Traits o' Humans
The word "trait" is used loosely here. For instance I don't think that an admiration of Gene Hackman necessarily qualifies as a trait, but you get what I mean. In no particular order:
Traits I Admire in Others, But Do Not Possess Myself |
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| Ability to write fiction or keep journals | I
am very creative, but not when it comes to creating fiction. All my
stories are animal related, but I can't allow anything even remotely
bad to happen to the animals or I feel bad, so there's not much conflict.
And my journals... oh God... from junior high and such are only about
4 pages filled and sound like I'm trying to be an L.M. Montgomery
heroine. "Dearest Journal" and all that. It's pathetic.
I think I can safely blame my fear of writing anything too personal
in my journals on my mom— in my first journal ever I wrote "mommy
is a monkey" and she read it and confronted me. I do, however, keep excellent scrapbooks--- I mean, photo journals. Hee... |
| Ability to tell stories and/ or jokes | Can't do it. If the joke is funny, I laugh. Dave says I leave out huge gaps in my stories that I assume people already know. I don't know if I agree with this or not, but something is definitely wrong. |
| Seductiveness | I am not seductive, and no amount of sexy lingerie will ever change that. If I try to be seductive, I end up laughing. Then again...I tried to seduce a friend of mine, and now he's my husband. So maybe I'm better at it than I think. |
| Collections | I can't do collections without them looking junky, but I know people who can and I'd like to know how they're pulling it off. |
| Appreciation of jazz | I have tried, but I can't get into it. The songs are always too long and they make me anxious. |
| Patience | I am much better than I used to be, but am still essentially an impatient person. |
| Interior design | I had this friend in college, Heather Hubbard (where are you?) who could do amazing things with fabric draping and a little paint. I don't know how people figure out which patterns go with which. I am good with color, though. |
| Ability to put together a cute outfit | I suck at this! I'm just too tailored in nature to pull of the cute outfits. I look ridiculous in shiny happy clothes. My friend Kelly is one of the few adults I know who really pulls off looking both stylish and mature. |
| High metabolism | Oh man, I would eat so much if my metabolism were higher!! I am SO JEALOUS of people who remain thin no matter what. |
| Ability to "party" | I am the world's suckiest partier. The last time I went to a club was First Avenue in Mpls; I was dancing and accidentally kicked a guy in the stomach. Plus clubs are always so damn LOUD and smoky. I always feel dehydrated the next day even if I don't drink. I am, however, interested in going to an 80s night somewhere around here in SF. Though after writing this, I'll probably have to go alone. |
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Traits Others Admire in Others, But Me, Not So Much |
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| Enjoyment of heat and sunshine | If you really think you like this, please spend some time in TX in August and tell me how great it is then. |
| Children | Don't know about this one any more. I still want to adopt, if anything, but David really likes his genes and wants them in the pool. |
| Logical thinking | This is overrated (Dave). Some things— like human emotions— cannot be objectively analyzed. |
| Ability to make small talk | This was a serious handicap while living in MN, where it's considered impolite to ask a direct question. I'm not a big fan of the small talk. Tell me nicely what you want and I'll probably be happy to do it; beat around the bush and you're just annoying me. |
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Traits I Have, For Better or Worse |
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| Overcame depression | The best thing I ever did for myself was get on medication. Believe me, depression is a DISEASE and it WILL NOT GO AWAY ON ITS OWN. It's not your fault, you're not being melodramatic and you're not a bad person. The unfortunate fact is that despite a recent bevy of Public Service Announcements, people remain largely ignorant of the disease and more than likely don't have the same sympathy for a person suffering from depression than they would, say, someone with MS. And one more thing, for friends of the depressed: even if your loved one *does* get on medication, they will still be sad and pissy from time to time. This isn't depression, it's human. |
| Ambidextrousness | I write left, but everything else is both |
| Aggressiveness | Grr! Road Rage! Quick-temperedness! Peevishness! I've got it all and more! And I don't necessarily think any of that is bad. |
| Confrontational | This is mostly looked at as a negative but I'm telling you, it can go a long way toward getting stuff done. And as gyno-reactionary as this may sound, men who possess this quality (as well as aggression) are usually respected and not demonized for it. |
| Emotional | See above. There is nothing wrong with being emotional as long as your emotions aren't controlling your psyche. Cry, laugh, be hurt. You can't have the good without the bad (really). |
| Impatient | Again, sometimes it's good for getting things done, but mostly it is something I am working on improving. |
| Funny | Both kinds! |
| Really square and Ann-Taylory | If I could afford it and/ or cared enough, I would buy all my clothes from Armain. And many many dresses from Ambiance. Delicious! Of course, my preferred wardrobe is jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, so anyone who is reading this who knows me is probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about. |
| Crafty | I make stuff. I am pretty good at it. I only make stuff that I can use or that serves a purpose somehow. I do not like craft fairs much because I just don't see why I'd ever want a flock of wooden geese. |
| Can keep a secret | ...and I do. |
| Multi-tasky | I am happiest doing fourteen million things at once. I am organized and efficient! |
| Willpower | This used to be in traits I DON'T possess. But after having lost 25 pounds through steady exercise and dieting, I think I deserve to put this here instead. |
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