Hi...My name is Rob...and I'm anal retentive. (This is where you all say, "Hi, Rob". And a couple of you had better watch what you say after that! I'm the one with the wise cracks here.) I'm the type of person who has nothing to do...all day to do it...but still have a schedule to meet.
I know a few of you are asking if I'm nuts. (Well, it hasn't been clinically proven, but some I know have suggested that to me.) Nothing to do all day and worrying about doing all that nothing right on time. Hey, I have my routine and even though it's not imperative things get done at an exact time, it helps me make it through the day. Just to clear something up, I'm not that crazy I can't exist without a strict schedule. I just use it as a guideline to help me pass the time of day. And it's not like any of you don't have similar quirks. Sometimes, that's just the way our day has to run or nothing's going to get done. And unlike me, who really has nothing that has to be taken care of at a certain time, you still have to keep track of time for one reason or another; work, children, spouses, errands, etc.
I won't bore you with my full day's schedule of doing nothing; I'd have you falling asleep before lunch. With nothing to do, I assure you this is not a life filled with all that much excitement. But at certain points during my day, I have "things" I do that follow a regular pattern. And it seems I always do the same things in order and rarely alter those routines.
Come along with me and let me show you what I mean. Just sit back and observe. (And don't think I can't see you out of the corner of my eye sitting there shaking your head at me.) This morning, I awaken at 5:30; kind of late for me but I slept in today seeing how I had a late night...up 'til a little after midnight. Woo Hoo! Midnight...party! Just call me Mr. Excitement!!! Upon opening my eyes, here's how my first 10 minutes play out...every day, no matter what day of the week, over and over and over. Before even climbing out of bed, I reach for my cigarettes and fire up a smoke. Once I exhale that first drag, THEN I get out of bed; grabbing my cig and ashtray from my bedside stand and transferring to my desk. I take my computer off sleep mode and turn on my desk lamp. I turn on the TV to the local morning news program to find out if anything more exciting than what I've experienced the day before has happened. I bring up my E-mail and take a look at what crap has been sent to me. (I must say, now that I've actively joined Gather, I have a lot more mail...and a lot more substance.)
Halfway through my first smoke of the day, I throw my bathrobe on. Yes, I've been sitting there so far wearing just what I sleep in...and now that I have my robe on; I'm finally wearing something. Okay, knock it off with the cat calls and gags! I open my bedroom door and greet F.N. Kat who is patiently sitting outside it waiting for me to pay attention to him. He's all Mr. Happy rubbing up against my legs and talking. I say "Hi" to the Bugs (I have so many dorky names I call him, he has no idea what his real name is.) and pass him by as I walk through my dark apartment and head to the kitchen with kitty racing me every morning to beat me to the doorway...so he can dart back and forth and try to trip me.
I pull out the coffee maker and turn on the tap water. (Yah, and how many of you let the water run a little to get rid of the "stale" stuff that's been sitting in the pipes.) I even have my little routine of making coffee. We all know how that's done, but I'm so bad, I have to have the pot filling with water while I'm putting coffee in the filter. Hit that start button and the brewing begins. While I'm doing this, F.N. Kat is dancing around the kitchen all peppy while excitedly announcing he wants food...and his damn plate is still full. (He won't eat from a bowl...his food has to be on a plate or he won't touch it...for days!) I ignore him and head up to the bathroom to take care of whatever business is at hand. Ahhhhhhhh!!! The little guy follows me and continues with his lovey-dovey suckhole act begging for food.
Back downstairs we come and I walk him to his plate, pointing out he still has food. He acts like he didn't know almost smacking his own head with a paw as if to say, "Oops...silly me." and starts eating. Yah, you have no troubling figuring out you have food when I'm not out here. He thinks every time I walk into the kitchen his plate should be filled to overflowing. See...I'm so anal, even my cat has a routine! Then, it's back to my desk to read my mail while the coffee finishes.
I did have to add a new routine to my schedule...check Gather. I read the comments to my articles first. Next, I read, rate and comment on articles you've written that I've been notified about. Coffee's done. Time for my first cup...and another smoke. Now, it's on to check the numbers and ratings lists. Finally, time to write and I pull up the publish screen and come up with a topic and title. Only then, do I find an image to attach...write, tag and publish. (I haven't gotten that far yet and I'm running behind schedule. It's pushing 7:30 and I'm running all kinds of late. This is going to throw me doing nothing the rest of the day all out of whack!)
Okay, so I putz and putter doing this and that the rest of the day; just fart around, figuratively and literally (I know...overshare). I even have my TV schedule to follow, though I don't watch it. I have the idiot box on for background noise. After the local news, it's the Today show (I miss Katie, though I do watch her every night instead), 4 hour-long court TV programs, Jerry - Jerry - Jerry, 4 more hours of court TV shows, local news followed by my Katie, then I'm a wheel watcher with Jeopardy on after that. My day has passed and it's Prime Time already and I don't know what I want to watch because there's not much on that interests me even though I won't watch what I decide on because I'm busy on the 'puter.
The night is winding down and it's time for my late dinner. Mr. Excitement that I am, I either end up deciding on some of the same, old slop or am so bored with what I've been eating, I skip supper altogether. My day has been so action packed with a thrill a minute, I sometimes doze off as early as 10:00; I'm just THAT worn out! Even at that point, I still have my routine to follow. Feeling myself starting to drift off, I'll roll onto my right side (I just can't get to sleep initially if I'm on my left, though I switch and roll back and forth while in slumber), grab my body pillow, throw the comforter over me...and I'm gone.
Anal retentive...obsessive-compulsive...or just plain wacky. Call it what you want, but I'm sure many of you aren't too far behind me! Admit it...there are just some things you HAVE to do at a certain time, in an exact order, in a specific way...or you just feel thrown off. Let's see if others share the same tasks, so we know we're not alone in this rubber room called life.
Okay, I'm so behind schedule now, I have to catch up with myself because I have nothing to do the rest of the day...and if I don't do it on time, I can't even imagine how tomorrow is going to go. Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hold you up. Now you're off schedule and have to catch up, too. Glad I'm not alone!
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Comments: 23
Before I discovered the many wonders of alcohol, marijuana, and other sleep-inducing substances, I went with two hours of sleep every night (for probably six years) because I had such a rigid and needlessly complicated schedule that I sacrificed much-needed repose in order to do all that "needed" to be done. Now that I have discovered a plethora of glorious soporifics, I get about three hours, and have learned to perform the necessary tasks much faster, and with a hangover of some sort.
OCD is so great. It's like a never-ending act of attrition, a life-long character-building exercise. Damn you, now I'm off schedule.
We all have routines........just some stick to them more than others. M-F my routine is the same and I SO HATE to change it! Someonce calls for an invitation to lunch........NO! It has to be something all-important to make me change my routine. If it is necessary to change my routine...I am totally off the rest of the day.
You are not alone, Mr. Excitement!
If we all sffer from OCD, that means its normal, and the few people that do not are the ones that have the disorder.
I agree with you. People bandy about the term "OCD", as if it substitutes "anal-retentive" or "people who like to organise their bookshelves". This unto itself isn't offensive, just a bit ignorant. But the real pain in the ass is that, because it's been trivialised, people who really suffer from clinical OCD (like myself) are often dismissed as uptight and stubborn, and others ("normals") are not as attentive or receptive as they ought to be to the difficulties of the disorder.
I petition to rename OCD "Terminal Neurosis and Sudden Social Death Syndrome". It's a more apt description, and people would be less likely to use it casually because it sounds more off-putting.
(mine isn't much better so say it right back to me)
Jackie - Have them talk to your secretary and pencil them in for the weekend.
Kathleen - Exactly the reason I skip meals occassionally...to keep my blood sugar level lower than what it usually runs when I eat regularly. Vodka also works better than insulin...and I get to catch a buzz, too.
Scott was so busy with his own OCD habits, he never noticed a lot of mine.
Mandi - Some days, I feel 80...other days, I feel even older. I was going to get a life when I went to Wal-Mart the other day. Just my luck, they were all out of stock.
Are you implying there's something wrong about obsessive-compulsive drug users? I'm hurt to the quick! But I'll have forgotten by the time I'm done blazing through this joint.
As long as others don't refer to you as a freak of nature, you're in good stead. But once you're widely identified as such, all hope is lost.
Your schedule scares me. Having a schedule is a scary thing for me. Everything I do is done at different times. The only schedules I can follow are the tv and school for the kids. Those are even a little difficult for me. Nothing I do is done at the same time everyday though I might have to start making my coffee at the same time every day so I can get through it. I like that Amara only goes to school twice a week. Gives me variety!