Quirky, quirky me

The Rules:

1. link the person who tagged you (my friend Myra, one of my favorite people in the world - and the most pregnant friend I have - for one more day: http://www.myrajohnsonfamily.blogspot.com/ )
2. post these rules
3. tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

#1 - Inappropriate apostrophes. Few things irk me more than inappropriately placed apostrophes (enter a link to one of my favorite blogs: http://www.apostropheabuse.com/). I see them all the time on those signs people have nailed to the front of their house saying "welcome". You know, the "Welcome to the Simmon's House" signs. Hi, is their last name Simmon? No, it's Simmons. So the sign should say "Welcome to the Simmons' House". Or even worse, when the last name doesn't end in an S - like "Welcome to the Brown's house". Really, who are we calling The Brown around here? Whose nick-name is that, and how did he get it? I shudder to think... Honestly, it's not the hardest grammar rule out there - and yet there are companies making a ridiculous amount of money painting pre-fabbed signs with gross grammatical errors. Argh!

#2 - Water spots on sinks. And counters. And mirrors. I cannot stand them. Esp in a public restroom where who knows how many people have dripped water and then not wiped it up. I am totally compulsive about wiping the water up, getting rid of soap dribbles, drying the mirror - and I'm more fanatical about it when I'm out than I am in my own home. I can't use a public restroom and leave until the counter is dry. It's a disease.

#3 - Dirty dishes in a sink. They make me want to climb a wall. At the risk of solidifying the diagnosis of OCD, let me just say that the only thing worse that dirty dishes piled in the sink is the same stack of dirty dishes with soap and water run over them - with remnants of food floating to the top of the water. (I just threw up a little in my mouth, just thinking about that. Ewh.) Also, to clarify: I'm fine with dirty dishes, not everything has to be washed the moment it is dirtied, don't get me wrong. But dishes need to be rinsed and stacked - on the counter. No dishes with food remnants are to remain in the sink, lest someone runs water over them and floaties appear - but rinsed & stacked dishes on a counter... fine. (I know, weird. But that's what this post is about, right?)

#4 - One of my favorite fantasies is "Where would I live (and how would I live - as in at which income level?) if I were to witness a horrible crime and have to enter the witness protection program?". Honestly, I've been using spare time to create alternate lives all over the world for... oh, about 20 years now. When I'm driving, or cleaning, or (gasp) at work... and I have some free time for my mind to wander, I like to think up different scenarios - where I would live, how I'd cut (& color) my hair, whether I'd get colored contacts, how would I cope with never being able to talk to my family again, where would the money come from, would I want to live on a dude-ranch, or in a villa in Italy, or how about a cute little two bedroom house in the mid-west, could I get a name that no one would mispronounce - is it possible that I'd ever miss being called Lori instead of Laurie? (doubtful), would I still be a member of the church, and would I have to tell my church leaders my real name, and what about children (assuming I have them), would I be able to give them their real lineage, or would the FBI make that up for me, too - where do you draw the line at the identity thing?... Yeah, I'm not kidding. It's truly one of my favorite past-times. I wonder what the FBI would think if they knew the WPP was such good day-dream fodder?

#5 - I don't like chocolate ice cream. I know - weird, huh? I love chocolate. And I love ice cream. And yet... I don't love chocolate ice cream. Except for Rocky Road. I do love Rocky Road. Oh yeah, and Burnt Almond Fudge. So, the common denominator there would be the almonds. So... I don't like chocolate ice cream unless it has almonds in it - and the more, the better. Random, but weird. (And true.)

#6 - The word Sweetheart. I hate it. Not hearing it... I guess as an endearment, it's not so bad. But I hate seeing it in writing. I always read it wrong. I know that this is how you spell sweetheart - but for some reason, when I'm reading it, I turns the t and the h into "th" and it comes out as "sweeth-art", and then I think "What the junk? What is a sweeth-art, and why are they advertising a 2-for-1 sale on video rentals this week?". Yeah, early-mid February is a black time in my life. Every year when the marquee signs go up for "Sweeth-art Sales" I get all flustered... and then mad at myself that after almost 30 years of being able to read the written word... that one still gets me. Seriously....

I now tag: Beal, Jenni, Lisa, Peggy, Kimmie, and... Genevra Lynn (or her nieces - whoever gets to it first)