I'm an issue

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I have issues.

You guys already know a few of them: I look for myself in Disney movies. I get sad on my birthday for no apparent reason.I pack 30 shirts for 10 days in California (no, really). I can't tell a story without getting distracted.

There are probably a few others you have picked up on: I tend to ramble. I overuse ellipses. Ditto for parentheses. I appreciate sentence fragments. I think zucchini is disgusting. I have too many clothes. I think children's books are acceptable reading for a college junior. I make lists in order to function.

And then there are those that you probably haven't picked up on. I'm sure you will, in due time...but here is one that's been nagging at me all day. So, rather than face it like a normal person...here I am, blogging about it. This issue (maybe if I called them quirks it'd give me less of a complex) has surfaced more and more consistently lately. As in, this week. Today, even.

So here is the latest issue for you to laugh at, relate to, puzzle over, ignore completely...it's up to you!

I have major anxiety about checking my e-mail...

For some reason, it terrifies me. I know I should check it more often - my bosses at school use it as a way to communicate with us interns, the woman whose kids I watch e-mails me to set up times for me to come over, I get important e-mails regarding school...but I just can't seem to login. I don't know why it scares me. I do know that while I love technology, I hate that people feel they can get in touch with me at the drop of a hat.

Last year this became a problem for me. I was really busy with school already, and then work (I was contact for the men's rowing team, which meant I was responsible for previews and recaps for races) got busy as well. If I let an e-mail sit in my inbox too long (30 minutes) without responding, I was sure to get a text message asking how the story was coming. I can't stand that kind of pressure! What if I wasn't near a computer? I often wasn't, but I had to learn to drop everything and respond to those e-mails.

I don't think that we should have to be bound to our computers 24/7. Or our fancy phones with e-mail capabilities. But that's another post for another time.

But really. Checking my e-mail makes me anxious. I haven't checked it for about four days. I know there are important e-mails in there too. But here I sit, blogging...and not checking my e-mail. It can't be that bad, right? I'm still not convinced.

...and checking my voicemail.

I'm not even kidding. If I miss a call, and see the little voicemail icon on my screen...I am ner-VOUS. Don't ask me why. Unless the caller was one of the six people on my speed dial (2 - Home, 3 - Dad, 4 - Mom, 5 - older sister, 6 - younger sister, 7 - brother), it takes me at least 24 hours to listen to the voicemail. Then another 24 to return the call, all the while I'm left nervously dreading the fact that the caller just might call again.

...I think we'll just leave this one as an issue rather than a quirk.

You still love me, right?

Don't answer that.

♥ abigail