MUST go in order

What does it mean when I’m ready to take a shower, the water is running, steam is starting to fill the stall, I am unclothed, but I can’t get in the shower until the last six minutes of my podcast is complete so I can start the next one? It’s natural, right? I don’t like to shower in the quiet. Something about being alone with my own thoughts I suspect. Hence, I much enjoy listening to the Nerdist during my showers and any other time I’m doing work such as dishes or painting or gardening. Anything that might give the opportunity for my thoughts to invade my conscience. My shower lasts longer than 6 minutes. If I don’t wait to start the next podcast, then it will annoyingly repeat. So what choice do I have? I must wait 6 minutes.

I compulsively must listen to the podcasts fully and completely in order from beginning to present. I am currently 21 months behind catching up as quickly as I can. It’s maddening. Half of the time I don’t even know the guest, but I have no choice; I MUST listen to each one.

That anal retentive nature bites me with my writing as well. Sometimes, I’m inspired to write a certain scene for my book or start a new short story on a whim. But I can’t actually sit down and create taking advantage of that inspiration. I MUST finish the story I started. I MUST write my book chapter by chapter in order. I have so little experience, I’m not sure if this is a good practice or a bad one. I don’t know if my writings will benefit or suffer from this tendency. Time will tell…

The first time I realized this in-order, every-one-of-a-series impulse of mine was when I was about 9. My mother bought me the first book in the Nancy Drew series. I read the entire series starting from The Secret of the Old Clock through the Thirteenth Pearl. My reading appetite grew larger than our budget making me a constant at our local library. If they did not have the next book in numerical order, I waited until the proper book was returned. If one was missing, I saved my pennies and bought it before moving on to the following number. I suppose some things you don’t grow out of. Go back in time with me!

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