Oranges de la_penguinita

Yeah, a meme. Comment with a citrus fruit, and i'll endeavor to come up with 5 for you.

1. Who is your oldest friend (as in "friend you known the longest" not "age oldest")? How did you meet?

Beverly B. We met when we were four. We lived in townhouses, and were allowed to play in front of our row +/-1 row. We met in the grassy area in front of the row of houses between our respective rows. We went to grades k-3 together, then her family moved nearby; we kept in touch, had sleepovers, went to middle school together, different high schools, colleges. We talk on occasion at this point, but each time is like we were talking just yesterday.

2. You come across as being quite the polymath. Do you believe that tendency is something one is born with or can people choose to take that path?

I like learning for the sake of learning -- always have. Fairly young, i realized that having a broad, if shallow knowledge of lots of things is useful conversationally. Of course, deep knowledge in several areas is required, else one would look foolish over time. I do think many people can choose that path; at least i know many people who are like that, and all most have chosen and/or evolved that way.

3. You have a day all to yourself--just you and no one else. What do you do? Would you do something different if you had a week of just your own company?

A day -- sometimes i'll read. sometimes i'll cook/bake. sometimes i'll head to the river or up into the hills and go for a hike; usually river if alone, though -- going to the hills, though near, is more fun with at least one other, though i've done it alone when i need a solid grounding in nature.

A week -- some laundry and cleaning. Maybe a random night or two away from home visiting someone in another place w/in about a 3 hour drive. When i have money, i've been known to fly somewhere for a few days. I tend to do a lot of hiking/running in the woods when i have the time.

4. If you could go back to school to learn anything, what would you pursue?

Computational Linguistics.

5. Where do you think your "foodie" side comes from?

Well, food is central. One must feed and water one's guests. Food is meant to taste good, and be enjoyed.

Some from family -- fresh food is important - we grew our own vegetables and caught our own fish. Plus, when we were 12 and 9, my sister and i insisted that artificial colors and flavors be eliminated from our diet. We both think that red 40 tastes disgusting, and we both dislike the taste of green colorings too. People that say artificial food color has no flavor lie; this is most of why i don't like red velvet cake, and why neither of us eats green-colored ice creams.

Some from peers. I shared housing with a friend from HS back in our college days. Each week we had a dinner party, and we worked hard to serve a cuisine that we'd never cooked before each time.

Some is just in me. I care deeply about the food i eat in terms of freshness, flavor, and quality. It's not that i never eat crap, not at all. But left to myself, i don't eat a ton of snacky things - i don't even keep them on hand.

Oranges from sharrainchains

Girlfriend asks the hard questions. Posted in the order i answered them, so not in numerical order.

2. If you were cast to act in a play, what part would you like to play? [In this magical question, you have your own age and whatever looks and skills you need for the part].

Enjolras in Les Misérableswould be fun, especially in the French version, as it has better lyrics. Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music would be fun too. Georges/George in Sunday in the Park with George would be nice. Many others would be great fun too, but those three immediately pop to mind.

3. What mental trick or system do you use for remembering the geographical details of (seemingly) every place that you have ever lived?

Lifelong habit, love of the land, lots of time out of doors, and a deep caring about what the roads/paths are and where they go.

4. What does your metadata contain?

I'm not at all certain how to go about answering this. I know what metadata is, but, i'm still at a loss. Anyone?

ETA: In comments, dpolicar said,

So, I guess I would unpack that question as "What ought one know in order to sensibly interact with you?"

Or perhaps "What cues, accurate or otherwise, do you provide about your contents?"

to which i replied:

My brain was wanting to go that way, so i'll try -- that's exactly the kind of open-ended question i'm not good at, as it's requesting data that i do not by default discuss, unless asked a specific question. I'll edit a fuller response into the entry.

So, here goes.

As i said, i do not by default, talk much about myself, unless asked directly. I have a deep-seated worry that everyone hates me, though i know quite well that's not true. I like direct communications, as i tend to completely miss subtly, though not as completely as when i was younger. It's okay to tell me to stop/shut up when i'm going on and on -- don't allow me too much sugar nor alcohol. Too much of one or the other, and, as a dear friend puts it i'll "have enough conversation for everybody". My interests are varied.

If i'm in a group, and being quiet, it is appropriate to come up and talk to me -- i'm much shier than most people perceive me. I'm loyal, and value my friendships deeply. I alway assume the best in people until they prove me wrong. I revisit opinions and reform them over time.

I sometimes don't see the trees for the forest. I like a high level of organization, and am in a better mood when i create and maintain that; the more mess around me, the worse my mood and the lower my motivation to correct that. I need help with that -- even if it's just someone present to talk with, and provide mild assistance as needed.

I'm bad at asking for help, if much better at it than in years past. Ask me if i'm floundering or if you might help if it seems to you i need it.

I will always do the best i can with the information i have available. It does not always occur to me that information is lacking if it is not really obvious.

I am truthful, and expect others to be so, too.

During the background investigation for my job at Customs and Border Protection, i got a bunch of phone calls along the lines of The investigator asked me n, and i had to say that i didn't know, because you never talk about that. I've known you for decades, why don't i know that?. Always, the answer was, You never asked. That relates to the I generally do not talk about myself. I'm good at telling people enough that they have a clue, but in the end, don't always know everything, as i don't see them as needing to know, though i'll often tell if asked, within reason and need-to-know, if that makes sense.

Relatedly, i always tell people to feel free to ask me anything, but the heavens help you, as sometimes you may get a core dump, and it surprises me what questions will trigger that.

As someone who dosen't really talk about himself, i was surprised to notice the number of deep-sharing personal essays i've posted here -- there's a Personal Essays tag for those entries.

I drive tomhundleyrn a bit batty sometimes. I don't try to, it just happens. Um, i think that's all.



5. What is your current favorite recipe?

This is hard. I've been leaning Chinese in my cooking, aiming successfully for high wok hai/savory/umami in flavor, for the most part. I've made a lot of Espinacas a la Catalana (Catalan Spinach) of late -- as a side dish, or as a bed for eggs or other things. I turned out a lovely gazpacho the other day. I've made a ton of savory pasta dishes of late, too. So, in summary, i'm not quite sure.

1. What would your ideal workday consist of if you had a job that used all your talents and abilities in ways that were fulfilling to you?

*Thinks back through many years of working*

Hmmm... I like jobs that require problem-solving. Customer/client interaction is a plus -- i really, really like having people thank me for explaining why they may not have something and/or for telling them no in polite, flowery language. I genuinely enjoy helping people. I like working in environments that are team-based, but allow a lot of personal leeway in accomplishing tasks, with open communications and flow of information. Not that everyone need know everything, but there should be no secrets that make people fearful/uncertain, and all should have the information they need to accomplish their task completely in a supportive, cooperative environment.

Supervising people is fun -- the team building, the mutual support, the setting up of systems to aid the flow of information in both directions, the mentoring to help people grow and advance, the putting out of fires, the balancing of the needs those under me with those above me, and inspiring those under me to achieve what is needed both for those over me and for those under me to flourish.

Data analysis is nice, too -- finding the trends, surprises, or what; breaking the data down in different ways to see what may surface.

So, specific task less important to me than environment, ability to grow, and ability to move up.