A to Z: Quirky

Quirky is how I used to see myself.  Others would call me odd, weird, or just plain nuts over the years, but I never saw myself that way.  I suppose that it is normal to have a view of yourself that is a bit biased, or is that quirky as well?

Quirks just are. 

There's not necessarily a rhyme or a reason to the oddness that is me.  I didn't inherit my love of word play from a long lost relative, so genetics is certainly not to blame.  I love language not necessarily because of what it says, but for how it sounds.  Puns, double meanings, and other manipulations of the language are fascinating to me, like the inner workings of a well cared for timepiece.

But that's weird, right?  Most of the time, no one else around me catches the joke.  If I'm the only one laughing, is it still funny?  Probably.  That's another one of my quirks--I laugh at things that no one else seems to find funny.  Something falls, a person makes a comment, a dog shows up, a completely random event--and I will giggle, or outright guffaw.  It's rather embarrassing.  (I also laugh inappropriately in some situations, out of anxiety, but that's not necessarily a quirk, but a faulty survival mechanism.)

I have an almost visceral reaction to someone biting their fork, which is a quirky sort of quirk. (See what I did there?) It's like nails on a chalkboard annoying, and the sound causes my entire body to clench up as if I'm having a seizure.  This makes visits with my friend Evil Laura a little interesting; one of her quirks is to never let her lips touch her fork.  Luckily, I am as tolerant of the quirks of others as I can be.

Quirks just are. 

When I was a kid, I wasn't happy about my quirks.  I grew into them over the years, and now I believe they fit me, a well worn security blanket.  There's comfort in my quirks.  I'm sure that I'll have them my entire life, and it's likely that I'll find more them them along the way.  That's what being human is all about--the quirks make us ourselves. 

What quirks do you have?