OCD to the rescue!
On more than one occasion, & by more than one acquaintance, I have been accused of being slightly Obsessive-Compulsive. Some of them were teasing. Some were not. And some were probably trying to tell me something serious, but used a teasing tone for fear I’d go medieval on their asses. :angeldevil
And, yes, I admit it…I do have some slightly obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
Like the fact that there are many instances where I believe there’s a place for everything & everything should be in its place. Oh, my desk & office are a disaster area, & you can catch me about ten times a week flipping out because I can’t find a damn thing in all this mess! But when it comes to dishes being put away or my promo items being organized…there is a place for everything & everything needs to be in & stay in its place! :devil
Or how I have a tendency to buy things that I like in bulk. Like liquid soap. I found a pink grapefruit fragrance I love & traveled around to every store in a fifty-mile radius buying every bottle I could find. I found a type of tea I like & did the same. And of course I have to have just about every new romance that’s released, whether I think I’ll get around to reading it in the near future or not. :cantputdown I mean, really—that isn’t even close to being the relevant!
But you might find it interesting to know that scientists actually believe everyone has a touch of OCD…it’s only the levels of obsessiveness & compulsion that vary. So there! :tpspspspt
And here is where my touch of OCD comes in handy:
You know I’m working on a new Harlequin Desire set in Charleston, South Carolina, right? Well, I just finished a vampire romance set in Las Vegas, so the rapid switch to a completely different geographical area isn’t an easy one. Which means I need to research! And by “research,” I mean start reading books & watching TV/movies with a Southern slant.
The first thing I did was jump on the internet & do a search for Southern-set movies, television, & romances. (Which wasn’t as easy as you might think. You can find anything on the world wide web, my shiny white buttocks! :mad )
And what did I do then? Did I have to make a list & run to the nearest bookstore, or hop over to Amazon or BN.com & start ordering? No, I did not. I simply went to my obsessively, compulsively organized book lists, then dug into my obsessively, compulsively organized TBR boxes, & within minutes I was reading a Southern-set romance. :dancing
Ha! 
That’s right—for once, my OCD paid off. Take that, Mr. Tax Man, who asks me every year why I need to buy so many books! They’re research, dammit! Because I never know what the heck is going to crop up—case in point! 
—& I need to be prepared.
Okay, yeah…that last part is probably definite OCD. But in this case, that’s a good thing. :gotcha
Comments
11 Comments • Comments Feed
Amanda Ann says:
This is some funny sh*t, lol. so true im more ocd when it comes to my house and clothes ect. my sister is more on organization when it comes to paperwork, in which i never excelled in, he’he’. so my bookbag was rammed with paper and homework as kids, while my side of the room was spick-n-span, and nikkis bookbag was colorcoded, tab induced, highlighted freak of nature and he side of the room, burrr* eh scary!!!
On March 24, 2011 at 3:24 am
Heidi says:
LOL See, everybody has a little OCD in them, even if they aren’t willing to admit it. (Which in itself may be a symptom of OCD! :whhhat )
On March 24, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Donna says:
Count me among the “organizationally challenged”. If buying my favorite authors books on or close to release day even if my TBR shelf over runneth is OCD then count me among the OCD’s. Bu there is a big difference between being neat and being OCD.
On March 24, 2011 at 6:36 am
Heidi says:
Oh, yeah. You know the show Monk, how he’s afraid of every little speck of dirt or germ? I *so* do not have that kind of OCD. But touch my stuff & I will cut you! :devil
On March 24, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Jessica Lemmon says:
I love justifying my “piles” – both my art desk and computer desks look as if there was a paper tsunami that broke shore at my office door – but like you, I often find uses for all (almost?) of it! :socool
On March 24, 2011 at 10:31 am
Heidi says:
Oh, yeah, my office is definitely a disaster area. But I know what & where almost everything is, so no touching! And claiming my junk is all “part of my job” is one of the best perks of working in this old salt mine. :devilme
On March 24, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Hollie says:
Since I am a Virgo…ocd and perfectionism is quite a bit alike. dang it all….If I cant do it right…I might just say forget it and not do it at all…or at least until I cant stand it any longer.
I definately have ocd when Im knitting or crocheting…it has to be done perfect..any slipped stitches or goof ups and I am ripping it out and starting over….not always a fun thing! :devil
On March 24, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Heidi says:
I’m with you on that, Hollie—anything worth doing is worth doing right! :angeldevil And unless it’s something I can fix rather easily, w/o it *looking* imperfect, I’ll rip something out & start over, too.
And, yes, perfectionism is just an earlier term for OCD. :tpspspspt
On March 24, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Laura J. says:
Okay normally I’m OCD about getting on the computer first thing in the morning, but that just hasn’t happened at all this week (kids are on spring break and with the exception of today I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn and/or right in the middle of a nice dream where me and Bradley….well, I’ll stop there. TMI, right? and today’s early wake up call was for a massage which I will gladly wake up early for everyday of the week if I could afford to have a massage every day of the week.) The computer is like coffee for me.
I can totally relate though to the messy desk. But at work, I can’t stand anything out of place. I don’t know why it’s that way, but do not mess up my work area or there will be hell to pay.
So how can I convince the hubby that the yarn I’m obsessively buying is for research purposes and I *need* that yarn? :angel
On March 24, 2011 at 7:20 pm
Heidi says:
If you can’t get here first thing in the morning, we’ll just have to see if you can get here late & snag the lucky pot o’ gold. Good news is, that will make you Bad Girl for a Night. You can handle that, right? :biggrin
On March 24, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Heidi says:
Hey all…I just hit 300 on my “Fans” page over at Facebook & am celebrating by giving away a brand new UK 3-in-1 of my Silhouette Desire MR. AND MISTRESS.
Wanted to let you know so that if you aren’t a Fan yet, you can “like” me now for a chance to win: http://on.fb.me/a7vDYb (U.S. residents only. To be included in the drawing, please leave a comment on the Fans page.)
On March 24, 2011 at 8:13 pm