Ten on Tuesday: Quirks, superstitions, traditions

Back to the Ten on Tuesday thing. I miss last week due to work duties, but I think I'll be able to do it today.

This week we are supposed to list 10 superstitions, traditions, ad/or personality quirks. Hmm...let's see what I can come up with.

1. I'm very afraid of eating "bad" food. I always check the dates on food in the house; one day past "freshest" date and it is out of there. If something smells just a little off, I don't eat it. The package isn't quite closed all the way, it's tossed out. I think part of this comes from working in restaurants for many years before my current job. Some of it might be rebellion since my mom always said, "Oh, that doesn't go bad." Everything goes bad.  Most of it comes from fear of getting sick. That's not so strange. Right?

2. Related to above, I do not like to eat outside. No picnics for me. I don't like my food near bugs, or other varmits. What do you do when you see bugs in the house? You kill them, you don't share your meal with them. I will eat on the patio, but when bugs start flying around the food I go back in the house.

3. I don't like feet. Weird, I know. I don't care.

4. I need to listen to music to do anything. I can't clean the house, mow the lawn, or do any laundry without music playing. I used to bring a radio in the shower when I was growing up, but now with kids running around or sleeping, I don't do that anymore.

5. I need my own blanket when I sleep. I can't share. It just doesn't work. My wife and I used to share when we were first married, but now we each use our own. I get hot when I sleep so this way I can take off, and put back on my blanket without disturbing her.

6. I have very little patience. (Is that a quirk?) Especially with myself. If I am trying to fix or build something, which I am not good at, I get very irritated when I can't get pieces to go together or I drop something at the most crucial moment. This happens frequently. Kids toys are very hard to put together!

7. No matter what material a sweater is made out of, I must wear a t-shirt underneath. All sweaters are itchy in my book. Wool, cotton, polyester (is there such a thing?), it doesn't matter.

8. Speaking of T-shirts. I don't generally wear the regular white T-shirts that are supposed to go under clothes. They are too binding. I like close to feel loose. So I wear regular short sleeve shirts under clothes that need them. Concert shirts, shirts from the zoo, running shirts, shirts with sayings on them that I need to cover up at work. I do wear the regular white T's under a dress shirt. Luckily I don't wear those often.

9. Since our garage is full of junk, our cars stay on the driveway all night. So, I obsess about the doors being locked. I've gotten out of the bed in the middle of the night to check if they are locked. Since we live in the age of keyless entry, it is much easier to check.

10. Not that I will ever see one here, except in a zoo, but alligators and crocodiles freak me out. I like to play golf, but I'm afraid to ever go to Florida to play because of them.

So, there is the list. It was harder to make up than I thought.