(Originally posted on my old blog "The Domestication of a Punk Rock Foodie" on August 08, 2009.)
I own it. If you really know me, it’s not news. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not OCD’ing it in a way that has me lying on my living room on my belly at 1:00 am with a comb straightening the fringe on an area rug before I go to bed so I can sleep at night without being haunted by naughty naughty untidy rug fringe. And I’ll never be able to work for Martha Stewart but I HAVE to allow OCD to have space in my life, if for no other reason than to be neat and tidy or I get a little ratty around the edges. And distracted. Have I introduced you to my little unmedicated (it’s a word now, deal) friend ADD?
So in defense of OCD, I offer you this:
1] The OCD keeps the ADD in check, much like the older sibling who smacks the younger sibling up the back of the head and says “Calm the fuck down, shut the fuck up, and get your shit together.” Being an older sibling, I’ve never actually done this. I imagine that OCD would have more compassion for ADD than I did for my sister. Have I ever told you the story about shaking the shit out of my sister and threatening to throw her and an Electrolux canister vacuum down fourteen stairs, to be met with cold and unyielding concrete? Definitely not my finest hour. I was thirteen and she was an annoying punk ass nine year old doing the “I’m telling on you” thing. If she had just done my chores for me like I told her to, I wouldn’t have had to threaten her, now would I? Right. See how we went off course there? ADD in full effect. I suggest you brace yourself now. There are going to be some "commercial breaks."
2] I’m organized. I know where my shit is. YOU may think its neurotic to keep my shoes in the original shoe boxes they came home in but OCD and I know where to find every pair of shoes I own, every time. And the sandals that came home on those fecking weak little plastic hangers that are the inbred cousins to those useless fecking little plastic item count hangers you get when using a dressing room? The sandals are currently residing in a see-through, plastic bag with a zipper that came home with my yum yum yummy 400-thread count sheets which are now pink instead of cream (more on that another time). Recipes? On cards in recipe boxes (tried and tested) or in a poly envelope (waiting to be taken for a test drive). CD’s? All 583 are catalogued. In alphabetical order. By artist. Then by track. Come on, BRING IT!
3] OCD likes to live in a clean place and so do I. Dusting takes thirty minutes, tops. I don’t have clutter to dust and firk about with. Chotchkies do not reside at my house. Oh those fuckers don’t get through the front door. They don’t even get a free ride out of the value mart/dollar store/garage sale/spewing vortex of rubbish and over to my place. I don’t collect “knick knacks” (read that as worthless dust collecting shit that takes up space and sucks the qi (pronounced “chee”, meaning life force or spiritual energy) out of the room). And I swear to the gawd that it is Henry Rollings, if you ever EVER call even one of my twenty-four Buddhas "knick knacks" I will kick you in the crotch, strangle you with my mala beads, and gladly burn off the bad karma!
If, by some birthday or gift giving miracle, that shite ends up in my house, OCD introduces it to the recycle bin... completely by-passing the Goodwill bin, straight in the blue bag it goes! Allow OCD and I to make it easy for you now. If you are stuck for a gift idea, buy me a candle. A plain, white candle. I will be grateful, I swear. Just keep the junky shit away from me and OCD. It makes us twitchy.
4] My place is neat and tidy. You can sit anywhere you like and you can take your shoes and socks off and not leave with black, crusty feet. And while I would like to say you can eat off the floor, I remind you that ants and spiders poo wherever they want. Occasionally they show up for the party but I’m not sure what kind of company they keep, or where they’ve been or what they’ve been up to so we’ll be all growed up and use the table, okay?
See, it’s not bad to be neurotic... I mean have OCD.
Now, if you will excuse me, it’s getting late and I have to make my lunch and lay my clothes out for tomorrow.
PS: I'm so OCD, after I first posted this, I had to edit it because the "h" in "Have" was not capitalized. Beat that friend!
Have fun, be good, no killing.
