more Things

[veek]

42. I do not want to be remembered as "nice". That's so... bland.
43. I argue a lot. Not out of malice, or stubbornness. I like to think that I have reasons to believe the things I believe, so when someone comes along and challenges something I have an opinion on, I will thoroughly test their argument before adopting it as my own.
44. I am a social animal. Most of the time, I would rather be with people than alone; though there are notable exceptions to that. I function best in groups of two or three. I prefer working on my sedentary tasks with someone else in the room, working as well.
45. I am an open book. Not aggressively so, but I make it a point not to hide things, especially if people ask. Don't ask if you don't want to know. Similarly, presumably you won't be reading these Things About Me if you don't want to know. :)
46. I am a good friend, though there are exceptions to that, a couple of them major fuck-ups on my part. I like to think that I've learned my lessons from them.
47. I've been depressed once. Curled up on the couch, unable to do anything depressed, worst thing I've ever felt. It took months to get over, and the help of some amazing people around me. I did not use prescription medication -- not because of some conviction, but because I knew I could get along without it and re-learn to function.
48. At the moment, I don't feel the need to find One Person to share my life with. This may change, but not in the near future. It's the result of a lot of experimenting (see 49), and is fairly well thought-through. But I am not foolish enough to think that I have stopped evolving.
49. I was engaged once, to a wonderful person who will someday make a great father and husband... to a woman and children more suited to him than I am. We are too different to make a happy family, luckily recognized this before things went too far and called off the engagement. We remained together for another year (for a total of two and a half), and broke up when we realized (and admitted to ourselves) that we'd been living more like roommates and friends than like lovers anyway. We are still friends now, and though we continue to grow apart in terms of our lifestyles, I treasure him as one of the most trustworthy people I know.
50. I dislike saying "I love you [too]" when I don't feel like it, so I don't. When I say it, whether on my own initiative or in response to someone, I mean it.
51. I eat strange foods. I will try any food at least twice. I want to go to Singapore with miseri and then take him to Russia, and just eat.
52. I once offered borsch to a friend who was visiting from out of town for a Moxy Fruvous show or three. She had claimed to dislike soup in general. She went back for seconds. It was one of my truly memorable culinary triumphs. N.B.: borsch is not beet[root] soup, no matter what those jars of... stuff... at the supermarket look like.
53. I think the war on drugs is a bunch of bullshit.
54. I love driving. My favorite driving spot is Malibu Canyon Road in southern California, leading to the Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean. That said, I'm looking forward to moving to Providence and not having to drive several dozen miles each way every time I need to go to the university.
55. In the last couple of years, I've decided that I may be happy staying in academia for the rest of my professional life, because the field that I am in (humanities computing) is new enough that it hasn't yet had the chance to become moldy.
56. I love the feel of velvet. And corduroy.
57. Have I mentioned that I am a touch addict? Have you parsed that this has nothing to do with sex? That's important.
58. I get contact energy highs from people. I have to be at the very least in their physical proximity, preferably touching them. But that's my preferred etc., see above.
59. I like reading. These days, I prefer shorter fiction and poetry, as well as short non-fiction, to longer (novel) writing, when reading for pleasure. Mostly this is because I have almost no time to read for pleasure, and rarely finish longer works.
60. I like camping in forests.
61. I like lived-in spaces and fail to understand America's obssession with sterility. (Dirt is a different matter, of course.) If I cook for you, it's pretty much a given that I will touch your food with my (clean) bare hands. Live with it, bucko. It's made with love.
62. I like heavy blankets.
63. I like making gifts for people. Drawing and painting cards, framing photographs I took in me-made frames, making music mixes, that sort of thing.
64. I like indulging my senses. Proper (occasion-appropriate) lighting, from a single candle to bright halogens, is essential. So is good music. Yay insense - with a kick, though, not too sweet. Good food, see above.
65. I am a thrill-seeker. I want to bungee-jump, and sky-dive, and go delta-planing and stuff. The only reason I have not done those things yet is financial.
66. I have been skiing once in my life, for a weekend. It took me four hours to go down the mountain the first time. By the end of the weekend I had gotten much better, and have been wanting to go again, but -- it's expensive.
67. Even when I have more money than I do now (which is really little), I will travel on a strict budget, and stay in hostels and such. You see a lot more real world this way. Well, I do.
68. I like music a lot. The quality of the lyrics, when they come with music, is at least as important as that of the music.
69. I have a dirty mind.
70. I do not think of myself as feminine, but am most definitely a woman.
71. I love walking/running/playing in the pouring rain, when it's summer.
72. Eggplant is my favorite vegetable. I like the name "aubergine" better.

More later. Itching to get some work done.