Six Weird Habits

[mrdreamjeans]

I was tagged by elfkat and since I found her list so interesting, I thought I'd make myself vulnerable to the LJ world in general by admitting some of my quirks:) Here ya go Mary Beth!!

1. I eat peanut butter on crackers with spaghetti and drink cold milk with popcorn. I associate these pairs of tastes with warm memories from my childhood. I was an adult before I realized that some people thought they were odd:)

2. I only listen to music while driving and not at all if I'm doing a show. (Other than the music of that show while performing in it. ) I like silence to relax.

3. I'm an actor who reads reviews of shows I'm in during the run of the show. Most actors avoid them. As a former reviewer, I like to see if they are well-written, not whether I agree or disagree with them.

4. I wear cowboy boots with suits. In the same vein, I often take off my right boot or shoe when I am pondering a problem.

5. I like doing chores, particularly laundry, vacuuming and making my bed. The chores relax me. I also clean up after myself as I go through the day. Messes or clutter in my own home or workspace put me on edge and off-kilter. Surprisingly, other people's clutter or disorganization doesn't bother me at all. I can let it be:)

6. If I'm sharing a bed with someone (a rare occurrence), I like to cuddle before going to sleep and when I'm waking up, but not while I'm sleeping. I won't rest at all if I've got someone draped around me during ... But speaking of affection ... I always say "I love you" to those I love when I am ending a phone call or a visit. I never got to say goodbye to my best friend when she died, though I had an instinct to call her all day of the day of her death. I won't let that happen again. You don't have to say it in return. That's not the point. Just understand that I will ... and I will mean it!

Comments

[daltxfurry.livejournal.com]

Uh....any time you wanna come to my house to do chores you are MORE than welcome! :-)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Don't tempt me! One of the careers I have considered is professional organizing. If I'm invited, I will go into a cleaning and organizing frenzy and your life will never be the same:) Hmmm ... Perhaps, I should come up and teach your partner how to do chores. My understanding is that you do most of them. HUGS!

[carytown.livejournal.com]

I completely understand the part about making a point to say "I love you." to those you love. I lost too many friends who passed before I had a chance to tell them how much I loved them because at the time it just made me uncomfortable. The guilt I felt later for not saying it out loud then was much worse than the discomfort of a young fool not wanting to look silly by saying three simple but very important words.

[trulygrateful.livejournal.com]

Amen!

But, alas, there are some things that only time can teach us, and this lesson is one of them.

For those who already have this mastered at a young age, they are waaaaay ahead of the game.

Big bearhugz to you!

XOXO

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Damn, I love this community and my friends here!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Exactly ... I decided I would push through my discomfort at saying the words ... and the occasional worries that I would come across as less than authentic. I know my motivation ... and it is pure. Dora's death changed my life forever. If I love you, you will know.

[bearfuz.livejournal.com]

I like your quirks. Some of them, though not all, are mine as well. As for the peanut-butter-and-spaghetti, thing, it's not all that different from Chinese cold sesame noodles with peanut sauce. So there!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I love Thai noodles. But I haven't seen anyone outside of my family eat peanut butter on crackers with spaghetti with marinara sauce:) I'm glad you like and share some of my weird habits! HUGS!

[crunchmd.livejournal.com]

My family has always ended a conversation or visit with "I love you" instead of goodbye since my mother died over thirty years ago. And I also say it to my closest friends. You just never know when or if you'll see someone again. When I first professed my love to Rob, I think it made him a little bit uncomfortable. I never told him the reason, but he does it all the time now. And each time I know he means it. Speaking of habits, Rob's family always refers to each other by their association, not their names. The first time I went to a family BBQ, I thought it was odd that everyone was calling each other "Brother", "Sister", or "Uncle", etc. I thought that maybe because it was such a large family, they often forgot each other's names! LOL

Love you!

[crunchmd.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah: and I always drink ginger ale with Chinese food. I just think it enhances the flavor of the food.

[detailbear.livejournal.com]

Ditto.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Sounds like I need to try these flavors together. Next time I'm eating chinese, it's Ginger Ale for me! :)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

It's sad that it sometimes takes losing someone close to you in order for you to throw away restraint and say this simple phrase to others.

Rob's family isn't the only one. I call Colleen and Jeff , Sis and Bro all the time. Colleen calls me Big Bubba. Whenever, my niece or nephew call me Uncle Neil, I call them Niece Caitlin or Nephew Brennan, etc ... I work so many youngins their age, that the formality of the title seems odd to me. However, I appreciate their respect!

Love you too!

[gotmoof.livejournal.com]

I could have listed more than six for you. But I'll be nice. :-)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I appreciate your restraint! As my ex and a member of my inner circle, I'm sure you could list several more. I will also show restraint and not mention any of your weird habits ... though many of them would involve mooing and popcorn:)

Love you!

Southern charm

[tkn1114.livejournal.com]

You're so... southernly charming, darling! You are.

Years ago, I brought a texan to Paris and he was a huge hit - esp. on food. They just could'nt get enough of his talk of BBQ ribs + peanut butter sandwich as a side dish! :) Only, he grew up to a be a beastly imperialist crony who saw nothing wrong in the way he was brought up and turned out.

#1 - The ever continental Chip's right about the cold sesame noodles = pouring grounded peanuts over pasta = not all 'that' unusual. But I've even tried your peanut butter over pasta (+ jam) combo once as per a Port Arthur bf's request and thought it was eatible - with shrimp! I imagine it'd be ok with Alfredo... But peanut butter on red marinara sauce would be, well, pushing it a bit, would'nt it?...

#5 - Remind me to meet you outside whenever you come over :0)
Was it Quentin Crisp who once said that if you stopped dusting for a while, you won't be able to tell the dust from the furniture and vice versa?

My only quirk is that the bathroom - namely the comote - must be clean. It's the only hereditary trait from my mother who, as a vacation ritual, alcoholed every single comote seat we ever sat on including the Crillon, that hotel where Chanel used to live. It freaked the concierge out who thought a crime had been committed when a maid who saw her do it told him!

#6 - I'll never fully understand why affection is such a big deal *either way* in America. But it is, is'nt it?

Re: Southern charm

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

#1 ... I eat peanut butter on crackers with spaghetti in marinara sauce, not on it:)

#5 ... I could bring order to your chaos ... teach you how to use the energy of cleaning, the focus it brings and channel into your creative work:) A clean toilet is not a quirk ... it is simply the right thing to do. Go Thanh's Mom:)!

#6 ... It is a big deal ... My friends are simply an extension of my family ... and to me, family is everything ... ... Aren't you glad that you are part of that circle now:)?

[sohipithurts.livejournal.com]

Number 5 matches with me. Chores relax me, too. And clutter makes me nuts.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

YAY! Now we can visit each other! LOL! I am often complimented that when I visit friends' homes that when I leave, the space looks cleaner and nicer than when I arrived ... Also, I pay attention to how the room is set up when I arrive and that's how it looks when I leave. I think it's the courteous thing to do if you want to be invited back:)

[becker-boy.livejournal.com]

You and I share the first part of No. 6 in common. I always felt bad about not wanting to fall asleep in each other arms BUT unless the guy is perfectly matched to me temperature-wise, it aint gonna happen. Kinda nice to know someone else relates.

[bearfaced.livejournal.com]

That's the same as me but I never really thought about it before; it is the temperature that matters.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I think the imagery of falling asleep in someone's arms is just that. I won't fall asleep. If I do doze off, at some point early in the process, I will extricate myself and move away. It is very definitely a question of temperature and a product of being a very light sleeper. It's not about the other person's suitability at all. It's been so long since I had someone to sleep with regularly, that having someone in the same room is a big deal:)

[becker-boy.livejournal.com]

(Grin) Well, truth to tell, its been such a long time for me too...and that I fully expect to not be sleeping much the next time I find myself in bed for the night with someone else. I'm more than willing to get used to someone again...I just know that for the first night (or two) my best effort will be to just keep from fidgeting so much that he can't sleep too...

(hugs)

[labeartorycub.livejournal.com]

My Saturday morning routine is doing chores: laundry, vacuuming, and cleaning the kitchen. I too share your idiosyncratic cuddling. And, I especially make an effort to see my friends more often and tell them how I miss/love them. I've not had the opporunity in the past.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

You sound like my kind of guy. *grin* It also sounds like you'd make a very good friend.

[labeartorycub.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you. I think I make a good friend to most people, unless that person is shallow, demented, or outright obnoxious. I don't do well with such folk. Happy Friday!

[lovesongman.livejournal.com]

Somehow I think .... Arroz con Pollo .... should be somewhere on that list!!! Love ya my friend!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Hehehe ... This is a list of weird habits, not beautiful obsessions:)

Love you too, Pat!

[trulygrateful.livejournal.com]

Wow - it's interesting to learn things about others such as this.

I have a silly question -- if you take off your left boot either instead of OR in addition to your right boot while pondering a problem, does that mean the problem goes unsolved?

And while there's many things I can say to the positive, I find it particularly amazing that you're able to read reviews of the show you're currently in - for form and not content. I can't tell you how many in the cast of "Mambo Kings" and "Dracula" (my only two experiences so far) did not want to read reviews, as if it's some sort of bad omen. As you say, having written them before, at least you're able to view these reviews through "different" eyes.

Much love to you!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm .... I don't know why I take off my right shoe/boot only. I don't take off the left one only or in addition to the right one when pondering a subject. It may have to do that when I'm sitting in a restaurant or on the couch, I tend to tuck my right foot under me. Maybe, it offends my sense of keeping things neat and nice. Who knows? It's a quirk:)

I not only read them, I collect reviews. I think it's the historian in me. I think most performers wait to read their reviews till after the experience is complete, feeling they might be pursuaded to alter their performance by what is said in the review. Most of the time, I'm a supporting actor, so I'm not often a target. I've been very fortunate that most of my personal reviews have been very positive. I look at how the review is written, whether it is constructive in nature and if it has style. As a reviewer and as a reader of reviews, I always remind myself that it is simply one person's opinion (and sometimes that opinion is mine). I don't mention what I've read to other cast members unless they initiate the conversation.

I might feel differently if I was the leading player in a production or if I knew the show I was in was a turkey. I am brutually honest with myself and don't duck from acknowledging bad productions or bad peformances. However, I am pretty confident. It might take me awhile, but usually I can find a way to make my performance strong. It is a process and evolution. I like to think I can't be influenced to change a performance.

Much love to you!

I need to get supper...

[detailbear.livejournal.com]

The fact that you're not a chicken and don't duck from acknowledging that you're in a turkey is poultry to my ears. Even moreso that you don't let reviews goose you into changing your performance. Too bad more gamehens weren't able to quail their fears, pullet together and capon the job. Too many are just cocks.

;-)

Re: I need to get supper...

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

OY! It's a good thing I've met you or I'd have to "virtually" smack you:)

Re: I need to get supper...

[becker-boy.livejournal.com]

ah, why bother with virtually smacking him....just as effective would be to simply cry "fowl"!

Re: I need to get supper...

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

*smack* LOL! You're follwing a bad egg sample:) *rolls eyes*