When i was younger, my back hurt less, i was quicker to anger, i couldn't carry a tune and i could bowl a wrongun, flipper and top-spinner to compliment my stock leg-spinning ball. i also never wrote the word 'God'. i'd instead write 'G-d'. This was due to a belief ingrained in me by parents and teachers, that somehow writing God/G-d's name in it's complete form would somehow incur his wrath. This is a strictly Jewish belief, because i am yet to encounter it elsewhere.
Anyways, time passed, i ate pork for the first time, turned the on TV on Shabbat and decided not to be frugal with my money at all and visit doctors less. i turned my back on the life offered and conceived for me. But supplanting a hyphen for the letter 'o' was a habit that took longer to shake. For years, i'd avoid writing the word altogether because i was both embarrassed to go the hyphen and held uncomfortable by the thought of not. Even today, as i construct this little post, i'm avoiding the word.
Tennessee Williams once said that he didn't believe in you know who, but certainly was afraid of Him.
We all have superstitions. More often than not, they are born from some habit we picked up in the more youthful days. Perhaps we did something a particular way and achieved a success, so next time we decided to follow the same set routine. It starts out a quite extensive and precise repetition of procedure and eventually narrows down to the singular act of never touching a door with one's left hand when entering a room for a job interview. For some, they collect so many of these little 'consistencies of actions', that we label them OCD. For those who carry around them a little less than that, we call them 'idiosyncratic'.
As for myself, i reckon i'm just a little mental and enjoy the odd bit of messing with my own head. i often tell people i'm the funniest person i know and as such, feel the need to often prove that to myself. Most of my superstitions are so silly, i really only keep them on so i can laugh at myself the second ive committed them.
There's the one where if i'm watching cricket, i'm convinced i can make a wicket fall by changing the channel a certain amount of times and then returning it back to the match. This is often a double edged sword, for i can absent mindedly and coincidently change the channel the magical amount of time when Australia is batting and then have to sit with the horror and guilt of knowing that Ricky Ponting just got out for 98, because of my impatient and irresponsible channel hopping.
There's the one where i cannot put on a sock that is not identical to the other. And i mean identical, not just simply the same. To this end, i purchase a particular type of sock by the dozens to make the morning ritual somewhat easier and faster. As i change countries quite often, this practice can get a little troublesome, for one is unable to return to the original shop to re-stock once levels have been depleted by the effects of the Bermuda Triangle that exists between the washing machine and the drier. Ultimately, i end up throwing out all of the decreased sock stock and finding a new local model and supply.
I tilt the brim of my hat a particular way. I like to hold my money out of a wallet. i never, ever wear a watch nor jeans, nor socks on a sunday - unless i have to work. At work i like to carry a pencil and a wineknife at all times. I take the razor to my face in a very specific order and i always shampoo before reaching for the soap. When swimming laps i will chose a particular lane and will hate to let a pair of goggles go.
Come to think of it, this list could go on forever.
I really am the funniest person i know........to laugh at rather than with, that is.
