At least, if you read this.
1. I have a proclivity to purchase things in twos (or multiples thereof):
This applies to clothing, groceries, and CD-R spindles. Anyone taking a peek in my closet might find a number of things in twos. (as well as stacks of toy mice, chapsticks, and other cat-stolen paraphernalia - see also: under the bed; under the couch) Red Fraggle's Ark of Fashion includes identical pairs of pants in grey, brown, black pinstriped, etc; a number of tops, sweaters, and tees in a variety of colors, most often including two or more of the following: red, white, black; several identical (or near-identical) pairs of shoes, often one each in brown and black (to avoid the dreaded brown/black mismatching phenomenon - see also: belts, jackets, bags); identical items from Vicky's Secret Stash including the usual undergarments in black, white, the dreaded but necessary 'skin-colored' beige, as well as grey and the occasional dash of red. (Socks, red socks. Don't get excited.)
Re-reading this list, it seems to imply a great quanitity of clothing - which is not necessarily true. I don't own a great quantity of clothing - but what I do own, I own in multiples. Long, long ago, in a galaxy not too far away, before my Mami became Ms. Big Shot Business Woman, there was a VERY limited clothing budget. At the time, despite the cheap manufacture of articles whose 'in' status often didn't last longer than the clothes themselves, I thought Contempo Casuals the height of sophistication. Seriously. This was mainly because all the other girls were wearing Contempo stuff and because I could (most often) not afford to shop there.
It was during this time that I learned to appreciate the value of well-made, 'classic' items of clothing. The things that NEVER go 'out.' The things that looked just as good on your mom (or even grandma) as they do on you, because they are classic. I still longed for the shirt that was just SO in, or the pants with the colored stripes the Cool Girls were wearing ... but eventually, over time, even while my clothing budget increased, I learned to not only love the 'classic' style, but to associate it as something very 'me.'
In the days that I first became interested in them, bras everywhere were these flimsy contraptions of foofiness and lacyness and coloredness and girliness, and I being a tomboy extraordinaire, who had certainly grown up most unwillingly, just wanted a plain bra. You know, white? Maybe some cotton? Can we get some cotton here? My mother can attest to this fact. Nowadays, just look around any Vicky's Secret or Gap Body and 'plain' bras are everywhere.
Ditto with the dresses - in 1994, when I went to my first Winter Ball and Proms, I had to look long and hard before I found a suitably 'simple' and 'elegant' dress with as little froofiness as possible. At any rate, I'm digressing. The point is, it's hard enough for something to meet my three criteria (well-made, 'classic', 'well-fitting') that when I finally have found it, I often grab as many of them as I can.
When it comes to other things - I'm not really sure whether the clothes-buying phenomenon spilled over or this is just another neurosis, but I'm a sucker for a two-fer sale. And even though I know that my Shaw's Card or Stop 'n Shop Card or CVS Card, etc, means that a single item marked '2 for $3' will still only cost $1.50, I buy the both of them anyway.
(This does not, however, apply to Walgreens, where a single item marked '2 for $3' will cost $1.99, and the second one $1.01. Boo, Walgreens.)
Even ordinary things are often bought in twos - as in, one for now, one for later. A while ago, when I had a locker and shower at the gym, I often bought toiletries in sets of two, one for my bathroom at home, the other to keep in my gym locker. Of course, that was when I had need of a gym locker. Another New Year's Resolution down the drain.
In the end, I can only presume that some pre-rational need for order makes me grab two candy bars or two packages of flour instead of just one. After all, twos, fours, sixes, etc, are EVEN and not ODD. And who wants to be odd?
12:10
