Being Amber Rhea

Singletondom Rant

Ok, here’s the thing. Call me old-fashioned or hypocritical or whatever else you want, but sometimes I wish it were still commonly seen as the guy’s responsibility to ask the girl out. Not that I think girls shouldn’t be able to ask out guys. Of course they should. But sometimes I get the feeling that now that girls asking out guys isn’t such an outlandish concept, some guys have grown apathetic about holding up their end of the deal. Like they’re just waiting for the girls to come flocking to them. That gets annoying after a while! -Not that I think there are scores of guys out there who are just too lazy to ask me out, but who would if we were living in a society with less gender equality. I’m just sayin’, is all. I don’t like having to do all the work. And it might feel nice to be asked out on a date for once. Also, I’m pretty terrible at detecting “flirting” (unless it’s the ridiculous kind that Kira and I experienced at the Tremont Tea Room in Boston) — so if there happen to be any guys out there who are interested, you’re just going to have to spell it out. Don’t worry, if I don’t feel the same, I won’t chastise you or humiliate you or act awkward around you for the rest of our lives afterward.

Seven Deady Sins Survey

Found this on Nick’s blog. Liked it. Lifted it. Made it my own.

Pride

1. What one thing have you done that you’re most proud of? First let me say that I hate questions that demand to be quantified by “what one thing.” Secondly, I’m going to just plain cop out, because I don’t have an answer for this. I guess that means pride is not my sin of choice.
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of? Graduated from college. And then grad school.
3. What thing would you like to accomplish in your life? Cop-out answer #2: happiness. (It’s true, though.)
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place? Usually.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors? Yes.
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score? Sigh… I admit it, yes.
7. What did you do today that you’re proud of? Thinned out my wardrobe a bit. I added to the bag of clothing that’s been in the trunk of my car for weeks, which I keep forgetting to take to the Salvation Army drop-off location (so I guess that’s some sloth for ya).

Envy

1. What item (or person) of your friend’s would you most want to have for your own? Niki’s mom’s Powerbook. :) (And can I just say that the “person” part of this question creeps me out?)
2. Who would you want to go on “Trading Spaces”? My parents (because the Trading Spaces crew could replace that carpet and wallpaper and paint that paneling much faster than the schedule my parents have mapped out for themselves).
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be? For the rest of my life, or for a day? Do I have to pick just one? Damn, I always hate this question. Let’s see… I think it would be interesting (and scary) to be George W. Bush for a day, to find out what really goes on in that head of his.
4. Have you ever been cheated on? Not that I know of.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own? Whiter teeth? That one has been taken care of, somewhat. Clear skin? I’m working on that one now. There have also been times when I’ve been heard to utter, “I hate my hair!” But I like it at the moment.
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself? I’m pretty uncoordinated. So some rhythm wouldn’t hurt.

Wrath

1. Who did you last get angry with? Hmmm… I don’t remember. Really.
2. What is your weapon of choice? My weapon? I’m not a very violent person! I guess words are my “weapon of choice.”
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex? Only if they wouldn’t hit back.
4. How about of the same sex? I don’t know. I’m really not the hitting type, regardless of gender. Although I’m sure everyone would love a catfight.
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you? I don’t know.
6. What is your pet peeve? Oh, there are so many… where to start? People who interrupt and don’t let you finish a sentence; redundancies (like the previous pet peeve, for example); people who think they know what they’re talking about but really don’t; people who can’t laugh at themselves; people who start sentences with, “I was so drunk…”; people who don’t clean up after themselves; the list goes on…
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily? I keep grudges. But not about stupid stuff. About important stuff. My grudges have long memories. And I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.

Sloth (Acedia)

1. What is one thing you’re supposed to do daily that you haven’t done in a long time? Meditate.
2. What is the latest you’ve ever woken up? I think 2:00 PM.
3. Name a person you’ve been meaning to contact, but haven’t. I keep meaning to call Vasant to set up a time to go have dinner again. Damn! What is my problem??
4. What is the last lame excuse you made? I don’t remember. (<– Does that qualify as the lamest lame excuse for not giving a real answer to that question?)
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through? No, thank God.
6. When was the last time you got a good workout in? Define “a good workout.” (I got a pretty good workout walking down 23 flights of stairs during the fire drill at work last week…)
7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today? My alarm clock didn’t go off today… it’s Sunday. But I usually hit it once or twice.

Greed (Avarice)

1. How many credit cards do you own? Three credit cards own me.
2. What’s your guilty pleasure store? Victoria’s Secret.
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it? I would invest half of it in mutual funds, and take the other half over to my friend Asadulah who works in securities…
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous? Rich.
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks? Hard to say… it would depend on the nature of the job, and the exact amount of “megabucks.”
6. Have you ever stolen anything? When I was 4 I stole some gum from a grocery store. When I was 19 I accidentally walked out of Waffle House without paying for my coffee.
7. How many MP3s are on your hard drive? 410 (thanks for counting, iTunes!)

Gluttony

1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice? Mocha Frappucino.
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat? White meat (why’s it got to be racial??)
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you’ve had in one sitting/outing/event? A week or so ago, I drank something called a Mango Rum Runner in its entirety. I’m still doubtful as to whether there was actually any rum in it, though.
4. Have you ever used a professional diet company? No.
5. Do you have an issue with your weight? Not usually. I admit, though, that sometimes I fall victim to the size-0-supermodel advertising culture and start obsessing. That’s when I know it’s time to turn off the TV.
6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods? Sweets.
7. Have you ever looked at a small house pet or child and thought, “LUNCH!”? What about a large house pet?

Lust

1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)? What about doctors? This is s a stupid question anyway. I’ve seen plenty of people naked and not jumped all over them (e.g., changing in the locker room). Why not just come right out and ask how many people I’ve ha
   d sex with?
2. How many people have seen YOU naked? Probably about the same number that I’ve seen naked, loser.
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation? Who hasn’t?
4. Have you “done it”? “Yes.”
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice? I like collarbones… hips… abdomens (I was going to say “stomachs” but that evokes the internal organ of the same name, which I don’t think I’d find very attractive on either gender).
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute? Not that I know of! :o
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy? No.

• Do you wish you’d come up with this survey? Well, I hadn’t really thought about it… but now that you mention it… yeah, I do.
• Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin? Lust all the way, baby.

Movie reviews

Saw Kinsey (the movie about the titular sex researcher) today. Was very impressed with it. I admit, there were a few overly cheesy scenes (like the one with the tree – if you see it, you’ll know what I mean), and I thought it didn’t do a very good job of establishing the timeframe toward the end of the movie, but all in all, it was very well done. Laura Linney was excellent.

I thought I had something perhaps more eloquent to write, but my train of thought puttered out; really I just wanted to use the word “titular”… Anyway, also on the subject of movies, I saw The Incredibles a few days ago. I think I already mentioned it, but I just want to point out again how awesome this movie is, and how everyone should see it. Pixar is 4 for 4! (I would say 6 for 6, but I haven’t seen A Bug’s Life or Toy Story 2.)

Really Old Pictures

As promised — I finally took my scanner out of the box and set it up tonight, and I scanned several old pictures that I brought back from Augusta a few months ago, which were taken by my grandfather during World War II (well, he didn’t take all of them, because he’s in some of them, but…) He was quite the photographer and was very organized; all the pictures are numbered (but, unfortunately, not labeled as to where or what they are) and correspond with the numbers on the negatives, which are filed in a little wodden box. How many people can say they have 60-year-old negatives?? I’m really excited about it, because this way I can get copies of the pictures that I want to use in a framed collage, and not feel guilty about cutting them to size.

These pictures are in great condition for their age; they have been well taken care of. However, I don’t think they should sit in an envelope for another few decades and collect dust; they’re too interesting not to be on display.

I do wish he had labeled them with even a short description, though; we have no frame of reference for a lot of them. We know he was in Italy and Northern Africa, but other than that, it’s mostly guesswork.

Oh yeah… here’s the link. Enjoy!

Friday Cat Blogging

First time I’ve done this (probably because I don’t have cats), but I figured I’d get into the scene. This picture was taken when I was in Boston; it’s one of Sara’s cats (I can’t remember her name) being curious, as usual.

Obligatory Thanksgiving entry

Some things I’m thankful for:

1. My wonderful friends. Yeah I’d like to give a special shout-out to my homies Jenny, Niki, Chris, Sarabeth, Sara, Kira, Matt, and everyone else*. Props, y’all!! Even though most of my friends live several hundred miles away and we don’t get to see each other in person very often, I am very lucky to know each and every one of them and value our friendship immensely. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys!
2. My job. I have a job that I like, a pleasant work environment, and co-workers I get along with (with whom…). For really the first time in my life, I wake up in the morning with no desire not to go to work that day.
3. My education. I feel very fortunate to have received an excellent college and grad school education. I’m a better person because of it.
4. My health. Overall I am in very good health, which is something that should never be taken for granted.
5. My country. Despite all the shittiness of late, we do still live in The Land of the Free, and we can turn this sinking ship around, goddammit. I get discouraged by the sheep-like mentality of some, but I have ultimate faith in my fellow progressives who truly value everything this country stands for.

So there you have it. Thankful List 2004. Now I’m off to fold some laundry.

* Ed. Note: Please don’t be offended if you didn’t see your name up there. I could have used the entire entry listing everybody’s name, but that would be kind of an Academy Awards speech situation. I love all of you guys!!

Define me! Validate me!

(Note: Rockhopper was down for a while today when my power went out. Sorry.)

It had been awhile since the last time I’d taken the Myers-Briggs Personality Test. I decided to take it again tonight, since you can take it online now, and instant gratification without having to do all those messy calculations yourself is important. Anyway, I got INFJ again — no surprise there, of course. What’s interesting is that I could just as readily be called an ISFJ, according to the test this time around; I was split 50/50 on the N-preference/S-preference. Which makes sense — I am very intuitive and trust my instincts; and at the same time, I’m also very analytical. (Which can cause problems for me sometimes!) I don’t remember what my percentage breakdown was the last time I took it, or if I even calculated that part before.

My percentage breakdown:

Obligatory code that links back to the site where I took the test:

Up next: Seven Deadly Sins survey; cheesy “What I’m Thankful For” entry; me actually setting up my scanner and scanning some great pictures that my grandfather took during World War II.

Javascript

Anyone know of a way to control when certain page elements load? I really like having that little mood thingy in my sidebar, but it’s controlled by an external Javascript file, and lately I’ve noticed it’s been loading quite slowly, and thus slows down the rest of my sidebar from loading. Any ideas? I hate am impatient with Javascript, but I like my mood thingy, dammit. Maybe I could put it in an iframe — even though I’m kind of morally opposed to iframes.

I’ve been writing Javascript all day at work today. It is so not fun. I heart server-side scripting.

Speaking of which: maybe over Thanksgiving break I’ll figure out how to fix those weird ASB bugs that have crept up. We’ll see. I would really like to get all that taken care of, do another release, and take a break from working on it for a while.

It’s a dismal, foggy, rainy day, and I feel kind of depressed. Also I appear to be developing a “Chick-fil-a belly.”

I feel safe

Well, apparently Atlanta is the 3rd most dangerous city in the country. To be fair, though, if St. Louis had reported all of its crimes, Atlanta would have only been 4th.

On character, and presidents

Via eponymous:

How many words is this picture worth? (Jmac, if you’re reading this, I think you’ll like this picture.)