I have a couple. The biggest has to be my music collection and my computer in general. All my ID3 tags are absolutely perfect. Everything from album artwork, to release year, genre, contributing artist, etc. all has to be correct. I can not fucking stand when an artist appears twice because in one case there is a space after his/her name and on the other instance there is no space or anything like that. All my documents, movies, tv shows, bookmarks, pictures, and start menu are also immaculately organized; no free floaters. Everything is in the proper folder such that there is no scrolling required in the entire start menu tree. My desktop is also organized symmetrically with two columns of shortcuts on one side and the google desktop pane on the other, links to my libraries up top in the middle of the desktop aligned with MS Office programs on the bottom, and 4 windows desktop gadgets in each corner. It is really quite beautiful and makes me happy every time I see it. I also can't leave home without my phone in one pocket, cigarettes, lighter, and keys in another pocket and my wallet in the back pocket, always in the same ones. I also can't leave home without a water bottle since god forbid I ever endure the slightest bit of thirst (seriously, I haven't felt the feeling known as thirst in years). I also have a terrible fear of getting sick so I sanitize everything around me and wash my hands way more than I should to the point where the skin on the little connectors in between my fingers often dies and peels off.
I must leave the house with my phone and handkerchief in my left pocket (I'm subject to spontaneous nasal explosions of the mucus kind), my Blackberry and keys in my right pocket, and my wallet in my back right pocket. Anything else will cause me to feel uncomfortable for the rest of the day. I will pat myself down to make sure. Toilet paper must be on the roll going over, not under. I will stop and change it before I take a crap. Dead hooker parts must be individually wrapped and placed in the freezer in the following order: head, upper torso, arms, lower torso, legs, hands, feet. It just doesn't feel right otherwise.
It bothers me just reading that. I've shared some of my OCD quirks before so I'm not going to list them all again now but volume levels are my thing lately. I really feel very comfortable with the number 2 so I have these algebraic/crazy-nonsense formulas to ultimately get whatever number to 2. It used to be just even numbers but thats not good enough anymore. Example: 28. It's even so that should make it good right? No. 2+8=10 1+0=1 That 1 is not ok. See how it works with 29? 2+9=11 1+1=2 Some times it's addition and sometimes it's division. I'm also a counter, of everything. Don't judge me.
I have an unnatural obsession with being on time, which is related to how I feel when others are late. I've improved somewhat (liquor helps) but it takes a lot of mental energy to stop myself from panicking when someone is late and I do not know how long I have to wait. When I was young my mother had a gambling problem which resulted in me being left in car parks and shopping centres for many hours (you try being 9 years old, with your 8 year old sister, with no cash and in the days before mobile phones, wondering when the hell you're going to be picked up). This probably has something to do with how I feel about others being late. If I ever have to be anywhere, I try to calculate exactly how long it will take for me to get there, make an allowance for whatever delays may occur (these change dependent upon the mode of transport and the route I take) and then try and arrive 15 minutes early. Even if I see myself being five minutes late, I send a text/make a call profusely apologising for my tardiness. I will usually be somewhere first even if I am late. I've ended first dates where the woman is 10 minutes late.
When I was in high school, I developed a case of ocd where I had to constantly check the locks of my door every time I attempted to exit the house. Also I would have to check the stoves even if I already checked them prior. It was pretty horrible and I was too embarrassed to let on to anyone that I had such an issue. It wasn't one check either, typically I would have locked the door and walked a few paces before I had to go back and make sure that it was locked. That would repeat about three times before I was finally able to move along. The stove top dials were even more insane. I would literally stare at the fucker while I turned it to the off position, then I would get a few steps away before I had to come back and make sure that the two lines that crossed stay crossed (that insured it was off). Again, I would repeat that process every three times, and check it nightly before I slept. I have an itching suspicion that my father helped to instigate it because he is the sort of man that would always question me. -"Did you remember to lock the door?" -"Did you turn off the stove?" -"Are you sure?". -"Last time you forgot so I just wanted to make sure." Fuck that shit screwed with my head. I never saw therapy for it, but the way I was finally able to cope and rid myself of the disorder was to force myself not to go back. It was really hard to do, but I would keep telling myself that I'm an idiot and that it's fine. So yeah, now I'm fine on that aspect, just a little idiotic.
Sometimes, I get this weird twitch where I start obsessively changing clothes. I don't know why, and I don't really notice it as it's happening. One minute I'm fine and the next I realize I've gone through three t-shirts in ten minutes. It's a real bitch on the laundry. I think it has to do with my attention span. Like...I "picture myself" differently from minute to minute. Thankfully it's gotten better lately.
I'm not OCD in any capacity except this. If a good song comes on I HAVE to tap out a rhythm somewhere. If I'm in the presence of others I try my hardest to only silently use my feet, but sometimes I just can't help but tap out some rhythms on the desk. Typically I use right foot for eighth/sixteenth notes, and left foot for quarter/eighth notes/the rhythm. Otherwise it's left and right hands, or right hand middle finger and ring finger respectively. Sometimes it's all at once. But I wouldn't go so far as to call it a compulsion, more getting consumed by a deep passion for the music. I was drunk at my friend's place and doing this absent mindedly and he wound up handing me some bongos and breaking out the guitar. That was a good night that turned into a party fairly quickly. Edit: Actually I do have a compulsion, if you can call it that. Every time I pack up and move somewhere I check my pockets for my phone, keys, and knife. Then I run a visual sweep of the entire area I was formerly in looking for anything I may have forgotten/dropped and continue staring/sweeping the area with my eyes as I walk away until visual contact is broken. Still, not really a compulsion, just a ritualistic behavior learned from many years of losing/forgetting shit.
Two reasons. First, cooking and eating ought to be enjoyable activities. Cleaning as you go along makes them in to chores. Second, unpleasant things tend to be less unpleasant if you do it all at once. So, instead of washing dishes off and on as you go, many people would prefer to get it all done at once later. I agree on the dishwasher though. I used to have roommates who would fill the top rack by placing cups as far as possible from other cups, as though the cups were picking urinals in a men's restroom. You put stuff in assuming it's going to get complete filled, and in such a way that minimizes the need to rearrange the dishes. I guess I get irritated in general when people don't think a couple steps ahead and think about the logical way to proceed. Also means I can't play Settlers of Catan against my parents because they make really rookie mistakes and sucks the fun out of it for me. As for my obsessive quirks, the only really noteworthy one is that I constantly visualize things falling (I have nightmares about climbing ladders, scaffolding, etc, all the time). I can usually control it and focus my attention elsewhere, but when I'm drinking it can get pretty bad, and it's especially poor timing because I tend to get drunk at bars, and bar tenders don't always put bottles back 100% on the shelf. If they're hanging over the edge at all, it will bother me, and I favor bars with deep shelves where it's rarely an issue. I've pissed off a couple bar tenders by asking them to fix the bottles, though after explaining that it really freaks me out, they're usually fine with it. I guess it's not the worse thing a customer can come in and start shit over.
Actually posting in the Bathroom Rituals thread reminded me of legitimate compulsions I have. I compulsively wipe down every toilet seat I use, even when I'm all alone in my apartment for a week because all my housemates are on spring break due to being on a different yearly schedule than me. I also inspect every piece of cutlery, dishwear, pot, pan, glass, whatever that I am going to use and give it a rinse or two under the sink even if I just grabbed it straight from the dishwasher.
Whenever I attempt to go out and interact with other humans before I've showered and brushed my teeth, I cannot focus on anything except how greasy and disgusting I am. Morning sex is fine, but I will not go to work unless I'm brushed and showered, no matter how late it makes me. I also pull all nose hairs on sight. If I could swab Nair in there without going to the hospital, I'd consider it. I'm also a stickler for anal hygiene. The way I see it, there may come a day when all I have is my asshole, and I must keep it clean at all times. And I'd never want to have to turn down an impromptu rimjob. Scouts are prepared. I also tend to develop highly specific drinking rituals. The last time I lived in one place for more than a year, whenever I went out drinking, it ALWAYS started at the same bar, ALWAYS at EXACTLY 4:00 PM, and always with two Spaten Optimators. In this chaotic life, it's important that we ground ourselves.