On my podcast, Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend, I do a segment called "Just Me or Everyone?" where people write in and tell me things they think or do that make them wonder if it's just them.
The idea for the segment came when I was out walking one day in Brooklyn, where I lived at the time, and a fire truck tore down the street, engine blaring. "I wonder if it's headed to my apartment," I thought, imaging my house in flames because I forgot to unplug my straightening iron. It was a familiar thought -- the same one I had every time I was out walking and heard a fire engine's siren. Then I wondered if I was the only one who had this thought. (I'm not, but it's less common than I would have expected.)
I've been doing the segment for a few years now -- on a live streaming Internet talk show I did from my living room in Brooklyn, and now on my twice-weekly audio podcast, and as such, I have a pretty good sense of the idiosyncratic thoughts and habits we all share. I thought I'd reveal some recent submissions (people tweet them to me at @ariynbf, my show's Twitter handle), along with my comments, lest you also do these things and think you're the only one.
@abelopez: "Get super nervous and tongue tied when I call someone expecting a voicemail and they answer."
Yes! Sadly I tend to prefer avoiding the phone altogether these days, but when I'm reveling in the comfort of thinking I won't have to connect with another human being, and then suddenly I'm confronted with a live one, it's scary. Side note: How sad that it has come to this?
@LarryAugsberger: "Is it just me, or does everyone stare at the rug when they're on the toilet and cross their eyes a little until they see little faces in the pile?"
I stare at the floor tiles. Only some kind of maniac would have carpet in his or her bathroom -- unless you're referring to a bath rug. In that case, I get what you're saying, but I recommend the dimples in the tiles. Better for shapes. But still not as good as asbestos-filled, cottage cheese ceilings.
@Mike Chamernik: "If someone mispronounces my name and asks if that's how you say it, I say 'You got it.'"
I definitely don't do this. Maybe I should?
@thomaschad: "Feel like a dish u hand scrub w/ tons of soap and hot water is not as clean as 1 that is just stuck in washer and prob gets a squirt of H2O."
Yes! I thought this was only me, but I have a hang up about dishes that are hand washed. I'm convinced I can taste the soap. No amount of water is enough to rinse it off.
@higherbassist: "When someone doesn't respond to a text message in a timely manner I begin to worry about their well-being."
Yes! Or I begin to worry they're mad at me. And yet I take my sweet time responding to people. I'm a jerk.
@keenandion: "I love the warm cozy feeling of a gas station on a dark stormy morning."
I love dark stormy mornings, but I would hardly describe gas stations as warm and cozy. In my experience, they're usually cold and smelly.
@thompsona2006: "Whenever I hear a 100 [percent] money back guarantee, I wonder if the company sends the returned item out to their next customer."
Well, I never worried about this before... but now I will. So, thanks?
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Hear more from Alison Rosen on her podcast, Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend or on the Adam Carolla Show podcast. Follow her on Twitter @alisonrosen or visit her website at www.alisonrosen.com