Six Random Things
Danielle tags me for this interesting meme, which will be be perfect for a ho-hum Saturday (ho-hum means I have nothing to share about my current reading, no book talk). I’m to share six random things about myself that I have never mentioned before.
1. I’m not good at crossword puzzles and Sodoku kind of stuffs. I always think especially for the mind-boggling crossword puzzles you’ll have to be astute like the contestants on Jeopardy. Neither am I a history buff nor a trivia master. So I can hardly get any clues out of a crossword puzzle. A group of regulars at my cafe would work on the New York Times crossword puzzle, which I heard progresses as the week moves on in its level of difficulty. I might hit a clue or two having to do with books and authors.
2. I have a knack for memorizing streets and directions, thanks to my photogenic memory. Usually it doesn’t take me more than a couple days to get my bearing of a new city. This is very handy for traveling independently. Of course I would consult the map ahead of time and get myself familiar with the place and its landmark sights. I’m a walking GPS!
3. I am a neat freak. Anything has to be in perfect array and tidiness. I’m sure my mother has passed on this trait to me and she put in that effort to discipline me when I was a little boy. How neat am I? All my books are shelved in alphabetical order by author’s last names. Recently I start the project to wrap my most favorite books with “Plastik” cover used by libraries. I have make sure the furniture tops are dust-free and I wipe the toilet bowl everyday! I organize my closet by the season and the roll of toilet paper has to be…(I might unnerve some of you if I keep on going)
4. Some of the first foreign artists that I listened to were Madonna and Pet Shop Boys. When the other school boys were busy following the Chinese soap opera and playing ping pong, I was blaring the radio and grooving along What Have I Done to Deserve This? (see the video below) and West End Girls. I wonder what my mother would have thought back then?
5. I think I have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Remember Jack Nicholson in the movie As Good As It Gets? OCD is characterized by repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly. Obsessed tidiness, strict adherence to routine, aversion to any disruption to a routine… You get the idea!
6. I keep most of my books unless they are ones that I cannot get into. I have tried Bookcrossing but I lose track of most of the books. When I weed my book collection, I usually put the unwanted books in a box and bring it to the library. I estimate about 2500 books in my collection so it would be a pain (and a lot of money) if I’m really moving to Hong Kong.
Filed under: Babble, Fun Stuff, Meme, Personal | Tagged: Meme, Personal, Six Random Things Meme
I wish I had a touch of those OCD tendencies myself. I tend to be ridiculously unorganized and messy.
Ah, OCD. Well, if it manifests in a way that helps your life–more power to you. I just have to eat M&M in order of the rainbow. That they don’t have purple M&Ms to end drives me crazy. If anything can be arranged in the order of the rainbow, I must do so.
But now, you having around 2500 books impresses me greatly. Hats off to you. (Of course, I’d like to organize my books by the colors on their spines but no, I let my husband organize them by subject.)
Keep reading.
I always enjoy reading these answers to a meme! So much fun to know more about people. I’m surprised you don’t do very well in crosswords–you’re a brainer! The smart dude, the neat freak, and OCD seem consistent. But Pet Shop Boys? That’s hilarious! You never cease to surprise me!
I’ve been a huge PSB fan ever since I can remember. They consistently occupy a large percentage of the memory on my music player, my BlackBerry, my hard drive, or whatever other device I use to entertain myself.
Thanks for the reminder, Matt!
Hah. I totally understand the need to wrap all your books in plastic wrapping because - er, I do that to all my books.
Hmm, 2,500 books to move? It might be a good time to declutter.
I have about half of the number of books you have Matt and am just now experiencing the “pain” of having to move those. I’ve boxed up almost all of my books.
Oh and I so wish I was a bit more of a neat freak. I’m such a pack rat.
I’m horrible at crosswords too! And people who know me always expect me to be good at it, so I have a bit of an inferiority complex. I feel much better knowing you’re not good at them either, since you’re so intelligent!
Thanks for playing along–these are always so much fun to read. I wish I was good at remembering directions. I can usually find my way, but I can’t for the life of me explain it to anyone else. If I had the space on my bookshelves to alphabetize, I would, too, I think! And I’m also awful at cross word puzzles!!
I’m just the opposite with puzzles. I love them! Crosswords, sudoku, anacrosstics, Myst. Sometimes, I get too wrapped up in them, which can be a problem.
I keep most of my books after reading them, as well. But, for the ones I don’t, it’s either list them on Amazon, donate them to the library, or list them on Bookmooch.com.
And I think to some extent we all are a bit OCD.
Andi:
Organization was a habit my mother passed on to me. She would penalize my being disorganized and untidy.
mapelba:
Seems like everyone responses to my OCD.
Yes indeed, when I go to the cafe, I always sit at the same table at the corner. I’ve developed habits that I have adhered to since a kid. Perpetration to the habits would be very disturbing.
I love organizing my books–it’s turned into a hobby. I’d like to shelf them neatly so I can find them easily.
John:
Pet Shop Boys also had a big hit back then…”It’s a, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a sin….” I still have the cassette that my friend dubbed for me, full of Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston. That were the days…
Carmi:
The 80s had so much memories to me…the music, the TV shows…I left Hong Kong in the late 80s but my mind had never left there.
Dark Orpheus:
I cannot stand staining, damaging, and dog-earing my books. Also some of the trade paperback covers attract dust. So I cannot help wrapping them up with plastik covers.
The collection downsized to 2500 after I weeded out two cases. I can’t let go of some of the books which I know I should get rid of. *sigh*
iliana:
When I moved from Berkeley to San Francisco (just across the bay), I packed about 16 cases of books. My friends helped move them that was quite a chore. Labeling the boxes really helped.
Eva:
The people at the cafe would turn to me and ask me about some of the crossword puzzle clues but I would feel embarrassed that I’m stumped! Every now and then I’d get one or two, but I’m usually not good at them! So don’t feel bad I guess we all have different talents!
Danielle:
What’s up with most readers being awful at crossword puzzles eh?
I guess we’re too busy absorbing whatever we’re reading and have no time for them.
Greg:
Thanks for breaking the spell that bookaholics and readers are not good at crossword puzzles.
I just weeded out two boxes full of books and dropped them off at the library.
Like being snobbish (I think you mentioned it too), we’re all a bit OCD in different ways.
share 2, 4 and 5 with u
for 6, shouldn’t worry about the money thing
Wordy:
Aren’t you a neat freak too? #2 helps you travel throughout Japan with ease; and #5 makes us get along so well.
[...] Shouts: AHAS Posted on June 10, 2008 by Matthew In a recent post I mentioned that I’m not good at crossword puzzle, which requires a more well-rounded mind. [...]