Q&A Meme
I should be sleeping - or alternately, finishing up a beta read-through I've promised to get done .. but that whole promising thing? Ain't working so well for me lately. It's like that old adage of life being what's happening when one is busy making other plans. So, yeah, I had other plans, and then life happened. Meh. It all started with me having taken a 2 week, well-planned-out vacation. In the States. Just me. Leaving my kids with my husband, his parents and my parents in a well-organized dance of fun for the boys so they wouldn't miss me terribly. They didn't. Then came the ash cloud, and a 'uhhh .. mommy'll come back .. sometime, maybe. We hope. Can't tell you when exactly but .. soon-ish?' From there, everything went to hell - and while I'm back in Germany now for 2 weeks already, only just 1 week later than planned originally, 4 major 'incidents' have hit in those 2 weeks alone. And with 'incidents', I mean plain old catastrophes like 'oh, did you think your little one was going to start school come September? We need to re-think that .. perhaps if we put him into an integrative class, we might be able to condone that but ..' Excuse me, but whut?! Just because you stupid school psychologist saw him for 30 minutes the DAY after MOMMY was SUPPOSED to be HOME but didn't ARRIVE, with no DATE given for when she WOULD be BACK, and he was QUIET and RELUCTANT to PARTICIPATE? Seriously? So .. yeah - here, my plans, there, life interfering.
Anyhoo .. bitching, moaning and complaining isn't what has brought me here. Instead, I figured I'd do this cute little meme ('cause, ya know, I actually like staying in touch with people on my flist a little, it gives me a not too small amount of satisfaction!) that I saw at nix_this' journal:
Q&A MEME
- Leave a comment saying "Beam me up Scotty!"
- I'll respond by asking you five questions to satisfy my curiosity.
- Update your journal with the answers to your questions.
- Include this explanation and offer to ask other people questions.
nix_this asked me the following questions:
1. Have you ever gone somewhere and had culture shock?
2. Red or white wine?
3. Who's your literary hero?
4. What's your favourite thing about the Star Trek fandom?
5. What skill do you possess that you think, taken to the EXTREME, could one day save the world? (Alternatively - what's your superpower in the X-men universe? XD )
Here we go:
1. Have you ever gone somewhere and had culture shock?
*snorts* Ok, picture this - li'l 16-year-old me, ready to take on the world (or not, 'cause my knees were trembling so badly they must have been making a noise, being knocked together), arriving in the US after a trip of about 12 hours. It's late, about 11pm, hot and humid in a way that makes you feel like a wet towel slap, stumbling down the gangway out of the plane and into the terminal. Two well-meaning, jovial people await you and you know that they'll be your stand-in parents for a year. You feel sweaty, kinda sick from the airplane food, tired to the bone, out of your comfort zone - and they .. talk. At you. A lot. And some more. And then some more. About .. uh .. what now? Cops and donut shops? What the ..? And that's just the part you think you actually understood. Uh. You get to their place, dying for a shower - which you end up taking .. not at all 'cause a thunderstorm knocks out the power about 2 minutes after your arrival there. The heat is stifling, but the fan they put up for you doesn't work 'cause of the power outage. You go to bed miserable, unable to even call home and tell your parents you got there 'cause .. there is no friggin' electricity. Flop onto the bed, cue unexpected tidal wave of one-chambered, free-flow waterbed dumping you unceremoniously onto you back-side which makes you feel like an idiot, especially 'cause the well-meaning people come running to check up on you. After trying to figure out the configuration of sheets, sheets, duvets, liners and blankets (serious bed-building is serious business in the US, apparently!) and failing miserably, you settle gingerly on top of the amassed sheets, always fearing that one quick move will rupture the bed and it will spill all of its water .. all over. The night was spent in fear of movement, in a constant state of vague sea-sickness, in sweaty over-heatedness and .. oh, yeah, when the electricity returned eventually? With 2 bedside lamps burning that you couldn't figure for the life of you how to turn off (uh .. yeah .. touch-me-lamps? Never even heard of them before coming to the US.). The next morning brings a quandary in the form of 'HALP! I am clueless of how to ever return this bed into its 'made' form!' and .. 'Oh shit, their cat died.' Seriously, over-night, my hostmom's cat of 18 years had passed away. Auspicious beginning? *eyes all of the above* I would say 'not so much'. And that was before I encountered much of anything 'real' American even. So .. the answer to the question would be - oh yeah. Yup. Culture shock eventually struck big time - and over little, silly, stupid things too that would suddenly drive me nuts, little idiosyncrasies that were unexpectedly grating. Seeing how America and Germany are both Western countries, it's easy to forget that there are, nevertheless, cultural differences that will hit you unprepared (whereas if you were going to, say, China you'd expect things to be VERY different) - and it can be these little differences like the way a bed is made or needing a hall-pass to be allowed to go to the restroom during class-time or how people can't seem to use fork and knife 'the right way' that then totally set off a feeling of 'omg, barbarians, the lot of them!' and make you scamper for the bathroom in search for a safe haven to retreat to and sniffle into your sweater a bit in abject homesickness.
2. Red or white wine?
While I'm more a connoisseur of harder stuff like rum, vodka or Bailey's (the first 2 in any amount of girly and not so girly drinks, the latter preferably pure or on the rocks), I do love me a glass of wine to go with a meal. For that, I then prefer red or rose.
3. Who's your literary hero?
Hmm .. literary hero. Well, that's actually a good question and one that isn't easily answered. I gave myself a few minutes to consider, and silly as it may seem (and contrived as it may sound), my two most revered literary heroes with definite staying power are 2 I encountered in my favorite children's books - Frederick and das kleine Ich-bin-Ich (the little I-am-I).
Frederick: Frederick is an artistic and imaginative little mouse. While his family gathers food for the winter, Frederick sits around observing. The other mice criticize him for being lazy, but Frederick insists that what he's doing is important - he's collecting words and colors. When winter finally comes, of course, the food Frederick's family gathered sustains them. But eventually the food runs out and it is Frederick's vivid memories of the colors of spring, as well as his poems and stories, that take the other mice's minds off their troubles and get them through the winter.
The little I-am-I: A small, colorful animal is asked who or what it is, and when it can't answer that question, is laughed at for being different. It goes to search for its identity, asking any animal it meets along the way if it is like them, but while there are always similarities, there are also always enough differences to make it impossible for the little thing to mask at the animal it's trying to fit in with. Eventually, it realized its identity in just being itself, unique, not a dog, not a horse, but a simple I-am-I - and with new-found self-assurance, it returns to announce its realization. Now it is no longer shunned but its confidence gains it the other animals' recognition despite its continued difference from them or their norm.
Seriously, these 2 characters have stuck with me through the years, and I still used them as something of a moral compass or guiding light from time to time. I bet there are worse idols to model yourself after ;)
4. What's your favourite thing about the Star Trek fandom?
That would be, hands-down, the people, closely followed by the fact that Star Trek invented slash *chuckles* It's amazing to think that there are people out there who have been writing slash-fic for as long as I have been alive and longer even, and that there are kids who could almost be my own kids these days who are still taking up the mantel of being a slash writer with the characters I've loved since I first encountered them. The age diversity is amazing, the general feel of the Star Trek fandom is one of 'banding together' against the 'cool kids' and not much 'fitting in' is demanded, basically all kinks are 'pandered to'. Also, Star Trek and the fandom is one thing that connects me closely to my brothers and to my mom, and I know that being a part of the fandom will always remind me of the good moments shared over the shared love for a TV show. As such, if nothing else, Star Trek will always be a part of 'us'.
5. What skill do you possess that you think, taken to the EXTREME, could one day save the world? (Alternatively - what's your superpower in the X-men universe? XD )
LOL My super-power, huh? Well, I can weave threads of reality and threads of fiction into tales that are sometimes believable, sometimes disturbing, sometimes inspiring, sometimes crazy - as such, my power would most likely be that sort of 'reality manipulation' *chuckles*
All right, I've just see this side of 4am, and despite everything, it's time to hit the hay and try to get some sleep. I'm beyond making new promises, but please, flist, everyone who is waiting for something from me, know that I'm trying. Working on it, even, but at a snail's pace. *sigh* I wish it wasn't so. I really wish.
Anyhoo .. bitching, moaning and complaining isn't what has brought me here. Instead, I figured I'd do this cute little meme ('cause, ya know, I actually like staying in touch with people on my flist a little, it gives me a not too small amount of satisfaction!) that I saw at nix_this' journal:
Q&A MEME
- Leave a comment saying "Beam me up Scotty!"
- I'll respond by asking you five questions to satisfy my curiosity.
- Update your journal with the answers to your questions.
- Include this explanation and offer to ask other people questions.
nix_this asked me the following questions:
1. Have you ever gone somewhere and had culture shock?
2. Red or white wine?
3. Who's your literary hero?
4. What's your favourite thing about the Star Trek fandom?
5. What skill do you possess that you think, taken to the EXTREME, could one day save the world? (Alternatively - what's your superpower in the X-men universe? XD )
Here we go:
1. Have you ever gone somewhere and had culture shock?
*snorts* Ok, picture this - li'l 16-year-old me, ready to take on the world (or not, 'cause my knees were trembling so badly they must have been making a noise, being knocked together), arriving in the US after a trip of about 12 hours. It's late, about 11pm, hot and humid in a way that makes you feel like a wet towel slap, stumbling down the gangway out of the plane and into the terminal. Two well-meaning, jovial people await you and you know that they'll be your stand-in parents for a year. You feel sweaty, kinda sick from the airplane food, tired to the bone, out of your comfort zone - and they .. talk. At you. A lot. And some more. And then some more. About .. uh .. what now? Cops and donut shops? What the ..? And that's just the part you think you actually understood. Uh. You get to their place, dying for a shower - which you end up taking .. not at all 'cause a thunderstorm knocks out the power about 2 minutes after your arrival there. The heat is stifling, but the fan they put up for you doesn't work 'cause of the power outage. You go to bed miserable, unable to even call home and tell your parents you got there 'cause .. there is no friggin' electricity. Flop onto the bed, cue unexpected tidal wave of one-chambered, free-flow waterbed dumping you unceremoniously onto you back-side which makes you feel like an idiot, especially 'cause the well-meaning people come running to check up on you. After trying to figure out the configuration of sheets, sheets, duvets, liners and blankets (serious bed-building is serious business in the US, apparently!) and failing miserably, you settle gingerly on top of the amassed sheets, always fearing that one quick move will rupture the bed and it will spill all of its water .. all over. The night was spent in fear of movement, in a constant state of vague sea-sickness, in sweaty over-heatedness and .. oh, yeah, when the electricity returned eventually? With 2 bedside lamps burning that you couldn't figure for the life of you how to turn off (uh .. yeah .. touch-me-lamps? Never even heard of them before coming to the US.). The next morning brings a quandary in the form of 'HALP! I am clueless of how to ever return this bed into its 'made' form!' and .. 'Oh shit, their cat died.' Seriously, over-night, my hostmom's cat of 18 years had passed away. Auspicious beginning? *eyes all of the above* I would say 'not so much'. And that was before I encountered much of anything 'real' American even. So .. the answer to the question would be - oh yeah. Yup. Culture shock eventually struck big time - and over little, silly, stupid things too that would suddenly drive me nuts, little idiosyncrasies that were unexpectedly grating. Seeing how America and Germany are both Western countries, it's easy to forget that there are, nevertheless, cultural differences that will hit you unprepared (whereas if you were going to, say, China you'd expect things to be VERY different) - and it can be these little differences like the way a bed is made or needing a hall-pass to be allowed to go to the restroom during class-time or how people can't seem to use fork and knife 'the right way' that then totally set off a feeling of 'omg, barbarians, the lot of them!' and make you scamper for the bathroom in search for a safe haven to retreat to and sniffle into your sweater a bit in abject homesickness.
2. Red or white wine?
While I'm more a connoisseur of harder stuff like rum, vodka or Bailey's (the first 2 in any amount of girly and not so girly drinks, the latter preferably pure or on the rocks), I do love me a glass of wine to go with a meal. For that, I then prefer red or rose.
3. Who's your literary hero?
Hmm .. literary hero. Well, that's actually a good question and one that isn't easily answered. I gave myself a few minutes to consider, and silly as it may seem (and contrived as it may sound), my two most revered literary heroes with definite staying power are 2 I encountered in my favorite children's books - Frederick and das kleine Ich-bin-Ich (the little I-am-I).
Frederick: Frederick is an artistic and imaginative little mouse. While his family gathers food for the winter, Frederick sits around observing. The other mice criticize him for being lazy, but Frederick insists that what he's doing is important - he's collecting words and colors. When winter finally comes, of course, the food Frederick's family gathered sustains them. But eventually the food runs out and it is Frederick's vivid memories of the colors of spring, as well as his poems and stories, that take the other mice's minds off their troubles and get them through the winter.
The little I-am-I: A small, colorful animal is asked who or what it is, and when it can't answer that question, is laughed at for being different. It goes to search for its identity, asking any animal it meets along the way if it is like them, but while there are always similarities, there are also always enough differences to make it impossible for the little thing to mask at the animal it's trying to fit in with. Eventually, it realized its identity in just being itself, unique, not a dog, not a horse, but a simple I-am-I - and with new-found self-assurance, it returns to announce its realization. Now it is no longer shunned but its confidence gains it the other animals' recognition despite its continued difference from them or their norm.
Seriously, these 2 characters have stuck with me through the years, and I still used them as something of a moral compass or guiding light from time to time. I bet there are worse idols to model yourself after ;)
4. What's your favourite thing about the Star Trek fandom?
That would be, hands-down, the people, closely followed by the fact that Star Trek invented slash *chuckles* It's amazing to think that there are people out there who have been writing slash-fic for as long as I have been alive and longer even, and that there are kids who could almost be my own kids these days who are still taking up the mantel of being a slash writer with the characters I've loved since I first encountered them. The age diversity is amazing, the general feel of the Star Trek fandom is one of 'banding together' against the 'cool kids' and not much 'fitting in' is demanded, basically all kinks are 'pandered to'. Also, Star Trek and the fandom is one thing that connects me closely to my brothers and to my mom, and I know that being a part of the fandom will always remind me of the good moments shared over the shared love for a TV show. As such, if nothing else, Star Trek will always be a part of 'us'.
5. What skill do you possess that you think, taken to the EXTREME, could one day save the world? (Alternatively - what's your superpower in the X-men universe? XD )
LOL My super-power, huh? Well, I can weave threads of reality and threads of fiction into tales that are sometimes believable, sometimes disturbing, sometimes inspiring, sometimes crazy - as such, my power would most likely be that sort of 'reality manipulation' *chuckles*
All right, I've just see this side of 4am, and despite everything, it's time to hit the hay and try to get some sleep. I'm beyond making new promises, but please, flist, everyone who is waiting for something from me, know that I'm trying. Working on it, even, but at a snail's pace. *sigh* I wish it wasn't so. I really wish.