I could have taken this from
href="http://mechaieh.diaryland.com/fss.html">Mechaieh or
href="http://www.livejournal.com/users/fairmer/67278.html?style=mine#cutid1">Mer
a> or a few others, but I took them from
href="http://marissa.gritter.dsg.stanford.edu/121303.html">M'ris because
somehow it seemed like a good idea to go back a generation or so. The words in
bold are those M'ris and I have in common.
01. I discovered e-mail
in college -- I don't think they had email much before I was in college. The
Internet existed but as far as I could tell consisted mostly of email and
newsgroups -- and I've never played in a MUD or a MUSH.
02. I
never watched TV much, but these days I watch Fear Factor and the Simpsons and
sometimes listen to the reruns Rudder turns on while I'm reading.
03. MI
don't much care what shows they cancel, except I'm very impresed that the SImsons
have been on so long and are still funny.
04. While I am not a talented
artist, I can draw moderately credibly when it's very, very important to do
so, but I don't do it much.
05. I like music but a lot of the
stuff I listen to is obscure enough that I'm always excited to me someone who
knows it. (Folky stuff, mostly.)
06. I'm actually pretty sure somebody
understands. If you'd hit me many years ago, maybe not, but I'm feeling pretty
thoroughly understood these days. Not universally. But thoroughly. More or
less true, but some things are understood only by people I only know
electronically. But people I know in the flesh, where they don't understand, at
least give me room enough.
07. I hate when people type in all caps
online. Doesn't everyone?
08. I also hate people who TypE LyKe D1s.
Yep...although sometimes I am amused at mocking it.
09. I don't mind
people who cannot speak/write in proper English: it's the people for whom there is
no excuse that I mind. Hmmmmm. I'm not entirely sure of this one. My question is
what the standard is for cannot. If someone has developmental disabilities, a
different native language, or a thoroughly soul-crushing environment, I'll cut
that person some slack on the grammar and spelling. I sort of cut other people
slack, too. Rudder can't spell anything whose spelling doesn't make sense
(i.e. a large fraction of the English language) and it means anything he's ever
written me can't be mistaken for anyone else. But I have no patience for people
who think spelling doesn't matter, who don't go out and find someone who can spell
to proofread it when it matters (a resume, for example).
10. I live
hundreds or thousands of miles from where I was born.
11. I have an MS
in Physical Sciences with a concentration in Space Science. I wanted to get a
Linguistics degree more recently but circumstances didn't cooperate. I have no
idea what I'd do with a Linguistics degree but I like learning (some things,
anyway) for its own sake. I expect to keep on doing it, in formal classes and out,
forever.
12. I wish my job paid better. Dude. Isn't this the human
condition? More reward for the same amount of labor? What M'ris
said.
13. I tend not to lose contact with people on my own, even if I
just know them from their journal or mine. Sometimes they disappear for awhile,
but if they'll e-mail me, I'll generally e-mail back. I really don't like
losing people, assuming I liked them in the first place.
14. For some
things in my life, forgetfulness is a blessing. I think this is the human
condition, too. I don't get that blessing very much -- I forget all kinds of
things I should do but rarely things I've done, at least not ones with any
emotional impact.
15. I hope to get faster at rowing and do a bit more
competing this year. Mostly, I just hope not to finish DFL. (dead fucking
last)
16. My butt gets too cold if I am indecently dressed in the winter,
even inside. This is especially true after I've been working out, before I
get in a hot shower.
17. Like M'ris, I complain about never having enough
time to get things done. I blame my commute for a lot of it.
18. I
have a lot to learn. Wasn't I saying something about the human condition and
learning earlier...?
19. Another partial agreement: I like to talk to
people, but I always worry; in my case, it's that I will exhaust them, and they'll
be relieved to be out of the laser gaze or the babbling mouth, depending. I
know I Overwhelm some people.
20. I check my email every day.
Compulsively. My e-mail client is pretty much always in an open window on my
computer. So it lets me know if there's anything there; I don't really have to
check. Even at work.
21. I am a writer by strict definition; that
is, I write. I have well over a thousand diary entries that say so. I don't know
if I'll ever try to sell anything I write and if I do it will be essay or
nonfiction. I don't do fiction; I seem to lack a plotting gene.
22. I
hate when people yell but I don't mind at all if they've just raised their
voices to be heard. I have sworn to myself, due to experiences with a former boss
and a former rowing coach, that I will never allow anyone to yell at me again
unless I have given them that right. (Which may be implicit -- we're in an
argument of equals and both getting steamed or I've asked them to coach
me.)
23. I want to travel the globe and hang out in other countries
someday. I've done a good bit of the traveling but am always short of time
for the hanging out part.
24. I don't really have the urge to collect
things, but sometimes I get them anyway, because friends or family see them and
think of me. Except books, if those count: I have the urge to collect books.
Which doesn't mean I don't like buying and getting stuff, but mostly I don't think
of it as collecting.
25. I sometimes have trouble finishing things I start.
I am a pretty compulsive finisher.
26. I drink coffee in decaf form
only. Real coffee does icky things to my digestion.
27. I love going
new places and seeing new things and trying out new stuff to eat. Also, I love
taking friends to places that are new to them, showing them new things, and
feeding them new stuff to eat. Yup.
28. I'm a weird person. Or so
I've been told. Some people have very confining definitions of
normality.
29. Like M'ris, I believe that human beings can understand
each other, with time, effort, patience and love, no matter what their backgrounds
are; however, I sometimes believe that the effort is more than some of them are
going to want to put into the situation. And some people are naturally better
at it than others.
30. I love the sound of cats purring, but it
doesn't stop me from moving them when they're sittingon my hand and I want to use
it for something.
31. I took guitar lessons for a few years, but never got
all that good. I haven't played it for a year or more.
32. I think that
animals are part of the cycle of propagation and predation, and that excesses to
one side or the other in the animal rights issue are dangerous. But I think we
have a tendency to run roughshod over the world, so inclining a bit over toward
the protection side may be necessary.
33. I procrastinate. Human
condition, right? But not too much; not enough that I feel it's a major flaw of
mine. At least not usually.
34. Bratty kids make me sad, because
that's a direct function of how their parents treat them in most cases; some kids
emerge from the womb ready to be mean at the slightest provocation. Except
that some ages are almost bratty by definition, for most kids. But that passes and
you generally know when it hits -- for example, there's a limit to what anyone can
do with a screaming baby sometimes.
35. I'm not really much of a movie buff.
When I do watch them, it's usually for entertainment, not deep thought. I don't
like movies I don't understand, but I do like books that make me think.
36.
I don't like housecleaning, but I mind some kinds more than others.
37. I
respond to some written erotica; pictures don't do much for me.
38. I don't
mind crowds, to a degree, but eventually I need a break and some quiet.
39.
Like Mer, Mechaieh, and M'ris, I am married and grinning about it. Nice to see so
many happy marriages.
40. If you grab this meme from me, I'd love it if
you'd let me know.
[numbers missing here-- that's OK, I think 97 points are
enough!]
43. I have a little brown splotch birthmark on my left
knee.
44. I live in a big two-story house -- well it feels big to me.
There's still no furniture in the front room. I don't love it, but I like it and
it's comfortable.
41. I really enjoy thoughtful gifts, period. Both
giving and getting and either way, I don't care what they cost.
42. I
like people who are a bit out of the ordinary, and I like people who are a lot out
of the ordinary even more, maybe. Depends on just how they are
unordinary.
More missing numbers....
45. I love interesting
clothes/costumes. I'll never bea fashion plate because my wardrobe varies too
much I like dressing up some days and going casual on others. Some days I wear
what's almost a costume and some days I just shlep. Either way, comfort is
important.
46. I could not be normal if I TRIED. And I don't. I
don't think my abnormalities exactly match any set of people I know, but some are
close.
47. I have no children yet and we're not really planning on
any. I'm getting a bit old for it -- yes, I know lots of women have kids when
they're older, but the rate of birth defects gets scary.
48. I can't ride
a horse. I'd like to learn someday but it's not a priority.
49. I've
never done any role-playing to speak of. Back when I had friends who did (high
school) it seemed to be an all-male thing.
50. I am always pleasantly
surprised when I hear from someone new in my e-mail or comments. But I love
hearing from the same people, too.
51. I like silence at
times.
52. I've lived in Philadelphia, Houston, and Phoenix.
53. I
got glasses when I was 3 and have had them or contacts ever since except for a
year when I was 9. I had braces from 13-15. I'm thinking of LASIK next
year.
54. Ithink it's way to easy for me to boss other people around so I
try not to.
55. I like being alone sometimes but only
sometimes.
56. I would rather cook than do dishes most days, but I'm
not crazy about every-day cooking, I like doing it occasionally.
57. I'm not
particularly neat -- I tend to leave a trail of books behind me, in
particular.
58. I need to exercise. I just took two days off because
I hadn't had any since Thanksgiving, but I went to the gym this morning.
59.
I like when my friends write me letters and emails, it makes me feel
special. I love when people want to talk to me!
60. I'm cynical
sometimes, but I am very nearly a congenital optimist. I do that on purpose
because I think it's a better way for me to live.
61. I keep in touch with
only one or two people from high school, plus one couple I've known since I was
thirteen, though they're older. I keep in touch with a few from college, but not
in close touch.
62. Crying at commercials, nope. Books, sometimes.
63.
I overreact about things sometimes and underreact at others -- I've been
accused of being "too logical".
64. I cry at music sometimes but it's
generally more if I'm singing than listening.
65. I have odd dreams.
And sometimes, incredibly boring ones.
66. I wish I could travel more
often. And for longer.
67. I like living, growing things around
me, but cats are about as much as I can successfully care for.
68.
Heights are fine by me. That includes everything from roller-coasters to
hang gliders, though I'm not stupid about it. I will jump out of a plane (and
have) bu of course I was scared!
69. I believe in God. I don't believe
that GW Bush is His Chosen One. I am more interested in discussing religious
theory than practice.
70. I am not a pacifist, but I believe violence should
generally be a last resort. BUt it is a valid resort.
71. I like my
weather cool and variable. Since 1989, I've lived in Texas and Arizona and I
am TIRED of hot weather!
72. I would love to seek the nearest corner in a
crowded room and find a book, but only sometimes.
73. I have never
broken a bone.
74. I'm not quite sure what pathouli smells like. I generally
don't like strong perfumes.
75. I don't follow any celebrities' gossip or
love lives in particular. I do read In Style but more for the clothes
and houses.
76. I wish I had more friends, especially close-by
ones.
77. I love to read, period and full stop.
78. I re-
read a lot, in part because I can't afford to buy books as fast as I can read
them. Also because I can't store as many as I can read. I don't use the
library much any more, because of time issues.
79. I don't really have many
health issues to speak of anyway.
80. I am told I write well. At least for
an engineer.
81. I can be hard to deal with sometimes. Another of those
human condition things.... But I may be harder than most.
82. I don't
understand the appeal of horror movies.
83. I don't really have a
hard time living inside my current income. But I do have trouble saving as
much as I think I should.
84. I love my family but thank the deity I
don't have to live with them.
85. On some issues, I'm very firm in my
beliefs. I admire people who are willng to respect beliefs they don't agree
with.
86. I am female.
87. I support gay civil marriage.
Hell, if people *want* to pay huge tax penalties and establish stable family
units, I think it hurts our society not to let them. (Though I wouldn't be averse
to doing away with those marriage tax penalties.)
88. I think kids are
resilient. Good thing.
89. There is no way on I wil vote for Bush. RIght now
I like Dean, but the election is quite a way away.
90. I am comfortable with
the idea of dying in theory but find it mind-boggling when I try to apply it
personally.
91. I do not smoke.
92. Most parts of my family I
actually know are middle-class.
93. I HATE when computers freeze.
Well, yeah.
94. I like talking on the phone but not long enough to
get a sore neck from it. Like with email, I love when people want to talk to
me.
95. I don't particularly mind going to the doctors' office except
for that part about being sick. Or getting bits of metal shoved into my
body.
96. I'm generally not socially anxious.
97. I have a pager but
never carry it. No one pages me anyway.
98. I have my earlobes and navel
pierced.
99. I've never had a tattoo. I know what I'd get if I did,
but probably won't. I don't like pain much.
100. I am done with this
survey now. I should probably have been doing more useful things
anyway.