Side Orders: Five bizarre fears.

Peace.  A month or so ago, I was walking with some friends when we came across a car parked on the street.  The door was open, and the driver was sitting in the passenger seat for some reason.  Turns out, he knew my friend and wanted to exchange pleasantries.  So, he did what any friendly person would do and got up out the car to give her a hug.  The problem is that he had his keys resting in his lap.  Don’t ask me what they were doing there.  I don’t know.  But I do know that they slipped off his lap and fell right into the drain.  Hmmm.

Now he got them back, but I’ll spare the details on how exactly.  The point is, he really should have been more careful.  More mindful.  Apparently, his entire life was on those keys and having to replace them would cause quite an ordeal.  So I started thinking of some everyday fears I have where I occasionally exhibit odd behavior in an attempt to be mindful.

Dropping my phone into the crevice in the elevator.

I’m often on the CrackBerry in the mornings as I’m walking to work.  As I enter the elevator, I always look down and see an abyss of darkness where the doors slide open and closed and just wonder what’s down there.  My mind flashes to scenes in movies that show elevator shafts from the inside.  I guess none of that matters.  What does matter is that the crevice is more than wide enough to let my phone fall through should it mysteriously slip from my fingers.  I find myself clutching the phone with added security or sometimes I’ll even put the phone in my pocket until I exit the elevator to my floor.  Can’t be too careful.

Failing to lock the door to my crib, and the door to my car.

It’s one of those second nature things, which is probably why I’m never paying attention when I do it.  Perhaps it’s one of the drawbacks to always thinking about some random shït.  Nevertheless, I will leave my house, hop in my car, drive half a mile, and then start wondering if I locked my front door.  So, I turn around, get back to the door and find that I did indeed lock it.  Sigh.  It’s the same thing after I park the car.  I probably locked it, but I don’t think about it until I’ve walked a considerable distance away from it.  Then, I have to turn around and press the lock button on the key until I hear the horn (that sounds like a little bïtch, get some bass in your honk) to ensure me of what I already knew.

Constantly patting my jean pockets to make sure I have everything there.

Movies got me suspicious.  Dude minding his business and gets a seemingly innocuous bump from a stranger.  Next thing you know, he reaches his destination five minutes later only to find his wallet is missing.  Ain’t gon be me, though.  At least I hope not.  Either I’ve got my hands in my pockets or I’m constantly patting them.  Actually, this has helped me from time to time.  Not because somebody stole something.  But occasionally I’ll leave my keys or sunglasses somewhere and if I pat my pockets and feel emptiness where integral possessions should be, I immediately return to my previous location to retrieve them.

Scissors.

Not quite sure why.  But I have this strange fear of scissors.  I’m probably more careful with scissors than I am with knives.  I always hold them by the sharp end and I’m always extra focused when using them.

Failing in school.

Okay, so this isn’t relevant to the other four, but I just thought I’d share.  I’m curious, does anybody else have bad dreams about college?  I didn’t have nightmares in high school.  I didn’t have nightmares in college.  But I did have nightmares after I graduated from college…about college!  It’s always the same when it happens.  I’m registered for five courses, yet I only attend four throughout the semester.  I get to the day of finals and I forget all about the fifth class and then…well I don’t know what happens next.  I usually wake up in a cold sweat.  College.  Oh, the horror.

Anyway, these are just some bizarre fears I have.  What about you?  Anything random that leaves you frightened and/or extra mindful?

-BenGe