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Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: axerton on 21 Apr 2009, 07:51
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I was recently asked to think of any idiosyncrasies that I have for a theater workshop so as to ensure I didn't carry them over into a character inadvertently. I found this quite an interesting problem, and at the time couldn't come up with any. Over the next few days however I mentally observed myself and started noticing some. Namely instead of waving to people, I touch my middle and index finger to my forehead then wave them out, half way between a salute and tipping an imaginary hat. I also noticed a tendency, when achieving a small victory (getting an answer right, the bus I'm waiting for arriving and so on) I will say "Bing-bing" like the correct sound effect you often hear, but I say it completely flat and monotone. A more obvious one that I didn't really even think of as something 'me' until someone pointed it out to me is the fact that I almost always have a pair of sunglasses on and unless I'm in the sun they'll be pushed up onto my head to act as a slightly more manly replacement for a headband for any hair that escapes my ponytail.
So what are your distinctive traits or habits? Take some time to think about it, it's pretty much impossible to monitor them while you're actively thinking about them, but with the idea implanted in your subconscious you may start to notice them.
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Didn't we have a similar thread recently? I could be wrong...
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Yes, actually. (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,22236.0.html)
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Hmmm, that must have been while I was largely without internet, but from scanning the start of that thread I would argue that they are different topics - one being a 'random facts' thread, this one is about subconscious actions that you do. However if it displeases the forum gods (these are different from the mods and admins) then by all means let it be sucked down to the pit of the second page.
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Hmm, you may be right. I'll try to see if I notice anything I do that I don't realize that I do.
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I crack my knuckles a lot.
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I chew on the inside of my cheek when I'm nervous or restless.
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I chew on ice
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I chew on the inside of my cheek when I'm nervous or restless.
I do this, moreso on the inside of my lips than my cheeks.
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I do a weird thing with soda pop. I start to drink it and then instead of swallowing I draw the liquid into both of my cheeks and sort of empty my cheeks of it, and then swallow. Sort of like when poker players stack the chips they might call with into two piles and then shuffle them back into one big pile and bet. It's nice though because I can sort of talk with a mouthful of liquid, no matter how ridiculous I look doing it.
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I salute people instead of waving. Can't remember when it started, but now it's just something that comes naturally.
I'm gonna keep an eye on myself to see if i have any other habits.
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Oh, I wiggle my toes a lot.
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I have a habit of overlooking the smallest thing. When I was working I would fill out the order, double check with the customers, inform the chefs the way they customer wanted their order, and then completely forget to give the customer their cup for the fountain machine.
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I seem to be fairly well adjusted a lot of the time but not all the time!
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I have exaggerated facial expressions, to the point where my old coworkers sometimes would say "BRITTANY FACE" and then they'd pose with a stupid expression on their faces. It was awesome.
I also, because I can stick my tongue up my nasopharynx, made weird noises/movements with my jaw just cuz I'm playing with the tonsil up there or something.
And lastly, I know I adjust my boobs a lot. More than most women, I think. Again, something the old coworkers noticed and teased me about.
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Off the top of my head:
[I've been told] When I talk, I am very expressive with my hands. I don't notice it until people mention it, and then I get self-conscious.
I tend to invent words, in a sort of Whedonesque fashion. Either by adding "-ing", "-y", "-ly," etc, or by combining two words to make one.
I insert incredibly nerdy pop-culture references in casual conversation. Whether or not the people I'm talking to will understand them. >.>
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I chew on the inside of my cheek when I'm nervous or restless.
I do this too.
I also have a tendency to stash well-worn guitar picks in my pocket just so I can use the worn-thin edge to pick things out from under my fingernails. I also use my feet to bounce my legs up in the air when I am seated. And when I sit, I always always always must have one leg (or both) under my butt, probably because I do not really have much of a butt so sitting is usually kinda uncomfortable without the leg.
I also tend to grab clumps of eyebrow hair in a loose-ish grip and pull to see if there are any exceptionally loose eyebrow hairs that clearly need to be eliminated. The same goes for eyelashes. And lately I have noticed that I pick hairs or fuzzballs off of people's clothing.
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I do gentleman things that I don't really think about and I don't really believe in. Like I would never walk into a door/buss/whatever before a girl, I'll always wait for her. It's just something that happens all by itself.
And "you fat!" jokes pop out of my mouth even though I don't want them to. I'm so glad I don't know too many fat people, I'd be hurting them all the time.
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i usually walk around with my arms held limply out in front of me like a t-rex or a velociraptor. i think it's hereditary, my dad does the exact same thing.
the arm thing, coupled with the fact that i often walk around semi off-balance and talking to myself has led many people to tell me that i remind them of Hunter S. Thompson if he were a dinosaur. i'm okay with that.
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I wear my open sandals pretty much all the time. Even in winter. Even in snow. I have been known to push cars out of snowdrifts wearing open sandals.
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I am so with you on the sandals thing. Except I wear flip flops (not the funny plastic-y ones), usually, but whatever. I have worn them while snow was still on the ground before.
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On the topic of hereditary weirdness, sometimes when I zone out and am deep in thought my eyes open really wide. My father does it also.
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When I am relaxing I will put my hands on my head. Not the whole leaning back with your hands behind your head thing that people do, just my hands right on top of my head. The kind of thing that teachers used to get you to do in primary school. Turns out my dad does this as well.
I crack my neck and knuckles quite a lot.
I cock my head like a bird when talking to people. This could be due to the fact that I usually have a messenger bag that is filled with stuff and now my head is almost always at a slight angle. This is not a huge thing but it does mean that my sideburns are almost always a little lopsided.
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I had to do this for an introductory theatre class/workshop thing this semester as well.
I tend to have a lack of facial expression (resting bitch face) and I like to cover my mouth with my hand.
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Man, so do I Ruyi. United through odd habits! o/
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When I am relaxing I will put my hands on my head. Not the whole leaning back with your hands behind your head thing that people do, just my hands right on top of my head.
This.
I also can't keep eye conctact with anyone, because it makes me really uncomfortable. That, coupled with the "resting bitch face" that was mentioned earlier, I can look awkward in pretty much every situation.
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The upside to it is you get an excellent poker face.
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When I am relaxing I will put my hands on my head. Not the whole leaning back with your hands behind your head thing that people do, just my hands right on top of my head.
This.
I also can't keep eye conctact with anyone, because it makes me really uncomfortable.
Oh, yeah. both of these. I sometimes just walk around with my hands on my head. At times people ask me if my mother died (some cultural thing). And, I don't look at people. I look past people.
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When I am relaxing I will put my hands on my head. Not the whole leaning back with your hands behind your head thing that people do, just my hands right on top of my head. The kind of thing that teachers used to get you to do in primary school. Turns out my dad does this as well.
I do this sometimes! Usually I end up just resting my arm on my head instead, though.
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I touch my face a lot, maybe also wipe hair out of my face more than most? I also keep my hands and arms right up close to my body most of the time.
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A couple of things I noticed today since posting the thread:
Presumably due to my heavy reading/performing of shakespear I've begun to say 'nigh on' in the place of 'nearly' (ie, "why are we argueing, they're nigh on the same word")
Another one which is probably really stupid because I'm not even sure they're synonyms is I'll say 'liable' instead of 'likely'
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The upside to it is you get an excellent poker face.
Yeap.
\o
Honestly part of the difficulty in learning to have a more expressive face is that I've kinda gotten used to the benefits of not having one. But ultimately I gotta try cos it does suck for making first impressions :-( might be less of an issue for a guy, idk.
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I dunno, people with over expressiveness (especially excitement) in their facial expressions irk me sometimes.
I do the whole salute thing, but it's never complete, and it's the peace sign with my fingers. I also tend to rest my arm on my head in the nook of my elbow when I'm just reading something.
Also, when I'm falling asleep, I rub my feet together. This is a terrible habit to have if someone else is sleeping in the same bed as you.
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I dunno, people with over expressiveness (especially excitement) in their facial expressions irk me sometimes.
:(
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I don't swing my arms when I walk.
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When walking alone or not engaged in conversation, I realize I'm tyring not to step on the cracks of sidewalks. Or the imaginary lines projected by the sections of curb. Or the lines from the steps and doorways of buildings. I have a strange, uneven gait sometimes.
Also, previously mentioned habits - arm-on-head and t-rex hands. Or holding my elbow behind my back with the other arm. Really, no idea what to do with arms if they're not busy.
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My hands are always in my pockets when I walk, even though my grade 1/2 teacher taught us not to keep our hands in our pockets because if we did and we tripped, we would smash in our faces. I was such a rebel back then, and I guess it stuck.
If I have a pen in my hand, I will probably put it in my mouth at some point. I don't usually chew, but I will hold the pen in my teeth.
The bones in my feet click (like cracking, but different), and if I am sitting barefoot, I will click them a lot.
I almost always prefer to sit cross-legged rather than the "normal" way.
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Um...if I'm walking alone, I always stroke my beard (I guess that is the expression). Also, when I'm nervous while talking to someone I always repeat soundlessly what they are saying (moving my lips without making a sound - my english sucks) to make them nervous (picked it up in some book along the way, can't get rid of it).
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I always eat pizza slowly with a knife and fork.
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I dunno, people with over expressiveness (especially excitement) in their facial expressions irk me sometimes.
:(
Sometimes. It completely depends on how genuine they are about it. Or how genuine it feels like they are about it.
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I learned to talk expressively with my hands because I have had two Japanese roommates, another from Vietnam, and I have a coworker from Guatemala who still can't read English. I am double majoring in Spanish and German. If you go to places like rural France where they are kind of suspiciously pro-French and anti-anything else, you can use gestures to communicate what you want (I have done this) and they get it pretty clearly.
So my point is that I move my hands a lot, but I don't think it is really an idiosyncrasy, particularly because I usually know that I am doing it.
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I crack my knuckles and back a lot.
I slide the QWERTY keyboard on my phone open and closed repeatedly. I'm pretty sure this isn't good for it.
I don't like having my thighs flat on any surface because I think they look fat. I almost always lift them up with my feet or something.
When I'm thinking of something to type, like just now, my fingers go up and down on the home row of keys but don't actually press anything.
When I'm in front of people, I tend cross one arm and put the other in a sort of 'chin stroke' position.
I force myself to walk with good posture because it makes me look thinner.
Even though I'm tall, I wear short shirts because they also make look thinner.
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I've noticed I tend to pace when when talking on the phone. No idea why.
My hands are always in my pockets when I walk, even though my grade 1/2 teacher taught us not to keep our hands in our pockets because if we did and we tripped, we would smash in our faces. I was such a rebel back then, and I guess it stuck.
If I have a pen in my hand, I will probably put it in my mouth at some point. I don't usually chew, but I will hold the pen in my teeth.
The bones in my feet click (like cracking, but different), and if I am sitting barefoot, I will click them a lot.
I almost always prefer to sit cross-legged rather than the "normal" way.
We are uncannily similar habit-wise. Except I used to crack my left wrist a lot, not my feet.
United through odd habits once more.
o/
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Sometimes when I start drinking I can't stop.
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Amen to that.
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Somebody should take our drinks away.
(Sometimes my friends try. Try.)
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I've noticed I tend to pace when when talking on the phone. No idea why.
Me too!
We are basically the same person.
\o
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It probably indicates a more active or kinetic personality. I like sitting down to talk to folks in person, but over the phone I pace because I do not like talking on the phone and it makes me nervous.
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That exactly, for me too!
Also, I play with my piercings a lot. I am constantly grabbing at my earlobes, or my septum. I usually rotate the barbell in my lip around, especially at shows, or while nervous.
I move my hair around a lot. It's kind of crazy hair, and I am typically without a hairbrush, and it gets so curly(even if I straighten it), so it always gets messed up. This means I move it around a lot.
I rub my neck a lot.
I often walk around with my arms up and my hands behind my head.
I tug at my clothes a lot.
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I talk to myself pretty much any time I'm not actively talking to someone else. I'll just be mumbling and saying things and while I'm aware I do it, I'm not usually aware of when I'm doing it or even what I'm talking about.
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I have a way of shrugging which my family makes fun of me for :-( When I'm trying to think of something, I push my lower lip out and raise an eyebrow while stroking my chin. When I write, sometimes I make facial expressions which match the tone of what I'm writing. I do have a rather expressive face, but I only seem to use it when I am in certain moods - otherwise my face looks rather blank. I seem to always be wearing a red dressing gown. When I am relaxing, I sit on my chair either Indian style or with one leg under the other. When I have nothing to do, I instinctively bite my fingers/nails, or lick my fingertips and the back of my hands. I space out a lot but whenever I hear my name in the distance (even if I'm not being addressed) I look around me - except for when someone is actually calling me, of course :roll: . In school, I constantly fiddle with my watch, changing the tightness of the strap - and I even do this when I'm not wearing it!
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I touch my hair a lot. Especially on the back of my head. When I had long hair, I'd twirl it, but I can't do that anymore. I will slide the battery cover on and off of remotes and phones if I hold them for more than a few seconds. If I have a click pen, I will rapidly click it. I stand with my hands on top of my head sometimes. When I walk and I'm wearing a shirt, jacket, or dress with pockets, I will put my hands in them. If it's just my pants that has pockets, I won't. I don't really get that one. If I stand for too long at work, I'll stand in tree pose and switch back and forth between feet. This is a relatively new thing that I've noticed. I usually opt to eat in a quiet place rather than a noisy/bustling place, but only when I'm eating alone. I have a habit of not looking at people when I'm walking down the street.
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If I am eating with another person, I will almost always cover my mouth with my hand while chewing. I also do almost anything to avoid using my front teeth to bite things, ripping with my hands if it's at all possible/polite, though I think this is thanks to nervousness about my front teeth after the whole kneeing/root canal thing.
I also tug my shirts down over my hips constantly while walking- I wear form-fitting clothing and the hems of shirts always seem to want to rest on my natural waist instead of my hips where I'd very much like them to.
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I jump over puddles.
Also I am told that if I don't have an expresion on myface I look like an eastern European terrorist, hence I try and keep a small smile, or some other small expresion on my face at all times.
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The upside to it is you get an excellent poker face.
Yeap.
\o
Honestly part of the difficulty in learning to have a more expressive face is that I've kinda gotten used to the benefits of not having one. But ultimately I gotta try cos it does suck for making first impressions :-( might be less of an issue for a guy, idk.
I don't know, I've been called out for looking creepy in class.(by a student, duh)
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We are uncannily similar habit-wise. Except I used to crack my left wrist a lot, not my feet.
Holy balls, my left wrist is the only joint in my body that does this. I am sure this is not good for it, but it's great for making people flip the fuck out.
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I could only do it really often when i was younger. As I got older I couldn't quite as often and it was painful when I could do it. Now I can't do it at all.
The human body is weird.
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I drum a lot on pretty much everything, with my hands. Myself, tables, notebooks, etc etc etc.
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If I clench my big toes and unclench them over and over and over again they start making this rapid tick-tick-tick-click-tick-click-tick noise.
I'm a fidgeter.
I like making sure lines of pens or pencils are even on at least one side.
I pick at scabs because they're uneven with my skin. :(
I chew my fingernails down to nothing because they're not smooth.
I make noises randomly, I'm not sure why. "Ook! Ech. Wrnnnhhh."
I recite music theory at times to help myself fall asleep.
I avoid stepping on lines in sidewalks. I feel overjoyed when I can step over an entire block.
When walking on tiles, I walk like a knight moves - two forward, one to the side. Since my kitchen and bathroom are tiled, it's hell to walk through these rooms.
When roleplaying, I act out the motions I am typing to see if they do seem natural.
I burn my bad poetry and lyrics instead of throwing them out, as I don't even want a homeless person who ends up finding it at the dump to read it.
I duck whenever I walk through a doorway, no matter how tall it is, as I'm used to smashing my head a lot.
I have to order M&M's into colour, and then sort them by how many there are, and eat from the row that has the most and work my way down (keep them even).
I can't help but touch people when I talk to them.
When someone says "Heyyo" I start laughing terribly hard due to a certain Dr. McNinja comic
All I can think of off-hand
Oh, and I draw on my jeans when I get bored. People keep asking me where they can get jeans like mine. :lol:
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Apparently when I'm around a girl I like I brush the right side of my hair back while talking. I also do the eyebrow thing that Patrick mentioned (and the guitar pick thing). Aside from those and the usual (cracking knuckles, tapping beats on desks, etc.) I don't really do much.
Oh, and I play air guitar if I'm listening to any song with a guitar in it (I can do it secretly while listening to Okkervil River) even when I'm out in public, some people think it is weird. I think that I totally nailed that solo.
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I have to order M&M's into colour, and then sort them by how many there are, and eat from the row that has the most and work my way down (keep them even).
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I air anything. If an instrument hits me in a song, I will pretend to play it. I air-sing. Air piano. Air guitar, air drum...
Air tambourine, air harmonica, air bass, air flute...
I once gave myself a black eye whilst air guitaring. I told people I got my ass beat in a fight. It was less pathetic.
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Yeah, scarred, that one seems fairly common. It's great.
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Sometimes I end up doing it without even noticing.
Also: I air instrument way too much. Sometimes I try to do multiple instruments at once. There's nothing like trying to riff on an air guitar while pounding away on your air piano, beating the shit out of your air drums, and rollicking through bass chords all while attempting a 5-part vocal harmony.
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Oh, and I play air guitar if I'm listening to any song with a guitar in it (I can do it secretly while listening to Okkervil River) even when I'm out in public, some people think it is weird. I think that I totally nailed that solo.
Somebody asked my roommate if I was her brother, and the next question was "does he have some kind of palsy?" because I was playing some serious air guitar.