Thursday, September 09, 2004

but then again ...

you ever look at a word that you've seen a thousand times and it just looks weird and it suddenly doesn't make any sense?

i just did that.

except it wasn't a word i was looking at, it was me ... in the mirror. i just kinda noticed (again) that both my ears are pierced. they've been pierced for so long, i kinda didn't think about it. i play with the earrings all the time and people have made comments about them, so it's not like i don't know they're there.

but i just saw them ... again ... for the first time.

it's happened with my facial hair in the past, my little soul patch with a landing strip. or my runaway drink dribble catcher. i tend to shave it the same way day after day after day ... and once and awhile look up and wonder why the hell i do that.

it's like my grooming has been set on auto-pilot.

i once tried to dry myself off in a new pattern after showering, but it never stuck. everyday it's the same series of drying moves: hair first, then left arm to underarm and down left side, then up chest to left shoulder (repeat on right side), then rest of stomach, followed by left leg - bottom to top, right leg - bottom to top, butt, back - done!

i'm guessing that most people do this and i'm not as big a freak as i think i am. but then again ...

mostly i find myself interested in when and how that particular pattern got set. i must have toweled off different ways as a kid. was this way the most efficient? the most complete? totally random? does chaos theory have anything to do with my grooming?

i suppose this is why i am a psychologist - i'm fascinated with why we do the stupid things we do.
and we do so many stupid things.

3 comments:

Sonia said...

I know what you mean about the words. It happens to me too. I don't know about the drying patterns though. But you got me interested. When I take my shower tomorrow morning, I'll make sure I notice my drying pattern.

I'll have to get back to you on that one! ;-)

Sonia

Sonia said...

Hey Jason! You haven't written in a while. Are you in vacation or you're overwhelmed with work?

Sonia

juli claire said...

I love that about words - and about rediscovering yourself.
And I love trying to understand the patterns that are so obscure (also often involving my own intimate particulars) that others might think I'm quite freakish for noticing, let alone spending any time wondering about.
maybe we're all more alike in the details than we thought previously.