domestic, um, something or other

[jazzfish]

uilos: And that's why I make you cook lima beans. Because you are capable of putting them on to cook and leaving them there.
Me: Well, yes. That's what the directions say to do.
uilos: But how do you know they're cooking if you don't poke at them and stir them?
Me: Because the directions SAY they're cooking.
uilos: You don't know that! You have to DO THINGS to make them cook!
Me: No, the DIRECTIONS SAY... how did we end up with duelling OCDs[1]?
uilos: I don't know about you but I don't have OCD.
Me: ... I am totally telling LJ about this.

---

[1] "Neuroses" would have been a better (more accurate, less potentially hurtful) term to have used, here.

Comments

[marcmagus]

I'm glad that sounds like you were both amused by that rather than intensely frustrated.

The "CDO" thing really sets me on edge, because CDO doesn't mean anything and so it's wrong, even if the letters are alphabetized. Y'know, speaking of duelling OCDs.

[N.B. I do not have a diagnosis for OCD. While I find some descriptions of the experiences of people who do resonate very strongly with me, I don't know how similar my experience actually is, and am open to correction.]

[jazzfish]

Yeah, there was definitely muffled (at least) laughter during all parts of that conversation. And I'm with you on the CDO thing, myself.

And, that's actually a very good point. For me it isn't even close to OCD; it's more like an overdeveloped instinct to follow Authority, such as a written recipe, which in some situations can end up looking like OCD from the outside. uilos has her own stuff, which may or not be anything like actual diagnosable OCD. Thank you for pointing that out; I've updated the post accordingly. (Footnote because editing a transcript seems Wrong, to me.)

[(Anonymous)]

I am using CDO as a way to poke fun at one of my very specific OCD tendencies - the need to put things in some kind of quantifiable order, most especially alphabetical. I've had semi-serious 'discussions' about how to shelve books within an author - I prefer alphabetical, but Tucker likes print date.

I don't know if I have what counts as a diagnosis for OCD. My psychiatrist asks about 'my OCD' at every appointment, but it hasn't really come up as a big thing with my psychologist.

[marcmagus]

Yeah, I get the joke and appreciate its humor. It just also makes me uncomfortable whenever I hear it in much the same way that, say, a shelf of books out of order makes me. Thus, I think my reaction compared to other people finding it funny is amusingly similar to the discussion you were having. (Sorry if that was unclear)

I've had that conversation a few times. My preference is more similar to Tucker's, but kind of idiosyncratic. (For one, I strongly feel sort should be right-to-left so you can read "down" the shelf...)

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, gotcha, I think. :)

I also have a stong opinion on how books should be shelved when there are multiple shelves in a row, what order to put series in, where to put anthologies, ect, ect. Part of it is my own personal neuroses, but part of it is that my very first job was shelving books in a public library.