Reader Poll: Is Roxy's Reader's Digest Syndrome Normal or Nuts?

Remember back in June, when I participated in the six quirks meme and told you all about my quirks? A few days later, I realized that I have a seventh quirk that I like to call Reader's Digest Syndrome. I used to pick up the Reader's Digest in the bathroom when I was growin' up, and ever since I moved out of my parent's house after college in 1989, my mom has given me my very own subscription every year for my birthday, with some unexpected results that I call Reader's Digest Syndrome. For example, after reading several Reader's Digest articles about preventing the nightmare of identity theft, I now shred all of my mail...sometimes before reading it. I start to tell a joke, frequently forget the punchline, and then realize that the joke came from... you guessed it, the Reader's Digest!

This month, the Reader's Digest asks, "Are You Normal or Nuts? Are your quirks cute or do they require professional attention?" I thought it would make an interesting topic for a Roxiticus Desperate Housewives reader poll, so here are six of my favorite quirks...

1. I won't walk under cranes/scaffolding or over subway grates/basement doors (since the recent crane crashes in NYC, this quirk of mine has been getting more respect)
2. I like to eat each item on my plate separately (e.g., finish the string beans before eating the steak, then eat the french fries)
3. I'm still afraid of the bogeyman. When I was a kid I thought he lived in my family's cavelike basement. These days, I won't go down our basement (which is fully finished and brightly lit) at night. The bogeyman stays away when Rex is home, but when Rex travels on business, the girls sleep in my bedroom with the alarm system turned on. One time after a birthday party, some helium balloons set off the alarm system and the Mendham Township police force had to come and save us from the bogeyman!
4. I have horrible, hideous fingernails, mostly my own fault. I bite them, I pick at them, and for several years I had a nail fungus (not my fault) that made ridges and bumps all over them. Eew!
5. When I do any serious writing, I prefer handwriting to my computer. I carry a leather journal with me everywhere and write whenever and wherever I can. When I was living the wild single life, I carried a small notebook in my purse and wrote haiku in all the Jersey Shore bars.
6. Despite my blogger persona, when I'm out and about "live" in the Roxiticus Valley (or anywhere else), I hide behind my camera and/or notebook rather than initiating conversation with new people.

I've shown you mine, and at least six of you have shown me yours, although Henson doesn't really have any quirks...now we can all compare our quirks with the people who wrote in to ask the Reader's Digest's psychologists for advice in Are You Normal or Nuts?

Here's one that I could really relate to:

"I'm afraid to go to high places, like tall bridges or even the balcony at church. And it's not because I'm afraid I'll fall -- it's because I'm afraid I'll jump! I don't want to kill myself, but I do want to experience that sense of flying or floating. Of course, I know I'd go splat and die, so the desire to jump terrifies me. What do I do?" While the Reader's Digest's expert recommended facing that fear head-on -- "why not make skydiving a goal??!!" -- I think I'd rather follow my deejay hero Casey Kasem's long-running advice: "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."