(Un)lucky number 13

(This is another of those hoarded posts that have been sitting, unfinished, in my Drafts folder. It was originally started on May 9, 2009, after the Bloggess posted about Twitter and mentioned her fear of the number 13 as a reason why there was no #13 in the list.)

Since I first moved into my own apartment many, many years (and a couple of moves) ago, I’ve always lived on the 13th floor. Oh, sure, they all try to pretend they don’t have a 13th floor (as if pretending makes it go away) but we all know what it is. The 13th floor is the 13th floor, whatever name you give it. I lived on the 16th floor in one building where the ground floor was floor number 3 (floors 1 and 2 were the underground parking floors). And I’ve lived on the 12th floor in others that named their ground floor “M” or “G” and the floor above that “1”. No matter how you slice it, it all amounts to good old number 13.

It hasn’t been a conscious choice. I think I just look out the window while I’m apartment-hunting and think “Yeah, this is just the right height.” High enough that you get a good view, but low enough that you don’t get the dizzies. In retrospect, though, I kind of like that it always works out to the same floor and that that floor is always 13.

I’ve never had a fear of the number 13, and I’ve always found it curious that people do. The same goes for 666. Granted, I’m not Christian so I don’t associate 666 with anything superstitious or scary. I do find it very funny when I’m shopping and my total comes to $6.66 (mind you, I’m also amused when it comes to an even dollar amount or any other interesting sequence). I’ve actually had people ask if I want to buy something else to get a different number when 666 turns up. Truthfully, I can’t think of any number or number sequence that I am superstitious about.