Andrew / October 8, 2006 11:43 PM

Another one suggested by Flynn. If you've got an idea for a question, send it to inbox@gapersblock.com (with the word Fuel in the subject line so we can pick it out of the hundreds.)

- I bite my nails.
- My nose itches a lot, so I end up scratching and rubbing it frequently -- I wish I could stop that, but I think that would involve either deadening some nerves or ridding the world of allergens.

anaon / October 9, 2006 1:49 AM

Sometimes when I'm sitting around by myself I pick my nose, and sometimes I eat the boogers because I'm too lazy to get up for a kleenex but I can't wipe it on the couch because that would be gross.

Emerson Dameron / October 9, 2006 2:26 AM

I'm an idler, a daydreamer and a procrastinator, and I'm pissed about it. Say what you will about cokeheads and serial killers, but those habits make life *more* exciting, not *less.*

I Am You / October 9, 2006 6:59 AM

I pontificate on web blogs.

Generally, I like to take the high moral ground, judge others, and poo-poo those who demonstrate questionable views.

I'm not very tolerant of the opinions of others, because many times those opinions make me feel insecure. So when someone says something I don't like, I jump all over them.

Justin / October 9, 2006 7:58 AM

Oooh -- irony! Clever.

My nose also gives me grief. Scratching, wiping, scrunching to keep from scratching and wiping, rubbing my eyes from the effect of a sudden sting.

My worst habit is taking on projects I have no time for.

a girl / October 9, 2006 8:10 AM

my worst habit is having a huge crush on my best guy friend.

Amy / October 9, 2006 8:21 AM

Fidgeting with the rings on my fingers, my hair, my fingernails. And smoking. It sucks. I should quit

Leelah / October 9, 2006 8:40 AM

Cracking my knuckles. It doesn't really bother me, but it annoys the hell out of people around me.

Allan / October 9, 2006 9:46 AM

Where to begin. First off I suffer from psoriasis in various areas of my body including my head and I can't stop scratching and picking the scabs and flaking skin on my scalp even though it doesn't itch. It is a compulsive habit and leaves my neck and shoulders covered in white flakes which just compounds the general self-consciousness associated with this disease. Also I can't stop sexually fantasizing about woman I see on the train, office and in my apartment building often leading to untimely erections which in my case is unmistakably obvious. This makes me feel like a pervert and I feel like I have violated the woman I fantasize about. The fantasizing leads to chronic masturbation but I never feel satisfied because what I really want is companionship so I masturbate more to try and fill the void. It is a vicious cycle. The masturbation more than any thing makes feel really pathetic and ashamed of myself which leads me to drink a lot and I think it is becoming a problem. I don't pick my nose or eat the boogers but I recently realized that I eat the contents of pimples I pop. I find this disgusting and didn't even realize I did it until a few weeks ago. To be honest I just feel ashamed of myself in general and overall find my self repulsive. Thanks Gapers Block.

leah / October 9, 2006 10:02 AM

I crack my knuckles, pick at my cuticles & laugh loudly at inappropriate times.

Your Mom / October 9, 2006 10:03 AM

I always have to look at the fine print during commercials. you know, the "Do not try" or "Professional. Do not attempt."

My current favorite is the McDonald's commercials that have Cubs and Sox players waking up people. At the bottom it says "Delivery service not available."

mary / October 9, 2006 10:03 AM

i totally pick my scabs. i realize how gross that is.

im sure i have other habits, non-gross ones, but thats all i can think of now. because i just picked a scab.

Novan / October 9, 2006 10:27 AM

I smoke cigarettes. I crack my knuckles. I bite my fingernails. I swear a lot. I rush to judgement. I get very angry when people get in my way. I am incredibly intolerant with young people. I fall back on my exercise routine.

kate / October 9, 2006 10:27 AM

I smoke and crack my knuckles.

I also play with paper clips all damn day.

Can't reveal that! / October 9, 2006 10:43 AM

I fear that i am the king of bad habits.

I have to be home at 5 to take a crap and smoke a doobie.
I gamble recklessly and incessantly.
I smoke cigarettes whenever I drink to excess, which is often.
I belch loudly and often.
I speed in the car.
I leave my socks everywhere, but in the hamper.
I leave wet towels on the floor.
I am lazy in my cleanliness.
I refuse to shave on weekends.
Hell, I refuse to shower most weekends.

HEY! I am typical man!

Shasta MacNasty / October 9, 2006 11:01 AM

I have a bad habit of not going to bed when I'm tired. I will be up at all hours of the night, even though I'm tired as hell, but for some reason, I'm afraid I'm going to "miss something" if I go to sleep.

Blagg the Axman / October 9, 2006 11:13 AM

Over the years, it has been pointed out to me by allies, peasant onlookers and those who have managed to raise my ire that I have a habit of employing excessive force, that I raise my fists when a strong word would produce the same result, or brandish the ax when a bit of throttling would suffice. Be that as it may, and considering the untrustworthy rascals that are dealt with as such, I prefer to view this as performing a service for the boy beginning to dabble in thieving, or the gnome testing the line between streetcorner swindling and violent banditry. A thorough and well-administered beating may, however briefly, set them upon the lawful path and spare honest commoners from an unpleasant encounter. I have also been told that I pick my teeth but this is hardly an axman’s concern.

printdude / October 9, 2006 11:58 AM

My habits are smoking, drinking, gambling, boastfulness, grudgery, sloth and pride.

i have also been notified about my sock-leaving.

Anything else I am missing here will surely be counted by the wife and commented on later.

Brandy / October 9, 2006 12:02 PM

Good:
I write thank you notes.
I work out consistently.
Generally clean living health-wise.

Bad:
I am a slob. (I live alone which helps me be a slob b/c it's not hurting/annoying anyone else)
I grind my teeth when I'm stressed.

Ashamed? Uh, the slobitude means I rarely have friends over to my apartment... But shame? No.

fluffy / October 9, 2006 12:06 PM

I play with my hair all the time. I bite my nails. I also pick at pimples and scabs- I hate that, but I do it a lot.
I sleep a lot.
I daydream way too much; sometimes I just stare at something for a really long time, like the reflection of water on a window, when the sun hits it just right. I can't stop looking at it. Someone told me that's a form of meditation. I think I'm just easily distracted.

I chew the inside of my mouth sometimes.
I used to get depressed and put out matches on my legs. It made me feel better at the time. And yes, I'm in therapy.

I also have a habit of being late - all the time.

Aw, fuck, I'm a psycho.

Tobermory / October 9, 2006 12:10 PM

I used to bite my nails, but I recently quit. I have no idea how - one day I just stopped. I still sort of gnaw on the nails, but I don't bite them off anymore.

I also buy too much soap. I have a cupboard full of fancy-schmancy soaps purchased at craft fairs and places like Lush. I suppose there are worse habits to have - at least I smell nice.

Allan / October 9, 2006 12:11 PM

All fluffy's habits sound endearing. If she does all those things in fuzzy pink PJ's they would be downright cute. Hmmmm, maybe I should try that with mine?

carrie / October 9, 2006 1:03 PM

I'm a knuckle cracker and a cheek biter (my own) and I also clench my teeth real good. However, I just went to the dentist and I'm going to get a nightguard for that little habit. I will call it my nightnerd.

eep / October 9, 2006 1:21 PM

My worst habit is that I slack off at work and spend too much time on the Internet. I need to do something about that...

I stopped biting my nails years ago, but now instead I bite my cuticles, sometimes until they bleed. I am really self-conscious about it when my fingers are all mangled up afterwards.

I also bite the inside of my cheeks. I picked that one up from my sister. I had no idea there were so many cheek-biters out there! It's kind of nice to know I'm not alone.

Avril2080 / October 9, 2006 2:16 PM

I used to date a guy who would stick his finger in his belly button and then smell it.

I bite my cheek and cuticles too, but I think it's a reaction to stress/unhappiness. I've noticed that I do most of my 'nibbling' at work or on the way to work.

JB / October 9, 2006 2:35 PM

Acquaintances say that I drink too much, smoke too much, fuck too much, am too loud, and spend too much money on shows.

I say that all of these things make me very happy, so I will continue to do them without guilt.

Plus, my bf is a dynamo in the sack, so it's really not possible to fuck TOO much.

Allan / October 9, 2006 3:14 PM

Come on people! I am the only person who has issues with habitual masturbation! Yeah right! Meanwhile everyone picks their nose and bites there figernails. Whatever.

anononnonny / October 9, 2006 3:37 PM

I get these scabby things on my scalp, and I totally pick them off. And then look at them. I don't eat them or anything, though.

I also get really fixated on my husband's skin. If we're kissing or whatever and he has one of his trademarked HUUUUGE blackheads, I can't stop looking at it. I usually restrain myself from asking if I can get it, but sometimes it's just too big and tempting, and I have to plead for pimple-poppin' time.

Tug McGraw / October 9, 2006 3:40 PM

Allen,
I tug one out almost once every two hours.

you are not alone, man!

Check out the biscuit on that babe! i'll be back in two minutes, okay?

sky / October 9, 2006 4:07 PM

Bite my nails, pick my nose, procrastinate. smoke too much, drink too much, and sleep with my best guy friends. I habitually eat Macaroni and Cheese. I can't stop.

Ramsin / October 9, 2006 5:28 PM

I just can't stop being so charming.

jennifer / October 9, 2006 6:32 PM

being a runner, I get these really gross/necessary callouses on the tops of toes, the spot right above the toenails. when I'm sitting and reading (which is always now that I started the ph.d.), I pick at them. I'm sure that it has to annoy people around me, but I just can't stop!

also, as ashamed as I am of this as I'm supposed to be/become some sort of disconnected-from-the-real-world intellectual, I check perezhilton.com at least twice a day. who am I kidding, it's more than that. seriously, I'm sorry if you develop this habit. it's like strawberry cocaine (which I learned about on the website, incidentally).

what a weirdo I am.

Amanda / October 9, 2006 10:10 PM

Just before I wash my hair, I like to scratch my head really hard so that it rains down dandruff in the sink... a la Ally Sheedy in "The Breakfast Club".

PMan / October 9, 2006 10:34 PM

I've always had sinus issues, so a good finger-swab of the nose is often very comforting. I don't eat it, but I often look at it. Which leads me to ask, why the societal disdain for nose-picking?

Allan -- don't worry about the fantasizing and mastrubating -- really -- all men do it, and the others are lying.

unknown / October 9, 2006 10:58 PM

habits:

internet surfing
plucking stray white hairs
squeezing and picking at blackheads
reading erotica

Allan- you seem really interesting. Like you'd be one helluva conversationalist. I like your self-deprecating humor, but I realize that a lot of it is for effect. Do you go to any GB events?

Brandy / October 10, 2006 12:33 AM

Re: masturbation
I don't think of it as a bad habit, but a birthright. But chronic/every two hours must make it a whole lot of not-fun.

shermann / October 10, 2006 8:21 AM

Not being able to finish....

i'm gross / October 10, 2006 8:35 AM

i'm a picker/biter too. i pick all the skin off the pads of my fingers and the soles of my feet. until they bleed and hurt... sometimes it makes me limp. totally psycho! i've done it as long as i can remember. i'm trying to stop... i've quit biting my fingers to shreds... for a month now, i've been good and they've been healing. now i gotta quit picking the skin off my feet...

i also bite the insides of my cheeks and bite the hell out of my lips. especially during the chapped-lip season. i'm always bleeding from somewhere.

very refreshing to hear there are other semi-self-mutilators out there. good luck to you all in stopping! it's a b!tch!

a nonny mouse / October 10, 2006 9:07 AM

I pick at my legs. I can't stop searching for ingrown hairs, because they are so satisfying when you get a good one. However, a lot of my picking is not fruitful, so I end up with legs covered in scabs and big red blotches. I've tried to stop, but the longest I've managed to go is a week before the itching from the ingrowns starts making me crazy, and I go on another picking rampage.

kiki / October 10, 2006 9:27 AM

i use chapstick ALL THE TIME. i am completely addicted to it. my boyfriend makes fun of me because i have to put it on as soon as we're done kissing.

Spook / October 10, 2006 11:26 AM

I was and am a strong vocal, proponent of the ordinance to prohibited smoking in bars and restaurants. In this spirit, in bar washrooms and on top of bar counters, I use
to stick hundreds of small stickers from the American Long Association that said "Stop Second Hand Smoke!". After a couple of drinks I also gave threatening looks to yuppie smokers when they wandered into Public Houses in my hood. Recently I started smoking these mini Macanudo cigars but only at bars on Saturdays. See I've always enjoyed the occasional cigar. The last one I smoked was in the Big Easy a month before Katrina. But recently I've been keeping Saturday night company with a regular cigarette smoker! One night I was offered a fine little flavorful dainty, called a Macanudo Small Cigar at a local hipster bar. Now, I've been purchasing a pack of twenty, every other week for the last two months! I try to rationalize my actions by saying that I work out a lot, and smoking cigars in general, especially tiny cigars is not nearly as bad for you as cigarettes, and smell much better! But second hand smoke is still breathed by none smokers and workers at the bars I haunt on Saturday night.
I continue to look forward to the complete ban on smoking at bars although now I understand why smokers enjoy smoking at bars so much!

k / October 10, 2006 12:19 PM

I'm a fidgeter.

I cannot sit still at my job. I'm always playing with my hair, biting my fingernails, crossing and uncrossing my legs, cracking my knuckles, stretching, whatever. I take hour-long walks during lunch, but this rarely alleviates my need to be up and moving around.

Yet, all the fidgeting and office work ends up exhausting me by the end of the day, so I rarely feel like exercising.

I wish I had some sort of tradeskill that would let me work with my hands and more around more.

Randy / November 5, 2006 10:02 AM

I am a habitual nail bitter, nuckle, back, neck and elbow cracker.
I really hate it but I can't seem to stop. I'm also worried that I might do damage because of all the cracking.

me / January 12, 2007 4:58 PM

I pick my nose and eat the boogers. I also pick my scabs and eat them too. HELP ME!!!!