Quirks and Odd Bits

[Novelista]

After Leverhelven's post about crazy things we used to believe when we were younger, I thought about odd things we do right now. (Or not so odd, but we never would've thought we'd do it when we were younger.)

 

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My thing right now is looking up words--even slurs--to see where they come from. The one slur I couldn't figure out was the "w-word" (and I don't mean another name for a prostitute). It turns out that it comes from the belief that Mexican immigrants swim across the Rio Grande to get here, thus they have...well, I'm sure you can figure it out.

 

 

Something odd is the way place names (or even regular names) are pronounced differently in different places. Like in the States, Toledo is "Toe-lead-oh", but in Spain, it would be "Toe-lay-doh". In Australia, it's "Mel-burn", but in Florida, it's "Mel-born". Or (and this is the one that got me thinking of people names) "Genevieve" is "Jen-ih-veev" in many places, but in Francophone parlance, it's "Zhon-vee-ev". (I have a hard time transliterating the French j, so I usually put in a Z.)

 

And then there are words that we pronounce with extra letters that just aren't there! I'm sure that's from the fact that English steals words from other languages. Like "patio" versus "ratio". "Patio" is pronounced as it looks, but "ratio" has an S sound. What's up with that?! (I had a cousin who laughed at me when I was little for purposely mispronouncing a street name that has that in it, but I agree with my younger self: "There's no S in it!") Or how everyone pronounces "Cambridge" like there's two i's. *facepalm*

 

 

Anyone else?

[Shelley]

When I buy water I put it in the fridge...then after I pour a glass I put it in the microwave...to bring it back to room temperature.

 

most other drinks are preferred cold (aside from tea) b)

[Novelista]

Em...why don't you just leave it out? xD

 

I've discovered how to get the coldest pop in the fridge...where the coldest spot is. I don't like soda from any other shelf, because it's not cold enough. (Our fridge is 40 degrees [4.44 Celsius], so drinks can be fantastically cold if you have them in the right place.)

[Shelley]

Em...why don't you just leave it out? xD

 

I've discovered how to get the coldest pop in the fridge...where the coldest spot is. I don't like soda from any other shelf, because it's not cold enough. (Our fridge is 40 degrees [4.44 Celsius], so drinks can be fantastically cold if you have them in the right place.)

 

hahah I have no idea... I feel like it's just a reflex to put water in the fridge?...or just because the fridge has great storage space? haha

 

When I had a mini fridge I knew where the good spots were too!! haha I always liked my yogurt really cold without freezing (although I like frozen yogurt also!) :p

[leverhelven]

I just CAN'T sleep without a bed sheet or other cloth covering my patootie :P :P Even on extremely hot days! I have no idea why, tho...

[officialsarahjay]

Great topic! I'm not sure how to delve in, but let's see what I can come up with.

 

I wear socks. All the time. I can't wear sandals because it means not wearing socks, and the sensation of wearing any type of footwear without socks is unpleasant to me. So socks forever. Just going to a pool in only flip flops is a slippery nightmare to me.

 

I also play with my nose jewelry all the time. I used to wear nose screws but they were long so when they would inevitably flip around I would have to adjust them, and that became a habit where I would unconsciously adjust my jewelry probably hundreds of times a day. I recently changed from annoying nose screws to labret studs and I just haven't broken the habit yet. I got my nostril pierced in 2007, so I have YEARS of this habit that needs to be broken. It's really odd and kind of gross since I look like I'm picking my nose.

 

I promise I'm not.

 

I also have this nervous habit where I slide my tongue over the inside of my cheek and I've had rude people comment loudly about it and that makes me rather insecure. If it's odd enough to have rude people comment on it, then it's odd enough to mention here!

 

I really am an oddball.

[Novelista]

I have the opposite problem, Sarah...I love being barefoot. I miss sandal season, because sandals and flipflops are the closest I can get to being barefoot in public while still behaving. (Conversely, I hate places like campground and dorms showers where you have to wear sandals...it's all wet and squidgy going back!)

 

In fact, I went out to dinner last night with my cousin and complained to my dad that if I wore sandals, it would probably start raining again. Smart dad...he said to take shoes and socks, just in case. :D I wore sandals to the restaurant and then it was kind of rainy when I got there, so I changed before getting out of the car. :)

[officialsarahjay]

I have the opposite problem, Sarah...I love being barefoot. I miss sandal season, because sandals and flipflops are the closest I can get to being barefoot in public while still behaving. (Conversely, I hate places like campground and dorms showers where you have to wear sandals...it's all wet and squidgy going back!)

 

In fact, I went out to dinner last night with my cousin and complained to my dad that if I wore sandals, it would probably start raining again. Smart dad...he said to take shoes and socks, just in case. :D I wore sandals to the restaurant and then it was kind of rainy when I got there, so I changed before getting out of the car. :)

 

I really wish I could go barefoot! In theory, it looks and sounds so comfortable. But for reasons I don't wish to elaborate on, socks it is. It's just a comfort/dryness thing for me, and it's weird. :P Least I rock cute boots and shoes with the best of them, that way!

 

And squidgy sandals are the worst. I hate squishing back to the locker after spending an afternoon swimming in slippery flip flops. You can't possibly get your feet dry enough at the pool!

[Novelista]

I worked in a funeral home for two bits of nine months each. One of the best jobs I've ever had, actually...it was just a bit short on human contact. (Not because of deceased clients! I did paperwork and not too many people worked upstairs. Not like they do now.)

[leverhelven]

Novelista's one made me think of one of mine: I'm super interested in serial killers, massacres and cults who ended up in mass suicide. I know it sounds morbid (well, it is, lol), but I just love reading about them and trying to understand the minds of those murderers. When I was a teenager, I'd spend hours on the Crime Library site :P

 

That ended up making me quite resistant to strong, graphic pictures of violence. Many books I have about serial killers actually show original pictures of their victims and such. I ended up learning not to feel disgust or fear.

 

Another funny thing: I feel more disgust and fear at horror movie scenes than at real horrifying scenes! :D Go figure.

[Novelista]

I'm interested in cults, period. I liked Straight Talk About Cults (Kay Marie Porterfield). I realize it was supposed to be something like "how to talk to your teens about cults" or something like that, but it was fascinating just the same.

Ah...I just discovered (as I suspected) that I wrote a review before I changed my name:

I'm a senior in high school who just finished this book (among others on cults) and I think this book is quite useful. Who knew Kellogg's (in my own state, no less) and the Oneida silverware company began as cults?

It's not just good for understanding cults, it makes a wonderful writer's reference, too! My novel involves a cult, but this book helped me see that it was far too tame and stood outside the guidelines found in most real life cults.

A must read!

Never wrote that book, by the way...