It is the interview question I dread whenever I apply for a job. It is the thing that is always on my mind and makes me crazy with self-doubt. We all focus on the bad stuff about ourselves, asking our subconscious, “Why am I so utterly crap at everything?” And then someone forces you to say the words out loud and admit your shortcomings as part of the basis of whether to hire you or not.

Bane of my existence.

But today’s 31 Day Blog Challenge prompt is slightly easier to digest because I don’t have my entire future dependent on answering it correctly. What I say here won’t (necessarily) damage my prospects. So let’s go into it enthusiastically and answer the Day 9 prompt:

What Are Your Worst Habits

I’m not one for nose-picking or eating earwax (unless I’m doing it for baby Dex… not the earwax eating – the nose picking… but you knew that. Right?!), nor am I a compulsive drinker or a pathological liar (though I do tend to exaggerate at times). I HAVE been a smoker in the past, but I nipped that in the bud and am not even tempted these days. I don’t chew with my mouth full or blow my nose while eating or snort when I laugh. I don’t laugh at the less fortunate or make jokes at the expense of others.

But

And in my case, it’s an awfully big but!

like anyone, I do have my share of idiosyncratic schmuckness about me.

Correcting People

I try not to, I really do. But I find myself constantly chirping up when someone uses the wrong word or spells something incorrectly. I get a smug satisfaction from sticking my nose in to educate other people on their grammar. When I was in high school, our English/Journalism teacher got really annoyed at the consistently poor spelling from her pupils, so she created a GIANT poster to hang on the wall to track the most common mistakes.

She wrote in big bold letters: WALL OF MISPELLED WORDS.

She gave a big speech to each of her classes about how it would no longer be tolerated, and she expected better.

I was in her final class of the day and waited for my opportunity. When everyone was paying attention, I raised my hand and pointed out that she had misspelled “misspelled.”

The poster came down the same day and was never spoken of again.

OCD

Not a “habit” per se, but still a massive hindrance to my life and that of my family. I’m the sort of gal who needs “all my ducks in a row.” I can’t start anything unless EVERYTHING is perfect and ready for me to do so. This means I can only start a diet on a Monday or the first day of the month. I can only watch a film if I have eaten and know that there are going to be no distractions, because if I have to pause the movie to take care of the baby or take out a plate or whatnot, I generally will not finish it. I am very particular about the way things are done, from putting away dishes and food (I’ve already mentioned my severe germophobia in a previous post) to exactly how I get into a bath, what order I wash in, how I get ready for bed, etc. I won’t write or paint or take photographs or do anything creative unless I have first cleaned and decluttered my work space.

Of course, this can also be a good thing. I tend to be very focussed on a project, and I have a desperate drive to see things through once I DO start them. Even when I am uninspired. This post is a prime example. It has taken me HOURS to write this, even though it’s not that long. I just do not want to be writing this, but here I am typing away so that I will have fulfilled the criteria of the challenge. I also insist on commenting on all of the other blogs involved who have posted their links by a certain time of day. After that time, I will generally leave it because I relish my family time.

I asked Mark what some of my other bad habits are, and he LAUGHED. He said it would be a really fun post to write and that he could name LOADS of things about me which he considers bad habits (though he never tells me!!).

Some of his top picks include:

1. “You can’t deal with distractions. At all.” (I have ADD!!)

2. “You put loads of stuff in your shopping cart and then, at the last second, you take most of it out and only buy a couple of things.” (In my defense, I have to see everything and add up the prospective cost before making a final decision!)

3. “You are constantly changing purses.” (This is something only a man would say)

4. ” You never set an alarm, even when you need to be up…”  (Yah, I do tend to rely on Mark’s alarm most of the time)

5. “You stress scratch!” (When I am really stressed out, I scratch the bit of hair on my forehead (my widow’s peak) and end up wearing the hair away. Woops!)

6. “You bite your nails when you’re stressed.” (Generally, I only do this when I’m flying!)

7. “You don’t like being helped. If you say you want to do something, and I do everything I can to help you, you suddenly turn around and say I’m forcing you to do it.”  (Yes, I do tend to misinterpret encouragement into something sinister…)

At that point, I had to stop Mark from going on, as my fragile ego was threatening to burst into hysterical tears.

Come on gals! Someone make me feel better… what are YOUR bad habits??