My Tic
Some people have to crack their knuckles. Others need to rotate their glass before they drink. My close friend always counts stairs. David Sedaris licked mailboxes.
My tic? I step over imaginary lines.
No, not the sidewalk cracks that so many people avoid (seriously, only a lunatic would do that). What I’m talking about are the diagonal lines created by the square patch in which the tree lives (see illustration below):
What? You think you’re better than me and don’t do anything like this? Go on, keep avoiding cracks so you don’t break your mama’s back, tic-boy.
I noticed a couple of weeks ago that I always do this little, subtle dance when I go through a doorway. As I open the door I do the same step-tap, step-tap routine.
Comment by Eric Nielson — September 17, 2009 @ 8:38 am
I thought I was the only one. But for me the imaginary lines are from corner to corner in the sidewalk rectangle, so each rectangle has an imaginary X in it. I don’t step on the cracks or the X. Unless I’ve just made out with Helen Hunt, in which case I just walk normal.
Comment by Tom — September 17, 2009 @ 8:42 am
My second pop culture reference:
Rusty, there are dozens of us! DOZENS!
Comment by Tom — September 17, 2009 @ 8:47 am
Wow. I’ve never heard of avoiding imaginary lines. I do lots of wacky stuff. I’ll have to think about it a while to decide which one I will share with the public.
Comment by ESO — September 17, 2009 @ 9:28 am
You know Rusty. They have medication for stuff like this. :)
Comment by JA Benson — September 17, 2009 @ 9:59 am
I spend most of my time breaking unwritten rules… I’ve got no time for your imaginary lines.
Comment by norm — September 17, 2009 @ 10:06 am
i “finger spell.” i don’t physically do it anymore, but i still do it in my head. i write out, in cursive, three connected words, each three times. she-he’s-he or ate-at-eat. they-them-the. mom-non-wow. there are dozens of them. i’ve always felt a strong kinship to john forbes nash, but without all of the schizophrenia. my mom said she used to do the same, but on a typewriter in her head. and her mom used to do it with her index finger in the air. bizarre.
Comment by makakona — September 17, 2009 @ 10:14 am
It sounds like makakona is the latest in the line of the women who invented writing. I hope you have a daughter so this gift to mankind won’t be lost.
Comment by John Mansfield — September 17, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
Rusty:
I’m really happy for you and Imma let you finish, but Teurets syndrome is the best tic of all time! of all time!
Comment by Matt W. — September 17, 2009 @ 1:14 pm
Lol Matt!
Rusty, I crack my knuckles AND count stairs (though not necessarily at the same time). I at least like to know whether the number of stairs is odd or even, because that determines whether or not I should skip the first step when ascending.
Taking stairs two at a time is more comfortable for me. If there are an even number of steps and I start on the first step, by the time I reach the top I will have taken one more step than was strictly necessary. Waste not, want not!
Comment by Ben Pratt — September 18, 2009 @ 10:35 am
Rusty, as any tailor would tell you, your imaginary lines are biased ;-)
Comment by Chad Too — September 18, 2009 @ 5:55 pm
I wring my hands. It just feels good.
My son can’t stand having the car stereo volume on anything that isn’t a multiple of 5. It gets really annoying because sometimes 10 is too quiet and 15 is too loud.
I don’t hand-write in my head, but I do fingerspell in my head, using sign language. Sometimes I’ll actually do the fingerspelling with my fingers. I’m not deaf and I don’t know any deaf people, but I learned some sign language when I was a kid.
Comment by Susan M — September 19, 2009 @ 9:01 am
PS all blog posts should come with graphics from now on.
Comment by Susan M — September 19, 2009 @ 9:01 am
My fridge door closes on its own if you don’t hold it. So when I need something, I open the door, let go, and then force myself to grab all the items I need without letting the door touch me again as it closes. It gives me about 5 seconds or so.
Comment by Latter-day Guy — September 19, 2009 @ 9:59 am
I count things, like rivets on an airplane wing, or stairs or anything that’s repeated. I time things in my head, particularly the time between lightning and thunder, so I can estimate the distance of the strike.
Going over bridges, I notice how many other cars and especially big trucks are going to be on the bridge with me, and sometimes I try to speed up or slow down so as to minimize the total weight while I’m on the bridge. I’m not sure if this last is a tic or just comes from knowing too much about the current state of very poor maintenance of our bridges here in the US. =)
Comment by Tatiana — September 20, 2009 @ 1:20 am
Whenever I walk through a self opening door, I make a wave of my hand, or sometimes something more dramatic, that suggests to myself that I’m opening the door with my magic powers. ~
Comment by Thomas Parkin — September 20, 2009 @ 3:03 am
john mansfield, that’s an awesome excuse! and susan, i do the “multiples of five” thing, too! i’m fine with it in the car, but tv volume must be divisible by five. we don’t have a tv anymore, thank goodness!
Comment by makakona — September 25, 2009 @ 5:55 pm