If you are wondering where I have been, I have been in winter land. We lost power and heat for 8 days. Nothing like taking a shower with ice in the bathtub. I also lost internet for 2 weeks at my office, where I spend most of my online time. But things are back up, we all survived, and I am JUST NOW getting back in the swing. In the meantime, here's something I did for Facebook that I thought might be interesting here. I don't usually like memes, but I made an exception. For those who don't care, I'll spoiler it.
SPOILERS! (Click to view)Those who know my internet persona fairly well know that i am not good at responding to things like this, but here goes.
1. My favorite novelist is Patrick O Brian. I have become a bit of a nautical buff in recent years, to the extent of taking sailing lessons, buying a small boat (which needs work alas) and reading a great deal about the days of square rigged vessels. Obviuosly, he would be of interest to me, but even more I find his style to be the most complete of any of found. He's infallible as a reference, his language is perfect, his characters are deep and abiding, and the style is consistently rewarding. I find new nuances every read, things I missed, words used in certain ways, points of character so subtle that it has taken me four readings to discover them. In short, he is my perfect novelist.
2. I read a lot. Dangerously so, as it is not unusual for me to have a book open when I drive on the interstate.
3. While my reading interests are very broad, I get bored easily. Literary stimulation is the thing for me!
4. I love my dogs so much it hurts.
5. I have become a rural person, though not a country person. I love the space, the wildlife, the openness, the privacy of living rurally, but few if any of my values are shared with my neighbours. I am definitely not "of the country", and I get told so frequently.
6. The right song at the right time can make my blood sing like nothing else. If you want to MOVE me, pick the right song.
7. I am by nature a solitary person. Socializing, conversation, being "out there" do not come easy to me, and what skills I do have have taken a lifetime to develop.
8. I dress up like a caricature of a sailor and sing 18th and 19th century sea chanteys, nautical tunes, and ballads. Frequently.
9. I dress up like a colonial git and strut around with a musket. Frequently.
10. I have a self destructive habit of carrying around regrets and sorrow for mistakes made years, sometimes decades before, long after anyone else remembers. Example...
When I was around five, my dad brought home for me one of those paddle games with a rubber ball attached to the paddle via a long elastic string. You tried to hit the tethered ball over and over. I IMMEDIATELY took it into the garage, and attached stratws, nails, and other things and turned it into this Swiss Army knife of a play ray gun. Then I showed Dad. He seemed a bit put out. To this DAY, I feel guilty that I couldn't have just accepted the gift and loved it for what it was, something from my father who cared about me. Silly. Ridiculous even. That's what children do...they tear apart and recreate. But it makes me feel sick with guilt when I am not careful. I won't even go into things I said to friends 10 years ago, people who must feel like I dropped them like an old hat years ago, things I've said to my wife, blah blah blah. As you can tell...powerful motivator in my life.
11. Whilst on the subject of character traits... I have a powerful need to prove myself worthy of respect, while at the same time being lazy as all get out. It makes for interesting internal dialogues.
12. I'm a bit of a fame whore. I like people I don't know to think I'm neat-o.
13. I don't like cars. I don't care what kind of engine it has, tires, whether it's a o9000, z38, or whatever. I want it to work whenever I need it, and that's all I want to think about it. Period. Dammit.
14. Regan says I should mention that I am a misanthrope. So there.
15. Speaking of Regan, I am fortunate enough to have found and married my best friend, lover, partner, other half, etc. Yes, I DO know how lucky I am.
16. I want nothing to more than to retire to a sailboat (preferably a large reproduction square rigger) and spend the remainder of my days sailing to fascinating places....Mauiritius, Ireland, Tierra Del Fuego....
17. There was a time when I REALLY wanted to be Jimi Hendrix. Without the dying in my own vomit bit. Then I REALLY wanted to be Joe Strummer.
18. Long ago, I used to be fit. No really! Don't laugh! When I was in middle school and highschool, I used to run competitively. Track, cross country, road races, even a triathalon. I wasn't too bad, either. I ran two mini-marathons. Then later in high scool, I started cycling competitively. Fun. Then I discovered cigarettes and booze. The rest is history. In fact, Regan first saw me at a cycling race. I had crashed, and the rest of the pack rolled over me. Yep, true story. Regan was there to watch her stepfather, and they all commented on how much they pitied THAT poor guy. Little did she know she was going to marry him.
19. I quit smoking cold turkey New Year's Eve 2000.
20. I was a choir geek. Choir, madrigals, show choir (heaven help me), and even made the All State chorus. I like to think I'm still a pretty good singer, and an obscure madrigal song from the 16th century can still make my heart thump.
21. Some day I want to be the lord of the manor. You can all be my tenants.
22. I long ago decided to embrace my weirdness. Consequently, I have no probably with any body else's either. The older I get, the more liberal socially I seem to get, and I prefer a little good old social theory and a smidge of the revolutionary to the status quo.
23. That said, I am an investment advisor by profession. I manage investment portfolios, 401ks, financial planning, and all that good stuff. I can set a mean investment plan. Yes, I am a man of paradoxes.
24. I am quite proud of my Irish/Scottish heritage, and have a picture of the ancestral home (in Scotland) as my computer wallpaper.
25. I really like pinup art and pictures, I dig watching British tv shows on dvd, I like to read by the light of an oil lamp, I think log cabins are cool, I am a great admirer or Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Maynard Keynes, economics has started getting me jazzed, and I fully expect to be with my sweetie regan for the rest of my life. Whew. There you go.
Oh. And I like the Dutch masters and Arcangelo Corelli.
