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24 February 2006
What is your best quality? I'm in the mood for a burst of positivity to start the weekend. Tell me the absolute best thing about yourself.
I find almost everything funny, I am fiercely loyal and I tend to not freak out, I am good at fixing things and cooking and I can talk shit like it paid cash money. Other than that I am a black hole of negativity. But I'm cool with that.
My mortality. The fact that I will eventually die and rid the world of my presence should be heartening for anyone who's had to spend five minutes in a room alone with me.
I almost always let people know when I'm not telling the truth.
And I always try to tell people how wonderful they are, especially when it sounds like they need it.
I think very highly of you, Gaspode.
Oh yeah, and yesterday, before leaving work, I was trying to comment in Lola_G's "bad things...good people" thread, but for some reason my browser crashed, erasing the nicest, most thoughtful things I've said to anybody here. The upshot of it was:
Chin up, Lola_G, you have a beautiful smile and I'd hate to hear of you not deploying it for the betterment of our fair city, because you know contagious smiles like yours spread unbeknownst to you. Someone sees you smile in Manhattan and reflexively smiles to themselves, thinks about what they have to smile about, and carries it out to Queens, where they walk past me and smile, and presto! The transitive property at work; I'm smiling with you. What a gift! Thank you, Lola_G.
I'm fun to go travelling or palling around with, because I'm an insatiable explorer and tend to find adventures. I'm creative, open, and I think pretty smart, though I can be incredibly obtuse at times. I'm always up for a good time/celebration of existence.
My mortality. The fact that I will eventually die and rid the world of my presence should be heartening for anyone who's had to spend five minutes in a room alone with me.
Eideteker - that's a very misentropic thing to ask for. As for myself, the best quality I can muster is 1024x768.
Aww thanks Hugh, and right back at you. As well, you're funny and can hold your alcohol convincingly.
As for me, my best quality would have to be that I'm very calm in a crisis. I'm the person to have around when your caterer cancels the day before your wedding, or when someone has a seizure in the middle of a hiking trip, or when the car engine completely dies in the middle lane of I-95 and you have to steer it over to the side and the driver is too freaked out and covers her eyes and says "we are going to die" as cars lean on their horn and zip past you at 80m/h.
etc. It's not a quality that can be conveyed over the internet, so it's not somethign I guess y'all would have tagged me with.
Relax, chum. It's all in good fun. I think everyone's just a little hypocritical (and as you've shown, sensitive about it). It's part of the way we're wired.
I mean, damn I'm not all happy clappy cutesy rah rah person, but I really was looking for an injection of positivity. I'm off for 2 weeks without metachat, and was trying to go out with something to smile at.
I'll give you a serious answer. My greatest quality is my unfaltering perseverance. I may give up on an avenue of approach or something that's just not working, but I never give up totally. I am always looking for a different angle and I cannot repress the joy I'm filled with every time I take a breath.
This life is awesome stuff.
(Sorry my joke to Alex bombed; but I would've said the same thing to anyone, given the opportunity).
I think hypocrisy is an interesting subject, AlexReynolds. I tend to think hypocrisy is part of the human condition, and rather than try to destroy it within myself or others, I tend to say, hey, I say one thing and do the opposite tomorrow, but that's only because tomorrow came a lot sooner than I thought and I just wasn't ready for it, so I did what I said I wouldn't, or knew I shouldn't have done.
Hypocrisy gets complex when you think of all the different definitions people have for it -- simply changing one's mind can make one a hypocrite, or it could be taking actions that run counter to statements, or to held beliefs, or to societally held beliefs one has never contested before. And since everyone comes into the situation from different angles, it's hard to put a finger on what hypocrisy is.
Not that I give people a pass for lying or being disingenuous; quite the contrary. I am, however, likely to argue (to myself as well as others) that people are generally blind to hypocrisy, and if their eyes do open (gently), they tend more towards surprise at themselves than towards righteous anger.
Shoot, there's a whole lot more to it but I gotta leave work. I think it's an interesting topic, though. Maybe I'll FPP on hypocrisy Monday. I'd be interested in hearing what people have to say on it.
Anyway, have a good weekend, guys, cheers, and take care.
And Gaspode, have a terrific couple weeks. You're cool and you deserve a great time. Have fun!
I really have no idea what my best quality is. Maybe it's that I tend to be really interested in people and generally assume the best of them until proven otherwise. Which sets me up for a fall pretty often, but another good quality is that I have a pretty strong ability to bounce back from hardships.
I can say without any doubt that I wear my heart on my sleeve. Sometimes it's also the worst thing about me, but ultimately I wouldn't have it any other way. I believe in giving 110% to people, I fall in love on a daily basis, etc.
A) As exasperating as I find humans (and they seem to drive me out of my tree just about daily), I try to be genuinely helpful when I can.
B) Since becoming an adult, I've never consciously tried to hurt anyone.
C) I'm generally capable of keeping my head in an emergency. Although I'm very squeamish about blood, I've occasionally found myself in a position where I needed to render first aid - nothing life-threatening, mind you, but, um, messy - and was able to do so in a competent and calming manner. No heebie-jeebies until after the pros had taken over.
My default behavior is to be nice and helpful with people. Deep down I really do enjoy helping people. It's only after they abuse me that I become churlish.
(Special note to the guy in purchasing dept: No, I will not call the vendor in order to verify the compatibility of things I know perfectly well will work together. If you can't read a spec sheet, that's your problem. And yes, I am genuinely sorry I tried to help you; next time I'll let you founder on your own.)
To continue tooting my horn, I am very patient and kind, even with crabby clients who call me at 5 p.m. on Friday to yell about things I feel like I've told them ONE THOUSAND TIMES.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
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