Flagrant Disregard
I apologize profusely for my neglect. It's been almost a month since I wrote an entry and almost two months since I wrote an entry of more than 10 words **edit: I just realized I hadn't even published that one - which has since been remedied**. Living at home waiting to move abroad has been an enigmatic time for reflection, but I'll write about it some other day.
Shit's about to get Serious, seeing as I will start the Japan process on Friday. The blog entries should be rolling in once I've switched countries, though that will probably happen at a dreamwidth account I'll keep separate from this one. But never fear! The bitching and squeeing will still happen here as usual. Why ruin a good thing?
Meanwhile, this is a good opportunity to do my first meme.
....Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you. My 5 words came from mystickeeper.
Linguistics
One of the better sciences. A fine mix of predictability and batshit randomness (which turns into predictability over time). I like it so much because it mixes the emotional, the philosophical, the physical, and the social. It kind of represents everything I respect in life in that it's so versatile. You cannot prove causation in linguistics, you can use linguistics to explain phenomena, and you can use phenomena to explain linguistics. A brilliant analytical romp. My favorite facet of linguistics is phonetics (which is why I prefer to teach pronunciation over anything else when I teach English), though I also enjoy pragmatics because it explains why it's perfectly reasonable for me to say "it's cold in here," and expect you to close the window on account of what I said. I geek out about linguistics almost as much as I geek out over cool costumes and fantasy heroes.
Pwning (at life)
It means a lot to me that mystickeeper says that! I try very hard. One might argue that my whole life is devoted to pwning (at it). Though I enjoy the process so much that I don't feel like there's anything dubious about saying that. To me, pwning means 1) having a sense of satisfaction, 2) making a difference in the lives of others, 3) analyzing anything and everything into the ground even if it's just for the sport of it, 4) taking responsibility for everything I say and do without feeling ashamed, 5) constantly trying to build a better social climate for the world, and 6) doing it all with a little bit of flair. Those would be the 6 tenants of pwning, I think.
Insight (into peoples)
Again, this one means a lot to me too. I think any insight I may have about people comes from a combination of heavy cynicism and constant attention. Also, I'm highly motivated to have good insight - it's a necessity for achieving the aforementioned pwnage. While I don't think it's fair to expect people to get things right the first time around, I do not have a very high tolerance for repeated mistakes, so understanding others goes hand in hand with making progress.
Bitchassness (a purposeful intolerance of)
I don't hold ignorance against people, but once you are informed you need to get your shit together. That's all I have to say about that.
Adorableness
I will tell you now that adorableness is one of my insecurities, so adorable people make me feel envious sometimes. A person of my stature, professionalism, and hardassness has trouble feeling cute. I do, however, like adorable things (though they have to be legit adorable things, not cliche adorable things). Japanese mascots, baby animals, and inanimate objects with faces are all adorable. Also, I always feel that it is okay for a woman to be "stereotypically feminine" and adorable if she's doing it for the right, self-motivated reasons. If those conditions are met, it is not anti-feminist. This sentiment comes straight from my I-only-wear-make-up-because-I-like-make-up soapbox.
Shit's about to get Serious, seeing as I will start the Japan process on Friday. The blog entries should be rolling in once I've switched countries, though that will probably happen at a dreamwidth account I'll keep separate from this one. But never fear! The bitching and squeeing will still happen here as usual. Why ruin a good thing?
Meanwhile, this is a good opportunity to do my first meme.
....Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you. My 5 words came from mystickeeper.
Linguistics
One of the better sciences. A fine mix of predictability and batshit randomness (which turns into predictability over time). I like it so much because it mixes the emotional, the philosophical, the physical, and the social. It kind of represents everything I respect in life in that it's so versatile. You cannot prove causation in linguistics, you can use linguistics to explain phenomena, and you can use phenomena to explain linguistics. A brilliant analytical romp. My favorite facet of linguistics is phonetics (which is why I prefer to teach pronunciation over anything else when I teach English), though I also enjoy pragmatics because it explains why it's perfectly reasonable for me to say "it's cold in here," and expect you to close the window on account of what I said. I geek out about linguistics almost as much as I geek out over cool costumes and fantasy heroes.
Pwning (at life)
It means a lot to me that mystickeeper says that! I try very hard. One might argue that my whole life is devoted to pwning (at it). Though I enjoy the process so much that I don't feel like there's anything dubious about saying that. To me, pwning means 1) having a sense of satisfaction, 2) making a difference in the lives of others, 3) analyzing anything and everything into the ground even if it's just for the sport of it, 4) taking responsibility for everything I say and do without feeling ashamed, 5) constantly trying to build a better social climate for the world, and 6) doing it all with a little bit of flair. Those would be the 6 tenants of pwning, I think.
Insight (into peoples)
Again, this one means a lot to me too. I think any insight I may have about people comes from a combination of heavy cynicism and constant attention. Also, I'm highly motivated to have good insight - it's a necessity for achieving the aforementioned pwnage. While I don't think it's fair to expect people to get things right the first time around, I do not have a very high tolerance for repeated mistakes, so understanding others goes hand in hand with making progress.
Bitchassness (a purposeful intolerance of)
I don't hold ignorance against people, but once you are informed you need to get your shit together. That's all I have to say about that.
Adorableness
I will tell you now that adorableness is one of my insecurities, so adorable people make me feel envious sometimes. A person of my stature, professionalism, and hardassness has trouble feeling cute. I do, however, like adorable things (though they have to be legit adorable things, not cliche adorable things). Japanese mascots, baby animals, and inanimate objects with faces are all adorable. Also, I always feel that it is okay for a woman to be "stereotypically feminine" and adorable if she's doing it for the right, self-motivated reasons. If those conditions are met, it is not anti-feminist. This sentiment comes straight from my I-only-wear-make-up-because-I-like-make-up soapbox.