2008 : A New Year, a New Set of Resolutions

Only 3 more days to the New Year. And here I go again making a list of stuff I need to accomplish in the coming year, and most probably not completing them all. Hahaha, I think it's pretty much the same for everyone else. So let us go ahead now and make a list.

1) Quit Smoking

This has to be the most important and urgent one of all, bar none. 2008 would already be the best year even if this is the only one I accomplish. There are just so much good that would come about if I complete this.

2) Exercise more

I really need to tone up my body. No one likes a lumpy "old" man with a big tummy. Just need to start doing more push ups and crunches.

3) Wake up earlier for work

I am making a stand against Pillow and Blankey! The every morning cuddle-fest has to stop!

Short list, but then it's easier to get something done. I can't understand people who have a hundred items on their list . . . then grumble that they didn't complete any of them. I prefer to keep it short and simple.

My Little Quirks

Everyone has their little thing they do which may not be 'normal'. Some like to dig their nose while on a bus ride. Others like to eat all the vegetables on their plate before touching anything else. Small things that go unnoticed most of the time.

We do it out of habit, comfort or just plain ignorance. I have a few of my own. There may be more, but I've not catch on to them yet.

Rubbing the in-steps of my toes while putting on my socks
This is a hard one to describe. For as long as I can remember, I would rub my sock along the contours of my toes before I pull it in. Hmmm, that's as best as I can word it. You have to see it to really know how it goes.

I've always tried to do it while others are not looking, fearing their laughter at how silly it looked. I get this sense of comfort whenever I do it and when I don't, I feel uneasy in my toes . . . like as if there are piles of dirt stuck inbetween my toes. I guess it's one of those habitual comfort thing that kids do, but I've not outgrown it to this day.

Rubbing my mini bolster's string end in my ear
Bolster cases have strings at its end so you can tie it close and keep the cushion in it. I would curl the string up into a nice bundle and rub it into my ear. It felt so comfortable and puts me in such an entranced state that I'll fall soundly to sleep.

It went on forever till the day my Mum took that bolster away. The day I 'lost' my comfort bolster was a total shock to me. I felt so lost, so irritated that I couldn't sleep the entire night. It was like losing an addiction and going cold turkey. I'm sure I had shed a few tears for my beloved bolster.

It has been many years since I lost that bolster. But till today, I can still remember that sense of calmness and tranquility of rubbing my ears. Oh bolster . . . I miss you so . . .

Squat Toilets
Yes. You read it right. Squat Toilets.

For 20 over years, I have only known to use squat toilets. Whenever I tried a sitting bowl, my 'load' just refuses to come out. Whenever I went to a toilet that didn't have squatting cubicles, I'll climb onto a sitting bowl and squat on it instead of sitting. My body just reacts to my position when I tried to 'pass motion'. It's so pronounced that my decision to take up a job or not depended on whether the office toilet had a squatting cubicle or not.

It was only recently that I've 'learned' to use a sitting cubicle. I was forced into it actually, because my current office doesn't have squats. Imagine learning how to wipe your butt while sitting, for the first time, at my age . . .

This has to be one of my most embarrassing and awkward quirks. Something which I've told no one before now. Laugh all you want, at least I dare to admit it.

Hmmm, these are the 3 I can remember off the top of my head now. There may be more as I chance upon them.

So . . . what's your little quirks?