If you’re not sure what this means, check out Kristy’s blog–she explains it really well. In short, we’re supposed to share with our blog readers six quirks they probably don’t know about us. Our friend, Sarah, did this as well.
Because we’re a couple, we decided to do three quirks each. Here are three weird things about Travis!
1. Travis HATES the texture of cardboard–the way it feels, the sound it makes, the smell. Basically everything about it repulses him. As a practical joke, his college roommate, Kevin, sent him a piece of mail over summer break. All that was inside the envelope was a piece of cardboard. So clearly, others are aware of this oddity!
2. Travis MUST sleep with a fan. As his wife, I got introduced to this as soon as we got married. The man absolutely cannot sleep in quiet. There MUST be noise in the room. For the first 2 years of our marriage, we had this gigantic fan pointed directly at our bed blasting air at us ALL NIGHT LONG! Seriously, I often feel like I’m sleeping in a wind tunnel. As time has passed, I’ve grown used to this obsession with noise and wind. I sleep under 3 blankets while Travis basks in his windy world of sleep.
3. Travis has a serious neck phobia–specifically in the throat area. If anyone even acts like they might touch his neck, he freaks out.
So there are three weird things about Travis. Here are three things that are slightly odd about myself:
1. I love everything that has to do with prison. Not like I want to actually be an inmate there, but I love movies about prisons, TV shows about prisons, books about prisons. I love to drive by prisons. I get really excited when the prisoners are outside. I even make Travis stop mid-conversation when we drive by a prison so that I can drink in the full atmosphere of the prison. Travis told me he thought I might be one of those girls who tries to marry an inmate, but it’s obvious to me that he doesn’t truly understand my obsession. I have no desire to hang out with/talk to prisoners…I am just fascinated by the culture.
2. I love to eat cold leftovers. Specifically, I love to eat cold baked beans. Many people would consider me a gross person because of that.
3. I hate concerts WITH A PASSION. I get very uncomfortable when I have to watch people perform on stage (which makes me wonder why I don’t mind American Idol). Travis has helped me to see that I might be the only person on the face of the planet who feels this way about concerts. But that’s the truth.
Since I’m on a roll here, there’s even something weird about Owen. Sometimes he falls asleep sitting up. Here’s proof:
Ooo! Good list guys. I’m glad you two Freaks found each other! 😉
Travis –
1.) I’m guessing moving is a scary experience for you. Hundreds of cardboard boxes. You must need some Prozac by the time you get all settled in (and clear all of the offensive material out of your garage).
2.) Totally get it. What kind of freak DOESN’T sleep in a wind tunnel??
3.) So you’re probably not the world’s most compliant patient when it comes time to get a strep test, huh?
Emily –
1.) I love that Travis was concerned you’d be an inmate marrying chick. THAT is hilarious. As is your comment about getting excited when you see a group of inmates out working. Trash pick-up day on the highway must give you quite the surge!
2.) Cold baked beans. Considering I have a bean quirk (I despise them ALL), the thought of eating cold baked beans makes me ralph a little in my mouth. Eee.
3.) Is it the loudness? The closed, cramped spaces? The mosh pits? The crazy, drugged out obnoxious attendees? Or do you get embarrassed for the people performing? (This one perplexes me, can you tell?)
Owen –
You are just plum CUTE.
Travis, I remember having slumber parties at your house, I mean spending the night at your house, and you having the fan cranked up in your room while sleeping. That was my first experience with wind tunnel sleep. It seems like I remember you having a bird in your room as well? Emily, I don’t know you hardly at all but that prison thing is freaky.
Loved your list!
Trav, I TOTALLY forgot about your neck thing! I remember you and Annie trying to wig each other out by going for each other’s necks in high school. (how did that come out sounding so bad?) You know what I mean.
Emily, I recently learned about your fascination with prison through Julie. That is truly, well, fascinating. When did this obsession start?
Owen, you are precious!
Travis’s hatred of his neck being touched has always brought me pleasure. (that sounded weird)
Kristy~
I can’t really pinpoint the major thing I don’t like about concerts, but here are a few of the things that I don’t like. First, I am extremely clausterphobic, so the idea of being smashed into a tiny seat between 2 very excited fans dancing and swaying to music freaks me out. Second, I like to listen to music on the radio, but I just don’t like watching the people perform. It probably has to do with the fact that the facial expressions of people as they sing kind of makes me uncomfortable. Okay, this last thing is going to make me sound like I’m 80, but concerts are always so loud and I get a headache. Since Travis LOVES concerts and has been to more than I can count, I’m not quite sure why we work as well as we do!
Sarah~
I’m not quite sure when the obsession started. I have just always been fascinated by them. But even though they really intrigue me, I would be scared to death if I ever had to go into one (well, one that has prisoners in it…I loved touring Alcatraz!).
Okay, Jeff and I have to take the blame for the wind tunnel sleeping thing. We both started the fan additction in college to drown out the noise in the dorm, and we forced Travis into it when he was just a baby. We lived on the highway in our first house, and the trucks rolling by at 4 am really did a number in his nursery! I don’t take any credit for the cardboard thing, although I have the same thing with cheap paper napkins. The neck thing is just plain entertaining. And personally, I think Emily’s prison fascination is just cute. I loved Alcatraz, too; and their striped outfits are to die for! We try to give Emily space on the concert thing, but when we want to torture her, we put our concert DVD’s on LOUD! (Just kidding, sweetie!) And now I know I can just open up a can of pork and beans and there’s dinner! Aren’t you looking forward to your next visit to Mena, Em?
And yeah, of course Owen is cute sleeping sitting up. What else can anyone expect by now?
LOL. That cardboard joke was the greatest thing ever. I had a huge grin on my face when I put a stamp on the envelope and mailed it to him. To further my enjoyment, Travis opened up the envelope in front of his parents, and they got just as much of a kick out of it as I did.
One thing I remember Travis telling me about how much he hates cardboard is that he hates imagining someone’s teeth touching cardboard. But seriously, how often do people eat cardboard??? It’s not like you hear someone say, “I’m hungry; what’s there to eat? Oh, here is this delicious cardboard box we still have from when we moved. Dig in.”
Travis is also my hetero soulmate in terms of sleeping with a fan on. I always need noise to sleep too and also point a fan directly at me while sleeping. When I discovered that Travis did this too on my first day at Mizzou, I knew it would be easy to share a room with him. People would come into our room and complain how cold it was sometimes–it was because we had two fans on as well as our A/C unit running full power.
I totally forgot about the neck thing. Classic.
Emily, you are not alone with baked beans. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE cold leftover baked beans. Whenever I make baked beans, I usually leave enough to give me two cold snacks later on.
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