5 things about me meme
From kassrachel who got it from lomedet, a meme: comment on this post and I'll tell you five subjects/things I associate with you. Then you post them in your lj and elaborate.
Kass gave me:
1. Hawaii
2. Judaism
3. writing
4. The West Wing
5. Stoppard
Hawaii
I've always found the idea of the "third place' an interesting one, and while I like the idea in its original form, I've also come to think of it in a linear sense as well -- the idea that there's work-time, home(aka family/friends)-time and then there's a third-time that's just for me. So vacation is like that third-time in intense form, which is why I think that as I get older, I tend to spend more and more of my vacations in familiar places that are just enough different to get me out of my regular routine. All of which is a long way of saying that Hawaii, and specifically the Big Island, where therealjae and I are now, is one of my favorite places to get away from it all, precisely because I get to be a very different me here, but still one that is familiar and that I like.
First, and most importantly, there's snorkeling. It's swimming with a floor show, and I don't care how many times I do it, it always feels like the closest I'll get to flying. Plus, pretty fishes. There's also the pace of life - there's a reason I live on the West Coast and not the East, but Hawaii makes even the most laid-back Westerner (which I am totally not, I admit) go, "whoa, maybe I've been taking life too seriously" and just slow the fuck down. (Or at least the Big Island does. Maui may be a bit different.) I also adore the food (therealjae and I have been having poke for breakfast, which is I think what God intended) and as someone who gets anxious whenever the ocean is too far away, island life is nice like that too. I also like that the Big Island is, well, big. I've driven 400 miles in the last 3 days and much of that was past basically nothing. I'm a 4th-generation Washingtonian -- I like my space.
Judaism
My first instinct is that to some extent asking me to elaborate about this is like asking me to elaborate about breathing -- it's such a part of me that I don't even know where to begin. Mostly, I think, I'm so grateful right now that I have found such a great Jewish community to be part of recently, after so long where the lack of that in my life was a real source of loss to me. I'm also grateful that the religion/culture/tradition I was born into is one that also happens to fit me so well, and that where it doesn't fit, that this same tradition encourages arguing about it. That, all the more so, arguing about it is sort of the point.
writing
I was saying to therealjae earlier that I thought one of the challenges of being good at many things is it makes it easier to ignore the things you're not really good at. But now, thinking about it, I think it also makes it easier to ignore some of the things you're good at as well. I write shockingly little (either for work or personally) for someone who is as good at it as I am. I don't mean that I don't ever use those skills (my main role at work is about getting people to communicate better and knowing how to write good e-mails, reports, etc. helps a ton, plus, you know, I do write for yuletide), but since I know that writing is one of those things that only gets better with practice, you'd think I'd suck it up and write more. Particularly fanfic, since I love love love getting feedback. Challenges help, I think, but at a fundamental level I also just really like reading fic and there's always some great new fic to read instead of writing my own.
The West Wing
I'm a little surprised to see this here, since while it's the only fandom I ever seriously wrote for, it was a really really long time ago. Like 8 years ago. I came to it via "Sports Night", and through loving the way Sorkin used words. I fell out of love with it once it became clear that Sorkin's talent with words could not overcome his epic fail at dealing with women (or, you know, grown-up relationships almost in general), but the first two seasons are brilliant and stand rewatching. I still think I should have written CJ more.
Stoppard
*hugs kassrachel*. OK, this inspired me to go back and create a Stoppard tag. Clearly long overdue. I first fell in love with Stoppard, and with language in general, while listeing to an LP (again, I'm old) recording of the original cast of "The Real Thing" -- Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Christine Baranski, Peter Gallagher, Cynthia Nixon -- one of the all-time great casts for anything ever. The cricket bats and cudgels speech still is my favorite declaration about what writing should do, and I still think this says everything about journalism I believe, but if anything I actually like the more recent Stoppard better. "Arcadia" is now and forever my favorite, but "Rock and Roll" was brilliant and "Coast of Utopia" is up there on my all-time amazing experiences list. I can't wait until Robert Sean Leonard is free of "House" and available to do Stoppard again.
Kass gave me:
1. Hawaii
2. Judaism
3. writing
4. The West Wing
5. Stoppard
Hawaii
I've always found the idea of the "third place' an interesting one, and while I like the idea in its original form, I've also come to think of it in a linear sense as well -- the idea that there's work-time, home(aka family/friends)-time and then there's a third-time that's just for me. So vacation is like that third-time in intense form, which is why I think that as I get older, I tend to spend more and more of my vacations in familiar places that are just enough different to get me out of my regular routine. All of which is a long way of saying that Hawaii, and specifically the Big Island, where therealjae and I are now, is one of my favorite places to get away from it all, precisely because I get to be a very different me here, but still one that is familiar and that I like.
First, and most importantly, there's snorkeling. It's swimming with a floor show, and I don't care how many times I do it, it always feels like the closest I'll get to flying. Plus, pretty fishes. There's also the pace of life - there's a reason I live on the West Coast and not the East, but Hawaii makes even the most laid-back Westerner (which I am totally not, I admit) go, "whoa, maybe I've been taking life too seriously" and just slow the fuck down. (Or at least the Big Island does. Maui may be a bit different.) I also adore the food (therealjae and I have been having poke for breakfast, which is I think what God intended) and as someone who gets anxious whenever the ocean is too far away, island life is nice like that too. I also like that the Big Island is, well, big. I've driven 400 miles in the last 3 days and much of that was past basically nothing. I'm a 4th-generation Washingtonian -- I like my space.
Judaism
My first instinct is that to some extent asking me to elaborate about this is like asking me to elaborate about breathing -- it's such a part of me that I don't even know where to begin. Mostly, I think, I'm so grateful right now that I have found such a great Jewish community to be part of recently, after so long where the lack of that in my life was a real source of loss to me. I'm also grateful that the religion/culture/tradition I was born into is one that also happens to fit me so well, and that where it doesn't fit, that this same tradition encourages arguing about it. That, all the more so, arguing about it is sort of the point.
writing
I was saying to therealjae earlier that I thought one of the challenges of being good at many things is it makes it easier to ignore the things you're not really good at. But now, thinking about it, I think it also makes it easier to ignore some of the things you're good at as well. I write shockingly little (either for work or personally) for someone who is as good at it as I am. I don't mean that I don't ever use those skills (my main role at work is about getting people to communicate better and knowing how to write good e-mails, reports, etc. helps a ton, plus, you know, I do write for yuletide), but since I know that writing is one of those things that only gets better with practice, you'd think I'd suck it up and write more. Particularly fanfic, since I love love love getting feedback. Challenges help, I think, but at a fundamental level I also just really like reading fic and there's always some great new fic to read instead of writing my own.
The West Wing
I'm a little surprised to see this here, since while it's the only fandom I ever seriously wrote for, it was a really really long time ago. Like 8 years ago. I came to it via "Sports Night", and through loving the way Sorkin used words. I fell out of love with it once it became clear that Sorkin's talent with words could not overcome his epic fail at dealing with women (or, you know, grown-up relationships almost in general), but the first two seasons are brilliant and stand rewatching. I still think I should have written CJ more.
Stoppard
*hugs kassrachel*. OK, this inspired me to go back and create a Stoppard tag. Clearly long overdue. I first fell in love with Stoppard, and with language in general, while listeing to an LP (again, I'm old) recording of the original cast of "The Real Thing" -- Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Christine Baranski, Peter Gallagher, Cynthia Nixon -- one of the all-time great casts for anything ever. The cricket bats and cudgels speech still is my favorite declaration about what writing should do, and I still think this says everything about journalism I believe, but if anything I actually like the more recent Stoppard better. "Arcadia" is now and forever my favorite, but "Rock and Roll" was brilliant and "Coast of Utopia" is up there on my all-time amazing experiences list. I can't wait until Robert Sean Leonard is free of "House" and available to do Stoppard again.