More questions, more answers

[mangosteen]

muffyjo asked the following five questions, and I answered.

1. I saw you snogging a lovely woman who I've spoken to before and who wields a mean wrench on a ladder (for which I am grateful), who is she and how did you two meet?

She is lifecollage, my better (and smarter, and nicer) half. As for how we met? She thought I was the most annoying guy on the planet. I thought she was a lesbian. We have since corrected our impressions of each other.

For a longer version, take a look at what she had to say about the matter.


2. You give some of the best hugs I've ever received, do you train? Or is it simply a natural talent?

Thanks! I am most flattered. I train only through practice. :)

Hugs are a show of mutual support. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. This is very solid, and very real." A hug is an expression of caring and love... about being present for someone in the most direct way possible. You may speculate about what I may or may not be making up for from my childhood, as the mood suits you.

There can be more to a hug, and it can be more intimate, but that's just gravy, and it's completely not necessary. I admit that I'm somewhat annoyed by people who just see hugs as a convenient ploy to grope someone. The sheer sliminess of it astounds me.

If I have any "natural talent" for it, it comes from the thought behind the action.


3. Have you travelled much in your life? If so, what places have you enjoyed the most. If not, is there anywhere you'd like to go?

It all depends on what you define as "much". I have done a lot of travel to the major coastal cities of the USA, both for business and leisure. I've even hit a couple of places in flyover territory. I've also been to Canada, the UK, and Israel.

Thing is, for all of the Frequent Flyer miles that I've racked up, I haven't gone anywhere else. For all that I enjoy learning other languages, I still feel like I don't know any other well enough to travel to a non-english (or hebrew) speaking country. This limits my horizons, and I am not happy about it. The most obvious solution is to realize that plenty of other people have gotten along in (for example) France without speaking more than a couple of words of French, and they lived to tell the tale.

As for places I have enjoyed the most... I love Portland, Oregon. It's small, but it has a real downtown, is extraordinarily walkable, and well, Powell's. It's likely the only other place in the country I'd consider living.

Also, I just want to remind the group in charge of building the Cambridge (US) to Cambridge (UK) wormhole that they're way behind schedule, and there are some of us who would appreciate a firmer commit date on the project.


4. What is the most outrageous accusation against you at the moment, and how do you plead?

It's one that gets leveled at me on a regular basis. That I'm a loud, fat, obnoxious blowhard. To this, I plead "Well, sure, but that just means that you're not paying attention."


5. Are you owned by anything non-human? How do you feel about it?

On January 10th, 2005, my wife and I took title on our very own two-thirds-of-a-house-plus-a-driveway. It is a money drain, and a thing that ties us to where we are. OTOH, it's a beautiful home. So, I would say that I do indeed feel owned by my domicile, but it's certainly worth it.

To be sure, paying a mortgage feels like nothing more than paying rent to a management company, but I get a bunch of it back at the end of the year, and I don't have to get the occasional pang of worrying about if the landlord is going to renew the lease or raise the rent this year. I'm tied down, yet freed.

Comments

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Quoting lifecollage: "Who is that asshole with the camera?!?" I growled, thinking of rending limbs.

FYI? You'd find that to be my response as well. :)

My views on hugging are much the same.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

(Much the same as your views on hugging. Not much the same as my views on candid photography. Pardon my phrasing, I'm medicated.)

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, I wasn't cranky about being photographed (I was simply one face in the room). It was the LIGHT flashing in my not-liking-light eyes that was getting me peeved.

BTW, thanks for pimping nonficwrimo. Between you and tikva, you've increased the # of members by 200%. YAY!

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

I wasn't cranky about being photographed (I was simply one face in the room). It was the LIGHT flashing in my not-liking-light eyes that was getting me peeved.

Duly noted! *catalogs information*

Personally, I can't stand being photographed. There's a whole essay in that. Short form = I don't photograph well at *all*, and I have enough body-image problems without bad photographs of me all over the internet...

Re: Nonficwrimo: No problem! And I'll do it again as February draws closer. This ought to be fun. I really need to finish that Vegas memoir, too, and this should be a great impetus.

[muffyjo]

This is wonderful. Thank you for sharing. I'm tickled by the story of your meeting, I think that's great. I believe I met you over a camera as well. I seem to remember borrowing your camera to take a picture of someone sleeping in a cute fashion in some corner then took a picture or two of you with your camera at a party somewhere.

As for the Cambridge to Cambridge wormhole, this has me curious. It seems I have gone about this all backwards. I moved back here from London in order to end up meeting all these wonderful people and yet they all seem to want to visit England. Story of my life.

When I originally asked the "ownership" question, I had pets in mind, but I am pleased, amused and in sympathy of the much better answer supplied.

*{hug of great appreciation}*

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Per the pet question, I had a cat--Shadowfax--until just almost two years ago. He and Beloved began with mutual avoidance, moved on to tolerance and then finally started enjoying each other's presence when they shared an air conditioned room for a month. He was a good kitty.

Countries to visit...

[kalimar.livejournal.com]

If your language proficiency bothers you and you don't feel comfortable visiting coutnries where you can't get along easily with English, might I suggest the following:
a) Holland. English is practically a second language, especially for our generation and younger. In all likelihood, even if you knew Dutch, people there would answer you in English anyway because they would be able to identify you as someone for whom English is the primary language.

b) Iceland. Again, most people there speak English. The presence of a US military base probably helped, but also the fact that they essentially speak Old Norse there makes it unlikely that tourists speak their language.

LJ etiquette?

[arfur]

Is it bad form to point out that you're linking to a locked post to further explain a public post? I've been curious as to the when-mangosteen-met-lifecollage story ever since you linked to it similarly from another post, but only a 403 do I see.

-bb, well actually, at the time I suppose it would have been a "when-mangosteen-met-bookteacher" post at the time...

Re: LJ etiquette?

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

...er, yeah. Big dork, I. Hereforth unlocked.

Re: LJ etiquette?

[arfur]

thanks for sharing that! it is indeed goofy-grin-inspiring. :-)