Matthew's Quirks

I didn't make this up but I got "tagged" so I guess I'll play along.





1. Link to the person who tagged you.
That would be Sara Greco: http://bighairbetty.blogspot.com/


2.Post the rules.
Done.

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
See Below. I'm posting for myself (Matthew) only. If Emily wants to come back and list her quirks later she can but I'm not going to go there.

4. Tag at least 3 people.
Um...I don't read a ton of blogs but I guess I'll go with:
1. The Jordans - http://fljordanfamily.blogspot.com/
2. The Bankers - http://littlebylittleonetravelsfar.blogspot.com/
and
3. Jason Kirkpatrick - http://idrinkicedtea.blogspot.com/

5.Make sure the people you tagged know you tagged them by commenting to them.
Taken care of.

Matthew's six quirks:

1. I'm a bit of a language Nazi: I can handle the occasional grammatical error or mispronounced word OK but there are certain misuses of language that really bug me. The worst is when someone uses the word "literally" for emphasis but then follows it with a figure of speech. Sportscasters are really bad for this one: "He's literally carrying his team to victory" (No you idiot he's figuratively carrying his team, if he were literally carrying his team they'd all be on his back) or "He literally flew over the defender" (Really, did he sprout wings? Did he get in an airplane? or did he just jump really high so that it seemed like he was flying). I don't mind figurative language but don't go out of your way to say you're not using a figure of speech and then use one anyway.

2. I hate sticky fingers: This wouldn't be that odd except that in all actuality I'm kind of a slob. I'm not neat and I spill stuff pretty easily but for some reason anything sticky on my fingers is really annoying to me. I've always been that way. I hated paste when I was in kindergarten and to this day when I eat something sticky with my fingers I compulsively touch them together until I can wipe them (repeatedly) on something. My wife calls me "napkin boy" for this one.

3. The noise of scratching cardboard is torture to me: I'm not exaggerating. My skin crawls (figuratively) when I hear finger nails against cardboard, or cardboard scraping against concrete or something like that. That noise is far worse to me than fingernails on a chalk board and I actually get a horrible physical sensation when I hear it. My wife thought it was funny at first but when she realized how bad it really was for me she stopped using it to tease me.

4. I am a leg shaker: I'm convinced this is hereditary. My dad does it worse than me and his dad does it and both my brothers do it. When I'm sitting around kind of relaxed with my foot flat on the ground and my thigh parallel to the floor my leg frequently shake up and down rapidly with my heel striking the floor and the balls of my feet staying put. I don't even realize I'm doing it until someone gives me a dirty look because they can feel the ground shaking. It is really weird, I have no idea why it happens.

5. I am a slow reader: I'm not sure how quirky it is but people who don't know me real well might be surprised to learn that I am really a very slow reader, especially for a Grad student. I almost never read faster than I would be able to read aloud. I have to hear the words in my head to really follow what I'm reading. If I really focus I can make myself read a bit faster but my comprehension goes way down. When I read slow and "hear" the words I have very high comprehension and really enjoy reading, it just takes me forever.

6. I can't remember numbers: For most things I have a pretty good memory. Words stick in my brain particularly well and I generally can remember names, concepts, even directions OK but numbers are another story. I have almost no phone numbers or addresses memorized. Even when I hear a new phone number I have to keep saying it to myself or I'll forget it in like 10 seconds. If I say it to myself for a whole minute and then am distracted for 20 seconds and haven't written it down I will have lost it. Fortunately Emily is great at remembering numbers so I can just tell them to her instead of writing them down all the time.

Well there you have it, six of my quirks.