Have I Shared Too Much?

LAP here. OK, so I was tagged in MEP’s last blog to do a meme. From what I gather, this meme involves listing 6 quirks about myself. So, let me reveal my freaky ways…

1. My toes are way out of alignment. Let me attempt to describe this for you. We start out strong with the big toe. It appears normal in size and shape…nothing that would require a second glance. Next we have my second and third toes which I have always referred to as the twin towers. I know it is not unusual for your second toe to be taller than your big toe, but I don’t know the stats on toe number three being taller than the big toe as well, as is the case with my feet. What comes next is really what makes my feet look bizarre. Picture a five story building next to a skyscraper. That’s what my fourth toe is to my third. Ants could parachute off toe number three and get a thrilling fall before landing on my tiny fourth toe. I have to be careful when selecting dress shoes and sandals so as not to have a strap that lays on my foot in a way that gives the illusion that I only have three toes. Finally, my baby toe is extremely shy and hides behind toe number four. I pry it out when painting my toenails but otherwise allow it to remain a recluse.

2. I enjoy eating in the car. We’re not talking road trips here. Let me set the scene to present an example. At my last job, there were some periods of time where my lunch partner options were shaky at best. So, rather than subject myself to a lunch of discussing the Iraq war (again), listening to my needy cubemate tell about his unaffectionate wife (who I firmly believe was a lesbian), or eat in the dingy breakroom with my dieting friends (depressing), I often opted to eat in my car. There was a strip center about a half a mile from work that was not busy due to its main anchor moving out. So, I parked my car on the side of the building, facing the highway so I could watch cars if I so desired and ate my lunch in peace (sometimes with a magazine I’d packed or with the radio on). This could be done spring through fall, as long as there was some sunlight steaming through my windshield. Sounds pathetic perhaps, but those are some good memories. The best days of course being when I went through the McDonalds drive-thru for a post-meal McFlurry and savored that in the front seat of my car. One day, a fairly new, potentially cool coworker pulled up next to me, about to eat his lunch. He tried to tell me this was the first time he had ever done that, but I wasn’t buying it. He never did return to that spot though so he was either scared of me that I admitted to coming here regularly or else found himself a new spot.

3. I can burp the alphabet. Don’t know what else to say about that. I am not necessarily proud of that talent, but I like that people are surprised that I would even attempt such a thing. I try not to give performances very often as my body sometimes likes to keep going even after I get to “z.” Pleasant, ey?

4. I heart Frisch’s. The local Big Boy restaurant for those of you who might be unfamiliar. Sure, lots of people might like it, but I believe I am a tier above the “like” stage. The hamburger is the perfect size and is the only circumstance in which I consume tarter sauce. The fries are admittedly only average, but the vegetable soup makes for a nice substitute. Of course, the grand item for me is the Diet Vanilla Coke over perfectly crushed ice. I love it. I consume a couple cups while there and then like to get a to go cup when I leave. For the forty-five days following Halloween and Valentines Day, you can use kids coupons (purchased 8 for $1) to get free kids meals. We’ve been known to go weekly during that time. It especially works out well around Halloween when my husband can order some pumpkin pie, sometimes splitting a whole pie with wall builder M. Myself, I prefer the hot fudge cake if I am going to go with dessert. Yum. There are suckers for kids on the way out which can serve well as incentives for eating and staying seated through the meal.

5. I have a thing for cash registers. As if points 1-4 don’t make me sound odd enough, I will reveal that I love playing with cash registers. Perhaps that’s why I chose accounting as it’s one of the few professional jobs that allows me to display my speed on the numeric keypad…a skill honed in my cash register hayday. It started with the Buddy L toy cash register as a child. I made PITA purchase items before bed, threatening that we couldn’t have the night light on in our room unless she did. I graduated to a push button old school register no longer being used at the AmeriStop gas station my dad’s friend owned. Finally, when I showed no signs of giving up my cash register playing habits, my parents broke down and bought me one of the electronic ones I used to play with on trips to Sam’s Club. I had a system for entering UPC codes and prices, making receipts, running through my pretend charge cards, and accepting returns. I once told a partner at my public accounting firm that if someday years from now he sees me working at a checkout lane, not to feel sorry for me. I asked him to instead think to himself that I’m finally living my dream. Of course, truth be told, the dream as I knew it is dead thanks to scanners. There’s no fun in scanning. Cashiers don’t even get to ask cash, check or charge anymore. Still, I have my electronic register in storage in our basement and will only bring it out when I feel like Fancy and Swiper are old enough to treat it with the care it deserves.

6. I never set my alarm to a rounded number. I mention this only because it never ceases to amaze my husband. I am orderly about so many other things in life that it seems out of character. My alarm will never say 6:30, 7:00, or 7:45. Instead, some common wake-up times through the years have been 6:21, 7:01, or 7:44.

Sorry for the long length of this one. Perhaps you didn’t need so many details about my quirks but sometimes I don’t know when to stop.