i am neurotic.

Unless completely unavoidable, I always open packaging along where it was sealed. I end up with perfect rectangles for garbage.

Before I go to bed, I have to count to one hundred(100), inhaling on even numbers, and exhaling on odd numbers. Then I have to count down from one hundred (100) to zero (0), using the same process. I have to do this at least once in order to fall asleep, and if something disturbs the process, I have to start over.

I have this weird problem of not being able to throw away food boxes. Like, if I eat the last pop tart, or the last granola bar in a box, I put the empty box back in the cabinet. I hate for the cabinets to look ‘empty’ and these boxes convey that there’s still a lot of food in the cabinet.

After it’s rained for a while I don’t like to go outside. The sight of wet pavement or concrete makes me feel sad. Walking on it always seems to make me feel dreary. I usually wait until the sun has made it dry again before I can actually feel okay while walking on it.

If I am home alone and I am eating something I have to have something to read whether it’s a magazine, a book, or some advertisements, I can’t enjoy my meal without some reading material.

I cannot stand people to have hoods inside out. If I wear a sweater with a hood, I check the mirror exactly five times before leaving to make sure it is not inside out. If someone has one that is inside out, I cannot make eye contact with them until the problem has been fixed. I find myself judging people I don’t know on this, and feel bad for making bad assumptions about them.

Books, folders and notepads. They all must be stacked in a way that the largest item is on the bottom and as you go up the pile, the item gets smaller and smaller. If a large dictionary is piled on top of two tiny notebooks, it freaks me out and it must be rearranged in a proper manner.

Every time I watch a movie by Paramount, I have to say (usually under my breath if other people are around) “There are 22 stars in the Paramount circle.” Lately, though, I have realised that it’s not a full circle, so I’ve started saying “There are 22 stars in the Paramount semi-circle.”

When I hang the washing out, the peg colours have to match the clothing colour. So a blue shirt would have the blue pegs. If there’s no matching colour then they get a colour that ‘goes’ well with them. So a yellow shirt would get the orange pegs. Oh and a male garment never gets the pink pegs and vice versa.

Whenever I boil eggs and peel them, they have to peel perfectly or I throw them away. Sometimes I boil twice as many as I need just so that I have enough for the dish I am making. I know its wasteful but when the egg is all torn up it looks like it’s not a healthy egg.