win or die
Name: James
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is: misstopia
Age: 28
Location: East Finchley
Occupation: Auditor, formerly a PhD student in the field of evolutionary genetics
All About You
1. Describe your ideal house/home. Please go into as much detail as possible, and be sure to include your ideal geographical location in the description!.
Hmm... if it's to be a composite of my favourite places then it would probably be a tall old house made of old red brick (crumbling and mossy in parts), with a solar and a massive library. There's a huge kitchen with a range, which is one of the social hubs of the building, and a barn-cum-makeshift theatre. There's probably a smaller kitchen/larder in the library as well, for tea (Rooibos with rose petals) and cheese (a good crumbly Wensleydale). Next door (or maybe as part of the house) there's a bustling pub with big wooden tables indoor and out, coal fires in winter and a wide range of real ales. It's situated in an old, windy part of a city, somewhere where there are trees, like Oxford or Edinburgh, and is near enough to theatres and restaurants for isolation not to be a problem, but it's not in the centre. I share the house with a variety of old and new friends, and people pass through visiting from time to time.
2. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Being alone I'm quite picky when it comes to friends, but those that I have, I need. I can amuse myself for a long time, but life without a circle of friends to go back to when I need it really would not be worth living.
Poverty I don't mind having modest means, but during (and in the immediate aftermath of) my PhD write-up, I had literally no income, and was accumulating debt at a scary rate. The temp job I picked up afterward whilst searching for a change in direction paid my living costs, but I was very aware that I had a lot of debt and no security; getting my current job and acquiring a high, and, more importantly, guaranteed income made a huge difference to my life, meaning as it did that I could pay off my debt and get some capital behind me.
Erosion of my "self" I'd hate to ever get to a point whether, through isolation, hardship, depression or Alzheimer's, I'm not "myself" (whatever that is). I need my headspace, and it needs to be my own; this is the main reason I could never be, say, an investment banker- the choices I'd have to make and the hours I'd have to work would leave me no room to be me.
3. What is your favorite aspect of your physical appearance and why? Hmmm. I'm tall (6'3"), which comes in handy, and I've been told my eyes (blue) and hair (dark blond/ light brown) are both quite nice. On the whole, though, I'm none too fussed about my physical appearance.
4. If you could change one thing about your physical appearance, what would you change and why?
See above- I'm not really bothered! Something which isn't appearance, but is (sort of) physical and something I'd like to get rid of, is my stutter- it's not an issue 90% of the time, but it makes it virtually impossible for me to tell a joke well. I'm fine with off-the-cuff comments, but I can't time a punchline because my stutter gets in the way.
5. Imagine you’re given the classic opportunity: a genie granting you three wishes. What would you wish for? Wishing for more wishes is not permitted!
1) There are a couple of decisions I'd like to go back and make differently. None of these are far enough back in my past that changing them would change my "self", but I feel I'd be happier now if I'd acted differently.
2) Everyone in the world is more intelligent. Not super-geniuses, but intelligent enough to not get hoodwinked by advertising and to get their priorities straight. I'm unsure whether this would make the world better, but at least it'd mean things had more reason to happen.
3) Money. Not bajillions, but enough that I could quit my job and give writing for a living a go.
6. In your life so far, what accomplishment are you the most proud of? You can list more than one if you have trouble deciding. ;)
When I was at uni, I directed a musical (Ruddigore) with the University of Nottingham Gilbert and Sullivan Society. It was the culmination of the time that I'd spent with the society, and was, in the end, an amazingly good show, funny in all the right ways. I had a great time doing it, and the friends I had at that point in my life are the kind of friends I'll keep forever.
7. Which of the following is most important to you: Love, Money, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Adventure, or Pleasure? Which is the least important to you?
Most important: Knowledge. I suspect I'd rather be right than happy, ultimately, though I'd rather it didn't come to that choice! Friendship and pleasure are pretty important to me too. Coming last, I'd probably pick Love. I'm unsure whether I've ever been in love, and if I have, it didn't change my life, and maybe I'd be better off without it.
8. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values?
"Then see the pretty girls smiling everywhere from the ads and the TV set
And why should you sweat?
What do you get?
One day of grateful for six of regret"
- Marry Me A Little
That's me in one of my blacker moods, but very me all the same.
9. How do you manage your money? On that note, how important is money/financial security to you?
I used to let this kind of thing take care of itself, and survive simply by virtue of not spending much. That changed when I was writing up my PhD thesis and had no income for a rather large amount of time. Then, I had to learn to keep a close eye on what I did and didn't spend, and it made me appreciate the difference between luxuries and necessities. Now that I have a decent income, I'm very keen to get the most out of it, and to save wherever possible. I'm mildly horrified when people build up debt on frivolities and prioritise the short-term over the long-term; provided my basic needs (food, shelter, beer, a modicum of entertainment) are catered for, I'd rather have money in a savings account than in my wallet.
10. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Reading I love stories, and books are my favourite way to experience them. I read a lot of literary fiction, generally gravitating toward anything with a strong vein of humour (especially dark humour- David Mitchell, Joseph Heller and Matthew Kneale), and authors who have a fascination with words and who play games with language. Genre-wise, I like what China Mieville called "The New Weird"- Mieville (another author who likes words!), Gaiman, Powers, Diana Wynne-Jones etc. I'm not generally a big fan of epic fantasy, (apart from Lord of the Rings), but the world building, characterisation, ruthless plotting (GRRM packs more genuine surprises into half a book than many authors manage in their whole career) and glorious heraldry geekery drew me into A Song of Ice and Fire.
Writing Goes hand-in-hand with reading, I suppose. I suspect I actually have quite a bit of talent here (and recently won a competition with SFX magazine), but my laziness and fear of failure prevents me from capitalising on it. Oh well.
Theatre Participating and watching, makes no difference. I discovered theatre when I joined the Gilbert & Sullivan society (of all things) at uni, and found that it brought me all the fun I'd felt should have been there in pencil-and-paper RPGs. I go to the Edinburgh festival ever year, and have written a few shows for the G&S show to perform (mostly pretty silly revues-with-plots, but they made me proud). Since moving to London, I've discovered the that the Globe is the best place to get bang for one's Shakespearian buck.
Humour Of which puns and bawdy farce-style humour are my favourites. I still find Carry On films and pantomimes to be ridiculously funny. I have a huge laugh, frequently commented on, and consider myself to be very good at audience participation.
Music Generally, the music I like is very lyrically-driven. Whether it's the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, the poetic angst of Stephin Merritt or the lit-pop of The Divine Comedy, I appreciate a little literary wisdom as well as a jaunty tune. I've recently developed a taste for sweet indie as well (Tullycraft, Belle & Sebastian, Kimya Dawson), and folk.
Finding out about things I love gathering knowledge, ideally useless knowledge. I'm very interested in history, myths and legends, maths, science and language. I have a magpie attitude to facts- never mind whether or not they're useful, if they're shiny, grab 'em! This love of knowledge initially drew me into a PhD, but I became disillusioned when I realised that it was knowledge in general that I found interesting, not the particular area that I ended up studying (evolutionary genetics). Now I'm an auditor working for the UK government, and have found myself studying for an accountancy qualification; more knowledge (and it turns out economics is pretty similar to, and just as interesting as, evolution)!
11. Name (and elaborate on) your top three BEST and top three WORST qualities (personality-related, not physical).
BEST
1) Intelligence: I have a very retentive memory, which has been a huge boon academically, and I tend not to find new concepts difficult. I'm a quick, clear and concise writer and have never had trouble with maths either.
2) Fairness: I try not to judge until I have all the facts, and I hope I generally admit it if I've misjudged someone. I'm also willing to forgive people who've acted like arseholes in the past if they show that they've sorted themselves out. This doesn't mean I'll definitely want to be their friend, just that I recognise that it's my problem and not theirs.
3) Humour I'm funny. At least, people tend to laugh when I make a joke... I hope this is the same thing! I appreciate humour in others as well.
WORST
1) Gloom: I can be a right misery sometimes. When things aren't going well, I get bored and frustrated. My tendency to procrastinate (see 3) goes into overdrive, and I mope about things, focus on past failures and overanalyse. I get self-pitying when this happens, and become way less sociable (I can find a lot of other people pretty irritating at the best of times, but normally I at least try to give them the benefit of the doubt). I've been known to storm off during social occasions for no discernable reason. This is part of the reason I value a tight and understanding circle of friends so highly!
2) Overconfidence: I have a hell of a high opinion of my abilities and, if I'm not getting the attention I think I deserve, my ego gets bruised. I can be noisy and abrasive when I'm like this, and I sometimes offend people (I have a pretty thick skin, and tend to assume other people are the same).
3) Procrastination: God, I'm lazy. I'll spend hours playing some stupid online game and listening to music before I get around to doing whatever needs doing.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.Which is your favorite book of the series so far? What about your least favorite?
Favourite is probably A Clash Of Kings, if only because we get to see Tyrion at his manipulative best. I don't really have a least favourite; I found the fist half of Storm of Swords a bit slow, but the second half made up for all that plus interest. I find that people tend to hate on A Feast For Crows, and whilst I can see that it's a little slower than a lot of the series, there's a huge amount of good stuff in there, with the Faith scenes, Cersei's comeuppance, Littlefinger's machinations (including keeping Ultimate Badass Lyn Corbray on a leash), and Braavos.
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series?
1) Tyrion, obviously, for sheer aplomb in the face of terrific adversity. Outsmarting Lysa on her own ground won me over to him in the first book, and saving King's Landing whilst facing down Joffrey and outmanoeuvering in Clash Of Kings was his finest hour. He got to show his sensitive side with Sansa, and then topped it all off by killikng his father. I doff my hat.
2) Sandor Clegane, for being a genuinely unpredictable, scary and yet still sympathetic character. He's a bad man in many ways, and yet he's been through a hell of a lot. Reminds me of Mr Hyde from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and, like Hyde, he's all the more palatable when you've met someone worse.
3) Ned Stark, for courage and compassion, however misplaced. His only flaw was that he underestimated the depths to which men sink. Well, that and trusting Littlefinger for a second.
Runners up include Littlefinger (who missed out because Tyrion shares many of his good points whilst not being a sociopath), the Red Viper (an incredibly cool character, and the slayer of one of Westeros's great monsters, but not around for long enough to qualify) and Jaime (for changing. If he ends up strangling Cersei, he'll make top three).
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series?
1) Joffrey, for being unspeakable.
2) Theon, for betrayal, murder, stupidity, and thinking it's funny.
3) Lysa Arryn, for being a harpy. Annoying on the individual level, and capable of great cruelty and spite for no real reason other than a sense of the importance of her own broken heart.
I also have to confess that I find Melisandre (though in possession of some really cool powers) and Davos (though a very nice bloke) to be a bit dull.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far?
Littlefinger killing Lysa. The sheer brass neck of it... he walks in on an attempted muder-in-progress, cooly asserts his authority, saves Sansa, breaks Lysa's heart before dropping her off a cliff and, without missing a beat, pinning the whole thing on the ideal scapegoat. Incredible.
Runners up are Ned's death (killing off the main character without warning in SOMEONE ELSE'S CHAPTER), Renly's death (for shivers), the Red Wedding (for creating an atmosphere of gut-churning dread, where you knew something terrible was about to happen, then surpassing all expectations of just how terrible terrible can get), the birth of the dragons, both of Tyrion's trials-by-combat and the reveal of Lady Stoneheart. All ace-ness.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end?
Surely it has to end with dragons vs Others at some point? Along the way, I'd like to see a Jeyne Westerling switcheroo (when Catelyn meets her, she's got big hips, when Jaime meets her, she's small-hipped. Meanwhile, the Blackfish has swum off to parts unknown and the Lannisters are worried that she might be pregnant), Jaime killing Cersei, Arya being rescued from the House of Black and White by Syrio Forel, and Garlan the Gallant being elevated to the Kingsguard to replace Ser Ays and kicking everyone's arses in a trial by combat. It would be good to see Sansa (a character who, I should add, is another of my favourites) outsmarting Littlefinger too.
Links to at least 3 applications you voted on:
#1
#2
#3
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is: misstopia
Age: 28
Location: East Finchley
Occupation: Auditor, formerly a PhD student in the field of evolutionary genetics
All About You
1. Describe your ideal house/home. Please go into as much detail as possible, and be sure to include your ideal geographical location in the description!.
Hmm... if it's to be a composite of my favourite places then it would probably be a tall old house made of old red brick (crumbling and mossy in parts), with a solar and a massive library. There's a huge kitchen with a range, which is one of the social hubs of the building, and a barn-cum-makeshift theatre. There's probably a smaller kitchen/larder in the library as well, for tea (Rooibos with rose petals) and cheese (a good crumbly Wensleydale). Next door (or maybe as part of the house) there's a bustling pub with big wooden tables indoor and out, coal fires in winter and a wide range of real ales. It's situated in an old, windy part of a city, somewhere where there are trees, like Oxford or Edinburgh, and is near enough to theatres and restaurants for isolation not to be a problem, but it's not in the centre. I share the house with a variety of old and new friends, and people pass through visiting from time to time.
2. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Being alone I'm quite picky when it comes to friends, but those that I have, I need. I can amuse myself for a long time, but life without a circle of friends to go back to when I need it really would not be worth living.
Poverty I don't mind having modest means, but during (and in the immediate aftermath of) my PhD write-up, I had literally no income, and was accumulating debt at a scary rate. The temp job I picked up afterward whilst searching for a change in direction paid my living costs, but I was very aware that I had a lot of debt and no security; getting my current job and acquiring a high, and, more importantly, guaranteed income made a huge difference to my life, meaning as it did that I could pay off my debt and get some capital behind me.
Erosion of my "self" I'd hate to ever get to a point whether, through isolation, hardship, depression or Alzheimer's, I'm not "myself" (whatever that is). I need my headspace, and it needs to be my own; this is the main reason I could never be, say, an investment banker- the choices I'd have to make and the hours I'd have to work would leave me no room to be me.
3. What is your favorite aspect of your physical appearance and why? Hmmm. I'm tall (6'3"), which comes in handy, and I've been told my eyes (blue) and hair (dark blond/ light brown) are both quite nice. On the whole, though, I'm none too fussed about my physical appearance.
4. If you could change one thing about your physical appearance, what would you change and why?
See above- I'm not really bothered! Something which isn't appearance, but is (sort of) physical and something I'd like to get rid of, is my stutter- it's not an issue 90% of the time, but it makes it virtually impossible for me to tell a joke well. I'm fine with off-the-cuff comments, but I can't time a punchline because my stutter gets in the way.
5. Imagine you’re given the classic opportunity: a genie granting you three wishes. What would you wish for? Wishing for more wishes is not permitted!
1) There are a couple of decisions I'd like to go back and make differently. None of these are far enough back in my past that changing them would change my "self", but I feel I'd be happier now if I'd acted differently.
2) Everyone in the world is more intelligent. Not super-geniuses, but intelligent enough to not get hoodwinked by advertising and to get their priorities straight. I'm unsure whether this would make the world better, but at least it'd mean things had more reason to happen.
3) Money. Not bajillions, but enough that I could quit my job and give writing for a living a go.
6. In your life so far, what accomplishment are you the most proud of? You can list more than one if you have trouble deciding. ;)
When I was at uni, I directed a musical (Ruddigore) with the University of Nottingham Gilbert and Sullivan Society. It was the culmination of the time that I'd spent with the society, and was, in the end, an amazingly good show, funny in all the right ways. I had a great time doing it, and the friends I had at that point in my life are the kind of friends I'll keep forever.
7. Which of the following is most important to you: Love, Money, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Adventure, or Pleasure? Which is the least important to you?
Most important: Knowledge. I suspect I'd rather be right than happy, ultimately, though I'd rather it didn't come to that choice! Friendship and pleasure are pretty important to me too. Coming last, I'd probably pick Love. I'm unsure whether I've ever been in love, and if I have, it didn't change my life, and maybe I'd be better off without it.
8. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values?
"Then see the pretty girls smiling everywhere from the ads and the TV set
And why should you sweat?
What do you get?
One day of grateful for six of regret"
- Marry Me A Little
That's me in one of my blacker moods, but very me all the same.
9. How do you manage your money? On that note, how important is money/financial security to you?
I used to let this kind of thing take care of itself, and survive simply by virtue of not spending much. That changed when I was writing up my PhD thesis and had no income for a rather large amount of time. Then, I had to learn to keep a close eye on what I did and didn't spend, and it made me appreciate the difference between luxuries and necessities. Now that I have a decent income, I'm very keen to get the most out of it, and to save wherever possible. I'm mildly horrified when people build up debt on frivolities and prioritise the short-term over the long-term; provided my basic needs (food, shelter, beer, a modicum of entertainment) are catered for, I'd rather have money in a savings account than in my wallet.
10. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Reading I love stories, and books are my favourite way to experience them. I read a lot of literary fiction, generally gravitating toward anything with a strong vein of humour (especially dark humour- David Mitchell, Joseph Heller and Matthew Kneale), and authors who have a fascination with words and who play games with language. Genre-wise, I like what China Mieville called "The New Weird"- Mieville (another author who likes words!), Gaiman, Powers, Diana Wynne-Jones etc. I'm not generally a big fan of epic fantasy, (apart from Lord of the Rings), but the world building, characterisation, ruthless plotting (GRRM packs more genuine surprises into half a book than many authors manage in their whole career) and glorious heraldry geekery drew me into A Song of Ice and Fire.
Writing Goes hand-in-hand with reading, I suppose. I suspect I actually have quite a bit of talent here (and recently won a competition with SFX magazine), but my laziness and fear of failure prevents me from capitalising on it. Oh well.
Theatre Participating and watching, makes no difference. I discovered theatre when I joined the Gilbert & Sullivan society (of all things) at uni, and found that it brought me all the fun I'd felt should have been there in pencil-and-paper RPGs. I go to the Edinburgh festival ever year, and have written a few shows for the G&S show to perform (mostly pretty silly revues-with-plots, but they made me proud). Since moving to London, I've discovered the that the Globe is the best place to get bang for one's Shakespearian buck.
Humour Of which puns and bawdy farce-style humour are my favourites. I still find Carry On films and pantomimes to be ridiculously funny. I have a huge laugh, frequently commented on, and consider myself to be very good at audience participation.
Music Generally, the music I like is very lyrically-driven. Whether it's the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, the poetic angst of Stephin Merritt or the lit-pop of The Divine Comedy, I appreciate a little literary wisdom as well as a jaunty tune. I've recently developed a taste for sweet indie as well (Tullycraft, Belle & Sebastian, Kimya Dawson), and folk.
Finding out about things I love gathering knowledge, ideally useless knowledge. I'm very interested in history, myths and legends, maths, science and language. I have a magpie attitude to facts- never mind whether or not they're useful, if they're shiny, grab 'em! This love of knowledge initially drew me into a PhD, but I became disillusioned when I realised that it was knowledge in general that I found interesting, not the particular area that I ended up studying (evolutionary genetics). Now I'm an auditor working for the UK government, and have found myself studying for an accountancy qualification; more knowledge (and it turns out economics is pretty similar to, and just as interesting as, evolution)!
11. Name (and elaborate on) your top three BEST and top three WORST qualities (personality-related, not physical).
BEST
1) Intelligence: I have a very retentive memory, which has been a huge boon academically, and I tend not to find new concepts difficult. I'm a quick, clear and concise writer and have never had trouble with maths either.
2) Fairness: I try not to judge until I have all the facts, and I hope I generally admit it if I've misjudged someone. I'm also willing to forgive people who've acted like arseholes in the past if they show that they've sorted themselves out. This doesn't mean I'll definitely want to be their friend, just that I recognise that it's my problem and not theirs.
3) Humour I'm funny. At least, people tend to laugh when I make a joke... I hope this is the same thing! I appreciate humour in others as well.
WORST
1) Gloom: I can be a right misery sometimes. When things aren't going well, I get bored and frustrated. My tendency to procrastinate (see 3) goes into overdrive, and I mope about things, focus on past failures and overanalyse. I get self-pitying when this happens, and become way less sociable (I can find a lot of other people pretty irritating at the best of times, but normally I at least try to give them the benefit of the doubt). I've been known to storm off during social occasions for no discernable reason. This is part of the reason I value a tight and understanding circle of friends so highly!
2) Overconfidence: I have a hell of a high opinion of my abilities and, if I'm not getting the attention I think I deserve, my ego gets bruised. I can be noisy and abrasive when I'm like this, and I sometimes offend people (I have a pretty thick skin, and tend to assume other people are the same).
3) Procrastination: God, I'm lazy. I'll spend hours playing some stupid online game and listening to music before I get around to doing whatever needs doing.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1.Which is your favorite book of the series so far? What about your least favorite?
Favourite is probably A Clash Of Kings, if only because we get to see Tyrion at his manipulative best. I don't really have a least favourite; I found the fist half of Storm of Swords a bit slow, but the second half made up for all that plus interest. I find that people tend to hate on A Feast For Crows, and whilst I can see that it's a little slower than a lot of the series, there's a huge amount of good stuff in there, with the Faith scenes, Cersei's comeuppance, Littlefinger's machinations (including keeping Ultimate Badass Lyn Corbray on a leash), and Braavos.
2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series?
1) Tyrion, obviously, for sheer aplomb in the face of terrific adversity. Outsmarting Lysa on her own ground won me over to him in the first book, and saving King's Landing whilst facing down Joffrey and outmanoeuvering in Clash Of Kings was his finest hour. He got to show his sensitive side with Sansa, and then topped it all off by killikng his father. I doff my hat.
2) Sandor Clegane, for being a genuinely unpredictable, scary and yet still sympathetic character. He's a bad man in many ways, and yet he's been through a hell of a lot. Reminds me of Mr Hyde from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and, like Hyde, he's all the more palatable when you've met someone worse.
3) Ned Stark, for courage and compassion, however misplaced. His only flaw was that he underestimated the depths to which men sink. Well, that and trusting Littlefinger for a second.
Runners up include Littlefinger (who missed out because Tyrion shares many of his good points whilst not being a sociopath), the Red Viper (an incredibly cool character, and the slayer of one of Westeros's great monsters, but not around for long enough to qualify) and Jaime (for changing. If he ends up strangling Cersei, he'll make top three).
3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series?
1) Joffrey, for being unspeakable.
2) Theon, for betrayal, murder, stupidity, and thinking it's funny.
3) Lysa Arryn, for being a harpy. Annoying on the individual level, and capable of great cruelty and spite for no real reason other than a sense of the importance of her own broken heart.
I also have to confess that I find Melisandre (though in possession of some really cool powers) and Davos (though a very nice bloke) to be a bit dull.
4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far?
Littlefinger killing Lysa. The sheer brass neck of it... he walks in on an attempted muder-in-progress, cooly asserts his authority, saves Sansa, breaks Lysa's heart before dropping her off a cliff and, without missing a beat, pinning the whole thing on the ideal scapegoat. Incredible.
Runners up are Ned's death (killing off the main character without warning in SOMEONE ELSE'S CHAPTER), Renly's death (for shivers), the Red Wedding (for creating an atmosphere of gut-churning dread, where you knew something terrible was about to happen, then surpassing all expectations of just how terrible terrible can get), the birth of the dragons, both of Tyrion's trials-by-combat and the reveal of Lady Stoneheart. All ace-ness.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end?
Surely it has to end with dragons vs Others at some point? Along the way, I'd like to see a Jeyne Westerling switcheroo (when Catelyn meets her, she's got big hips, when Jaime meets her, she's small-hipped. Meanwhile, the Blackfish has swum off to parts unknown and the Lannisters are worried that she might be pregnant), Jaime killing Cersei, Arya being rescued from the House of Black and White by Syrio Forel, and Garlan the Gallant being elevated to the Kingsguard to replace Ser Ays and kicking everyone's arses in a trial by combat. It would be good to see Sansa (a character who, I should add, is another of my favourites) outsmarting Littlefinger too.
Links to at least 3 applications you voted on:
#1
#2
#3