Very Superstitious

I don't consider myself a superstitious person. I don't have a lucky anything (number, pen, shirt, etc.). I don't think black cats affect my luck any differently from cats of any other color. I can't think of any rituals I go through for luck or anything of that nature.

Well, there was the one time when my friend Carl and I realized that every time we watched a Packers game together, they lost. But if we watched it separately or if we were together and with one or more other friends, they won. Now, why would we go and willfully jinx our Packers when there was such overwhelming evidence?

And there is the straw wrapper thing. Maybe you did this in middle school. After removing the straw, you flatten the wrapper and tie it in a large, loose knot. You must then think of somebody and pull on both ends of the straw. If the wrapper breaks with the knot intact, the person isn't thinking of you. But if the knot comes out, then the person is thinking of you. Holly and I pretend to believe that this is accurate. I got it from Amy, who when the knot stayed in, would announce that the person was probably peeing.

The one thing I will sheepishly admit to lending any entirely misguided credence to is knocking on wood. I blame the very same job that I waxed nostalgic about two posts ago. I had worked my way up there to being the person in charge of an entire hotel full of high schoolers, often around 200. My first few weeks of that job were pretty rough. Anything that could go wrong did, particularly with me having to bust and send home kids for drinking in their hotel rooms. I had to call my boss on each of these occasions, often quite late at night. One week, he hadn't heard from me by the time he saw me in the office. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I hate to even say it, but...

Him: DON'T!

We both knocked on wood and maybe spit on our elbows and threw salt over our shoulders or something. I honestly think I picked it up there out of total paranoia about what could possibly go wrong next. If I ever had a good week, I couldn't enjoy it for fear of when the other shoe would drop. I was accepting any and all insurance policies against everything going to crap, even if it involved knocking on tables and armoires like a crazy person. 

I sometimes still do this. On a somewhat regular basis. I'm not proud of that.

Alright now, you know how this works. I showed you mine, now you show me yours.