc. Don't try to search under a blank though, it won't work.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: beardedbruce
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 10:56 AM

Peace,

"There are 72 letters in this sentence."


29 letters, 2 numbers, or 31 charecters?

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 10:32 AM

I always file stuff under the second letter of the word. For example, "The Odessa File" would be under 'D' ('The' being ignored). If that would be of any help to you Rapaire, count me in.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 09:29 AM

Actually, I'd love to work in a library, cataloging books. Trouble is, you have to have a library sciences degree to get that job. I've looked into it.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Rapparee
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 09:13 AM

Any of you anal-retentive types want to work in a library, cataloging books?

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: dianavan
Date: 21 Sep 05 - 02:32 AM

I can't cook unless the kitchen counters are spotless.

I need separate cutting boards for veggies, cheese and meat.

EVERYTHING must be re-cycled. Washed, labels removed, cardboard flattened etc.

I SAVE almost everything to be re-used. Twist ties, plastic bags, corks - I even save the butter wrapper to grease the cookie sheet.

When I was younger, I used to arrange my closet according tocolour. I now refrain from that practice.

My worst compulsion is organizing screws and other fasteners. I buy little watchmaker containers from Lee Valley and rush home so I can begin sorting and storing.

When I make cocoa and toast, the butter on the toast has to be hard so that when I dunk the toast, the butter doesn't completely melt away. I want to see the chunks of butter before I put the toast in my mouth.

I could go on and on and on and on and on and.................

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 11:59 PM

Jim,

Our spices are arranged by how they're used. The sweet and baking type spices are on the middle of three shelves in the spice cupboard. Pie spices, food coloring, vanilla, etc. The savory stuff (I guess you'd call it that) that goes into meat and casseroles and such are on the bottom shelf. Oregano, basil, powdered garlic, onion, salt, pepper, etc. Big bottles to fill the small bottles are on the top, as are some sauces that aren't used often. Nothing is in a particular order or arrangement beyond being on that shelf.

Did you know that if you install the latest version of the Google Toolbar (this is for IE, but you can load one for firefox from that same page) that it has a nice little spelling check that will scan and allow you to correct the contents of any form you have been writing to? It's very handy.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 09:58 PM

Titrate? They are ALL beautiful.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: bobad
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 09:31 PM

Slim Eric

To me they mean doubling dilutions as used in a laboratory to titrate such things as antibody titers.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 09:23 PM

Does waking up at 3:00 AM and listening to the bathtub faucet drip count? If I have a tune in my head and the tap is dripping outta time, I increase or decrease the flow until they are in sync. I once did that with socks. Wet them all and then listened to rhythms the drips made on aluminum cans. That was at about 5:00 AM. I started trying some of the rhythms on a plastic garbage can and one of my neighbours got pissed off. I wouldn't call that obsessive though. He was a nice guy, usually.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Peace
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 09:19 PM

What's a one-dollar bill?

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 07:50 PM

I nearly always compose my messages in Microsoft Word, mainly so I can use its spell-checker. And I nearly always rewrite part of what I have written. Finally, when I'm satisfied, I copy and paste into my browser.

Once I alphabetized all the spice bottles in our pantry. My wife thought that was pretty weird, but it made sense to me. We probably have 30 bottles/jars/boxes of various spices, some of them only used once many years ago. How are you going to find anything if they're not alphabetical? Since then, I haven't bothered to keep them alphabetical, because I seldom use them myself, and my wife doesn't care.

I won't do laundry until I am absolutely out of clean clothes. If I run out of clean underwear, I will wash a load of nothing but underwear. I won't wash my shirts unless I am completely out of clean shirts, then I wash all of them. Is that obsessive, or am I just a procrastinator? Or is procrastination a form of obsessiveness?

I once worked for a guy who would never touch any food with his hands, or if he had to touch it, he wouldn't eat the part he had touched. He would eat a doughnut with a fork. If he couldn't get a fork, he would hold the doughnut carefully between his thumb and forefinger, never shifting his grip, and would leave the little piece that he had touched on the plate. I once saw him eat an apple by wrapping a paper napkin around it so his fingers never touched the apple. I never asked him why he did this. I don't know whether he ever considered the possibility that someone else had handled the apple before he received it, or if it made any difference to him.

If I happen to have a couple of crisp new 20-dollar bills in my wallet, I will put a crumpled 1-dollar bill between them, to make sure they won't stick together when I take one out.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Rapparee
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 04:07 PM

Yep, Slim. Shore looks ta me like computer numbers, yup, shore does. But it might be the number of cows they're runnin' on out on the Lazy G.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 02:10 PM

No, but 2,4,8,16,32 etc does mean something, and 2^2, 2^3, 2^4, 2^4... 2^10, means more and 10,100, 1000, 10000 etc is just showing off....

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST,Slim Eric
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 01:37 PM

Four, eight, sixteen, thirty two, sixty four, one hundred and twenty eight, two hundred and fifty six, five hundred and twelve, one thousand and twenty four..............mean anything to anybody?

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 01:02 PM

"Non-compulsive disorder." Guest

Surely that would be "non-compulsive order"? If one does not require or pursue anything different, then whatever happens connotes 'order', right? (Do you follow that sentence?)

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 12:51 PM

BS: I may be obsessive because........ / BS: Opening threads - a debate.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Azizi
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 12:51 PM

Guest Date: 20 Sep 05 - 12:34 PM

I love the time when you posted 1-2-3-4. Ahh! What a satifying pattern [for me]!

And all those numbers -the 02 + 9{for the 9th month of Septemenber} + 05 + 1+2+3+4 add up to 26. And 2+6 adds up to an 8.

Wonderful!

But what will this post be?

Dare I wait for a more auspicous time. No that would be cheating.

I'm just going to go for it. I'll just hit submit and pray for something good.

Here goes!

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 12:49 PM

LOL!!

Azizi, I've got a thing with numbers, too. I reduce them all to the lowest number between 1-9 as in numerology, i.e. my old phone number 234-0497 would be 2+3=5+4=9+0=9+4=13=1+3=4+9=13=1+3=4+7=11=1+1=2! It's just mind exercise, mostly, as I usually do not go look it up in a numerology book, though sometimes that can be kind of fun.

My girlfriend who taught me how to make jewellry with stone beads, etc. always had to have even numbers of beads, esp. accent pieces which might hang down from the main strand. I used to drive her nuts because I always have to have ODD numbers. When I buy beads for a project it's always an odd number.

MY dad said my granddad always ate one part of his meal, first, i.e. all of the mashed potatoes, then would move on to the next bit. He didn't like to mix them, I guess.


kat

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 12:47 PM

I think the original post confuses "obsessive" with a desire for order, compulsive or not.

Why do I order my bills in my wallet, by size and face forward? Because years ago, while shopping on my way home from work, I accidentally spent a $10 like a $1. I realized it at the next business down the street and went back. The hardware store guy had a system and he went into his bills and found my $10 in the $1 slot, so we straightened that out. And he told me I needed to put my bills in order to avoid that accident again. I thought he made good sense.

Why do we position cans in the cupboard so we can see the labels? Why not? You want to know what you have so you don't have to conduct a large search, and so you don't repeat the purchase if you really don't need it. This seems to go along with "why do we put books on shelves with the spine to the front" or why do you hang like things together in your closet so you can see what pants or shirts or skirts you have to choose from when you get dressed.

Order is not the sign of a sick mind. It's a sign of maturity and the desire to not have to conduct a search every time you perform a simple task.

I am afraid I'll accidentally lock myself out of the house because I have a lock that sometimes slips on my back sliding glass door. So if I'm taking out the trash or calling the dog and am dressed in a robe or something that doesn't have pockets for my regular ring of keys, I have an extra key on a lanyard that I put around my neck for "just in case." Common sense, not obsessive.

Finally, BillD. That was a confusing image you posted because those little peg handles aren't conspicuous. You needed to go a couple of pages into the search: Bill's image of a puzzle with various non-peg TOOLS.

These are PEGS.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 12:34 PM

Now I feel a little weird because I have none of these compulsions....

My money faces whichever way in any order I happen to put it in my wallet...nothing ever has to match...if I forget to check for my doorkey and lock myself out, I break a window...the food can be all jumbled together on the plate, and most often it is...the second to last note of a tune can hang unresolved forever ... I don't care where I sit, or which direction I'm facing...numbers don't have to add up to some predetermined sum...the tins in the cupboard are there in whatever order they were put there, if they made it to the cupboard at all; there is no organization to anything ... nothing is ever in its place, nor is there ever a place for anything...I don't have to wash if I don't feel like it .... I never think about which shoe I am putting on first...I don't have to march in step or walk an even number of paces across a concrete slab ... I don't care about spelling, as long as it's readable...if I miss a few weeks of Mudcat or don't understand an inside joke or feel left out of the 'inner clique' I still sleep like a rock...

I always thought I was just a slob - I see now I suffer from Non-compulsive disorder.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Rapparee
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 11:49 AM

Y'all think YOU are complusive! One of the folks here is on a best book committee. One of the committee members checked out one of the candidates and found:

* that the authors are not consistently correct with their punctuation and word usage:

207 compound sentences do not have the required comma with the coordinating conjunction; 24 sentences incorrectly include a comma with the conjuction "and" when connecting dependent clauses,
15 senteances do not have a necessary comma, 14 fragments are punctuated as if they were complete sentences. Etc.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Bill D
Date: 20 Sep 05 - 10:11 AM

'pegs', over here, are (usually) pointed things that are inserted INTO other things, often, thereby, becoming a projection one can hang things from

a tent 'peg' is driven into the ground to hold a tent down...

I see, however, from looking up that image, that peg is simply the way a device for holding clothes on the line is referred to in the UK..(and maybe other places)

-----------------------------
I am not sure I have many real 'compulsions'. I also tend to sort money orderly...when I remember or notice, but not obsessively. I wash myself and other things when they seem to need it...but not necessarily immediately of often. I put food on my plate in basic piles, but don't fret if they touch. I try to have a rationalty to the way I order things, but it is just for convenience...it is not a HOLY pattern.

The only thing I can think of that approaches compulsion is wanting words spelled correctly...I HATE it when I make a post and discover my poor typing had caused an error. I usually use a program which prompts me for mistakes...if I remember to set it.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 01:46 PM

Well you learn something new everyday! Do you have clothes horses? It probably isn't wise for me to be delving too deep into my obsession, but you've got me started now.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 01:08 PM

LOL, Guest. (I think we mostly call them 'clothes pins'.) That never occurred to me. I was thinking of clothes pegs somewhere inside a house, like a bathroom or bedroom or laundry.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: kendall
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 12:50 PM

I like to keep my bills in my wallet in sequence according to value, but it doesn't matter if they are facing one way or the other.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 12:48 PM

Ebbie they're the things you hang your clothes up with on the washing line? What do you call them?

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Rapparee
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 12:18 PM

Out here in The West, we'uns keep all our bullets neatly sorted by caliber. Just the other day, ol' Doc Holliday was tellin' me about the importance of that.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: JennyO
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 12:07 PM

Okay, so maybe I'm normal with the money. I do have to keep track of it at folk clubs and things. And I have noticed bank staff turning banknotes round to all face one way. Maybe that's where I got the habit from.

However, I think I might be getting worse in other ways, and it's all John's fault. He is, by his own admission, the World's Worst Slob, and I've been noticing that since I have been living with him, my preoccupation with neatness and order seems to have increased - and I'm sure it's a reaction to his extreme untidiness.

F'rinstance, he's a great cook, and when he offers to cook something, that's great in one way but not in another. I keep telling myself I'm lucky and the mess doesn't matter, but when I walk into the kitchen and see the empty wrappings, eggshells and tins in the sink, dirty cutlery mixed up with clean things, dry congealing bits of mashed potato in the saucepan, flour and teastains and globs of food on the stove, and vegetable peelings etc on the floor, and it takes me just as long (or longer) to tidy up as it took him to cook the meal, you wouldn't want to stand too close to hear my dark mutterings on the subject.

I never thought of myself as a neatness freak before, but he seems to bring it out in me. ARRGGGGGHHHH!

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 11:57 AM

"Clothes pegs"? Is this a UK thing?

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 11:55 AM

I wish someone else tried to match the colour of their clothes pegs with whatever they are hanging up. You know, blue sock = blue peg. It never works completely as I only have four different colour pegs. But what the heck, a red peg almost matches pink pillowcases. Doesn't it??????????? It does if you close one eye half ways and kind of squint anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 11:43 AM

I'm the same way with my cash...at least when I have some! All the bills are face up, twenties, tens, fives and ones.

I don't know about the rest of you but I think that face up business comes from running a register and having to count it all out at night...keeping it neat as I went meant a faster, more simple closing out of the register.

And brucie...you? Normal?   LOLOLOLOL.... *Evil Grin*

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 11:20 AM

Sheeesh!

When I became aware that I always put my left shoe on first, I made it a point to do the opposite. Now, I find that I have migrated back to the left foot but it no longer bothers me.

I'll have to take a closer look at my compulsive oddities. I'm probably missing some. You guys have inspired me.

I have worked as a cashier a couple of times in my life- stacking currency one side up and all in one direction is common courtesy for deposit in a bank. If you don't do it, they will have to.

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: JennyO
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 11:17 AM

This thread is making me feel so much better!

We used to have a Latin teacher who always seemed to be constantly washing her hands every time we saw her - and not a little rinse, either. It was scrub scrub scrub, up and down the arms to the elbows. We used to joke about her Lady MacBeth complex - "Out damned spot!" (don't know if she had a dog).

Then years later, my mother, who had also been teaching at that school, told me that this woman covered every one of her textbooks with newspaper and was probably washing the newsprint off. Didn't make me think of her as any less obsessive though. Why cover all your books with newspaper?

As for me, well Sandra, have you noticed me arranging all the notes in the box when I'm on the door at the Dog? Not only do they have to all face the same way, they have to be grouped in order, from the 50's at the bottom, up to the 5's at the top. I do the same thing with the money in my purse (when I have some to arrange, that is). Not only that, but I always use the grotty crumpled ones first, and try to save up the nice new smooth ones, and I find it hard to part with really shiny new coins too.

When I'm on Mudcat, I work my way up from the bottom on both lists, till I have read all the threads I want to - and of course they are all traced. If I haven't managed to get through them all, it feels very incomplete.

I also tend to arrange towels so they hang straight, spend a lot of time making lists and working out how much I am spending, and everything has its proper place in the kitchen, including the thing with the washing up. John drives me crazy putting things away in the wrong place. Even when I tell him where they go and why, he continues doing things in his own chaotic way.

Apart from the fact that I am probably spending way too much time on Mudcat when I could be doing something else, most of my little obsessions don't seem to get in the way of normal life. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Subject: RE: BS: I may be obsessive because........
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Sep 05 - 10:59 AM

*I* have a regular, comfortable routine.
*You* are a hide-bound creature of habit.
*He* is a slave to obsessive-compulsive disorders.