Abra Staffin-Wiebe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
abracanabra) wrote2005-12-08 05:13 pm
abracanabra) wrote2005-12-08 05:13 pm
Entry tags:
Handy Pocket-Sized Guide to Me, Myself, and I
Basic Statistics
1. BIRTHDAY: June 3
2. AGE RANGE: Mid-twenties
3. HEIGHT: 5'11"
4. SIBLINGS: None living. I had a little sister who died when she was two months old.
5. PARENTAL FAMILY STRUCTURE: My parents are still together, alive, married, happy, and living in Kansas.
6. CHILDREN: None yet, thank goodness.
7. PETS: 2 cats, The Cat With No Name and Foundling
8. EMERGENCY CONTACT: Phil
9. DRUG ALLERGIES: phenegren (it's an anti-histamine that gives me unhappy hallucinations--not yet encountered in the USA) and possibly DayQuil.
10. FOOD ALLERGIES: none.
11. ENVIRONMENTAL ALLERGIES: none.
12. MEDICAL CONDITIONS: Only Reynaud's Phenomenon. Basically, my circulatory system overreacts to temperature changes. When it gets hot, it starts circulating super-fast, and when it gets cold, it cuts off blood flow to my extremities (hands and feet) way too fast. Nickname: the red-white-and-blue, because those are the colors one's skin turns. For me, all this means is that I have to be careful in cold weather--and others should run in fear from my Cold Hand Attack.
13. WHERE YOU GREW UP: Mostly in Kansas. Three years in Chad, Africa. The last two years of high school in India.
14. THERE IS NO NUMBER 14
15. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Married to Phil for coming up on five years, now.
16. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF JOB: I work part-time in the imaging department for a legal document service company. Basically, we get documents (primarily) from lawsuits, create digital images for them, and then sometimes create a database of key pieces of information from each document. The rest of the time I write. Yes, I consider that a job, too. Yes, I get paid for it (sometimes). No, not enough to quit the other job.
17. LIVING SITUATION: I live in my very own house (although it is still painted in the colors a previous resident chose--mostly pink and green), with my husband and cats, in urban Minneapolis, pretty close to both Uptown and Downtown.
18. WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.aswiebe.com - and of course lj. I also have a flickr account, and my username is aswiebe.
19. BEST WAY TO CONTACT YOU (LETTER/PHONE/FAX/EMAIL/IM/FACE-TO-FACE/PONY EXPRESS): Email, definitely. You'll rarely be able to get a hold of me on the phone, I'm not an IM person, and I generally communicate best by email. That said, I really, really love getting actual mail. This means that I have a love/hate relationship with rejection letters.
20. RELIGIOUS FAITH: Mennonite, albeit quite bad at it.
Knowledge Base:
1. COLLEGE EDUCATION. MAJOR/MINOR IF APPLICABLE: Macalester College. Believe it or not, I went for Computer Science.
2. JOB SKILLS: Scanning, deciphering legalese, deciphering handwriting, proficient with a bunch of software programs
3. THINGS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON AND WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A LIVING ON: Writing science fiction/fantasy/horror. Photography. Hwa Rang Do/Tae Soo Do.
4. AREAS THAT YOU HAVE UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF KNOWLEDGE ON: Society in Victorian England, language in the Old West, veterinary medicine, Islam, natural disasters, the third world, survival techniques, weird words, African nomadic tribes.
5. SKILLS: making Ukrainian Easter Eggs, cross-stitch, mad-crazy editing skilz, photography, wilderness orientation, tracking, animal handling, snake-killing, climbing buildings. Unfortunately, my belly-dancing is very rusty.
Social Situations:
1. IF YOU HAVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE, WHAT IS IT? On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my evenings are taken until about 9:30 p.m., and on Fridays, they're taken until about 7:30 p.m. Once a month, my Friday is taken by the regular poker game instead. On Saturdays, I usually have martial arts until about 2 p.m. and then go over to Cahoots Coffee Shop to work on writing-type stuff, though I'm kind of interested in acquiring a different coffee place. My work schedule varies dramatically--from no work, to working only mornings, to working a full day (which usually means I'm home around 4:30 pm). It is too much, I will summarize: I have Monday and Wednesday nights free, and usually Sundays. When I'm not working, I have some time available during the day.
2. DIETARY RESTRICTIONS (VEGAN/VEGETARIAN ETC): None.
3. FOODS YOU HATE: Green peppers, pineapple, quiche/omelets/souffles, and onions (unless they're minced and sauteed).
4. AGAIN, ANY FOOD ALLERGIES? None.
5. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE BEING LEFT ON YOUR OWN WITH NEW PEOPLE? Yes
6. GOOD IN LARGE GROUPS? More "ok" than "good"--and I tend to need an escape hatch after not too long.
7. SOCIAL CIRCLES: Only the highest. Wait. Er-- Base social circle is the old Macalester gamers plus some newer additions (sorry, newer additions--that *is* where most of the people came from). I'm also a peripheral member of the CC Club Crewe and the Hwa Rang Do group.
8. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE: Seeing movies in the theatre, going out to eat at a new place, just hanging out.
9. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES YOU DON'T LIKE: I'm starting to get a real distaste for going out to the bars. I get cranky if it's just doing the same activity over and over again.
10. SOCIAL GOALS THIS YEAR (2006): I'd like to start having people over for dinner. I want to see small groups of people more. I feel very friend-deprived, though livejournal helps a *lot*. When I'm working part-time, I want to try that whole "having lunch with people" thing that I understand is a good way to keep in touch.
11. TOPICS OF CONVERSATION THAT YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO: Martial arts, writing, books, movies, third world cultures, new scientific stuff, general geekery.
12. TOPICS OF CONVERSATION THAT YOU CAN'T CONTRIBUTE TO: High-falutin' literature, sports, philosophy, and politics (I tend to start frothing at the mouth and demanding internet access so I can bring up source material).
Tricky Things:
1. THINGS THAT WILL REALLY PISS YOU OFF: Calling me bitch, even in "fun." Trash talking a supposed friend. Passive-aggressive behavior. Being a racist or otherwise discriminating against somebody else. Rape, rape scenes, rape jokes, etc. Cruelty to animals. Picking on the helpless. Jokes about these things aren't funny, either.
2. WHEN YOU'RE UPSET, SHOULD YOU BE LEFT ALONE OR COMFORTED? Left alone. Way the fuck alone. This is a good time for me to take a long solitary walk or work out on a punching bag.
3. WHEN UPSET, TOUCH OR NO-TOUCH? No-touch.
4. THINGS NOT TO DO: Sneak up on me. Play a practical joke that will make me paranoid.
5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE: Sitting with my back to a window or door, seeing other people upset.
6. SHOULD I WORRY IF I DON'T HEAR FROM YOU IN A WHILE? No. I don't get out much.
The Important Section - Gifts
1. FREE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY: Food made by somebody else that I can just stick in the oven or whatever. Somebody offering to edit my writing--short stories or novels (some of you have already given me this gift!). Whimsy. Help with things that I need help with, just in general. Good photographs of myself (I really don't have any recent ones at all). Random things sent in the mail (OK, it's almost free!). Pretty cards. Acceptance letters.
2. CHEAP, SMALL THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY: Scented candles (see scents section), fancy smoked or hard cheeses, flowers, fancy soap (currently craving sandalwood), film (ASA 800 or 400), movie tickets, a gift certificate to a restaurant, bath salts or fizz-balls, a jar of sauce to make something exotic, hairsticks, tiny stud earrings (the kind that Claire's et al sells), bookmarks, egg rolls (the ones that are thin and crispy, not the thicker kind), tea (not decaffeinated, and I have plenty of green for now), and gourmet hot chocolate!
2 1/2. MEDIUM-SIZE THINGS THAT YOU WANT: living plants, wine, punch-cards for Hwa Rang Do, a subscription to Writer's Digest, a subscription to something similar for photography.
3. BIG THINGS THAT YOU WANT: A 150-lb. punching bag, a weight bench, a small Olympus automatic camera with a good lens size to replace my dying one, a bed, armor and a punch-card for the full-contact class at Hwa Rang Do, high-speed internet access, a subscription to Netflix, a few specific pieces of original art, lots of money, and a laptop computer.
4. DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING: Owls carved from semi-precious stone, letter openers/daggers, books of fairytales, cameras, those weird swirly-colored glass paperweights, and grandfather clocks (this last is still in progress; I don't actually have a grandfather clock)
5. WHAT SMELLS DO YOU LIKE? Vanilla, cinnamon, apple pie, sugar cookies, and most spicy or fruit-based smells. I can't stand most floral smells--rose is an exception that proves the rule.
6. WHAT COLORS DO YOU LIKE TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH? Rich colors, the kind that go with wainscoting and old mansions--dark greens and reds and umber and gold. Jewel-tone colors like saris--vibrant and edged with silver and gold. The colors of urban decay - rust-stained and copper-patina green.
7. WHAT COLORS DO YOU LIKE TO WEAR? Fall colors. Greens--moss green, forest green, kelly green. Red and gold and brown.
8. CLOTHING SIZE: One Size Fits All--doesn't! Shirts - Small. For long-sleeved shirts/sweaters, I can't wear women's clothing unless the sleeves are extra long. Skirts/shorts - 6. Pants - 32/34, regular fit straight leg - maybe 31/34 if you can find 'em. Gloves and socks also have to be larger than standard women's sizes. Underwear size--well, nobody's buying me underwear but me.
9. GOOD PLACES TO GET YOU GIFT CERTIFICATES TO: any bookstore, pretty much, Crown Block E theatre in downtown, Victoria's Secret, Newport News, Target, Williams-Sonoma, Marshall Field's (if they're still open), restaurants, and sad but true, Rainbow Grocery store (I promise I won't spend it on anything practical).
10. HORRIBLE GIFTS: Shoes, most books (if I want it, I probably have it), jewelry (not earrings), most music, gift certificates to stores I never shop at, country-cooking cookbooks, pictures of small children.
1. BIRTHDAY: June 3
2. AGE RANGE: Mid-twenties
3. HEIGHT: 5'11"
4. SIBLINGS: None living. I had a little sister who died when she was two months old.
5. PARENTAL FAMILY STRUCTURE: My parents are still together, alive, married, happy, and living in Kansas.
6. CHILDREN: None yet, thank goodness.
7. PETS: 2 cats, The Cat With No Name and Foundling
8. EMERGENCY CONTACT: Phil
9. DRUG ALLERGIES: phenegren (it's an anti-histamine that gives me unhappy hallucinations--not yet encountered in the USA) and possibly DayQuil.
10. FOOD ALLERGIES: none.
11. ENVIRONMENTAL ALLERGIES: none.
12. MEDICAL CONDITIONS: Only Reynaud's Phenomenon. Basically, my circulatory system overreacts to temperature changes. When it gets hot, it starts circulating super-fast, and when it gets cold, it cuts off blood flow to my extremities (hands and feet) way too fast. Nickname: the red-white-and-blue, because those are the colors one's skin turns. For me, all this means is that I have to be careful in cold weather--and others should run in fear from my Cold Hand Attack.
13. WHERE YOU GREW UP: Mostly in Kansas. Three years in Chad, Africa. The last two years of high school in India.
14. THERE IS NO NUMBER 14
15. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Married to Phil for coming up on five years, now.
16. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF JOB: I work part-time in the imaging department for a legal document service company. Basically, we get documents (primarily) from lawsuits, create digital images for them, and then sometimes create a database of key pieces of information from each document. The rest of the time I write. Yes, I consider that a job, too. Yes, I get paid for it (sometimes). No, not enough to quit the other job.
17. LIVING SITUATION: I live in my very own house (although it is still painted in the colors a previous resident chose--mostly pink and green), with my husband and cats, in urban Minneapolis, pretty close to both Uptown and Downtown.
18. WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.aswiebe.com - and of course lj. I also have a flickr account, and my username is aswiebe.
19. BEST WAY TO CONTACT YOU (LETTER/PHONE/FAX/EMAIL/IM/FACE-TO-FACE/PONY EXPRESS): Email, definitely. You'll rarely be able to get a hold of me on the phone, I'm not an IM person, and I generally communicate best by email. That said, I really, really love getting actual mail. This means that I have a love/hate relationship with rejection letters.
20. RELIGIOUS FAITH: Mennonite, albeit quite bad at it.
Knowledge Base:
1. COLLEGE EDUCATION. MAJOR/MINOR IF APPLICABLE: Macalester College. Believe it or not, I went for Computer Science.
2. JOB SKILLS: Scanning, deciphering legalese, deciphering handwriting, proficient with a bunch of software programs
3. THINGS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON AND WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A LIVING ON: Writing science fiction/fantasy/horror. Photography. Hwa Rang Do/Tae Soo Do.
4. AREAS THAT YOU HAVE UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF KNOWLEDGE ON: Society in Victorian England, language in the Old West, veterinary medicine, Islam, natural disasters, the third world, survival techniques, weird words, African nomadic tribes.
5. SKILLS: making Ukrainian Easter Eggs, cross-stitch, mad-crazy editing skilz, photography, wilderness orientation, tracking, animal handling, snake-killing, climbing buildings. Unfortunately, my belly-dancing is very rusty.
Social Situations:
1. IF YOU HAVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE, WHAT IS IT? On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my evenings are taken until about 9:30 p.m., and on Fridays, they're taken until about 7:30 p.m. Once a month, my Friday is taken by the regular poker game instead. On Saturdays, I usually have martial arts until about 2 p.m. and then go over to Cahoots Coffee Shop to work on writing-type stuff, though I'm kind of interested in acquiring a different coffee place. My work schedule varies dramatically--from no work, to working only mornings, to working a full day (which usually means I'm home around 4:30 pm). It is too much, I will summarize: I have Monday and Wednesday nights free, and usually Sundays. When I'm not working, I have some time available during the day.
2. DIETARY RESTRICTIONS (VEGAN/VEGETARIAN ETC): None.
3. FOODS YOU HATE: Green peppers, pineapple, quiche/omelets/souffles, and onions (unless they're minced and sauteed).
4. AGAIN, ANY FOOD ALLERGIES? None.
5. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE BEING LEFT ON YOUR OWN WITH NEW PEOPLE? Yes
6. GOOD IN LARGE GROUPS? More "ok" than "good"--and I tend to need an escape hatch after not too long.
7. SOCIAL CIRCLES: Only the highest. Wait. Er-- Base social circle is the old Macalester gamers plus some newer additions (sorry, newer additions--that *is* where most of the people came from). I'm also a peripheral member of the CC Club Crewe and the Hwa Rang Do group.
8. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE: Seeing movies in the theatre, going out to eat at a new place, just hanging out.
9. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES YOU DON'T LIKE: I'm starting to get a real distaste for going out to the bars. I get cranky if it's just doing the same activity over and over again.
10. SOCIAL GOALS THIS YEAR (2006): I'd like to start having people over for dinner. I want to see small groups of people more. I feel very friend-deprived, though livejournal helps a *lot*. When I'm working part-time, I want to try that whole "having lunch with people" thing that I understand is a good way to keep in touch.
11. TOPICS OF CONVERSATION THAT YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO: Martial arts, writing, books, movies, third world cultures, new scientific stuff, general geekery.
12. TOPICS OF CONVERSATION THAT YOU CAN'T CONTRIBUTE TO: High-falutin' literature, sports, philosophy, and politics (I tend to start frothing at the mouth and demanding internet access so I can bring up source material).
Tricky Things:
1. THINGS THAT WILL REALLY PISS YOU OFF: Calling me bitch, even in "fun." Trash talking a supposed friend. Passive-aggressive behavior. Being a racist or otherwise discriminating against somebody else. Rape, rape scenes, rape jokes, etc. Cruelty to animals. Picking on the helpless. Jokes about these things aren't funny, either.
2. WHEN YOU'RE UPSET, SHOULD YOU BE LEFT ALONE OR COMFORTED? Left alone. Way the fuck alone. This is a good time for me to take a long solitary walk or work out on a punching bag.
3. WHEN UPSET, TOUCH OR NO-TOUCH? No-touch.
4. THINGS NOT TO DO: Sneak up on me. Play a practical joke that will make me paranoid.
5. THINGS THAT MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE: Sitting with my back to a window or door, seeing other people upset.
6. SHOULD I WORRY IF I DON'T HEAR FROM YOU IN A WHILE? No. I don't get out much.
The Important Section - Gifts
1. FREE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY: Food made by somebody else that I can just stick in the oven or whatever. Somebody offering to edit my writing--short stories or novels (some of you have already given me this gift!). Whimsy. Help with things that I need help with, just in general. Good photographs of myself (I really don't have any recent ones at all). Random things sent in the mail (OK, it's almost free!). Pretty cards. Acceptance letters.
2. CHEAP, SMALL THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY: Scented candles (see scents section), fancy smoked or hard cheeses, flowers, fancy soap (currently craving sandalwood), film (ASA 800 or 400), movie tickets, a gift certificate to a restaurant, bath salts or fizz-balls, a jar of sauce to make something exotic, hairsticks, tiny stud earrings (the kind that Claire's et al sells), bookmarks, egg rolls (the ones that are thin and crispy, not the thicker kind), tea (not decaffeinated, and I have plenty of green for now), and gourmet hot chocolate!
2 1/2. MEDIUM-SIZE THINGS THAT YOU WANT: living plants, wine, punch-cards for Hwa Rang Do, a subscription to Writer's Digest, a subscription to something similar for photography.
3. BIG THINGS THAT YOU WANT: A 150-lb. punching bag, a weight bench, a small Olympus automatic camera with a good lens size to replace my dying one, a bed, armor and a punch-card for the full-contact class at Hwa Rang Do, high-speed internet access, a subscription to Netflix, a few specific pieces of original art, lots of money, and a laptop computer.
4. DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING: Owls carved from semi-precious stone, letter openers/daggers, books of fairytales, cameras, those weird swirly-colored glass paperweights, and grandfather clocks (this last is still in progress; I don't actually have a grandfather clock)
5. WHAT SMELLS DO YOU LIKE? Vanilla, cinnamon, apple pie, sugar cookies, and most spicy or fruit-based smells. I can't stand most floral smells--rose is an exception that proves the rule.
6. WHAT COLORS DO YOU LIKE TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH? Rich colors, the kind that go with wainscoting and old mansions--dark greens and reds and umber and gold. Jewel-tone colors like saris--vibrant and edged with silver and gold. The colors of urban decay - rust-stained and copper-patina green.
7. WHAT COLORS DO YOU LIKE TO WEAR? Fall colors. Greens--moss green, forest green, kelly green. Red and gold and brown.
8. CLOTHING SIZE: One Size Fits All--doesn't! Shirts - Small. For long-sleeved shirts/sweaters, I can't wear women's clothing unless the sleeves are extra long. Skirts/shorts - 6. Pants - 32/34, regular fit straight leg - maybe 31/34 if you can find 'em. Gloves and socks also have to be larger than standard women's sizes. Underwear size--well, nobody's buying me underwear but me.
9. GOOD PLACES TO GET YOU GIFT CERTIFICATES TO: any bookstore, pretty much, Crown Block E theatre in downtown, Victoria's Secret, Newport News, Target, Williams-Sonoma, Marshall Field's (if they're still open), restaurants, and sad but true, Rainbow Grocery store (I promise I won't spend it on anything practical).
10. HORRIBLE GIFTS: Shoes, most books (if I want it, I probably have it), jewelry (not earrings), most music, gift certificates to stores I never shop at, country-cooking cookbooks, pictures of small children.
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