MadMup.com

I decided to do two other “new” things this year. They’re both kind of the same thing, but different versions. I’m keeping a “Movies Watched” journal and an “Improv Performances” journal. The improv list will be much shorter, of course, but its main purpose is actually to keep track of how much money I make doing improv this year.

So far I’ve seen 27 movies this year and been in one improv show.

I often feel the need to keep track of things. Every time I change my razorblade I think, “I should write down the date and keep track of how long I use this blade.” When I change the Glad plugin I think, “I should write down this date and keep track of how long it lasts.” I like to keep track of important dates in my life and think, “It’s been XX months since I did such-and-such.” (The no-soda-drinking is a perfect example. Three years with only a few sips of soda!)

I often feel compelled to journal the minutia of my life: what I ate for lunch, what shirt I wore, how many hot chocolates I’ve had since October 12 (at least 52, but there are some that didn’t make the list). I want to fill pages (whether actual or digital) with all this stuff.

I wash my hands more times in a day than necessary. They just start to feel dirty, and I need to go wash them.

What I’m hinting at here is that I think I’m borderline obssessive-compulsive. “Borderline” because I have these urges but don’t follow through with them. I’m no Howard Hughes here.

Sometimes I wish I were a little more OCD. I know it can be a debilitating problem and I’m not trying to make light of it, I just think maybe my apartment would be neater if I were. I’d kind of like to be that guy who can tell you how many outlets there are in a room inside of two minutes of my entry into said room. I’d really like to be that guy that notices every detail and can recall them when needed.

Have you seen the show Monk? I kind of want to be like that, but not as hampered.

So what keeps me from being full-on OCD? Laziness. I think “I should write that down and keep track of it” closely followed by “Nah.” I don’t have any legal pads (the preferred list-keeping medium) and having to boot up and log in to the computer every time I wanted to make a note would be a lot of work.

So, I guess if I ever get over my laziness, I’m headed straight for OCD-ness. Talk about walking a fence!