Association Meme, via wildejoy: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

My responses to wildejoy's associations with me:

( Nooj/Paine )

( Politics )

( Libraries )

( Writing )

( Feminism )

This is making the rounds again; it's one that I'm never able to resist. You play along by leaving a comment, and I'll give you five questions to answer in your own journal.

My interviewer is bottle_of_shine.

( Her questions, my answers. )

Sometimes you just need a work distraction. Ganked from wildejoy and others.

( Long personality test is long. )

Ganked from first_seventhe. It was a weird quiz, lots of times there were many answers that fit; other times none of them were particularly good matches. However, I can't really argue with this result.

( What's your color personality? )

Is HelloQuizzy the new name for OKCupid? The look is different, but the feel is very much the same.

More memeage, this time from parron.

Comment on this post and I will choose seven interests from your profile. You will then explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along. (If you don't want to continue the meme, replying to the comment is fine.)

( Interests and explanations behind the cut. )

( And Ikon's choices )

Boy, this journal has been very memey lately, hasn't it? Just one of those cycles.

For the journalling meme that I posted awhile back, wildejoy asked me to write about what physical and personality characteristics I find most attractive in other people. I've been considering the answer for awhile (I promise I didn't just forget about the meme!), and I've come up with some ideas.

Physical
There are a number of things that I look for in men (and also notice in women, but since I'm effectively straight, if we're talking attraction, then it's mostly about men), but the thing that will always catch my eye and hold my attention is a nice head of hair. I generally prefer dark to blond, thick to thin, wavy to straight, and more to less, because in the end what it's all about is having something nice to run my hands through. Really short hair is fun to play with in its own way, but I've always loved the sensation of combing my fingers through a soft, thick mane.

I also look for elegant hands and a soothing voice.

Personality
More important than looks, of course, and as with the physical side I have many preferences, but the one thing I must have in a friend and/or a partner is the ability to cut loose and be silly. This world is a crazy place; it's just not possible to take it seriously all the time. Of course there is a time to take life seriously, but I need someone who can see the absurdity and revel in it with me. (Those of you who know T are probably looking at me sideways right now. I promise, he has this side to him. It just doesn't come out in public very often.)

So that's my baseline. Nice hair and a sense of humor (but the right kind of sense of humor). How about you?

1. Tell me about myself! How would you describe my personality to someone else if you had to?

2. Ask me anything you want to know about me, my life - anything you're curious about.

3. Post this in your own LJ so that I can do the same for you!*

*If you like -- as always with memes in this journal, carrying them forward is entirely optional.

I've been meaning to post about all the good things that happened on Wednesday, but I keep getting distracted. So buckling down to sum up.

First of all, many many thanks for all the good wishes!! I tried to get you all personally, but I know I may have missed some; rest assured I saw them all, and appreciate them muchly. :)

The librarians informed me on Tuesday that they were taking me to lunch, that they had already made reservations, and that they'd thought about surprising me but decided they'd better tell me, so that I wouldn't schedule a meeting or something. But the fun actually started in the morning, with a visit to the big cats. This time I got to see all three cats: the cheetah, the lynx, and a serval. Such beautiful creatures. Followed by lunch, at The Slanted Door, a restaurant I've always really liked. We stuffed ourselves there, and then went back to the office, where they presented me with a cake. Candles and all! They even got my name on it, in frosting! Of course, we were way too full for cake at that point, so we had to hold off a couple hours, to eat it later. Pretty tasty, once I finally had room for a slice.

Then I got home to discover the first disc of Avatar Book 2 waiting for me. I would probably have inhaled it, but T had a work project, so we only got to watch the first episode. But still, very exciting. Man, that's a good show. So instead I played more Phoenix Wright, also a good thing, even if I'm still only on the third episode of the first game.

So overall one of my more memorable and fun birthdays. Yay.

Seven Questions Meme! Ganked from friede.

Not just any seven questions though, no; to keep it interesting, seven questions as per below - just copy and paste the following, replace the blanks with something you want to know/ask (e.g. 3. Donkeys or sandcastles and why?), anything you want, personal, silly, surreal or deep, comment away and I'll answer honestly as I can! Then post this in your own LJ and see what kind of things people want to ask you! (If you feel like it, that is.)

1. What do you think of ________________?
2. When did you last ____________?
3. __________ or ___________ and why?
4. What did you ______________?
5. What's your favourite ______________?
6. How would you ______________?
7. Who would you most like to _____________?

Silly, serious, or completely random: all takes on this are welcomed.

What a weird year.

A promotion, but under the most unfortunate circumstances I can imagine. Several fun excursions, with lots of underlying stress involved. Watching friends and family and co-workers and the entire planet go through all kinds of upheaval. Nothing good without underlying difficulty; no cloud without a bright silver lining. Which I suppose is just life, but I got more of that contrast than usual this year, I think.

So here's hoping for smoother waters for a little while. Right now, all I want out of 2008 is some stability. For me, for all of you, for the world. So with that in mind, I wish you all a most Happy New Year.

We are going out tonight: dinner at a friend's house, then probably the SF waterfront fireworks. A nice, laid-back evening to usher in a nice, laid-back year? We can only hope.

Ganked from luciab.

The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

Bold the items that are true.

( The list is fairly long, so it's behind a cut. )

Ganked from madlori.

1.) When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter?

So I should start out by saying that, because we live in a loft, we don't really have "rooms" in the traditional sense; it's all one big open space. We have an upstairs, but it's a mezzanine open to the living room area below. The only separate rooms are the bathrooms. That said, the front door opens into a foyer area that's sort of like a hallway leading into the main downstairs room.

( More questions and answers behind the cut... )

Ganked from bottle_of_shine.

( 15 Things About Me, Books, and Reading )

I can't believe I forgot A Song of Ice and Fire and the Temeraire book series. Both relatively recent finds, both reaching the pinnacles of great fannish love.

As long as I'm here, I should probably also mention The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. The first series, particularly, are among my all-time favorite books; I can re-read them essentially without limit. There's another universe I've vaguely thought about writing fic for, although no bunny has ever quite broken through to that level. Also the Narnia books, the Outlander series by Diana Gabeldon, Charles de Lint's Newford series, and Guy Gavriel Kay generally. And the Wild Cards series for awhile, although I stopped reading those around Book 7. The first three are on my re-read pile, though. And I might pick up the new one coming out soon. Another author whose books I read and re-read is Olivia Goldsmith. I know, one of these things is not like the others. But they're like popcorn, or potato chips -- I pick them up, and before I know it I've eaten the entire book. The First Wives Club and Fashionably Late, particularly.

Also The Sandman comics, and Love and Rockets, and Strangers in Paradise (which I should probably have given up long ago, but I can't bring myself to stop. I still haven't read the final volume), and Finder by Carla Speed MacNeil, which is an independent comic that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who loves stories. More recently, I've started reading manga -- I devoured Death Note whole, and am following Fruits Basket and One Piece (in print; I am resisting the world of scanlations because I don't like reading comic pages on the computer, I find it really awkward).

I'm sure I could think of more if I pushed myself and browsed my bookshelves some more, but for the sake of sparing all your Friends pages I'll stop now.

Ganked from muggy_mountain.

Detail your fannish history as far back as you are able. Include fandoms you don't participate in anymore (or perhaps never participated in). Feel free to pimp hard and talk in length about your Mulder/Skinner OTP or unabashed love for the epic piece of cinema that is the Home Alone series. Bring us all the way up to the now.

( Very long. You have been warned. )

Well. If anyone made their way all the way through this, I thank and congratulate them. ;) I have no idea if this is what muggy_mountain was looking for when she came up with this meme, but it sure was interesting to lay all of this out.

Ganked from waterowl. How autistic are you?

Because of my brother, I'm pretty sure I know which answers flag you as "Aspie" (a casual nickname for Asperger's Syndrome), and it was thought-provoking to note which of them describe D and which of them describe me (although of course to a much lesser degree). So taking it was also interesting on a meta-level.

( My results )

Ganked from friede

1) WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE FOODS?

Pizza. Lasagna. Steak (especially with potatoes and mushrooms). Dark chocolate. Cinnamon rolls. Burritos smothered in red sauce. Cheeseburgers. Cheese just generally. Dungeness crab. Good bread.

2) WHAT FOODS DO YOU HATE?

This is a long list, but some of the highlights are: Bananas, apricots (all stone fruits really), spinach, lamb, cilantro, black pepper, goat cheese, most fish.

3) FOODS YOU LIKE BUT ARE EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT?

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese tops this list. Not the "good" organic or high-end brands, either; I don't really like them at all. The ultimate comfort food. Also hot dogs, but only the all-beef kind.

4) STRANGEST FOOD YOU'VE EATEN AND ENJOYED?

I'm not coming up with anything. I'm just too much of a picky eater.

5) COOKING FAILURES THAT STILL RANKLE?

Probably the first time we tried to make chow mein and burned all the noodles into the pan.

6) INGREDIENTS YOU DON'T WANT TO CONSIDER LIVING WITHOUT?

Cheese. Chocolate. Sugar. Tomatoes (oddly, I don't really like them raw, but cooked they form the basis for many of my very favorites).

7) CUISINE YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT?

Chinese. T and I have experimented a little with Chinese cooking, to the point where we have a couple of dishes in our regular rotation, but I'd like to have more.

8) FOODS YOU HATED BUT HAVE GROWN TO LOVE?

Broccoli. I figured that one out as a teenager.

Via plantgirl.

It goes like this: Leave a comment and I will pick three of your interests and three of your icons. Post them in your journal and explain them to me. If you'd like, allow others to comment and request the same.

Forthwith, plantgirl's choices:

( Three interests )

( Four Icons )

(Wondering why I'm hanging out and dong memes on a weekday morning? The assistant needs this evening off, so I'm on the late shift. It's not so bad; I have a meeting until 7:30 pm anyway.)