Wednesday, October 14, 2009

O.A.I. Syndrome

O.A.I. Syndrome:
Over Active Imagination Syndrome

Definition: a disposition in which one daydreams and concentrates on their thoughts so much that they transport her into a different world, and she becomes prone to nervousness, emotion, and culture shock when brought back

Okay, so maybe that was overworded, but so it seems. I am a severe culprit; it takes its toll on me daily. Just curious as to how many of my friends here suffer from the same syndrom. Allow me to share a few examples of my own O.A.I.

One of the best examples is found in this post.

Another happened just the other month. We were driving to a fire station some 45-50 minutes away for a charity dinner, and to pass the time, I was looking at Reminisce magazines. The tales of days gone wrapped their cords around me and held me back in the world of Victory gardens, bobbed and curled hair, wearing hats and gloves to church, and driving in antique models of cars. Then we arrived at the fire station, and as I walked in, I had this wave of culture shock, like I had stepped forward 60 years into the future! People bustled around me in jeans, fire station T-shirts, and cellphones. I felt ever so out-of-place. Some little Boy Scouts were serving the food, and I felt like they were a little more in place with my world, in their brown Boy Scout outfits and their freckled faces.
Very strange.

Another example is the time I was planning for a story about two brothers at the beginning of World War II in Europe-- one was actually adopted, and a Jew, and the other was very politically active in trying to hinder the Nazi movement. I had planned that in the end one of the brothers died, and I thought so much about it that I got depressed.

:-P

So tell me whether you have O.A.I. Syndrome! I'd love to know I'm not the only strange one out there. Any crazy stories like mine? :-P

P.S. I like to tell kids that my superpower is time travel. ;-)

6 comments:

Lilly said...

Not so much any more. However, mom used to say I dramatized my life as if I was a character out of a book.

Gaby said...

:P I do it all the time! I think I might suffer from it! LOL! Why, just today I went out shopping with my mother and Ashley. I have not been out since Sunday, and I had only been to church. I was, perhaps, a little lost in the world of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Anne of Green Gables. Anyhow, I was wearing an "Anne" skirt. Once at the Target (the place we were shopping at) I received a culture shock! I as actually shocked at what people were wearing! LOL As if I expected everyone to wear what I was wearing! :P It was not the only time it has happened to me either...

Gabrielle

P.S.
My dad thinks us meeting up will work out. He just needs to know when you will be here and where we would meet at. I hope it works out!

Amanda said...

LOL!!!!!! I'm glad to finally know that there is a name for it! : ) Now I know what to tell my family when I say something weird in the middle of a conversation and they look at me and ask if I'm okay. : )

In the story I am now writing I like to give one of my characters a thick German accent. In order to write it right I talk in German and try to get the accent just perfect. When I leave my writing I tend to forget and continue using my accent. My family thinks that I have gone crazy! : )

Ah vell, Gute night.

Amanda said...

I'm afraid I usually do NOT suffer from O.A.I. - however, very occasionally, I suddenly realize that I am miles away and somebody is trying to talk to me...

Margaret Dashwood said...

Haha, I get that!!!! The only thing is, I never apply my daydreams to a book...:P

Ooh, I'm listening to Alasdair Fraser and I'm loving listening to that beautiful Celtic/Scottish fiddle....watch out, I might get O.A.I. if I'm not careful!!!:P :P :P Maybe I should read Fisherman's Lady....:D

Bethany

Teddy said...

I'd say I suffer from it...I've gotten depressed over the idea of killing off a character too... :)And just ask my dog- my imagination works full time on our walks... :-S It's sort of embarrassing and a little bit annoying. Every person I pass has got a story behind them....there's a bad guy behind every fire-hydrant...every interesting house has got some marvelous history.................and I can't believe I'm admitting all of this.... :)