Josh, Lindsay, and Mackenzie

In an effort to stave off real work this Friday morning (at least until bagels arrive), I thought I would dedicate a blog to the little "quirks" that make me unique. These will not include all my food preferences, however, as that would take up too much of the list. Instead, it will be a short list of things that make other people go "hmm". The list is in no particular order, so don't infer the degree of neurosis by the number associated. :)

1. My day-by-day calendar. I can't stand the little glue part hanging over after I rip off pages. Just this morning I spent too much time cutting it off so it looks even.

2. My shoes. All of my shoes in the closet are lined up like little soldiers. They are ordered in pairs, and the left has to be in the left spot and the right in the right spot. If you switch them, my internal radar sends out a "MAYDAY" and I usually fix it within 10 minutes (I know this because many have tried).

3. My clothes. The clothes in my closet are organized based on two criteria: type and color. Work clothes have their own spot, as do short-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved shirts, pants, and shorts. Then, once that filter has been applied, they are organized based on rainbow order (ROYGBIV) with gray and black falling at the end.

4. My plate of food. Though I said I wasn't going to list specific food items, I also have a weird thing I do with my plate. It has to be clean. I mean spotless. I am usually not paying attention to this, but everyone else is nice enough to point it out. I scrape with my utensil toward the center of the plate. So, even if food is left over, the rest of the plate is spotless. I am pretty sure this is a remnant of my dad always playing "Who's got the cleanest plate" at the dinner table, so it's really just a spawn of competition.

5. My gum wrappers. These must always be folded in half until they fold no more. Always. No matter the size of the wrapper, I MUST do this. You will never see me crumple a gum wrapper to throw it away. I'm pretty sure my hand would explode if I did it.

6. My pen caps. These must always line up with the middle of the text on the pen. Regardless of whether the pen is open or closed, the cap must line up. I will also fix yours if it's out of line.

7. My money. My coins need to be in diameter order and my bills need to face the same direction. If you give me change in bills and they are facing multiple directions, please know I will hold up your line of paying customers to fix your mistake.

8. Eating goldfish and peanut m&ms. I know, it's another food thing, but once again it's about the way I eat them. I do it the same way every time. For goldfish I eat the tail off first (making sure to bite on the skinny side) and then I bite the fish in half. EVERY TIME. Trust me, it takes way too long for me to eat goldfish, but they are so good! Peanut m&ms must be bitten in half, eat the top chocolate part, then eat the peanut out of it, then eat the bottom. I get very annoyed when the peanut comes with either side of the chocolate.

9. Oxford commas. This could be about punctuation in general (I just read a book about punctuation actually), but really I am pro-oxford comma. The oxford comma is the comma you sometimes see(I say sometimes because you are usually pro- or anti-oxford comma; there are very few indifferent about it) in lists of items. It is the comma before the "and". For example: "I went to the store to purchase cheese, milk, and eggs." In this instance it is the comma right before the "and". I am fervently pro-oxford comma and hate it when it is left out. If you make a presentation without one I will no longer pay attention as I am too drawn to the omission. If you hand me something written or printed, I will add it.

10. Order. Everything on my desk, by my sink, in the kitchen, etc. has it's place. You might not be able to tell, but I know where it is. If you move it, I will move it back.

This is probably not all of them, but it is all I could think of at 7:30 this morning when I got to work. Enjoy your Friday! It's time for bagels!