the cheese stands alone

Knock Wood

I wasn't going to do this week's Friday Five, until I saw it was about superstition. Then I had to... it would have been bad luck if I hadn't.

1. Are you superstitious?
Oh hell yeah. I don't have a choice. I was born and raised in West Virginny, and there isn't a hillbilly worth her salt who doesn't believe in the evil eye, birds in the house as harbingers of doom, and knocking wood. And don't think the GM1 was any kind of rational influence... he's from Louisiana, the child of swamp folk, land of voodoo and sacrificed chickens.
We fling salt more than we season with it.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
I once had to change my hair color before I was allowed into a boyfriend's home.
He'd taken me home to meet his family, and I was going through my punk phase with copper-penny red hair. His ancient grandmother met us at the door, and immediately began screeching "Witch hair! Witch hair!" . She wouldn't let him bring me past the doorstep, claiming red hair was the sign of the devil.
I had to go home and dye my hair back to mousy-brown before I could cross the threshold.
Then I released my inner demons, possessed the house, and they made a movie of it, called it "Amityville Horror"... but that's another story.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition?
I've convinced the GM1 that leaving a hat on the bed is not only bad luck, but that the only way the luck can be corrected is to take me out to dinner.
The one that stays firmly with me, though, is the one about not mentioning something when it's going well, for fear of jinxing it. A lot of conversations are strangely altered by this....
Me: "Um... did you notice the you-know-what isn't very you-know-what today?"
Him: "What?"
Me: "The .... you know, the thing, it's not very... *ahem*.... you know."
Him: "Which thing?"
Me: *gesturing* "All the... out there... um, the stuff isn't too.... don'twannasay."
Him: "Don't make me stop this car."
Me: "Exactly!"
Him: "Oh! You mean the traffic isn't very bad today! I gotcha."
Two minutes later as we sit in the parking lot that I-8 has become......
Him: "Look what you did."
Me: "ME?"

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?
Absolutely. I have a special place in my heart (and down my spine) for the number eleven. This is why I have eleven piercings, eleven tattoos, and do all my banking on the eleventh. Otherwise, any odd number is preferable over an even one.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?
Nope. Astrology is always describing me, based on star sign, as the exact opposite of what I am. For example, as a Virgo I'm supposed to be shy, modest, reliable, and practical.
I'll wait while those of you who know me go clean your keyboards.