Home signs

"You're so like Phoebe from F.R.I.E.N.D.S!"

I can't count the number of times I have heard this line. In fact, one of my friends thought I was so Phoebe that she actually gave me a Phoebe keychain as a gift. But that was in university days. If you are as obsessed with the TV series as I am (except seasons 7-10, they suck), you will find that as you grow older, you undergo a weird transformation - from being like one character in F.R.I.E.N.D.S to another. And it was only when Clueless mentioned in the bus the other day, "You guys are together very Monica!" that I went "Sheesh!" But there was no argument, she was right. As someone who suffered the misfortune of living with Viv and me in our house for three months during her holidays, she was the one person who could objectively tell us that separately, we may be normal, but together we were very Monica.

So I decided to make a list of things that make Viv and me 'together very Monica'.

• One of us simply has to vacuum every strand of hair that leaves the scalp before it even touches the floor, while the other doesn't think that waiting till the weekend will cause any kind of a black-carpet situation.
  
  
• One of us simply has to place the clothes-drying rack right next to the dining table because it's the sunniest spot in the house, while the other can't stand the thought of clothes drying in the dining area.
  
  
• One of us believes that drying clothes is an art that will significantly affect their fold-ability and iron-ability, while the other thinks that the three are independent variables.
  
  
• One of us simply has to fold every single piece of clothing (and I mean every single piece) while the other thinks that some clothes can just be flung into a drawer.
  
  
• One of us can't stand the thought of mobile phone chargers plugged into the socket with the switch on, but with no mobile phone at the end, while the other doesn't mind removing a charged mobile phone from the charger with the switch still on.
  
  
• After getting home late, one of us likes to immediately plonk on the couch and turn on the TV at volume 44, while the other frantically "shhhhhhhhhhhhhh"es till all the babies in the neighbourhood start peeing.
  
  
• One of us likes to keep bills and spam letters on the coffee table for sorting, while the other believes that coffee tables are only for keeping magazines and remote controls (six of 'em no less - TV, Cable, DVD player, VCR, fan and sometimes air-conditioner.)
  

• One of us likes to fold every single plastic bag and keep them in a large paper bag, while the other thinks stuffing the small plastic bags into a larger one is fine.
  
  
• One of us simply has to write accounts every single day, while the other can't be bothered.
  
  
• One of us believes that before taking a bath, the water heater should be switched on for a time so accurate that you have the exact amount (mililitres down to two decimal places) of hot water needed, whereas the other doesn't think it's a huge waste of electricity to approximate.
  
  
• One of us believes that the hooks behind bathroom doors are for hanging clothes perennially, while the other believes that the clothes on the hooks should leave the bathroom along with the person.
  
  
• One of us completely flips if the tap is turned on more than required when washing dishes, while the other is pretty oblivious to it.
  
  
• One of us believes that pink gerberas do not go with anything but white fillers, while the other doesn't get what is wrong with pink gerberas, yellow dahlias and pink orchids in the same vase.
  
  
• One of us simply has to get up the moment the alarm rings, while the other thinks that snooze is the best feature of mobile phones.
  
  
• One of us believes that tom yam soup, pulao, matar paneer and pasta make for a great meal, while the other can't believe the ridiculous combination.
  
  
• One of us can't understand why the dining table must have a white tablecloth and suffer visible spills every day, while the other can't understand why the first can't understand that the tablecloth must be white.
  
  
• One of us feels that the coffee table should have table mats for people to keep their plates on when they eat, while the other thinks that table mats are ugly.

The strangest thing is - we have so many little idiosyncrasies of our own that no matter how much I try, I really can't tell which one of us is more Monica. Any guesses? ;)