The altfriday13

[semperfiona]

From the altfriday5:

13. a) Do you follow any cultural superstitions (e.g., avoiding the
number thirteen, picking up pennies)?

No. I do pick up pennies as often as not, but because it's free money
rather than to gain unspecified good luck beyond the cash value of the
penny itself. I generally avoid walking under ladders on safety grounds,
because I'm not real conscious of my body in space, and would probably
knock the ladder down along with the person standing on it.

I occasionally feel compelled to prove my disbelief in superstitions by
doing exactly the opposite of the prescribed behavior, like stepping on
all the cracks in the sidewalk on purpose, or petting every black cat I
see while out walking. Yes, I'm aware that this also is reinforcement of
the superstition.

13. b) Do you have any personal superstitions (e.g. wearing a certain
item of clothing to bring you luck)?

No. I do have a belief in karma and the power of names, such that when
reannon invited people to submit their own name for use as
zombie victims in her current writing project, I didn't do it. I had a
passing thought of submitting names of people I dislike, but didn't do
that either, because invoking bad karma against someone else contravenes
the three-fold rule.

This particular belief has been reinforced on occasion: for example, I
once took a Mental Health Day^TM claiming that Rosa was sick
and I had to stay home with her. That very night, she fell out of bed
and banged her head but good. Nowadays I don't falsify illness for
anyone but myself--if it bounces back on me, at least I haven't harmed
anyone else.

13. c) Did your parents have any superstitions? What were they? Do
you believe in them?

None that I know of, and they strove to counter any superstition that we
kids tried to take up.

13. d) Make up a new superstition and share it with us (who know,
maybe it will catch on!).

Always wear green on payday: it encourages the inflow of money.

(I am in fact wearing green today, and it is in fact payday. These two
facts were completely unrelated until this very moment.)

13. e) Did you notice the date today? Does it affect you at all (e.g.
make you nervous, make you happy)?

Yes, I noticed it. I usually claim thirteen as my favorite number,
partly because of the opposition to a common superstition, and mostly
because I was born on the 13th. Today's my half-birthday, in fact. Yay
me! Yay half-birthdays! Not that I actually celebrate or observe
half-birthdays.

Comments

[jilly-bear.livejournal.com]

A very merry un-birthday to yooooouuuuuu!

And now - "The time has come the walrus said...."

::giggle:: I just now noticed that it was Friday the 13th - how cool!!!

And I like your suggeston about green - perhaps I need more green in my wardrobe. :)

[gasslight.livejournal.com]

I call the 13th my lucky number for the (almost) exact same reasons you do - it's not my half birthday today is the only difference.