Creature of Habit

Brought to you by rote.

I'm a creature of habit. I think most of us are. Do you sit in the same place at the table for every meal? Do you sit in the same seat each time the family piles into the car? Do you always put your left shoe on first, then the right? Do you drive the same route home from work or school each day, even when you meant to detour to run an errand? Yeah, me too.

When I was little, I lined my stuffed animals up in order every night at bedtime. In college I ate the same dinner almost every Tuesday night while working on the student newspaper. When I worked at Media HQ, I parked in the same row every day; now I do the same thing in the park-and-ride lot. At T'ai Chi, I always put my bag in the same place in the changing room and stand in the same place for warm-ups. Sometimes I sit down in my office chair and reach for my seatbelt. At work I take the same path from the restroom back to my desk — even when I'm supposed to be on my way to a meeting somewhere else. D'OH!

Speaking of D'OH, habit got the better of me one time during grad school. Usually I rode the bus to and from campus, since parking was dicey and I usually ended up getting a ticket anyway. But one day I drove to school for some reason, possibly for an early meeting or something. Anyway, when I got home that evening, I found that my car was gone. Stolen! I had dialed 9-1- before I realized that the thief was me; I'd forgotten I had driven and had ridden the bus home as usual, leaving the car on campus. Thank goodness I didn't actually get the police on the phone and have to stop mid-report when I realized my mistake.

I also have a habit of carrying on for far too long about the most inane things. So go outside and enjoy the nice weather!

Today around the world: April 21 is the first day of summer in Iceland. If you want a firsthand account, read the excellent blog Iceland Weather Report at www.aldakalda.blogspot.com. And don't forget to tell the author Jugglernaut sent you.