Ok...to anyone who read the title of this thread and thought perverse thoughts....get your mind outta the gutter!
I'm talking about weird urges that people sometimes have that they simply cannot explain.
I like to look onto the underbelly of what makes us all tick and why we think and do the things we do...so here I sit writing this bizarre thread.
I know that at least a few of you have weird similar urges....hopefully you'll admit to them.
Case in point....Me and things made of glass.
Anytime I hold anything made of glass in my right hand only, not my left hand...if it were done in my left hand I would not have the same satisfaction for some odd reason.
I have this weird urge to squeeze it with my fingers and shatter it to pieces.
I cannot explain why...I just do.
Being a rational human being who knows that I'll get cut if I do, I still have the urge.
My urge is primarily with light bulbs of any shape and size.
I always hold them in my right hand...never my left and look closely at them.
I almost always hold them up to another light source first and examine the tungsten filament to make sure it's intact.
After that I have this almost overwhelming urge to squeeze it until it explodes!
Sometimes I do exert a bit of pressure upon it but I always hold myself back just enough not to break it.
An example:
I was at my sister's house last month (December 2003) and while she and her boyfriend were watching Punk'd on MTV, I was in the next room to their right examining all of the ornaments on her Christmas tree.
I took one from it's branches...it was a small house.
It had that crusty, glittery white stuff on it's roof to resemble snow.
I held this ornament in my right hand looking at it closely turning it from side to side, and then I scratched the fingernail of my index finger on it's surface to get a better feel of it's texture.
My nail examination led me to believe that it was made of tin.
I even prodded it a bit with my right thumb thinking that it would make that "kunka kunka" sound that a soda can makes when you push the side in and then it pops back out.
I added more pressure with my right hand and then...BAM!!!!
The whole goddam thing exploded in my hand and face!.
My sister and her boyfriend Chad who were to my left sitting in the living room jumped and immediately looked at me.
It turned out that the ornament was made of fine glass!.
A piece of it flew and embedded itself above my left eyebrow and the other pieces set themselves into my hand.
My thumb in particular did not stop bleeding for almost 5-10 minutes!
I left a few droplets of bood on her carpet for that.
Tonight, I had that same urge as I was changing a lightbulb in my kitchen.
I withdrew a fresh bulb from its package, held it up to the light in my living room to examine the filament and when I got back to the kitchen to put it in its place, I squeezed it just hard enough to not break it.
WTF is up with that!?
I also have this weird urge when I look at my aquarium.
It's a 10 gallon tank and for some odd reason I have this urge to tip...no not to tip....more precisely to fling the whole thing with all my might over onto its side and watch it shatter into a million pieces! (think Duece Bigelow)
Why?
I don't know.
I picture my floor with water all over it and my fish lying on the floor physically gasping for water, their mouths agape and their fins sucking in & out.
Of course I would never do that but it's damn weird if you ask me!
Maybe I'm just strange but I'm willing to bet that many of you have other "weird urges" that nobody else knows about.
Hehe!
Your "urge" doesn't have to be similar to mine...as long as it's something strange that you think your weird for but most likely someone else has thought the same.
Care to share them with us?
Post Edited (09-04-05 09:47)
I'm developing a weird urge to quit reading your posts...
just kidding.
Whenever I see a wet paint sign I touch the paint to see if it is really wet. I can't help it. My 30+ years of experience doing this has shown me that about 75% of the time it is dry, 20% of the time it is tacky, and 5% of the time it is actually wet. This last category seems to correlate perfectly with the 5% of the time I see a wet paint sign and am dressed in nice clothes or have to shake someone's hand a few seconds later.
I am an order freak. Really, sometimes I think Monicca from friends was modelled after me. I have a set of drawers by my TV, and when I'm watching TV if I notice one of them is just a bit open and the rest closed, I can't just take it out of my mind. I can't watch TV, my mind is busy with that until I have to leave the couch and close it.
A few days ago my sis was on a visit and she had been looking at my DVDs. Later, she talked to me about "Princess Mononoke". I stood up and looked for it but couldn't find it. "I can't find it", I said. She answered "It's on top, you see". My response was "Impossible, they are in alphabetical order". "You must be kidding.", she said, and I didn't have to answer. It would made sense if I had a huge DVD collection, but it is just a dozen titles. LOL we all should visit a shrink, don't you think?
Neville wrote:
> I am an order freak. Really, sometimes I think Monicca from
> friends was modelled after me. I have a set of drawers by my
> TV, and when I'm watching TV if I notice one of them is just a
> bit open and the rest closed, I can't just take it out of my
> mind. I can't watch TV, my mind is busy with that until I have
> to leave the couch and close it.
>
> LOL we all should visit a shrink, don't you
> think?
>
No doubt! I can totally sympathize. I wanted to organize by director, but the wife wouldn't have it. Alphabetical order must suffice. I am even worse in the order department because whenever I put a CD into a jewel case it must be straight. If it isn't straight, it gets under my skin. My roommate in grad school used to toy with me all the time by saying "you sure your CD's are straight?" at which point I'd have to rumage through almost every case until I found the 1 or 2 that he made crooked. So cruel.
I'm sure there are shrinks out there that can turn down our obsession with perfection. Alphabetical in the phonebook, no doubt.
When I was Christmas shopping this year, I found myself momentarily entertaining the concept of getting my mom a CD of GG Allin & the Murder Junkies. I quickly realized that this was a horrible, horrible idea, and I have no idea where it came from.
I work in the pet food department of a supermarket and when a customer asks me a non petfood related question i usually have to fight the urge to throw Frolic Complete in their face and say 'Ask me about petfoods a***ole!' Maybe im just an angry person.
I thought I was the only weirdo here with strange urges. ; )
I always seem to have the urge to collect clear figures. Sometimes I'll even buy something stupid like a glass globe because it was clear.
I also seem to have the strange urge to keep coming back here to post on this forum. : P
Similarly, I cannot stand a drawer or a door that is partly open (or closed)-all the way one way or another. This is an obsession. Since I actually get up to 'fix' it, it is a compulsion.
I share the obsession about partially closed drawers and cupboards and stuff. Freaks me out. Also, since I work at a record store, it's part of my job to just kinda generally straighten up the place. Now, if I'm off duty and in there shopping, or even if I'm at Target or someplace, if a CD or a DVD is crooked or out of place, I'll fix it without even realizing I've done it until my girlfriend or whoever I'm with starts laughing at me and says "You did it again."
Brother R
Brotha Ragnarok, your urges are definitely good ones to have. Mine on the other hand are kind of a bit of a problem.
Okay, ASH. Um. I'm sorry dude, but I've been reading your posts for quite some time and I think you're going insane.
So, y'know. Get your sanity gland checked out.
I have a lot of various OCD things going on....most people have them to some degree. I'm probably at the borderline of how much you can have them and still not have any problems functioning normally.
I tend to count and think about various numbers and repeat them to myself whenever I'm stressed or anxious. That's probably the most common one I have. I wish I could be a compulsive cleaner, at least that would be useful.
I touch all clothing in stores as I pass by. I have an obsessive compulsive need to feel material in my immediate surroundings. :) I think I coulda been an ocd person, years ago I had this thing where whenever i heard a song i hated, i mean HATED, i would hold my breath until I shut it off..as if somehow breathing while it was on would kill me..lol. I've recovered since then
I think I might buy a whole case of light bulbs, a good pair of gloves that glass cannot penetrate, protective eye glasses and just go nuts!
I could squeeze to my heart's content.
Off to my side the broom and dustpan would be patiently waiting.
Post Edited (01-27-04 19:29)
Creepy. You should film it and put a Goldsmith score on it, and you could make millions on the art-house circuit.
Incomplete sets of anything bug me. If I have a set of anything, but I'm missing one, it really bothers me. I don't always succeed in collecting an entire set (books, figures, games, whatever), but it always bugs me that I don't have them all.
I had a co-worker that every time she passed behind me, had to tap me on the head. She said she couldn't explain it, except it was a strange urge.
I also have a habit of picking up random objects off the street and out of the trash, and storing them until I can think of a use for them (or, if it's food and doesn't seem terribly dirty, I'll eat it). My constant hording drives my roommates nuts (and, it seems, would drive many people on this board nuts, too! ;)
when I crack one knuckle on one finger, I gotta crack the same knuckle on the other hand.
ASHTHECAT wrote: "I think I might buy a whole case of light bulbs, a good pair of gloves that glass cannot penetrate, protective eye glasses and just go nuts!
I could squeeze to my heart's content."
This reminds me of a japanese shop, thing or whatever you call it. After paying you are taken to an insonorised room with a pile of dishes to break. They say it helps with stress.
That's truly bizarre JMC!
The first thought that ran through my head when I read your post was of Russell Crowe in 'A Beautiful Mind" reciting numbers and equations and s**t to himself!
Post Edited (01-28-04 04:06)
The weirdest OCD-type thing I have ever seen is this guy at work who cannot make left turns. By that, I mean that he cannot walk or drive and turn to his left (much like Zoolander, but this is true). If he is walking down the hall and the bathroom is on his left, he will walk past it, turn right to a water fountain or bulletin board, get a drink or pretend to read something on the board, then turn right again, come back down the hall and make a right into the bathroom. If he doesn't have time for the charade, he'll just spin to his right until the bathroom is in front of him - which has earned him the nickname by some as "the spinner." I've never seen him drive, but people say he can't turn his car left either.
Actually, other than the nickname that few people use, nobody ever really jokes about or makes fun of the guy because the story I heard is that something happened to him in Vietnam (POW?) that caused this tick. Otherwise, he's a great guy, althought he never mentions his problem himself.
Now I'm beginning to wonder if most people are obsessive-compulsive to some degree, or is it just a common trait among b-movie fans?
I have a few such quirks that used to bug me more than they do now.
I used to be a little wary of unlucky numbers, but not for a long time. This always struck me as strange, because I'm not a superstitous person. It wasn't really a fear, so much as an awareness of numbers like 13 and such.
A more interesting example involves heights. Sometimes, when I'm in a high place with no barrier, or at least nothing more than a low railing, I think about jumping off. It's not a desire to jump, but more a fear of just how easy it would be if I did take a notion to do it. It's not bad enough to prevent me from visiting such places, but it is kind of freaky. I've heard that this is a fairly common thing.
As for order, I can tolerate a lot of mess before I will actually clean it up (which drives my wife nuts because she actually finds even a little disorder stressful). However, when I do clean, it has to be perfect (probably why I avoid it). For example, when I shovel the driveway, the pavement has to be clean, the edges straight and the piles fairly even. If, in the course of shovelling, a little snow tumbles off the pile onto an area I've already done, I will stop, walk over, clean up the tiny bits of snow, and return to shovelling.
Still, I'm not as bad as my Dad, who is obsessed with neatness to the point of trying to prevent activities that might make a mess. His garage is like an enclosed porch. In the 20+ years he's had it, there has only been a car in it once, and I got into trouble for that. You can imagine what he's like indoors. Of course, dads are supposed to be like that.
I suppose as long as nobody's washing their hands a hundred times or driving home from work to make sure the oven is off, there really isn't much to worry about. Nobody here has described anything close to full-blown OCD (except maybe the Spinner).
Reminds me of a funny King of the Hill episode, where everybody is faking disabilities to take advantage of labour laws. "Sorry Hank, I'm obsessive-compulsive. If I get out of this chair, the Oak Ridge Boys are gonna die."
Post Edited (01-28-04 11:48)
I think counting is common in OCD, but who knows why?
I count too, but only in times of extreme stress/pain (such as when getting a root canal), and it is always counting to four over and over...1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, and in my head, not aloud (but very loud in my head).
Wild.
ASHTHECAT wrote:
> I think I might buy a whole case of light bulbs, a good pair of
> gloves that glass cannot penetrate, protective eye glasses and
> just go nuts!
> I could squeeze to my heart's content.
Please don't squeeze the Charmin.
Okay..now I can say I have alot more in common with you. I thought I was wierd..now I know we all are.
I will leave the apartment for work and everytime I will run back in and check to see if I unplugged my curling iron. Each time it is unplugged.
I work at Osco as a cashier/photo tech and when I am at the register and someone will walk up and say "Are you open?" . Well yesss! I don't know why that bugs me . Or I will be asked if we can fax something and when I say we don't have that service.."Are you sure?" I just want to go off. And you won't believe how many times I hear someone say.."The customer is always right." Bulls**t.
Maybe I need to find other employment..in a backroom off to myself.
All right, as long as we're admitting our little compulsions...
First and foremost, as many of you know, I am a grammar nazi. I get headaches reading documents where people couldn't be bothered to double-space after a period. I get especially upset at the misuse of the words there, their, and they're. I also can't stand when PEOPLE TYPE IN ALL CAPS, or when people don't capitalize the first word of a sentence or a proper noun. Finally, whenever someone uses an apostrophy to make something plural (with a few exceptions) I want to scream. It bugs the hell out of me, and I have no idea why.
Strangely, spelling doesn't bother me so much. I only get upset when people transpose words ("are" instead of "our" really gets to me).
It's so bad that I don't even read my own posts anymore, because every time I spot an error, I immediately edit it out. I do this before finishing reading - so I have, upon occasion, made three seperate edits of the same post.
This isn't so much a weird urge as it is a weird thing that happens to me all the time: I will occasionally smell popcorn, or pot, for no apparent reason. My brain seems to be wired all funny...
Post Edited (01-29-04 13:48)
I have that same urge about high places.
I'll approach the railing as close as I dare (I get terrible vertigo near edges of high places...so much so that it's like a force field pushing me back) and I think of grasping the rail and hurling myself over the edge.
Even at places like one of our malls which is two-story, I get the urge to jump over the railing and fall down onto the people or things below.
Weird.
Of course I would never do this!
Post Edited (01-29-04 05:17)
I can relate to the constant editing of posts. I do that myself. In my case, it's more of a carry-over from my work. I'm supposed to look over what I've written, and rework it if I think it can be improved. Of course, my editor gets a little annoyed when I keep tweaking something (usually a humour column or movie review), even in the middle of pagination. Basically, until the file is ready to send to the press, I consider it fair game. Come to think of it, I'm extremely fussy in many aspects of my work, almost to the point of compulsion.
Post Edited (01-29-04 10:35)
>I also have a habit of picking up random objects off the street and out of the
>trash, and storing them until I can think of a use for them (or, if it's food and
>doesn't seem terribly dirty, I'll eat it). My constant hording drives my roommates
>nuts (and, it seems, would drive many people on this board nuts, too! ;)
I don't pick stuff up off the street (unless it's out for pickup when everyone is putting stuff out), but I do keep small stuff that I think I might one day have a use for. Need an old toothbrush for cleaning stuff? A small bottle? A length of wire? I've got it.
>I suppose as long as nobody's washing their hands a hundred times or driving
>home from work to make sure the oven is off, there really isn't much to worry
>about.
I don't do those, but I do sometimes check things multiple times. Like my alarm; after I set it, check it and then lie down, a few minutes later, I'll start wondering if I set it for the right time and have to check it. Then I'll start wondering if I turned the alarm on and have to check it. Or when I mail a letter, I'll check the address at least a couple times, but as soon as I drop it in the mailbox, I start wondering if maybe I made a mistake.
>Or I will be asked if we can fax something and when I say we don't have that
>service.."Are you sure?" I just want to go off.
Depending on how far you wanted to carry it, you could always say "Just a minute, I'll check...", then call the manager out and say "This person wanted to know if we can fax something. I told them that we didn't, but they wanted to know if I was sure, so I thought I should ask you; Can we fax something?" When the manager says you can't, look at them and ask "Are you sure? Maybe we should call the head office and ask them?".
Hahaha!!!...good post NIGHTS!
You know, someone on here just in the last week or 2 stated that they liked the phrase, "It's just crazy enough to work." and that SO applies here!
It could!
That's f**kin' genius man!
Hehe!
I would love to do that. But then I would be out of a job.
The best you can do is TRY to be patient and see things from their point of view - they need a service that they really, really want you to provide.
Here's a quick story that shows that spontaneous 'weird urges' can be beneficial. Many years ago, I waited tables at a vacation resort. One lady visiting for the whole week was a nightmare to everybody - she was very demanding, and not so nice about it. And, she got put in my section more often than not.
Near the end of her stay, I had the weird and totally spontaneous urge to be as nice to her as possible and to greet everything she said with enthusiasm. At one point, after impressing her with something I did (getting her ketchup BEFORE she asked for it or something), she asked me 'how did you get to be so smart?'
I replied, totally off the cuff, 'from listening to folks like you.'
She busted out laughing (a first for the week) and she was 'mine.' I got REALLY, REALLY good tips from her after that. I think she knew she was 'high maintenance' and respected that after a week of frustration, I found a way to get through it. It's really odd, but I now think of her with fondness.
not capitolize.
Sorry, just couldn't resist
also, apostrophy. Dang, now you've got me being a spelling freak.
raj wrote:
> not capitolize.
>
> Sorry, just couldn't resist
>
> also, apostrophy. Dang, now you've got me being a spelling
> freak.
See, now - why the heck did you have to do that to me? I was happily not reading my post so I wouldn't feel the need to make corrections, and now I've got to check it....
razzafrakin...gawl-dern...
I've just noticed. I'm also overly fond of ellipses. You know, that bit where there are three periods in a row...
I've just gone through several of my posts, and I don't seem to be able to make a post here without putting in ellipses. I never noticed that before.
Okay, I guess nobody else considers that weird enough to mention here, but, dang it, I do!
Heh heh heh, just doing my part to spread a little chaos around. Or obsessive compulsiveness.
Bubble Wrap might be the solution :) I know I have a problem if I get something that's wrapped in that stuff I can't help but want to pop it.
Odinn was mentioning the "Crushing glass" thread.
I totally forgot that I'd started it and couldn't remember what he was getting at but then he mentioned remembering me talking about squeezing a Christmas ornament.....I'll never forget that.
Even if I live to be 80, I'll always remember doing that because it scared the s**t outta me!
Now I remember.
Let's continue this....It's been awhile. Almost two years now since I wrote this on January 7th, 2004.
I especially like The Spinner tale.
Any weird urges lately?
Post Edited (09-04-05 09:37)
TheFeen wrote:
> I work in the pet food department of a supermarket and when a
> customer asks me a non petfood related question i usually have
> to fight the urge to throw Frolic Complete in their face and
> say 'Ask me about petfoods a***ole!'
Now that I look back on this thread and read this response, I must say that it's freakin' hilarious!
"Ask me about pet foods a***ole!!!"
LOL!
I have had this weird urge of late to set up a different account, and login to post messages designed to annoy you, Ash.
Um, not that I've acted upon it. Really.
When I see certain things, like the bannisters that support a handrail (the wooden ones going up stairs) I often want to punch them to see if I could break them easily. Reminded me of that.