1. I develop strong attachments that border on obsessive loyalty to things I use every day. Right now it’s my old barn coat. I’ve had it for six years and it is positively disgusting! Missing all but one button, so faded you can’t tell what color it used to be, riddled with holes and covered with stains. It was way past needing to be replaced, so I ordered a nearly identical one from LL Bean but I just can’t bring myself to wear it. Because it would be sort of disloyal to my original barn coat.
I also have a really hard time throwing out old running shoes. At least I stop wearing those but I honestly can’t bring myself to throw them away for years after I’ve stopped wearing them. It just seems tremendously sad somehow…
2. I can’t not finish a book I’ve started. It makes me feel lazy, even if I really just don’t like the book. Since I usually juggle three or four books at a time it’s not a huge problem. I just put aside the one I don’t like until I’m entirely out of other things to read and then force myself to suck it up and finish it.
3. Speaking of books, I have been this close to buying a Kindle for six months now but I just can’t pull the trigger.
4. The holidays really got me down this year and I’m only just now starting to come out of it. Actually, I think it was the holidays + my sister moving to Denmark + the fact that a couple of the people I’m closest to were going through some difficult things + my usual stress load that got me down. I even considered canceling my trip to Fort Worth for the Stock Show next week which is just plain crazy since the Stock Show is my very favorite thing in the world ever. Luckily I came to my senses.
5. I almost always have peanut butter crackers with me. In my glove box. In my bag. In my pantry. Peanut butter crackers can save a hungry person.
Tell me something I don’t know about you…
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Almost scary, really. I have the same problem with slippers–I wear Keds slipons as my slippers, but once they’re falling apart, I’ll replace them … but can’t quite bring myself to get rid of them.
I also finish just about every book I start. It’s a rare, rare, RARE Book that I don’t bother to finish. I figure I read quickly enough that it’s not like it will take me more than a day or two to finish one, anyway.
And, agree about the Kindle. I want one, I really do, but keep waiting for … I don’t know. It to be cheaper? Color? Do more? Kindle 3.5? Something … but in the meantime I’ve got the Kindle app on my ipod touch, and the Kindle-for-Windows app on my computer, so at least I can dabble!
I can throw out old shoes with no trouble, but I cannot bring myself to get of old spatulas. I have a stone crockware thing full of cooking utensils and I am always buying new spatulas to replace the old, cracking ones, but I cannot bring myself to throwing away the old ones. I believe there is *still* some useful life in them….
Mostly finish the books I start. Have a Kindle and love it because books take up so much less space on a kindle than on your shelf and the font size changes depending on your needs. It is swell.
Ever since I took a film analysis class in college I have a hard time watching a movie without getting all thinky about the colors used in everything in the movie…the clothes, backgrounds, furnishings, lighting…I look for symbolism in all of them! It can be horribly distracting and take the enjoyment right out of the movie.
Buy the Kindle… it’s awesome.
Denmark isn’t so bad! My husband lived in Copenhagen for a few months, and it’s really beautiful. We now live in Munich after having lived in Austin… I still miss Austin actually. When/If we go back to the U.S. I think that is where we will go… But, Denmark is lovely and you should try to visit once your sister gets there. We have been living abroad for over a year, and none of our family has come to visit us. It’s tough to do it all at once (move your life, learn a new language, create a routine, find a good group of friends, etc…).
My barn coat (purchased in 2000) also had only one button – the topmost – for the past three years! About a month ago I sewed on ONE more – at waist-height – and it made a big improvement. Can’t rush into these massive sewing projects, apparently…even though I curse myself when the wind blows right in on the single-digit mornings.
I also create strong bonds of attachment to things, especially clothes. I still have the dress I wore to my 15th Birthday party, for instance, and I still wear it and it still fits. It is a loose, bias-cut design and threadbare in many places, but I love it too much to ever get rid of it.
I worry terribly at the movies when there is a scene involving some place being destroyed. Whether it’s an explosion, or some people raid someone’s house and trash it, I spend the rest of the film worrying about how that stuff will all get put right again, and about all the things that got lost or destroyed in the process.
I am over 50 years of age and still have my barn coat, purchased at age 15!!!!! don’t wear it but can’t throw it out either… so I can relate. Old sneakers are great to wear in the muddy garden or barn in the summer until they fall apart. and what you don’t know about me? I want to be you when I grow up.
1. I loathe Facebook but I’m a religious Ravelry user. does that make me a hypocrite? Or just smart? HA!
2. Dedicated Kindle reader. Get the Kindle. I was a really early adopter (and I’m not typically an early adopter of anything, I’m still on Windows XP) but I have NO regrets. It’s totally amazing. It cannot replace beautiful magazines like Fine Gardening and Fine Cooking and Cucina Italiana and Simple, or even Time for that matter, but for books it rocks. RIP Gourmet. Sad.
3. 15 years ago I bought this bathrobe from the victoria’s secret catalog. It arrived in the wrong color but I fell in love with it anyway. It’s been through several dogs. Or several dogs have been through it. It’s satin or charmeuse on the ourside with a lightweight terry lining in this wild jungle in autumn colors sort of print. I love this thing. Stains on the lining, holes chewed in the pockets, the belt loops are long gone…and the other day one of the doggies got bored and ate a bit of the cuff. This robe must taste yummy or something. It will continue to cover me after a shower until I can find a new one just like it.
4. I could photograph sheep all day. Good thing you’re out there doing it for me
5. Parties scare the crap outa me. I’d rather jump out of a plane…which I’ve done, and it was not as scary as going to a party.
Hey, I can relate on the coat-thing. But I got over the shoe thing when I read about fungus/bacteria that live on in old shoes. Eww. And on the Kindle, I’m going to go for the Nook instead…someday, after I get a horse trailer. And I think I’m addicted to smooth collies…even though I only have one.
My obsessive “thing” involves neatly folding plastic grocery bags – sometimes I’ll spend five minutes folding one neatly, precisely into sixteenths and squishing the air out of it. For a while I had a big stack of neatly folded bags in my desk drawer, but I took them to be recycled a few weeks ago, and I don’t seem to be accumulating them anymore (go reusable bags!)
One cure for hanging on to worn out jackets and shoes etc. is living in a one bedroom apartment with almost no closet space and a single storage cubby in the basement. My art studio and 2 cats included.
I can understand not wanting to get rid of something you’ve loved. Although, for me, it feels better to give to someone who’s going to love my stuff just as much as I did. You might consider Soles 4 Souls (giving used shoes to those who need shoes) or Reuse-A-Shoe (through Nike; to reduce environmental impact of shoes in landfills; goes to make track surfaces and playgrounds). Just a thought!
1- Up until 3 months ago I kept a daily journal. My family says I kept it so I could prove when I was right and they were wrong… they were wrong
I was wanting to stop the daily thing anyway and only stick with vacation trips. The reason I finally stopped was that writing about the stress and anxiety of our moving process was depressing me. You’d think that after so many years that I’d miss the daily process but I don’t.
2- I can remember what I was wearing for almost any event in my life. Usually something black, except for my wedding.
3- Going up or down the stairs I always have to end with my right foot. My family knows this and laugh when I change feet in the middle of a staircase.
I came THIS close to buying a Kindle DX for my birthday.. but I read some reviews and decided I would wait…. AGAIN. The idea of them is so… seductive. But the price tag is just plain silly. IMHO. Sigh… technology envy. I have it.
My hugest pet peeve used to be when people were condescending. Now I simply shrug those people off as not being worth my attention or respect. Right now what bothers me most are people who expect me to read their minds. It’s what is boiling my blood at this very moment, which is why I’m bringing it up.
Also, I consider brie cheese, pears and crackers to be just about the perfect food.
I apparently suck at ‘page a day’ calendars. It’s Jan 14th and I just torn off and read the entire month on December….go figure.
1. Everyone in my family wears glasses except for me.
2. I played the National Zoo’s glockenspiel at its unveiling – it is still there I don’t think it functions anymore – my great uncle’s trust is long gone
3. I have very weak ankles and despite years of practice am still a very poor ice skater (although I love it!)
4. One of my greatest talents is reading bedtime stories to kids.
5. I was suffered sooo much humiliation as an unsually tall girl growing up – yet almost every man I have seriously dated has been short – go figure.
Kindle – no pages, no papery smell, no old book not really mouldy smell, nope – I like books.
YES! That’s totally it.
i would really, really recommend the book ‘eating animals’ by jonathan safran foer. its a in-depth look into factroy farming, and reveals a lot of things that many people are not aware of. its a sort of wake up call for the nation, but not even slightly preachy – i dont think you’ll have any issue finishing reading it!
I bought a Kindle for two reasons: our workplace cut a deal with Amazon for 40% off, and the last time I traveled I packed four books plus the travel guide, and that was for a trip of less than a week (sat-weds). I had to travel unexpectedly over the holidays (sick parent) and the Kindle was a godsend. It was the right pricepoint for me; I would prefer an ereader that lets me get books from the library, but I’ll live. My big problem is that I’m a very fast reader and buying books is not a good value proposition for me–I get most of my reading material from the library. With the Kindle around, the temptation for instant gratification is very hard to resist!
I swear that you know everything about me…but, um, let’s see:
I’ve watched Sex and the City from Season 1 thru Season 6 about 540 times. And there is not one life situation that I can not relate to a SATC episode.
I know it’s time to get my hair cut when the weight of my ponytail starts to give me a headache.
I’m a horrible driver when anyone else is in the car, but I’m practically perfection when I’m alone.
Get a nook instead . . . I’ll loan you the books I’ve already downloaded. It’s not a bribe, not really . . . of course I’d expect something in return . . . but let’s just call it incentive, shall we? You can download samples of books and finish those without too much trouble. This can, indeed, create a whole NEW problem. Not that I necessarily feel that having 30 book samples is a horrible thing . . . I’m just saying.
I take my old running shoes to Ragged Mountain Running Shop on Elliewood Ave in Ch-ville to put in their donation bin and get 10% my new pair of shoes.
Decluttering, charity and a deal all in one; does it get any better?
Oh, and you can donate old coats at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports for PACEM (homeless shelter).
Maybe you can make something else out of your barn coat?
Do the Kindle app for now and see if you really like reading books electronically before buying the kindle. I don’t think I’d like it personally.
I really like reading old Scrooge and Donald Duck comics! It’s been my regular reading lately. I read the ones that Robin’s had since he was a kid.
I like to name inanimate objects that are important or special to me. As a kid I named my bikes and my last camera had a name. Current camera is still unnamed, poor thing.
1. I’m rather the same way with books. Feel guilty somehow about not finishing one especially if I paid money for it but even if its a library book – since they were so nice to loan it to me is my strange reasoning. I recently really didn’t like a book but kept at it and actually started getting into it finally. Which is good since its part of a series.
2. I’m rather addicted to your site even though I don’t knit much (haven’t gotten very good at it) — but I love looking at yarn and dreaming. So weird. But I also just love baby lambs and goats.
I believe that tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches are made for each other.
I just posted a similar post on my blog, inspired by yours.:)