How anal retentive are you?

[RyanH]

For the rest of you who are overly meticulous, what are some extreme examples of your personality trait? Or, if not, what are some extreme examples you've heard of in the anal retentive's never-ending search for order ?

my most pathetic habit is my inability to stop alphabetizing everything....my books, bills, and even cds are all in alphabetical order.

I once had a friend that had to make sure all of the tassles in her dormroom rug had to be straight.

Warik, I'm sure you can top this.

 

[HappyScrappy]

my room HAS to be very messy.

 

[HighIntensity]

anal retentive

thought this was a post bout MAY

 

[danielson]

my room HAS to be very messy.

you too

i just need to create disorder in my life, you know what i mean

funnily enough i sort out files and folders much better on my PC then i do in real life

 

[bouncer]

My acne has to break out in straight lines otherwise I pop them.

Bouncer

 

[OMEGA]

when talking to people I have to look at them in the eye, and shake hands when greeting them.


people know a days think this is wierd, but I think it is right

 

[AAP]

Well.. I do have to make sure my shirts in my closet are hanging perfectly straight, not touching one another with 1/2 inch between each of the coat hangers at the top.


I do this 3-4 times each day.

Each book in my library are arranged perfectly.

 

[smallmovesal]

i tend to measure things exactly when i'm making things for design classes... down to the mm. once i went through text on a poster and made them all exactly the same distance apart - it took me two days.

 

[gotmilk]

A have a phobia of dust. If I see dust I have to stop and clean it. I can't stand dirty stuff in my house..which is odd because the house I rented in college was a pig sty of beer stains and other garbage.

 

[RyanH]

my room HAS to be very messy.

I wish I had that personality trait....I've tried to adopt a more hands off approach to some things in my life, but I fail everytime.

Anal---mentioned in his clothes. I'm pretty anal in that dept too, my clothes are highly categorized by each drawer.

 

[HappyScrappy]

my dresser drawers are empty.
my clothes are scattered about my room.
as are books and magazines.

I hate dirt, but clutter seems to comfort me.

also hate bodyhair but learn to deal with a certain amount.
used to be very anal about nosehairs in high school to the point of a near neurosis.

 

[RyanH]

my dresser drawers are empty.
my clothes are scattered about my room.
as are books and magazines.

I hate dirt, but clutter seems to comfort me.

also hate bodyhair but learn to deal with a certain amount.
used to be very anal about nosehairs in high school to the point of a near neurosis.

LOL..I paniced last week when I found that my New Yorkers and Muscle and Fitnesses were out of order. It required an all-out immediate organization effort....plans were halted......

 

[HappyScrappy]

I shoulder my door open and there is crap everywhere, tons of clothes. the closet is empty aside from boxes.
the bed isn't made and is covered with clothes as is the floor.
I have magazines and books piled near my bed in a stack vaguely in the order that I consider most important on top (not a FIFO system).

but if you ask me where something is, assuming nobody else has been in my room fucking with it (which happens a lot my mother fuckign asshole apartment mates will die when I catch them).

 

[danielson]

LOL..I paniced last week when I found that my New Yorkers and Muscle and Fitnesses were out of order. It required an all-out immediate organization effort....plans were halted......

u wanna be more like me

i wanna be more like you

my first year notes are in a big pile....majority of my day to day clothes get laid ontop of the drawer by bookcase seems to be stagnant and my pc worstation is covered in notes, CD's, support numbers and rescue disks

 

[Stryc-9]

(which happens a lot my mother fuckign asshole apartment mates will die when I catch them).

...and apparently you have issues with aggression?

 

[RyanH]

I shoulder my door open and there is crap everywhere, tons of clothes. the closet is empty aside from boxes.
the bed isn't made and is covered with clothes as is the floor.
I have magazines and books piled near my bed in a stack vaguely in the order that I consider most important on top (not a FIFO system).

but if you ask me where something is, assuming nobody else has been in my room fucking with it (which happens a lot my mother fuckign asshole apartment mates will die when I catch them).

I had a fraternity brother I roomed with in college who was the same way....so I divided our room in half, his half was so fucking scary, but he somehow had it all mentally classified---how he or you manage to do it escapes me....but if it works, do it.

I also do not believe there is any coorelation between messiness and success. My frat brother was messy as fuck but he stayed on the Dean's list......my grades, on the other hand, would crumble without my surroudings being organized. I don't begin studying to everything is in order. Gheez, this sounds pathetic.

 

[HappyScrappy]

my freshman year I had a roommate and we were totally the odd couple.
he called my dresser "mt happyscrappy" - but with my name instead. it just looked like it puked clothes out.
had random shit all over the place (not actual shit - can't stand dirt).
he'd quiz me and I'd find anything he asked for faster than he could find things I asked him to find in his neatness.

for me, if things are "organized" in the traditional sense, then it is far too slow for me. if you know anything about RAM, that is pretty much how it works for me.
but yeah, it isn't pretty I guess.

 

[smallmovesal]

I had a fraternity brother I roomed with in college who was the same way....so I divided our room in half, his half was so fucking scary, but he somehow had it all mentally classified---how he or you manage to do it escapes me....but if it works, do it.

I also do not believe there is any coorelation between messiness and success. My frat brother was messy as fuck but he stayed on the Dean's list......my grades, on the other hand, would crumble without my surroudings being organized. I don't begin studying to everything is in order. Gheez, this sounds pathetic.

my room is pretty cluttered but i always know where everything is... somehow. i was always a good student too.

 

[RyanH]

u wanna be more like me

i wanna be more like you

my first year notes are in a big pile....majority of my day to day clothes get laid ontop of the drawer by bookcase seems to be stagnant and my pc worstation is covered in notes, CD's, support numbers and rescue disks

What's more interesting is what you may find when you start organizing......things you forgot you even had.

 

[RyanH]

my room is pretty cluttered but i always know where everything is... somehow. i was always a good student too.

So do you consider yourself type a or type b personality?

 

[PHATchik]

Everything I read, I am constantly checking its grammar, spelling, and all that crap. My mother is an English teacher, and that quality has been passed on to me. Then again, I don't do it for my own writing. Just others. Go figure.

 

[RyanH]

Everything I read, I am constantly checking its grammar, spelling, and all that crap. My mother is an English teacher, and that quality has been passed on to me. Then again, I don't do it for my own writing. Just others. Go figure.

that's an extremely valuable quality to have since good communication skills is an essential skill.

 

[smallmovesal]

Everything I read, I am constantly checking its grammar, spelling, and all that crap. My mother is an English teacher, and that quality has been passed on to me. Then again, I don't do it for my own writing. Just others. Go figure.

damn, i forgot that i TOTALLY do that too.

i'm also anal retentive about my own spelling.

 

[danielson]

Everything I read, I am constantly checking its grammar, spelling, and all that crap. My mother is an English teacher, and that quality has been passed on to me. Then again, I don't do it for my own writing. Just others. Go figure.

this is an excellent quality ya know.....

and yeah ryan that stuff happends all the time. i found a childhood toy today, my cho-choo train.

 

[smallmovesal]

type a or b... it's hard to say ryan. i tend to show both sets of traits but i'd lean towards type b i think because i'm not a perfectionist with enough things i think. i'm a big worrier but learning to relax...

 

[PHATchik]

that's an extremely valuable quality to have since good communication skills is an essential skill.

Actually, considering I am going into a communications field, it is definitely not a bad quality. I just hate doing it when I am chatting with someone and they butcher a word or something. I am nice though and keep my mouth shut.

 

[RyanH]

this is an excellent quality ya know.....

and yeah ryan that stuff happends all the time. i found a childhood toy today, my cho-choo train.

LOL.....my childhood toys are classfied in my parent's attic by year........

 

[danielson]

LOL.....my childhood toys are classfied in my parent's attic by year........

 

[RyanH]

type a or b... it's hard to say ryan. i tend to show both sets of traits but i'd lean towards type b i think because i'm not a perfectionist with enough things i think. i'm a big worrier but learning to relax...

I'm also very pre-occupied, even when I'm partying I'm usually thinking about what I should be doing, or whether I'll have to miss my work-out tomorrow.....It's not easy living in the moment, but if you are constantly thinking in terms of order and what's ahead, I think you miss a hell of a lot in life.......

 

[Test boy]

If it isn't fun...I probably won't do it. Good thing I enjoy most things. I forced myself to start balancing my checkbook again. And to think my accounting teacher wanted me to be a C.P.A.

 

[RyanH]

Well, they are actually organized by every 5 years, along with my school papers which are classified the same way.

Now, all I need is a pocket protector, eh?

 

[gwl9dta4]

when talking to people I have to look at them in the eye, and shake hands when greeting them.


people know a days think this is wierd, but I think it is right

Damn, you and i must really be long lost brothers. I do the same thing and people do not react favorably to it at all, it like it's too official or akward for them, i hate that. Culture is definitely going out the window with the new generations.

Suprisingly in Europe, everyone respects acts like that.


Sincerely

 

[HappyScrappy]

I'm obsessive, but not anal retentive.

 

[RyanH]

If it isn't fun...I probably won't do it. Good thing I enjoy most things. I forced myself to start balancing my checkbook again. And to think my accounting teacher wanted me to be a C.P.A.

My banker knows me on a first-name basis since I usually call him asking why I received this much interest as opposed to the usual interest or heaven forbid if an unexplainable charge shows up.

Be glad you didn't become a CPA---you're too interesting to become an accountant.

 

[RyanH]

I'm obsessive, but not anal retentive.

well they are different concepts but I can see similarities also: Obsession brings one's focus to a sharply defined point which being anal retentive can also do. Both require a great deal of mental energy.

 

[danielson]

Well, they are actually organized by every 5 years, along with my school papers which are classified the same way.

Now, all I need is a pocket protector, eh?

lol

i dont know what a pocket protectore is but im impressed at your organisation. damn i need a filofax or something...

 

[smallmovesal]

 

[HappyScrappy]

well they are different concepts but I can see similarities also: Obsession brings one's focus to a sharply defined point which being anal retentive can also do. Both require a great deal of mental energy.

it is my problem in life... well, less my problem and more a problem for those that deal with me. I'm used to it, so I don't see it as a problem.
I will find something that strikes my fancy - lifting, some new math thing, a book, art, a game, etc etc etc and I will focus 100% of my energy on it and then once I either figure it out, master it, finish it, or it changes to the point that I'm no longer interested, then I will just drop it and walk away from it.

I'm gonna go obsessively masturbate now... or is that compulsive? either way, its gonna be messy.

 

[danielson]

no ryan, noooooooo

you might as well wear a tatoo that says eunuch

scary actually as that things pretty functional

 

[RyanH]

I'm gonna go obsessively masturbate now... or is that compulsive? either way, its gonna be messy.

LOL, and Danielson take notice of Small's picture of the infamous pocket-protector....If you would like to learn more see the American movie, "Revenge of the Nerds"

 

[RyanH]

You know, if you really think about it, pocket protectors are quite functional aren't they......you can keep a wide variety of writing utensils at hand, wherever you go, and you won't ruin your clothes in the process.

In my view, some of these bags that you see many guys carrying on the streets, are just as nerdy.

 

[danielson]

In my view, some of these bags that you see many guys carrying on the streets, are just as nerdy.

lol

depends on the age i guess....

ive seen revenge of the nerds btw

 

[musclebrains]

Ugh. What a distressing thread. I live with an OCD. Most highly obsessive/compulsive types cannot maintain their obsession with order. Thus my partner alphabetizes the cat food, saves every envelope of soy sauce from takeout Chinese restaurants, has 20,000 entries in his Quicken program -- but, because he has such a compulsion to save everything, ultimately can't maintain order in his environment.

His most annoying habit for years was carrying a pocket computer. At the close of every dinner, he'd whip it out to calculate everyone's cost down to the penny. An anal-explosive friend, in a rage one day, took it out of his hands and buried it in mashed potatoes.

I have no compulsion to organize. I have a library of several thousand books, and it's the most organized thing I have. My closet looks like a rag bin. I learned to live with myself years ago by always having a maid.

 

[vixenbabe]

1)Soup cans in aphla order in the pantry!

2)Must have a perfect path in the plush carpet when using the sweeper. The lines gotta be right or the whole damn thing has to be re-done. Carpet Fen Shi maybe?

3)The "in box" on my desk MUST be in line with corner of desk at all times.. If ya put shit in the in box ya had better not be messing with the box and get it off center.

I could go on and on..Can somebody say NUTCASE?

I love order and neatness....Drive peeps crazy at times with my order theories.

 

[Warik]

Warik, I'm sure you can top this.

You sure as hell better be sure I can.

Here are some examples of my "anal retentiveness."

Closet:
* Sweaters or long-sleeved non-dress shirts must go on the shelf folded nicely.
* Not-wear-so-often clothes goes on the extreme left.
* Ties hung neatly on a hanger next to my suit.
* Then come dress shirts.
* Then short-sleeved collar shirts.
* Then nice shirts.
* Then jeans, black first.
* Blue jeans
* Khakis
* Dress pants, in order of quality.
* Belts hung nicely on a hanger.
* Shoes in their individual anti-dust bags neatly arranged within their original boxes on the bottom of the closet.

Bookcase:
* Miscellaneous products neatly stored on the top shelf.
* Contact lens lotion, shaving gel, hairspray, gel, razor, etc.
* My He-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Macgyver episode tapes sorted in order by series and individual episode volumes along next shelf.

Dresser:
* Colognes and deoderant neatly arranged on glass structure.
* Comb, brush, tissues, watch, wallet, and cellphone spread out (neatly of course) along dresser surface.

Desk - Others' disasters, Warik's castle
* It's neat. It's fucking neat. Absolutely awesome. Not a single thing out of place. My girl comes over and uses my phone, and I immediately return it to the stand... she uses a pen, I put it back on the desk organizer (in its proper slot... nice pens go to the left, whatever pens on the right).

You want more extreme? I ask my mom not to hang my clothes. Just dump it on my bed, mom. I'll take care of it. Don't you know that blue jeans are supposed to go to the right, not within, or to the left, of the black jeans? What about sweaters? How dare you hang a sweater!!! That will stretch the top out and make it look silly.

Also let's talk about my new fish tank. I have all of the cables tied together along the whole lines with one of those garbage bag twisty things, so that they don't get all over the place inside the stand's cabinet. I also have small pieces of old towels rubberbanded to the cables so that water does not drip down and get into the electrical socket.

Shit, back to my room again. Approximately 1ft to my right and 1 1/2 down is my filing drawer, the drawer which contains two file folders - one for Visa, one for American Express - which contain all of the receipts for credit card purchases I have made in the current billing cycle, rubberbanded together in chronological order. What happens to receipts once the bill is paid, you ask? Why, they are placed, in chronological order after having checked off the items on the statement, one by one, into 2 file folders (again, one for Visa, and one for American Express) and stored in the filing box in my closet. A hardcopy record of every purchase I've made in the last, oh, 12-24 months with a credit card is safely tucked away in my closet.

What else...? Hmm... Oh, I've also been downloading episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. They are conveniently stored in:

\My Documents\My Movies\Star Trek - The Next Generation\Season <X>\[Star Trek TNG (S<Y>-E<Z>)] <Title>.avi

Beat that.

Oh... and I squeeze from the back of the toothpaste.

-Warik

 

[Warik]

I took all the time to type that and no one is going to say shit? Nice.

-Warik

 

[RyanH]

This is Warik's view of what HEAVEN is like:

 

[musclebrains]

Ugh. At one point I hired a "professional organizer." I paid this woman several thousand dollars to put my life in order. She failed to tell me that I would have to sit around with her and decide what goes, what stays, blah blah blah. BAsically, she was a $3,000 babysitter and then, of course, I was stuck with myself to maintain the organization.

 

[Warik]

This is Warik's view of what HEAVEN is like:

A walk-in closet? OMG... hardon

 

[RyanH]

Ugh. At one point I hired a "professional organizer." I paid this woman several thousand dollars to put my life in order. She failed to tell me that I would have to sit around with her and decide what goes, what stays, blah blah blah. BAsically, she was a $3,000 babysitter and then, of course, I was stuck with myself to maintain the organization.

LOL.....I can see that.....the baggering of "does this stay, does this go, what's this, do you know where" would test my patience more than just doing it myself.

p.s. Brains----the Apparel mart party new year's eve.....SUCKED.

 

[OMEGA]

Re: Re: How anal retentive are you?

You sure as hell better be sure I can.

Here are some examples of my "anal retentiveness."

Closet:
* Sweaters or long-sleeved non-dress shirts must go on the shelf folded nicely.
* Not-wear-so-often clothes goes on the extreme left.
* Ties hung neatly on a hanger next to my suit.
* Then come dress shirts.
* Then short-sleeved collar shirts.
* Then nice shirts.
* Then jeans, black first.
* Blue jeans
* Khakis
* Dress pants, in order of quality.
* Belts hung nicely on a hanger.
* Shoes in their individual anti-dust bags neatly arranged within their original boxes on the bottom of the closet.

Bookcase:
* Miscellaneous products neatly stored on the top shelf.
* Contact lens lotion, shaving gel, hairspray, gel, razor, etc.
* My He-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Macgyver episode tapes sorted in order by series and individual episode volumes along next shelf.

Dresser:
* Colognes and deoderant neatly arranged on glass structure.
* Comb, brush, tissues, watch, wallet, and cellphone spread out (neatly of course) along dresser surface.

Desk - Others' disasters, Warik's castle
* It's neat. It's fucking neat. Absolutely awesome. Not a single thing out of place. My girl comes over and uses my phone, and I immediately return it to the stand... she uses a pen, I put it back on the desk organizer (in its proper slot... nice pens go to the left, whatever pens on the right).

You want more extreme? I ask my mom not to hang my clothes. Just dump it on my bed, mom. I'll take care of it. Don't you know that blue jeans are supposed to go to the right, not within, or to the left, of the black jeans? What about sweaters? How dare you hang a sweater!!! That will stretch the top out and make it look silly.

Also let's talk about my new fish tank. I have all of the cables tied together along the whole lines with one of those garbage bag twisty things, so that they don't get all over the place inside the stand's cabinet. I also have small pieces of old towels rubberbanded to the cables so that water does not drip down and get into the electrical socket.

Shit, back to my room again. Approximately 1ft to my right and 1 1/2 down is my filing drawer, the drawer which contains two file folders - one for Visa, one for American Express - which contain all of the receipts for credit card purchases I have made in the current billing cycle, rubberbanded together in chronological order. What happens to receipts once the bill is paid, you ask? Why, they are placed, in chronological order after having checked off the items on the statement, one by one, into 2 file folders (again, one for Visa, and one for American Express) and stored in the filing box in my closet. A hardcopy record of every purchase I've made in the last, oh, 12-24 months with a credit card is safely tucked away in my closet.

What else...? Hmm... Oh, I've also been downloading episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. They are conveniently stored in:

\My Documents\My Movies\Star Trek - The Next Generation\Season <X>\[Star Trek TNG (S<Y>-E<Z>)] <Title>.avi

Beat that.

Oh... and I squeeze from the back of the toothpaste.

-Warik

you sir are my post hero of the day

there is a place somewhere for you, but I fear you have only 2 choices.

A) at the helm of a Romulan War Ship....

or

B) the Ceo of a Corporation with an annual profit of 8 billion

you decide

 

[RyanH]

Warik, I just read your list to a friend of mine, and he is still rolling......your anal retentiveness is quite remarkable.

My question for you is how do you ever relinquish control in your life? Do you trust anyone else but yourself? Come on, be honest.

 

[Warik]

Wait wait... before I answer your question, I must present some more retentiveness.

Today I opened the stand underneath my fish tank to get something. Lo and behold, there is shit all over the place. Fish food, boxes, tubing, etc.

What does Warik do? He runs into the garage, brings some nails and a hammer, and I made little hooks to hang stuff from. I now have my net, air tubing, PH control tabs, ammonia control tabs, and some other item whose name I forgot hanging neatly with only my Deluxe Master Chemical Test kit and airpump (carefully wrapped in a towel to reduce noise) sitting on the bottom.

Now I will think about your question while I utilize my PalmPilot to plan tomorrow.

-Warik

 

[BathBeachBoy]

Hey Vixenbabe, I love the carpet lines, that is so cool
I must have the windows spotless at all times, I can't stand when they even have one spec of dirt on them. Thank heavens for tilt-in. Is that anal enough??
BBB:

 

[Elite_Fry]

im pretty anal