Counting

I am the count.  I looooove to count!
I actually cannot help myself.  I count everything.  Deodorant is five seconds under each arm which I count out.  The air freshener is ten squirts which I count.  If someone is shovelling, I count.
I guess it is my bent.  It is why I ended up with numbers.  It is strange, but in school there were three of us that all did ancient history instead of maths.  I really did like ancient history, though I wanted Hannibal to beat the Romans. It didn’t happen.  Even after all this time the result was the same.  We ancient history people all ended up in figures jobs.  One tutored accountancy.
I know I have it bad.  It is not just numbers I am into.  I also avoid cracks in walk ways where I can.  If I can’t avoid the cracks I make it a match between my right foot and my left foot.  I deliberately do not change my stride.  It can lead to one side being ahead like four nil, but then the tables turn and it is like four three, and then it is over.  It is not like it is memorable or anything.  I cannot say who won and when, but it happens.
I am not alone though.  I was walking with two guys when I noticed one walking weird.  I asked him why that was.  He told me he was avoiding cracks.  Another guy told me our conversation had led him to walk weird.
I think it runs in our family, though I cannot prove it.  Dad was a successful businessman, and the brother just above me is a chronic counter.  No one seems to have it as bad as I do.  My brother was counting out something the other day, and I could tell him before he told me, how many were needed.
My wife will tell you that someone only needs to start doing something repetitive in my presence, and I start to count.  I think it is why I took to music. When I hear a piece of music, I am constantly counting out the beats in the bar.  When I am in a group clapping to a tune, I often clap on the alternative beat.  It is always in time, and I don’t think it is disconcerting.  It is just what I do.  I do not try.  It just happens.
I think it is why I ended up in finance.  I find numbers really fascinating, but that does not mean it is always in an organisations best interest to use me.  There is someone else who does money collection that I know, and when they do it, we always seem to make more money than expected.
I do not see this counting thing as a blessing or curse. I just know I need to run with it, as it is who I am.