serina_ds

Question:

Let's Rant
What part of your job (or other daily routine) do you hate the most right now? Why is it so troublesome for you? If you could change one thing about your job (new boss, new co-worker, new location) to try to improve it, what would it be?


I actually love my job. It's great fun, I really like meeting people, I get real satisfaction from it, and I'm good at it. Most of the time, I even get to work from home, and just go into the office for meetings and such.

However, it's not a secure job (no guarantees of how much work I will get at any particular time), and it's not usually a full time job, which means that I could do with a bit more money at times. I know I'm incredibly lucky to be able to survive on the money I do get, and still have enough time to be able to go out and do the things I love, but I'm not saving any money at all. My outgoings don't tend to be over my income - but neither are they much under, either.

Question:

Sound Off
Donald Trump as presidential candidate -- what's your opinion? Among your circles of friends and family, is your opinion the norm or does your opinion of him differ from those around you?


Oh. Hell. No.

If Donald Trump ever becomes president of the US (and I would have said this was an absolutely absurd, entirely impossible to consider, totally ridiculous concept when this whole mess started), then I think the whole world is in trouble.

Like it or not, the US is a major player in the world. And, like it or not, the president of the US is an extremely powerful person, one of the most powerful (if not the most powerful single individual) in the world - certainly in the West.

I think the best that could happen if he became president (and there's a part of me that is still disbelieving that I'm seriously considering that) is that the US turns entirely inward and isolationist. No, it still wouldn't be great for the world, but is the alternative that they turn outward any better? Because Trump will certainly not just do nothing and maintain the policies of the current POTUS (not that I think he has the political ability or will to do so). He seems very much to be the type of warmonger that would encourage the US's imperialist empire-building tendencies overseas. He's not the type to reach for a diplomatic solution to anything.

I can't ever see that being good for the world.

Question:

Shy Away
How would you define being an introvert? Is it different than just being shy, or are they the same thing to you? Would you classify yourself as an introvert or an extrovert?


The difference between an introvert and an extrovert (and very few people are entirely one or the other at all times for that matter) is purely what drains your energy and what renews your energy.

For an introvert, being around people, even when it's fun and exciting, will tend to be very draining and tiring. Introverts need private quiet time away from people to recharge their batteries. Extroverted people gain energy from being around others, and feel refreshed and enlivened after social activity.

This means that yes, it's possible to be a sociable introvert or a shy extrovert - or even both, at different times of your life.

I'm a introvert, but I tend to be *very* sociable when I'm out and around people, then require lots of intensely private, quiet time afterwards to recharge.

Question:

Addiction
Have you ever been addicted to anything? If so, what was it? If that addiction was a negative addiction for you, how did you break it (or how are you working on doing so)?


I don't know that I've ever truly been addicted to anything. I joke that I get a little obsessed with things sometimes, and that may be true in the short term, but there's never really been anything that I was unable to stop myself from consuming.

Except maybe reading. Now I come to think of it, that may be the only thing I could ever say that I have continued, even when it would have a negative impact. I will read to the detriment of all else. I will happily consume and voraciously text in a way that I would find unhealthy if I did it with anything else. I will find justifications/reasons/excuses to sit and read even when I really should be doing something else.

I would regularly miss meals at lunchtime when I was younger, because I didn't notice the time or my hunger in my fascination for a good book.

The night before I left for university, when I should have been completing my packing, I stayed up till 4am reading.

I read every day, including standing in front of the mirror with an ebook whilst brushing my teeth. I read whilst travelling, whilst walking, whilst eating, whilst making tea. I read when I should be sleeping.

I would stay up reading till 6am at least once a week, dragging myself into school the next morning just on the fragments of my determination. I would spend all my mental efforts to avoid falling asleep in class that afternoon (hence why I remember none of my French classes).

Who am I kidding, I've not improved in my sleep discipline. I will still occasionally (erm, often) stay up until 6am, 7am, or even later in order to finish a book. I recently stayed awake reading for 36 hours straight because I wanted to finish a book.

If addiction is "is a state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences" (thank you Wikipedia!) then I guess this would fit. If I calculate the amount of sleep I've lost over the years, and the things I could have been doing instead of reading, the number of nights out meeting potentially interesting people I bailed on because I was head down in an enthralling book (and not always for the betterment of my mind, either! I do love a good piece of sci-fi or fantasy fiction.) I'm aware that I could probably have made a bit better use of the time.

But for all that, I don't regret any of it. Me without a book is...inconceivable. It is such an intrinsic part of my psyche that I wouldn't know who I am without that connection to reading. I've certainly had wonderful experiences because of my reading, and I've chatted to some fantastic people.

Overall, does it count as an addiction if I don't really think it's doing me any harm? Or does it make it even more of an addiction?

Regardless, this isn't something that people are going to tell me I should stop doing - bibliophiles like to band together and egg each other on (usually in various geeky tomfoolery)! What other kind of 'addiction' would bring this much joy, and such wonderful people?

I've been missing the old Writer's Block questions that used to come up, before LJ shut that function down, so I've started to look around for alternatives. I started writing a couple of paragraphs every few days, and this encouraged my writing in other areas. Looking back, I still feel that many of them are some of my most thoughtful, philosophical, well written posts.

I just want quick questions, not about writing itself, or about character creation, world building, plots, etc etc etc (which are the staple of most creative writing LJs). I want to answer questions about life (it would be my life, of course), and my thought processes and viewpoints about the things that are important to me. It needs to have ongoing questions I can pick every so often (the Writer's Block questions came once a day).

So, the closest I've found are the Chatter Post questions here: http://brigits-flame.livejournal.com/tag/chatter%20post

They're a minor part of a larger creative-writing-and-editing blog. The chatter posts come about 3 times a week, approximately, rather than every day, and not all of them are interesting and applicable. However, other than the very wordy posts that often come before the question (which I don't want to read before answering, because it might influence my answer), and the fact that I need to copy over the question, rather than answer it in the comments on the original post (as most people do) this is pretty much the sort of questions I want.

If anyone has any recommendations that are better, I would love to hear them! Wish me luck in building up my writing muscles again!

Question:

Peace of mind
What kind of spiritual or meditative practice keeps you feeling zen?


Well I don't really get stressed or upset, but that's mainly because I try to ensure my whole life keeps me feeling zen. I do a lot of crafts like knitting and sewing and painting. I read a lot, and get plenty of sleep. I do body-focused meditation quite often, and even a little bit of exercise on occasion! I don't drink alcohol or smoke, so I'm not putting extra strain on my body. I mostly only drink green tea, water and fruit juice (although I will drink fizzy drinks when I'm on a night out) and I can fall asleep quite easily on my hour-long commute to work in the mornings. All in all, I don't really have anything to stress about, so I tend to be pretty zen as a person.

Wow, I sound really smug and prissy, don't I? I didn't intend to!

Question:

Almost like a song
How would you describe your ideal romantic partner in six words?


Curious and fascinated with the world. The only trait that really, almost without fail, catches my attention.

All four of my boys are all smart and great conversationists. That's why I'm dating them.

Question:

Eye for an eye?
If you bumped into someone who regularly picked on you as a child, what would you say to them?


....Not recognise them? I should add that they attempted to pick on me, but I was too busy reading to even notice they were there. Or I'd forget they were around as they disappeared from my sight. I imagine that infuriated them, or so I was told years later. :-D

I had a very happy childhood, full of the most wonderful adventures and friendships and creations - all in the pages of my books. My sister was exactly the same, and we had some fantastic analytical, deep, philosophical conversations about books. We'd read together (literally - the same book at the same time, the two of us reading silently. Why do you think I read so fast now?)

I suspect the thing I'd tell the erstwhile bullies of my childhood is my name. A lot of them never got around to finding out, after all. :-D

Question:

'Tis the season
Do you find the holiday season relaxing or stressful, and why?


Hmm, I tend to find the holiday period requires more energy, but is conversely less stressful. I tend to be quite heavily involved in getting all the Xmas gifts for my family and friends, plus wrapping them (including my own!), writing the Xmas cards (again including my own!) and making full, blow-out Xmas and Boxing Day dinners. I do lots, and socialise lots, during this period, but I enjoy all of it so does it count as stressful? Admittedly, my family don't do the whole 'let's have plenty of family rows for Xmas' thing, so it's really fantastic to see my family and spend time with them. It's not stressful at all, even with all the stuff I do.

I'm so grateful to have a wonderful family.

Question:

It's the thought that counts
Do you find holiday gift-giving more pleasurable or onerous?


I love giving gifts! The act of choosing the perfect gift for each person is, in many ways, a reminder of what I love about the people in my life. It doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive gift, so long as it's thoughtful and suitable for them. No matter that people complain about commercialism, I'm not Christian - this holiday will not be religious for me. Sharing my love for those around me is far more important, to my point of view, and if it happens to include giving gifts, I'm all for it!

Of course, I don't like looking at my bank balance in January and fending off the annual heart attack.....