The OC

No, this is not about the television series; I have not watched a single episode of it. Neither is this about the Orange County. This entry is about my obsessive-compulsive behavior, or what I proclaim to be my obsessive-compulsive behavior.

According to my not-so-extensive research,

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an illness that causes people to have unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and to repeat certain behaviors (compulsions) over and over again. We all have habits and routines in our daily lives, such as brushing our teeth before bed. However, for people with OCD, patterns of behavior get in the way of their daily lives.

Most people with OCD know that their obsessions and compulsions make no sense, but they can't ignore or stop them. (Source)

The article enumerates some of the common obsessions and compulsions, among them 'concern with order, symmetry (balance) and exactness' and 'ordering and arranging items in a certain way', respectively. Admittedly, I have certain obsessions and compulsions that are a bit odd when compared to a 'normal' person, all of which concern order, symmetry and sometimes neatness. I have not gone to the extreme of the behavior, however.

I arrange my CD's, Vcd's/DVD's alphabetically, and get irked when people do not return them in their proper places after borrowing them. I am a strong advocate of the saying 'A place for everything and everything in its place'. But like I said, I have not gone to the extreme. I can live with the fact that my Babel DVD is still in my cousins' room weeks after they have finished watching it.

I plan to arrange my clothes according to color: one shade on one side, another shade on another side...you get the picture. I say plan because my cousin (whom I share rooms with) and I have the intention of overhauling our room. So this color-coding scheme of clothes will have to wait until I buy the closet I want.

I don't know if it's just me, but I never watch a movie sequel unless I've watched the previous installment, the sequel's story having absolutely nothing to do with the previous story notwithstanding. The consequence: I miss out on the movie in the cinemas, but I don't go to the cinemas that often anyway. Not much of a loss there. In fact, I'd rather watch movies on DVD in the comforts of my home.

Finally, I get irritated when items are crookedly positioned - a ball pen on the table, books on the shelf, pillows on the bed. My cousin's idea of fun is to disarrange items in our room and watching me with delight as I fight the urge to fix them. Needless to say, I always lose.

This OC behavior does not extend to my life, I'm so glad to say. Yes, I make plans and I stick to them as much as I can. I do not go berserk however when things do not go as planned. In fact, some people describe me as spontaneous. Now that is not the trait you would want to attach to a person who is a self-proclaimed order freak.

Oh well, I guess people have their peculiarities.