Having been tagged by the Analog Kid with the “5 weird habits” meme, I must reveal that my weird habits include the following five:
1. Compulsive reading. As a kid, whenever I was eating (or my mind was otherwise idle) I would almost panic unless I could find something to read. But it was impolite to bring a book to the dinner table, so I became quite familiar with the ingredients and slogans on cereal boxes, condiment bottles, etc. “Known as Hellmann’s East of the Rockies….”
2. I shave about once a fortnight. I hate shaving. It is a curse inflicted on males by the mores of modern society, and I have hated it since I started shaving at age twelve when my voice changed. Nowadays, I tend to shave when necessary for business meetings, etc., and otherwise let my beard progress from “The Man With No Name” to “Outlaw Josey Wales” — and then cut it off and start over.
3. If nobody’s watching TV, it has to be OFF. My wife grew up in a household where the TV was always on (and half the family was deaf, so it was LOUD). This was a source of some contention when we first moved in together.
4. I adopt the contrary position, whether I agree with it or not, just to be an argumentative cuss. Probably why I became a lawyer. I’ve learned to suppress this tendency in social settings.
5. I am a horrible packrat, but I’m reforming. For example, after three years of rolling them up to make firelogs, I’ve finally burned all of my old newspapers. I used to store them because I hadn’t gotten around to reading them yet.
Whom to tag…. Well, let’s see if Benjamin at Reasonablenut will play ball. Tag, Benjamin, you’re it!