Thursday, January 13, 2011

Yes, even I have an OCD side.

I work with word documents a lot on account of being this really very important content-editor and essay evaluator. Yes, I have to work with very complicated software like MS Word, Notepad, Wordpad and MS Word. Did I mention MS Word?


So, I’ve come to notice a while ago that the way documents come to me can affect my mood a lot. Take justifying text, for example. I am quite obsessive about it. On opening a word doc, I almost automatically drag my mouse to the formatting tool bar, select all text and justify the fuck out of it. There! Finally, the jagged-line-edges on the right have become even. Now, onto the next task.

I hunt for serif fonts quite pointlessly, coz I know I’ve already fixed on one font…Garamond. I hate the Arial font family. Likewise, Times New Roman. To me, it’s quite ugly, actually. Fonts like Helvetica and Impact are anathema to me. UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH! How aesthetically unattractive. How plain and boring, with lumpy shapes. I like Calibri, Cambria, Century Gothic, Palatino Linotype. Nice, compact, elegant.


Do you see the irony tho?
1. Me. OCDing about how a word doc looks even before I read it.
2. Liking the skinny fonts over the big, bold, simple, no-frills ones.

I wonder what this says about me. For those of you who know me, you KNOW I’m nowhere near either of that. Body image issues? For sure! But isn’t this taking it too far? I guess I’ll do the wondering on my own coz you definitely don’t need THAT image. I’ll just leave you with this:

Do our innermost hypocrites burst out in ridiculous absurdities like this?




PS: I've deliberately chosen a sans serif font here on my blog and yes, very very deliberately chose to leave my text unjustified. I'm rebelling against my own good-girl tendencies

12 comments:

  1. "Justify the fuck out of it"

    Well, THAT's got to be the funniest expression I've heard in a while. Made me laugh out loud in office as I was reading :D

    That aside, I do think we who value good writing care not just about the content but the presentation as well. Good choice of fonts, well designed cover pages etc definitely make a good book/presentation better. Unfortunately, a lot of people grow up with the notion that presentation counts for the max when it comes to writing/preparing a project (an oft encountered flaw in our education system) Also, your stint as an editor might have something to do with it?

    Keep "justifying" ;)

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  2. Had a mental image of you holding a giant stick and terrorizing the font into justifying itself! Funny funny funny! FYI, your image was wearing a Marathi-style saree and dangling earrings.

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  3. I hate Times New Roman too. Unfortunately it is the prescribed font to write all fucking things - like assignments, thesis and even a Research Proposal- in here..

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  4. I hate Times New Roman precisely because it is the prescribed font. I cheat with Arial whenever I can, but for personal uses, I like Comic Sans. I used to be crazy about Lucida Handwriting, but I got over it after I found out how long it took me to read and edit with that. And I've spent DAYS checking out all the webdings and wingdings.

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  5. Calibri --smooth ...
    try getting into the world of MS Excel....i dont use docx at all...i create all my notes/work flows/bla bla...

    its a grt tool....try it :D

    Manoj

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  6. @ Gogs...yea...the editor job definitely! but I was like this even before..hehe

    @ Swats: What is with people picturing me threatening things with a stick? (and in a Marathi style sari, no less...AY!) Jas had a similar vision over something else. FUCK, I donno if I should be concerned or proud about this!

    @ Manu and Swats: We shud BAN TNR. And yea, I still love Comic Sans...its great for my rants, really! Maybe I should regress and switch to it. Garamond is so fake-me!

    @ Mj: Excel?? Do I have to write in boxes now? I'll give it a shot...but essentially, OCD is kind of being rigid about the things you are used to refusing to switch over to better options, isnt it?

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  7. Well then there is obviously something about you that creates the image of a Marathi-you holding a stick! You're turning Roman - taking on the colours of your current city even in the minds of others!
    Agree with you on banning TNR. I'm using it right now to write something, and hating it.
    Oh btw, i hate justify. Reading 'justified' text makes me bored and sleepy. Its kind of like Sunita Rani's classes... the way she lectures was just too even and smooth. the best soporific that should be known to every insomniac! I like a bit of variety, change... monotony is my biggest enemy, so 'justify' just isn't for me.

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  8. Can't help adding my bit of technical gyan...left alignment is easier on the eye than justified text...also sans serif is always better for 'serious' documents. So I guess pretty fonts are not always the most presentable :D

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  9. Aaah, the ID speaks :p Yea...I know that, generally, justifying text makes it look like one huuuuuuuge block of text, making it look dull, with no relief on the page. THAT is why it is my quirk, my OCD-factor :P
    And the pretty fonts? I'm sure therez a life lesson in there somewhere. lolz

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  10. hahahahahahha ...am so font(d) of you all..
    This was hilariouuuus! and about fonts and all, well TNR i hate i know that..and Jyo as Marathi Ben ...haha awesome image I say ;)
    Thank you for writing such whacky food for thought Jyo *hugs*

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  11. hey, who says times new roman is prescribed? it's just the easiest, so people like one esteemed CUP author just presume it'll be used. Garamond's great, though a bit smaller than other fonts of the same size, so slightly problematic for writing assignments and dissertations where we have to fill pages. my favourite during my editing days was book antiqua. what a lovely font!

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  12. Yea...I like book antiqua too...pretty and not too dainty! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Who was that author by the way? Spill!

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