Tuesday 2 August 2011

I hear footsteps and know that it is you

This has almost become a passionate obsession. I believe that I had this trait in me but did not notice that it has become habitual and compulsive. I had to guess the person from the footsteps I hear in the corridor. It so happens that one does something for a lark before one realizes that that which was done for a lark has almost become a part of the daily routine.



Working on the computer, I am engrossed in something but almost as a reflex, my ears pick up a sound that is at a distance: footsteps. I start guessing. Maybe it could be SG or PR. As the footsteps come closer, I know who it is. It is like a challenge between my two minds. The two minds debate and finally one wins. The process gives me immense joy. If my guess is correct, I get quite ecstatic. But all this involves only me. Sometimes I do whisper to the person sitting next to me that X or Y is coming. Unwittingly, the person sitting beside gets involved in the anticipation of matching the footsteps to the person. If I win, I look at the individual beside with a look that proudly exclaims, “I told you, didn’t I? I am always right.” Guessing a person by the footsteps is not a great feat but I consider it something to be proud of as not many are tuned to identifying footsteps. How small things come to mean so much is something that has never ceased to amaze me. Even while I type this post, my ears hear the footsteps and try to match them to the person.

Now, I hasten to add that I cannot recognize every footstep. I have to know the person before I could identify the footsteps. It is strange how different people walk, thereby bringing a distinct sound to their footsteps. Even barefoot walk has a particular sound which can be identified. 
Weird obsessions and habits! What is yours? Counting, perhaps or is it adding the numbers of a vehicle’s registration. I do them as well!

Image: Internet

27 comments:

  1. I have too many to mention. I have to make words out of registration plates, I race raindrops, I have to turn the toilet paper a particular way on a roll (no matter where I am or who's house LOL) and I see faces in everything.

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  2. Me too. I have quite a few of them. But what you have there is real sharp ears that can recognize a person's gait. Amazing Susan.

    http://rimlybezbaruah.blogspot.com/2011/08/reawakening.html

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  3. so am I,major one,is my phone,I keep checking if I have missed out,or if the ringer is not silent..I follow a particular regime every night,get paranoid that if I don't,something will go wrong..I see figures in my porridge,and in clouds..and sometimes think I have lost it..

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  4. smiles. about the only place i could pull that off is in my own house...

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  5. I am impressed by your talent, I am obsessed with the traffic signal and worry that it will turn red before I approach it. It gets my heart racing every time.

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  6. That's such a funny quirk! Love it. Many thanks. I guess mine has to be identifying people by their voices. Especially from a distance.

    Greetings from London.

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  7. That's a fun habit! I would think it would also have the potential of aiding you in training your ears to hear and recognize more details...so ...pretty cool!

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  8. While reading this post, i recollect doing this every now and then. I also have the habit of trying to recognize the loud voices of professors/students talking in class while I walk through the corridors of our university. Its surprising how we try to to make ourselves happy by trying to winning over these small things in life.
    Nice post ma'am...

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  9. That's funny Susan Deborah and probably pretty entertaining as well.:) I am super impressed with your obviously good hearing combined with skillful guessing! I don't think I could do that although I do think everyone has a definite walking style!

    Much love to you today! Hope you are happy and smiling!

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  10. That was a fun and interesting read!!! :) enjoyed it!

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  11. I can match voices to people, but as for footstaps I can hardly hear any. The soles of most sorts of modern shoes are so light that one has to make great effort to intercept something.
    Anyway, you seem to have very sensitive ears, and a good hearing ability.

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  12. that's an interesting trade. I wonder if it could be used in criminal law.
    I dont have many trades like that, but I have obsessive petpeeves. If my ears pick up the noise of a person chewing, for instance, I can not concentrate on anything. It is an obsession I wish I did not have, believe me

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  13. count. Something I just realized. I count al the time, everything. cars in a parking lot, butts in an ashtray. I just noticed it when I was for the hundredth time counting the chairs in my mama's house. How weird is that?

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  14. Tagged you here: http://yuvikachaube.blogspot.com/2011/08/tagged-why-i-read.html

    Do the tag if you get the time .... :)

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  15. Well, one of them is to figure out the singer while listening to random bollywood songs.

    Another strange obsession is watching facial expressions and dialogue delivery of actors in favourite scenes from collected movies over and over again.

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  16. SJ:

    Oh, I see faces too as well, in almost everything.

    Rimly:

    Thanks for your kind words, dear Rimly.

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  17. Alpana:

    Ah, that's quite a modern syndrome, Alpana. I also see faces, everywhere, all the time.

    Brian:

    Smiles :)

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  18. Sulekha:

    I have no experience with traffic signals, so can't say much on that. Welcome here Sulekha. Glad to have you here.

    Cuban:

    Welcome here dear Cuban and glad to have you here. Even I do that: identifying people by their voices. People are always interesting, no matter what: footsteps or voices.

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  19. Jessica M:

    Thanks Jess. Your comment made my day.

    Nikhila:

    You don't have many professors, so I guess it's easy to identify voices but I'm glad that you do have this trait :)

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  20. Colleen:

    Thanks for your kind comment, Colleen.

    Much love to you and a big hug across ether.

    :-Dee:

    :)

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  21. I anticipate the day that you'd hear my footsteps and guess it's me. :) In my case, I think I can tell people based on smell. But that's common, I suppose.

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  22. DUTA:

    I can do voices as well.

    Myriam:

    Criminal law? Sounds quite interesting but I wonder how? Usually criminals come without a sound.

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  23. Jan:

    Oh, oh! I too count all the time. Everything that is countable is not spared by me. Glad to share this trait with you.

    Yuvika:

    Thanks for the tag. I will try doing it sometime.

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  24. Suraj:

    Glad to see you. Ah, that's another obsession that my friends do. We are all so similar yet so distinct.

    Have a good Sunday.

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  25. AJ:

    I should meet you for that. And, yes, I have a notorious sense of smell which annoys many people. I can smell food and even identify the ingredients.

    Have a great Sunday, Age. Glad to see you here.

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  26. I tend to spell out words, names anything I see or hear... can't think of anything else. Well, hope you're having a nice time in this new phase of life.
    Take care, thanks for all the comments on my blog.

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  27. Karen:

    Yes, nice time and making all those dishes with the recipes you put up.

    Thanks for coming by.

    Joy always :)

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