The force of habit

I was thinking about the way that habits and routines make actions habitual and routine. This was prompted by being in the shower this morning. As a general rule, my routine goes like so:

1. Get wet (Ben, stop smirking)
2. Shampoo hair
3. Rinse shampoo off
   
4. Put conditioner on hair
5. Wash body
6. Wash face
7. Rinse conditioner off

I do this every day, at least once a day, and have carried out this exact routine for, ooh, 9 years or so? Every time, exactly the same. Why, then, this morning did I find myself with a handful of conditioner before I'd shampooed my hair?! I can't claim that I had been distracted or daydreaming or thinking about something else- or rather, I can claim that, because I was- but I daydream/think every time I shower...I don't talk myself through the showering process, so why did my ritual/habit fail this time? Oh, and the bottles are at opposite sides of the shower and one is white, one is red- so no confusion there.

On a similar topic, driving. I've only been driving for 6 months (well, I passed six months ago. I was learning on and off for 6 months before that, so a year in total) and yet already, most of the time when I drive, I drive on autopilot. Occasionally, though, I still go to change gear, and pause with the gearstick in neutral, going "Shit! Which gear do I need to be in? Which gear was I in?!" because my mind's gone completely blank. Of course, it only takes a second to look around me and at my speedometer and make a logical decision as to what gear I should be in. This one would be easy to explain away as being a result of a relatively new (and perhaps absolutely shite!) driver, save for the fact that in the past week I have witnessed both of my parents doing the same thing, and they've both been driving for 30+ years. My dad, I suppose, doesn't drive a manual often, so perhaps the auto-pilot part of his brain can be excused for similar reasons to mine, but my mum drives her car just as much as I do. And she has years of experience. And yet we still get 'blips' in the auto-pilot 'programming'.

We rely on these habits and auto-pilot functions so much. Pouring a drink, you don't think "get glass...unscrew top...pour...screw top back on...put back in fridge" or anything, and yet you do it perfectly. (Having said that, I got the wine bottle out of the fridge last night, then got a tumbler from the cupboard. Looked at both, and thought "....er...that's not right...". Must drink wine more often!)

Another facet to my ponderings on the topic of habit is the concept of universal habits. I was discussing with le boy the other day how absolutely everyone puts condoms, other sex-related-paraphenalia, and indeed all 'personal' items in their top drawer, preferably by their bed, but yeah...always in the top drawer. And then we realised that this is because it is the underwear drawer. And then that led to the realisation that everyone puts their underwear in the top drawer. And then tshirts etc in the next one. After that it gets a bit hazy, with jumpers, trousers, sport-specific items etc in the other drawers, but I don't know of anyone who puts their underwear in a drawer other than the top one! Who teaches us these things? Is this what mothers are taught at ante-natal classes...rather than "how to change a nappy" and "when to wean your child"...they teach "clothing-in-drawer-arrangement 101"?!

Habits are very strong. I cook in much the same way as my mum does. I fold clothes the same. I drink similar drinks to my friends. So perhaps all these things are pure social conditioning. Thoughts?

Wandering

Apologies for the slight vanishment off the face of the blogging world. No real reason for it, save that I haven't really had much to say! What have I been doing...?

• I spent a long weekend further north than I had ever been before (I am shamefully geographically-stunted when it comes to the UK), with a boy...well...with my boy! :)

• I've been working for my dad's business Monday-Friday, 9-5, doing some very boring stuff but earning myself a nice amount of money with which to pay off my overdraft.

• On Saturday I ran the Cancer Research Race for Life in Brighton...I'd never actually managed to run the full 5k in training without walking some of it (furthest I'd done was 4.2k) and the fastest time I'd run/walked the 5k was 39 minutes. Anyway. I ran it in 36 minutes, 34 seconds absolutely non stop and it was bloody BRILLIANT. Hehe. And in my post-run madness, I decided to run a 10k in September.

• Today I got my stage 2 exam results. Combined with my coursework marks, I averaged a 56 this year- a solid 2:2. Which is, y'know, okay. But just okay, that's all. So that sort of spoilt my day today.

• I also had my hair cut today which was good cos it was looking really bad. It's all lovely and short again :)

This entry is astoundingly dull, I'm sure. But here we are, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

Confusion

I don't generally write posts like this but I'm feeling mixed up and figured this was as good as place as any to splurge it out.

Bit of background history: My godfather, Martin, has never been around much- after my christening the first time I saw him was when I was 4, and then not again till I wrote to him when I was 12ish, and he came to stay. Then we wrote regularly for a few years, and I saw him again when I was 16...dad and I went to stay with him.

Martin drinks a lot, and when we stayed with him, he got a bit...I dunno. Aggressive isn't the right word. Forceful? Basically, we ate...finished...and then Martin tried to convince us to have seconds. We said no, and he picked up a fork with food on and tried to force it into my dad's mouth. I was a bit shocked and I didn't like the way he was acting, tbh. So anyway. I haven't seen him since then, and contact has been limited. He phoned me about a year and a half ago. I sent him a christmas card this most recent christmas with my current uni address in it cos I wasn't sure he had it, and he didn't write.

To be fair, aside from the christmas card, and a couple of letters I've sent, I haven't made much effort to make contact either. I know he's 'only' my godfather and I see one of my godmothers just as infrequently and it doesn't bother me- there's just something about Martin...we get along really well and the fact that he doesn't care much about me really upsets me for some reason.

Anyway. To the point. This morning I got a text from an unknown number, and I am 99.999% certain it's from him (can't see who else it would be). It says this:

"Hi Claire it's Martin. Sorry it's been so long etc. Hope to make a trip to Cant soon hope you may have time to get social! Let's talk soon. Mx"

And suddenly, randomly, I feel really mixed up and confused. Happy that he's contacted me, but so many other things too. I haven't replied...not sure what to do.

'Ampshire Haccent

Yesterday, I paid a water bill on the phone. I needed to give my home address for final statements to be sent on to. My house is called Mill Cottage. The conversation went thus:

Me: Mill Cottage
Her: Knoll Cottage..
Me: No, Mill.
Her: Knoll?
Me: Mill. M...I...L...L...
Her: M...O...
Me: No, no...MILL. As in a water mill, or a wind mill. M for Michael, I for Indigo...
Her: Oh, okay.

Bit later...

Her: So your card is registered at Knoll Cottage too?
Me: No, I'm sorry, I think you've still got my address wrong. It's MILL. Like a windmill.
Her: Oh, MILL! Sorry, it's your accent, I can't understand you.


My what?! I don't have an accent, thank you very much! ;) She was the effing northerner with a stupid accent. I have no accent. My voice is neutral. Normal.

:P

Discuss.